Advanced condition assessment of Hunter Water's cast iron watermains

Buried assets that form trunk and reticulation water mains form the largest asset group of all major water utilities. As such, considerable resources go into the maintenance, assessment and subsequent predictions on the performance of these resources. Hunter Water Australia (HWA) has been conducting condition assessment work for Hunter Water Corporation (Hunter Water) for over a decade on the trunk water main network in the Hunter region of NSW. At selected sites, pipes are exhumed to determine condition using abrasive blasting. This work is typically carried out by HWA as part of broader assessments of the Hunter Water network, and serves as an independent arbitrator of the current condition assessment process, using the Linear Polarisation Resistance (LPR) technique. A doctoral research project currently being undertaken by the lead author is also using these sites to further interrogate the use of electrochemical testing in soils (LPR is one of many electrochemical measurement techniques), and the application of such a test to the long-term prediction of corrosion in the buried environment