Bringing excessive inflow and infiltration under control in an affordable, sustainable and community acceptable manner is one of the most challenging tasks that a wastewater manager can take on. Even defining what is ‘excessive’ is not easy.
Inflow and infiltration is present in all traditional gravity wastewater networks and is provided for in their design. However, when this allowance is exceeded the result is overflows into the environment or customer’s properties, capacity for future growth is consumed, treatment plant performance is compromised and pipes are unable to achieve the useful working lives they were intended for.
Everything about the management of inflow and infiltration is potentially difficult and expensive. Defining its extent and where it is coming from, what the appropriate response might be, how to manage the private pipework component, determining how to measure the improvement generated, how to fund and how to make sure that the improvements are sustainable.
Assetlife Alliance promotes a four-quadrant view split between inflow and infiltration and public and private pipework to ensure that the issue is properly understood, prioritised and appropriate solutions put in place. We can provide asset owners with guidance and recommendations throughout this process and we also have access to a wide range of technologies that can assist with providing information and analysis.
Specific services that can be provided include:
