Condition Assessment of Water Treatment Plant Components
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 23, Issue 4
Abstract
Potable water treatment is one of the most challenging and complex systems that municipalities need to deal with considering limited resources. A study from mid-90s showed that the continuously deteriorating Canadian water supply system would require $3.1 billion to bring the system at satisfactory level. Drinking water treatment plants (WTP) include several components, such as tanks, basin, and pumps. Operators are able to spend a small portion of the available resources or their plant’s infrastructure and equipment compared to water quality and day-to-day operational activities. The research presented in this technical paper aims at developing condition assessment model(s) for the WTP components. Essential condition parameters of WTP include technical, physical, environmental, and operational aspects. To determine the condition index of a WTP component, value additive multi-attribute theory has been used where average weights and scores are considered for the model parameters. Data on WTP conditions are collected from experts and consultants across Canada and the United States. It is concluded from the model results that the average condition index for settling basins, ranges from 9.6 (best scenarios) to 1.9 (worst scenarios) and from 9.6 to 3.4 for pumps. Analysis reveals that, for tank and basins, design and construction parameter is the most important parameter for WTP condition, while the operational parameter is the most important one for pumps. The developed models are expected to benefit academics and practitioners (municipal engineers, consultants, and contractors) to prioritize inspection and rehabilitation planning for existing water treatment plants.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to express their gratitude to the Quebec funding agency NATEQ/FQRNT (Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies) for its appreciated financial support to this research. They would also like to extend their appreciation to all municipal engineers who facilitated the authors’ research by positive participation and providing the required data.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 23 • Issue 4 • August 2009
Pages: 276 - 287
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 5, 2008
Accepted: Dec 10, 2008
Published online: Mar 11, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2009
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