Benchmarking Your Break Rates: A Review of New Findings and Trends from North American Water Main Break Studies

The water industry has seen many types of academic surveys and studies on water main replacement programs and the benefits of asset management and prioritization. However, many utilities have not historically tracked all of the elements of water main break data. One factor used to quantify the occurrences of failing underground pipe networks is water main break rates. Water main break rates are calculated for all pipe materials used in water delivery to create a measurement to judge pipe performance and durability. Water main break rates can vary year to year and by utility. However, in aggregate, break rates produce a compelling story which can aid our prudent decision making as it relates to repairing and replacing our underground pipes. In April 2012, Utah State University published an initial comprehensive survey of water utilities. This was a survey of water main breaks and operating characteristics at utilities located in U.S. and Canada. Six years later in 2018, a new water main break study was released reviewing the national metric for citizens served per one mile of pipe, aggregate data on pipe material break rates, the analysis of age and corrosion in failure modes, and related observations on pressure, delivery volumes, effects of soil corrosivity, and trenchless technology practices. This paper reviews the newest water main break study metrics and findings and outlines various trends and projections of water main breaks in the U.S. and Canada which can be used to benchmark an organization's water main breaks and use this critical data in asset management plans.