1.6a Asset Management of Water Infrastructure – Capability, Complexity, and Uncertainty

Challenge

To achieve and maintain adequate functionality in water infrastructure, maintenance and renewal are required—both of which demand resources and expertise from the responsible organizations. The concept of asset management has come to focus on how asset owners can deliver long-term value—meaning that benefits outweigh costs—based on the assets they manage. Asset management involves both the technical assessment of asset condition and the prioritization of different actions, as available resources are limited. This makes it a complex task where both social and technical issues must be addressed.

The ability to define what constitutes “adequate functionality” is a key aspect that requires coordination between different interests and takes on a particular character in a politically governed organization. As a public service, water infrastructure management also involves fulfilling a wide range of goals and meeting demands for transparency.

Technical challenges specific to water infrastructure include the long lifespan of many components and the fact that much of it is buried underground, making it difficult to inspect. Additionally, the interconnections between different parts—such as sewer networks and wastewater treatment plants—and the fact that pipelines are often located beneath streets alongside other infrastructure, require coordination across different fields of expertise. Defining how current requirements (sometimes ambigous) should be met involves uncertainties. The long lifespan increases uncertainties on what future requirements the infrastructure must be able to meet.

Solution

As a research field, asset management has over the past few decades shifted from a focus on technical solutions to a broader and more long-term perspective that includes the organization’s overall strategic capability. This project aims to strengthen the strategic capability of water and wastewater (VA) organizations in asset management of water infrastructure by studying how planning and decision-making are carried out, in order to identify both challenges and potential success factors for effective asset management. The work will primarily consist of interviews and observations of several Swedish VA organizations, but comparisons with other sectors may also be included.