GIS Applications for Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Systems - Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 AM/FM/GIS Applications At present our water and wastewater infrastructure, especially in the older cities, is in critical stages of deterioration and has started to crumble. AM/FM/GIS technology provides a spatial infrastructure management approach that is very effective in prioritizing your infrastructure improvement and maintenance needs. Field inspection crews inspecting a combined sewer overflow (CSO) diversion chamber located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis LEARNING OBJECTIVE The learning objective of this chapter is to find out how GIS is integrated with automated mapping/facilities management (AM/FM) systems for efficient inspection and maintenance of water industry infrastructure. MAJOR TOPICS · Infrastructure maintenance issues · AM/FM/GIS basics · AM/FM/GIS software · AM/FM/GIS application examples LIST OF CHAPTER ACRONYMS AM/FM/GIS Automated Mapping/Facilities Management/Geographic Information System CAD Computer-Aided Drafting/Computer-Aided Design CAFM Computer-Aided Facility Management CCTV Closed-Circuit Television CIFM Computer Integrated Facility Management CMMS Computerized Maintenance Management System GASB Government Accounting Standards Board RBE Rule Base Engine RDBMS Relational Database Management Systems SDE Spatial Database Engine HAMPTON’S WASTEWATER MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT GIS software Other software GIS data Study area Project duration Organization ArcView, GBA GIS Toolkit Extension for ArcView, MapObjects Internet Map Server (IMS) GBA Master Series and WinCan TV system Sewers, manholes, water mains, valves, hydrants, roads, street centerlines, buildings, and digital orthophotos City of Hampton, Virginia 1998–2001 Public Works Department, Hampton, Virginia Hampton, Virginia, has a population of 150,000 and has 12,000 manholes and valves. The City conducted a GPS survey to collect coordinates of more than 8000 manholes located in alleys, buried in yards, or covered with asphalt. The City utilizes more than 35 licenses of ArcView GIS. The City stored attribute data in an external infrastructure database from GBA Master Series and linked it to ArcView GIS. The GBA software performs infrastructure inventory of manholes and pipes, work-order management, and parts inventory management. It can also interface with the City’s WinCan system used for CCTV inspection of sewers. The GBA GIS Toolkit, an Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis extension of ArcView GIS, is used to synchronize data consistency between ESRI Shapefiles, CAD, and the infrastructure management database. This application pro-vides a GIS map linked to a comprehensive inventory, inspection, and maintenance management software program. The system also provides a graphical display of main-tenance history and profile plots of user-specified sewer segments (ArcNews, 2001). Although GIS applications in water, wastewater, and stormwater systems are not new, getting beyond the basic inventory and mapping functions is challenging. After a utility GIS database has been set up, GIS applications must be developed or else the GIS would be nothing but a pretty map. For instance, a GIS-based computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) can be implemented for more efficient maintenance of a utility because it can track problems within the utility network more accurately. The GIS and CMMS integration can facilitate proactive (preventive) maintenance, compliance with regulatory mandates, and systemwide planning activities. According to the U.S. Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), an infrastructure asset management system is a requirement for reporting capital asset activity. Electronic asset management systems extend the life of existing infrastruc-ture, thereby optimizing maintenance schedules and deferring major capital expen-ditures until they become necessary and economically justified. Such systems can also identify risky assets and schedule rehabilitation projects that can save the cost of total replacement (Irrinki, 2000). INFRASTRUCTURE PROBLEM A civilization’s rise and fall is linked to its ability to feed and shelter its people and defend itself. These capabilities depend on infrastructure — the underlying, often hidden foundation of a society’s wealth and quality of life. Infrastructure is a Latin word meaning the structure underneath. According to a 1992 report from the Civil Infrastructure Systems Task Group of the U.S. National Science Foundation, “A society that neglects its infra-structure loses the ability to transport people and food, provide clean air and water, control disease, and conduct commerce” (Tiewater, 2001). The water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure is aging fast throughout the world, including in the U.S. For example, according to the 2001 counts, the U.S. has 54,000 drinking water and 16,000 wastewater systems. America’s water and wastewater systems incur an expenditure of $23 billion per year on infrastructure projects. Much of the existing sewerage system in the U.S. was constructed in the 1950s and 1960s — some date back to the early 1900s and late 1800s. According to 2001 estimates, U.S. sewer systems are approaching 100 years in age. Even the newest U.S. water infrastructure systems are over 50 years old. What is worse, because of their material, they are more likely to be deteriorating than some systems dating back to 100 years. Many water systems are structurally obsolete and are now serving two to three times as many people as their design capacity. Many systems have not received the essential maintenance and repairs necessary to keep them Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis working properly. