Cost Effectiveness
To minimize project costs for our clients, Pipeline Analysis has invested in all the necessary inventory of flow meters, rain gauges, gas detectors, smoke blowers, CCTV inspection truck, GPS, ArcGIS, digital databases, pen based data entry system, etc. There is no need to rent equipment and pass that expense on to our clients. In addition, since collection system evaluation is our only field of endeavor, all our resources are targeted for collection system analysis.
Wastewater collection system assets have a useful design life of approximately 75 to 100 years. Whether manholes or pipelines reach their useful life are to a great extent based on the materials of construction, soil condition, construction bedding, hydrogen sulfide concentrations, root intrusion, and sound maintenance practices. Collection system renewal is a continual process of finding system defects, prioritizing them and fixing them cost-effectively. Budgeting funds to find and fix system defects is the least cost solution to extend the life of the collection system another 75 to 100 years. Waiting for pipeline or manhole failure will require replacement of the assets which is the most expensive alternative (by several factors).
A typical project will document the various physical system attributes, establish their condition, identify defects, determine repair method(s), estimate the cost of needed repairs and prioritize the recommended repairs. The report generated from this condition assessment will provide the City a prioritized rehabilitation plan and costs that will address the aging assets.
Rehabilitation methods available to extend the life of collection system assets (renewal of assets) include trenchless technologies that minimize the impact to customers. Manhole rehabilitation may include lining, sealing, installing water tight ring and covers, raising buried manholes to grade, replacing vented covers, etc. Mainline sewer rehabilitation may include cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), slip lining and upsizing or pipe replacement by pipe bursting. These “fix-it” technologies are expanding to service laterals which must be addressed by collection system managers. A capacity analysis performed during a master plan will impact sewer system renewal. Knowing when a particular pipeline will require upsizing will impact the decision to rehabilitate the pipe. It may be more cost effective to defer rehabilitation (yet maintain the pipe) and replace the pipe as part of the capital improvement plan (CIP). Also, the least cost renewal plan may require deferring some rehabilitation until sufficient quantities are identified to reduce unit repair costs. Utilization of term contracts for collection system renewal is gaining favor as it speeds up the process of rehabilitation and fixes unit prices, thus keeping projects within annual budgets.