R. Beuken

KWR Water Research Institute

This paper gives an overview of the asset management landscape on drinking water in the Netherlands and twenty years of research on this topic executed by KWR in close collaboration with water companies. A description is given of research questions and the international developments in the field of asset management. This is followed by the developm...

The total length of the drinking water distribution network in the Netherlands is approximately 117,000 kilometers. The total replacement value is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 million Euro. Several methods are available to obtain information to determine which mains should be replaced and when. Recently the echopulse technique was introduced in th...

Drinking water in the Netherlands is supplied by ten water companies. One of these companies is municipality based, and the other nine are limited liability companies with the associated municipalities and provinces as shareholders.

The water distribution network in the Netherlands consists for 29% of asbestos cement (AC) mains. Water companies expect that in the coming decades an increased number of AC mains will reach the end of life, resulting in a strong increase of the volume of mains to be replaced and consequently a significant increase of investments. As data on the co...

Condition assessment technology is used to quantify if actual main characteristics meet their requirements. If better information on the condition of mains is available, adequate decisions can be taken on postponing investments for replacement. Inspection technologies can be used to obtain more knowledge on the condition of mains and could therefor...

Quantitative risk analysis is used by various water companies, but mainly for aboveground assets for water treatment and pumping. Quantitative risk analysis is less frequently practiced for underground water distribution networks, as the condition of mains and the possible consequences of failures are difficult to predict. Nowadays, quantitative ri...

Leakage is a problem that draws worldwide attention. In the United States and the United Kingdom leakage ranges from 10 to 30 %. In developing countries leakage may reach even 70 %. In international perspective, leakage in the Netherlands is low: approximately 3 to 7 % distribution input. This low leakage draws international attention. Recently, a...

Pipe bursts typically result in a deficient supply in terms of quantity and pressure or the introduction of pollutants. In January 2004 an incident took place in the Netherlands where a dike of a main transportation canal was leaking and almost collapsed. Leakage stopped after closing valves in a water main. This incident raised the awareness of th...

Dit rapport geeft de weerslag van de werkzaamheden uitgevoerd in het COB project 13 “Risicoanalyse en risicobeoordeling van bundeling van kabels en leidingen”. Deze studie beperkt zich in grote mate tot het kwalitatieve en kwantitatieve deel van het risicomanagement. Geconcludeerd kan worden dat het project O13 er toe heeft geleid dat voor het eers...

Ten years of joint research on the nature and causes of discoloured water has resulted in guidelines for the implementation of self-cleaning distribution networks. These were first introduced in the Netherlands in 1999. The self-cleaning concept has been monitored right from its beginnings. Based on this evaluation, significant observations were fo...

De Nederlandse drinkwaterproductie is georganiseerd volgens een succesvolle formule, waarin schaalvergroting en clustering van productielocaties een belangrijke rol spelen. Diverse ontwikkelingen maken het noodzakelijk om de huidige inrichting van de watervoorziening tegen het licht te houden: klimaatverandering, onzekere watervraag, terrorisme, ve...