ERMUSR Misc 05-10-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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lizing local action. The effectiveness of crisis conditions, court orders, US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards, and security con- cerns are acknowledged as motivat- ing factors. Although the value and importance of water are acknowl- edged as motivators, the need for a long-term commitment to sustain- ability as a focus of intergenerational stewardship is regarded as a rough sell in some communities. Part of the solution to this prob- lem involves framing the issue in a way that is closer to reality. The issue should be framed proactively in terms of the need for a sustained ramping up of expenditures rather than as an expenditure gap, which frames the issue as a crisis that requires sudden outlays of cash. As confirmed by our research, every city has a long queue of crisis petitioners, and being rele- gated to waiting in that line is not FIGURE 2 Demographic waves and changing pipe materials (A) combine with variable pipe life estimates to produce echo waves of replacement needs IBI A a c 0 E ~, I N 0 U B d C 0 .~ I N 0 U - .- r ~- r N Year Year Source: Water Infrastructure at a Turning Point: The Road to Sustainable Asset Management, AWWA, 2006. AC-asbestos-cement, Conc-concrete, OJ-ductile iron, Pit Ct-pit cast iron, PVC-polyvinyl chloride, Spun C!-spun cast iron the desired outcome. Communities cannot afford co have their utilities backed into that corner. By framing the issue in terms of the need to ramp up, utilities are able to draw a focus on asset manage- ment as the best practice approach to keeping the investment slope grad- ual, thus avoiding rate shocks (AWWA, 2004). Communities that practice asset management are able to mobilize around finding a sustain- able path rather than seeking a lim- ited crisis response. ASSET LIFE LESSONS Pipes generally constitute the bulk of a utility's infrastructure and have the longest useful lives. Con- sequently, they are major drivers in fundamentally altering invest- ment needs for rehabilitation and replacement and are the impetus for ramping up expenditures. This does not diminish the importance of nonpipe assets, which also rep- resent asignificant investment and typically require much shorter replacement cycles. Pumps, treatment facilities, and extensive instrumentation and con- trol systems are also "invisible" to the public. However, these compo- nents have shorter life cycles and require earlier replacements, creat- ing aview of water-related infra- structure that requires only periodic injections of capital followed by years of trouble-free operations. In contrast, pipe rehabilitation and replacement will require a sustained flow of expenditures. In simple terms, pipes are replaced based on the date the pipe was installed and the length of its life. As in any population, age is not the only determinant of the length of a life. All the pipes that are "born" in a given year will not "die" in the same year in the future. For example, pipes placed in corrosive soils or in locations where they are subject to adverse stresses have a decreased life expectancy. The number of years of service for a group of pipes installed in the same year will take the form of ~, ~n ~n in N O O O O O O O O O O N N N N N N N N N N