Sustainable management of leakage from wastewater pipelines

Abstract

Wastewater pipeline leakage is an emerging concern in Europe, especially with regards to the potential effect of leaking effluent on groundwater contamination and the effects infiltration has on the management of sewer reticulation systems. This paper describes efforts by Australia, in association with several European partners, towards the development of decision support tools to prioritize proactive rehabilitation of wastewater pipe networks to account for leakage. In the fundamental models for the decision support system, leakage is viewed as a function of pipeline system deterioration. The models rely on soil type identification across the service area to determine the aggressiveness of the pipe environment and for division of the area into zones based on pipe properties and operational conditions. By understanding the interaction between pipe materials, operating conditions, and the pipe environment in the mechanisms leading to pipe deterioration, the models allow the prediction of leakage rates in different zones across a network. The decision support system utilizes these models to predict the condition of pipes in individual zones, and to optimize the utilization of rehabilitation resources by targeting the areas with the highest leakage rates.

Settlement as a driver for sewer rehabilitation

“…In the literature, settlement and settiement related influences are frequently mentioned as a cause for sewer deterioration (for example Fenner & Sweeting 1999;Davies et al 2001;DeSilva et al 2005). Nevertheless, little research has been done to quantify or even verify this relation.…”

Bistatic Tomographic GPR Imaging for Incipient Pipeline Leakage Evaluation

“…Over the past decade, the costs of servicing underground water, sewage and fuel services has raised dramatically, pushing the demand for improved utility location, inspection, characterization and monitoring technologies that are able to give reliable and accurate images of the investigated region [1,2]. Amongst the other geophysical investigation methods [1,[3][4][5], ground penetrating radar (GPR) appears to be a promising candidate, as it allows non-invasive, cost-effective, flexible surveys to be undertaken.…”

“…Amongst the other geophysical investigation methods [1,[3][4][5], ground penetrating radar (GPR) appears to be a promising candidate, as it allows non-invasive, cost-effective, flexible surveys to be undertaken. In fact, several examples of its application to the detection and monitoring of buried pipelines can be found in the literature [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

Early-stage leaking pipes GPR monitoring via microwave tomographic inversion

“…In this framework, non-invasive "geophysical" imaging techniques are therefore increasingly important investigation tools. In particular, the early detection of leaking pipes (predominantly water) is one of the key areas of commercial concern, as political pressure is applied to utility companies to improve their leak detection rates and service efficiency in the light of public concerns over climate change and energy usage (Desilva et al, 2005).…”