To safely and reliably deliver water to you, we maintain more than 2,000 miles of pipe, a half dozen treatment plants, 40 water tanks, 25 reservoirs and numerous pumps, valves and other infrastructure. With some parts of the system more than a century old, we’re often asked how we determine when to replace or refurbish which pieces and parts.
The answer is straight-forward, yet complex. We monitor a variety of factors to gauge the health of our complex water system. Interestingly, old age is not necessarily the deciding factor for a project — in fact, some of our oldest pipes are still some of our strongest. Our elevation, hilly landscapes and varying soil conditions can affect pipe deterioration differently.
When something does need to be replaced, we prioritize projects based on the risk of failure and the level of impact to our customers. While failures can occur before we start repair or replacement work, our identification and prioritization process allows us, more often than not, to prevent large breaks before they occur.