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) projects $1.3 trillion in infrastructure needs in the U.S. during 1999 to 2004, of which approxi-mately one third is needed for water and wastewater improvements. Unfortunately, adequate government funds are not available for this expensive fix. This problem can be partially blamed on the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” men-tality of the decision makers. The lack of funding for the badly needed infrastructure improvements is making people worried. This is evident in the recently conducted public opinion polls. According to a recent Water Environment Federation (WEF) survey, 31% of Americans would not swim in their own rivers. A 1998 ASCE poll showed that more than 75% of the U.S. voters were concerned about the quality of roads, drinking water, and school buildings. In Boston, more voters were concerned about roads, bridges, and drinking water than Social Security and taxes. In New York City, concerns about school buildings and drinking water outscored drug abuse worries (ASCE, 1998). Many indicated that they would vote for a candidate whose election campaign addressed waste disposal (78%), drinking water (73%), and roads and bridges (62%). These surveys indicate that water industry infrastructure is particularly important because it is so closely related to public health and safety. In the U.S., it has been recently observed that a combination of reduced federal spending and increased federal mandates is taking its toll on the infrastructure of the country. For instance, according to American Water Works Association (AWWA), annual pipe replacement costs will jump to $3 billion by 2020 and $6 billion by 2030. Replacement expenses projected into the future indicate that sewer main replacements are more urgent than water mains and will require more money. As of 2001, ASCE estimates that the U.S. must invest nearly $277 billion in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure repairs over the next two decades. U.S. water systems have an $11-billion annual investment shortfall and need $151 billion by 2018. U.S. sewer systems have a $12-billion annual shortfall in investment and need $126 billion by 2016. The largest need, $45 billion, is for projects to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The second-largest category of needs, at $27 billion, is for new or improved secondary treatment. In a report “Water Infrastructure Now” published in February 2001, a water conservation organization called Water Infrastructure Network (WIN) estimated a $23-billion per year gap between infrastructure needs and current spending. The report indicated that U.S. water and wastewater systems faced infrastructure funding needs of nearly $1 trillion over the next 20 years and a shortfall of half a trillion dollars. The report called for a 5-year, $57-billion federal investment in water infrastructure to replace aging pipes and upgrade treatment systems. WIN estimates that household water bills must double or triple in most U.S. communities if utilities are forced to absorb the entire infrastructure bill. For instance, the City of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is charging $20,000 per home (to be paid over the next 20 years) to finance the city’s conversion from septic to sewer systems (CE News, 2001). According to a 2001 statement by ASCE President Robert W. Bein, “Something is terribly wrong … America has been seriously underinvesting in its infrastructure.” Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis Figure 14.1 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card for the U.S. In March 2001, ASCE released its 2001 Report Card (Figure 14.1) for America’s infrastructure in which the nation’s infrastructure received a cumulative grade of D+ for 12 infrastructure areas. Causes for such a dismal grade include: explosive pop-ulation growth and school enrollment, which outpace the rate and impact of current investment and maintenance efforts; local political opposition and red tape, which outpace the development of effective solutions; and the growing obsolescence of an aging system — evident in the breakdown of California’s electrical generation system and the nation’s decaying water infrastructure. The 2001 Report Card follows the one released in 1998, at which time the ten infrastructure categories rated were given an average grade of D. The 2001 wastewater grade declined from a D+ to a D, while drinking water remained a D. Solid waste and schools scored the highest and the lowest grades, respectively (ASCE, 2001; EWRI, 2001). Despite the disturbing findings contained in the 2001 Report Card, the nation failed to heed the call to improve its deteriorating infrastructure, according to an update to the assessment released by ASCE in September 2003 (ASCE, 2003). When the infrastructure condition is bad and funding is scarce, we need infra-structure management tools that can: · Accurately define (or map) our infrastructure · Identify the worst portions of the infrastructure · Determine how to most cost-effectively improve (replace or repair) the worst parts of the infrastructure AM/FM/GIS products provide an efficient infrastructure management system. AM/FM/GIS BASICS Many solutions for managing facilities have spawned from CAD-based archi-tectural applications. Database solutions have evolved from the financial sector to Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis ... - tailieumienphi.vn