Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) partnered with Sydney Water to evaluate innovative management strategies to reduce dry weather chokes in sewerage assets. The result was a strategy document that won high praise a peer review panel and is progressively being implemented across the Sydney metropolitan area.
- In mid-2005, Sydney Water formed an integrated project team with SKM to:
- Review its current dry weather overflow/choke management strategy and practices;
- Increase the rigor and extent of proactive management to reduce overflows;
- Recommend a revised, cost-effective strategy to ensure compliance with existing and future regulatory targets (2021 outlook).
The methodology applied involved innovative data analysis, the integration of satellite data with asset mapping, assessment of management practices and building an interactive economic and financial model to rapidly evaluate management strategies to reduce chokes.
Key features of this proactive approach are that it:
- Proactively identifies and targets assets that are more likely to choke
- Expands the CCTV inspection program for “at-risk” sewers to provide information on current structural condition, root intrusion propensity and likelihood of blockage;
- Uses inspection data and recommendations of the economic/financial model to define the appropriate management response and minimise whole-of-life-cycle cost for each sewer;
- Is adaptive, using the information and assessment outcomes;
- Incorporates a comprehensive stakeholder communication plan, particularly to encourage property owners and customers to increase sewer sensitive tree management and private sewer rehabilitation.
The overall strategy was peer reviewed and the review panel considered the strategy and methodology used “to be leading edge” and “demonstrated best practice asset management principles” and “was more comprehensive and broad-ranging than has been attempted previously from a data analysis and economic/financial assessment perspective”.
In 2006 the work won an award for excellence from the International Water Association.