Abstract:
Water services are a strategic sector of large social and economic relevance. It is therefore essential
that they are managed rationally and efficiently. Advanced water supply and wastewater
infrastructure asset management (IAM) is key in achieving adequate levels of service in the future,
particularly with regard to reliable and high quality drinking water supply, prevention of urban
flooding, efficient use of natural resources and prevention of pollution. This paper presents a
methodology for supporting the development of urban water IAM, developed during the AWARE-P
project as well as an appraisal of its implementation in four water utilities. Both water supply and
wastewater systems were considered. Due to the different contexts and features of the utilities, the
main concerns vary from case to case; some problems essentially are related to performance, others
to risk. Cost is a common deciding factor. The paper describes the procedure applied, focusing on
the diversity of drivers, constraints, benefits and outcomes. It also points out the main challenges
and the results obtained through the implementation of a structured procedure for supporting urban
water IAM.
