Case Studies on Water Pipeline Failures in the Active Zone

It is estimated that there is nearly one million miles of drinking water pipelines in the U.S with an asset value of a few trillion dollars. The ASCE Infrastructure Report rates the water infrastructure to be D–1 and hence there is need to investigate the conditions of the water pipelines. Based on our recent survey, most of the small diameter water pipelines in the major cities are placed within the top 1.5 m depth below ground surface. Hence the water pipelines that are buried in the active zone will experience notable changes in the soil moisture content over the year. In the active zone, soils would be affected by the environmental conditions. In this study, national survey results are presented and analyzed to determine the trends in the water pipeline failures. Based on literature review and experience, potential modes of failures for the small diameter water pipelines have been identified. In the survey conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has shown that 20 cities are reporting over 500 water pipeline breaks per year, and the CIGMAT survey showed that this could be much higher in some cities. A few case studies on water pipeline failures in the active zone in the City of Houston, Texas have been discussed.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1061/41165(397)253
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784411650
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Vipulanandan, C
  • Qiao, W
  • Hovsepian, H
• Conference:
  • Geo-Frontiers Congress 2011
  • Location: Dallas TX, United States
  • Date: 2011-3-13 to 2011-3-16
• Publication Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Monograph Title: Geo-Frontiers 2011 Conference: Advances in Geotechnical Engineering

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Case studies; Cast iron; Corrosion; Failure; Moisture content; Water pipelines
• Subject Areas: Maintenance and Preservation; Pipelines; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01346818
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784411650
• Files: TLIB, TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Aug 8 2011 2:01PM