1. Introduction
Drinking water utilities are reliant on their assets to deliver their services to users. The assets of the drinking water supply system such as waterworks, building structure, mechanical installations, treatment facilities/processes (filters, sedimentation), piped installation, electrical/electronic installation/equipment, storage tanks etc., collectively form the physical infrastructure of drinking water supply system and are the consequence of the accumulated capital investments and operational expenditures on maintenance and rehabilitation. The infrastructure represents a major societal investment in essential services contributing to public health and the protection of the environment.
2. About the standard
The Bureau of Indian Standards through Drinking Water Supply, Wastewater and Stormwater Systems and Services Sectional Committee, SSD 14, has formulated an indigenous Indian Standard, IS 18182:2023 ‘Management of Assets of Drinking Water Supply Systems — Guidelines’. This standard is formulated within the overall concept of management of assets and focuses on the details of managing the physical assets at the operational level rather than the organizational (corporate management, structural or process) level.
3. What it covers
This Indian Standard IS 18182 is applicable for all the components of a drinking water supply system such as waterworks, treatment facilities, pumping stations, dosing equipment, metering, pipe and fittings, distribution system, storage reservoirs etc, and applicable to all sizes and structures of a drinking water supply system.
Broadly, the standard covers functional and performance requirements, risk aspects, life cycle aspects, processes and strategies for management of assets, planning, operation and maintenance, and efficiency review.
This Indian Standard also provides guidelines to collect and process reliable inventory, historical process, failure and operational data about technical assets of drinking water supply systems and strategies on operational, tactical and strategic levels with specific periods of planning.
4. Long term impacts
Asset management is a tool for water systems to plan for future financial needs, estimate the full cost of water service, and to ensure a sustainable utility. The Indian Standard on asset management enables a system to determine the lowest cost options for providing the highest level of service over time.
Written by;
Priyanka Singh
Scientist-B/Assistant Director
Service Sector Department