The relevance of water pipe deterioration prediction models: A review

The water distribution networks deliver water of appropriate quality and quantity to consumers. The frequency of deterioration is increasing due to several factors leading to financial loses, decrease in hydraulic capacity and reduction in quality of service. The increase in the damage rate of water systems has imposed pressure on the engineers to predict the replacement of vulnerable pipes with minor economic loss to the government. The most significant issue faced by water companies and municipality is the leakage of water pipelines. The level of water loss in the distribution network is increasing worldwide. Hence, the need for an appropriate maintenance and replacement strategy is noteworthy. In order to predict the life cycle of the pipeline, suitable models are required to initially analyze the performance of each network. There are plenty of deterioration models available. An appropriate model will aid in developing an effective decision-making system to identify the risk prone segments and the best renewal method. This paper aims to review the various factors contributing to deterioration of water pipelines and the various models existing to analyze the deterioration rate. Finally, the paper summarizes the need for the accurate deterioration prediction model. The review concludes at the end that despite all the advancement in the area of deterioration prediction models, there is still huge scope with the availability of more data from the respective departments.