Preventive and Customized Maintenance of Underground Water Infrastructure

Maintenance of sewer networks is essential for their efficient and stable operation. Although sewer maintenance is basically the same regardless of network type, the specific situation of a particular network will determine how much and how often maintenance is needed. Therefore, the current state of a particular network must be described in detail to identify deficiencies and formulate targets of sewer maintenance which can be tailored to the network. In this article, we present the status quo of sewer networks and their maintenance in Germany and China and suggest how to maintain sewer networks in a customized way. In particular, we place special emphasis on adapting networks to current policy requirements in China using the concept of “sponge cities (海绵城市)” and the concept of “urban landscapes and ecological restoration (Shuangxiu 城市双修).”