The most effective strategy to safely manage a force main inventory is to implement a risk based approach for any data collection, inspection, condition assessment, and management techniques. Using asset risk to guide the management strategies, an owner/operator can ensure they are implementing the right approach, at the right time, with the lowest financial impact.

Around the world, critical valves are in poor repair, or even inoperable. When critical valves fail, managers have effectively lost control of their system, increasing vulnerability to water main breaks or any other system hazard. Once valves have failed, utilities have traditionally sought to replace them, often at great cost, both in terms of time and expense.

In the U.S., mines operate under strict Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations; as such, pipelines must be carefully monitored and maintained.

When the utility identified the main for priority inspection, they welcomed the strategy of combining a SmartBall leak detection inspection with a pilot run of Xylem’s cutting-edge PipeDiver Ultra, an advanced condition assessment platform that analyzes ultrasonic data to deliver actionable insights on the physical integrity of the pipeline.

Scottish Water partnered with WRc and Xylem to inspect the Blairlinnans water main using SmartBall® acoustic leak detection platform and PipeDiver™ electromagnetic condition assessment technology in combination with detailed engineering analysis.