The City of Montreal’s Experience with Pipeline Asset Management

Despite major advances in pipeline technology, pipes still fail earlier than predicted. When implementing an asset management strategy for the replacement or rehabilitation of water pipelines, a long-term planning methodology needs to be developed and implemented effectively with allocated resources. The city of Montreal, the second most populous city in Canada with a population of 1.9 million residents, has developed an asset management plan to help protect its vital water transmission main network that totalizes 771 km (479 miles). For the city of Montreal, detailed inspections with minimal operational impact are essential. The city uses state-of-the art inspection technologies, including tethered leak detection and tethered robotics as the carrying vessel for the inspection tools. To date, approximately 145 kilometers of water transmission mains have been successfully assessed by the city with 40% of these, principally PCCP, inspected using electromagnetic condition assessment technologies while the remaining 60% were inspected for leaks. The pipelines inspected with electromagnetic tools equates to roughly 8600 individual sections of pipe with only 4% showing any damage which is in-line with the average distressed rate noted elsewhere across North America. The city completes a risk analysis using actual condition data to prioritize future inspections, repairs or renewal projects.