Is strategic asset management applicable to small and medium utilities?

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Public Utilities Management

Background:

• Urban water infrastructures are vital municipal assets, essential for societal sustainability and economy.
• Rational asset management (AM) is critical for ensuring service continuity and economic viability.
• Existing AM tools are often too complex and data-intensive for smaller utilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the specific challenges and opportunities in infrastructure asset management (IAM) for small and medium-sized water utilities.
• To identify research and development gaps, priorities, and needed products for effective IAM in smaller communities.
• To highlight the need for efficient IAM tailored to the constraints of smaller utility operations.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent developments in formal AM approaches and decision support tools.
• Analysis of key drivers for IAM in the urban water sector.
• Identification of research problems and R&D gaps relevant to small community management.

Main Results:

• Significant evolution in AM approaches, monitoring, and decision support tools has occurred.
• A critical gap exists in sophisticated, data-heavy tools for small utilities.
• The primary research need identified is "Efficient management of small community" infrastructure.

Conclusions:

• There is a pressing need for accessible and practical IAM solutions for small and medium water utilities.
• Future R&D should focus on developing user-friendly tools and strategies for smaller entities.
• Effective IAM is fundamental for the long-term sustainability of urban water services, particularly in smaller communities.