Integrated Monitoring Strategy for Large Diameter pre- stressed concrete Pipelines - a case study at Waternet, The Netherlands

Waternet, the water cycle company of Amsterdam and surroundings, manages three large diameter pre-stressed concrete pipelines (PCPs), which transport pretreated water for drinking water production and industrial use. These pipelines pass through critical areas in the densely populated West of The Netherlands; in the centre and along the edge of a primary dyke along the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, crossing several other dykes, along and across highways and railways and nearby the runway of Amsterdam Airport. Since a leaking pipeline caused the collapse of a dyke in the South of The Netherlands, the Security Council required the Dutch water supply utilities to improve their management of the pipelines near vital infrastructure. The goal of this study is to develop an integrated monitoring strategy for the pipelines, to ensure that the pipelines do not affect the functioning and stability of the vital infrastructure along the pipelines route. The main focus of the strategy is to prevent pipeline failure and to detect pipeline failure in an early stage (before it can cause harm). Failure mechanisms of PCPs were analyzed; leaking joints caused by ground movement were identified as the most likely failure mode. Based on the timescale of possible causes of failure a combination of currently applied and “innovative” monitoring techniques was selected for the monitoring strategy.