How Proactive Asset Management is Working Out for One Water Utility

Kansas City’s water utility hit a peak of 1,844 water main breaks in 2012. Today it has a much better handle on its aging infrastructure.

Apr 12, 2018 | by Lee Allen |

KC Water is currently keeping a schedule of replacing 1 percent of its 2,800-mile distribution system every year. (Photos courtesy of KC Water)

An old, popular TV ad used to warn: You can pay me now or pay me later. It was in essence a plug for a “proactive” approach rather than a “reactive” one, the inference being that later would mean a lot more hassle and definitely a lot more money. The Kansas City Water Services Department figured that was sage advice once its aging water mains started to become a real problem. “In 2010-11, we started seeing an abnormally high spike in the number of breaks we had,” says Matt Bond, chief engineering officer for KC Water Services.

Please login or register to view MSW articles. It's free, fast and easy!