No Gambling with Critical Pipeline Infrastructure in Las Vegas

The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is a leader in water planning and management as it contends with 20 years of drought and climate change conditions to balance regional water supplies with the water demands of more than 2.2 million people and approximately 40 million annual visitors. As industry studies continue to highlight the issues surrounding aging water and sewer infrastructure, policymakers at the local, state, and national levels of government are beginning to recognize the growing problem by making infrastructure renewal programs a priority. The SNWA is regularly faced with many challenges when it comes to condition assessment of its large diameter water transmission mains. Impacts from ongoing construction on the water mains, service level requirements, and lack of system redundancy are some of the many obstacles that water agencies like the SNWA face each time a condition assessment inspection is performed. Faced with such challenges, the SNWA must regularly find ways to mitigate and manage any potential risks associated with condition assessment inspections. The paper will present the SNWA’s assessment of the Aqueduct A pipeline (the Aqueduct). The Aqueduct is a 96-in. PCCP transmission main and one of several that supply water to the Las Vegas Valley directly from Lake Mead. The paper will include justifying the need for condition assessment, selecting the appropriate condition assessment approach, and choosing the most appropriate tool for inspection to maximize actual condition data collected while reducing risk within established budgets. Having inspected the Aqueduct 16 years prior, the paper will also discuss changes in near field electromagnetic inspection of PCCP, including the tools, data analysis, and reporting. Finally, the paper will present the change in pipeline condition between the two inspections and how inspection data informed rehabilitation and pipeline management decisions.