Xylem > Case Studies > Risk-Based Asset Management Approach Prevents PCCP Failures And Saves Utility Over CA$1 Million

Risk-Based Asset Management Approach Prevents PCCP Failures And Saves Utility Over CA$1 Million

Technology Category

Drones - Drone Payloads & Accessories
Sensors - Utility Meters

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids
Oil & Gas

Applicable Functions

Maintenance
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Leakage & Flood Monitoring
Water Utility Management

Services

System Integration
Testing & Certification

The Customer

The Lake Huron and Elgin Area Primary Water Supply Systems

About The Customer

The customer in this case study is the Lake Huron and Elgin Area Primary Water Supply Systems located in southwestern Ontario. They draw water from Lake Huron to the north and Lake Erie to the south, providing water for approximately 500,000 residents across 15 municipalities, including the City of London. The Lake Huron Primary Transmission Main, a 60-kilometer pipeline that transports up to 340 million liters per day, is a critical part of their infrastructure. Over the past 55 years, the main has experienced four catastrophic failures, leading the utility to adopt a proactive asset management plan that incorporates condition assessment and continuous monitoring data.

The Challenge

The Lake Huron and Elgin Area Primary Water Supply Systems in southwestern Ontario, which provide water for approximately 500,000 residents across 15 municipalities, faced a significant challenge with their Lake Huron Primary Transmission Main. This 60-kilometer pipeline, constructed in 1965, experienced four catastrophic failures over the past 55 years, disrupting the supply of drinking water to a significant portion of southwestern Ontario and causing serious flooding. The failures also affected approximately 70 hectares of prime agricultural lands due to soil erosion and deposition. The utility decided to take a proactive approach to managing risks associated with the pipeline, starting with assessments to better understand the main’s baseline condition and then monitoring the pipeline continuously.

The Solution

In 2012, the utility partnered with Pure Technologies to conduct an acoustic leak detection inspection with the SmartBall® platform and an electromagnetic inspection with the PipeDiver® platform. These tools can inspect in-service pipelines and cover long distances in a single deployment. The inspections revealed that only a small fraction (0.5 percent) of the nearly 10,000 pipes showed signs of deterioration. Using this data, Pure Technologies evaluated the risk of failure for each distressed pipe and helped inform decisions about the point at which a distressed pipe should be replaced. The utility then proactively replaced six pipe sections. In 2015, Pure Technologies installed the SoundPrint® AFO platform into the transmission main to continuously monitor the pipeline. This technology detects and locates wire breaks in near real time, providing an advanced warning system to avert potential failures.

Operational Impact

The proactive approach adopted by the utility has resulted in significant operational benefits. The continuous monitoring of the pipeline has provided continuous information on the condition of each pipe and a view of overall pipeline deterioration. This has enabled the utility to develop a model for predicting future pipeline degradation and gain a better understanding of when individual pipes may fail. The projections estimate that 10 percent of pipes in the Lake Huron Primary Transmission Main could exceed their yield limit by 2045. This condition assessment data informs the utility’s short- and long-term asset management planning efforts, allowing them to balance risks, asset performance, and costs to meet target levels of service for its municipal customers. The utility has also been able to make informed planning decisions that minimize service disruptions while optimizing capital, operations, and maintenance resources for this regionally significant infrastructure.

Quantitative Benefit

The 2012 Lake Huron Primary Transmission Main failure cost approximately CA$1.5 million.
Replacement costs the utility closer to CA$300,000.
The utility achieved a 5:1 return on investment in cost avoidance for each proactive repair.