Current and Emerging Water Main Renewal Technologies

Abstract

The funding needed to address aging water infrastructure ranges in the hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 25 years, and at current replacement rates, pipes are being expected to last for 200 years, although pipes are designed for 100 years or less. In addition to funding needs, utility congestion is making water main replacement more difficult, as is the lack of public tolerance for the disruption from construction. The increased availability of pipe-renewal technologies provides solutions that minimize these problems while providing cost-effective alternatives to traditional replacement. The primary contribution of this paper is the state-of-the-art review of current and emerging renewal technologies used for the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of water mains. This paper also discusses the data and capability gaps in terms of needs that are unmet by the current renewal technologies. To overcome these gaps, recommendations include conducting renewal technology demonstrations in actual field conditions, identifying accelerated testing protocols to help predict long-term performance, and conducting retrospective analyses of rehabilitation materials to better understand service-life performance.