AWWA JAW64265

Water main break data are essential for undertaking informed infrastructure asset management. An approach for constructing break and general network data from multiple sources and relating and linking such data is presented here. The approach incorporates data from a number of sources and augments the amount of data available while maintaining existing data warehousing practices. Although it requires effort and collaboration among a utility's information technology and engineering staff, the approach is flexible; uses commonly available software tools; anticipates the evolution of data collection, verification, and storage capabilities within the utility; and, can be applied to other infrastructure assets. With the results, utility managers can gain insight into current and future performance of their distribution networks and develop future asset management strategies. As an example, the approach is applied to a portion of the water distribution network of the District of Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada. Includes 24 references, tables, figures.