Modeling fund allocation to water main rehabilitation projects

Canadian municipalities spend $12-15 billion annually on infrastructure, but it does not seem to be enough. Similarly, it is reported in the United States that the cost of upgrading the water system would cost US $77 billion over the next 20 years. The available annual funds to water authorities for rehabilitating these assets are only a small fraction of the total replacement cost of a water system infrastructure. Therefore, there is an essential need to develop a fund allocation model to prioritize the allocation of funds (budget) to candidate projects in water mains. The model is developed using an integrated analytic hierarchy process and multiattribute utility theory based on the judgment of municipal experts across Canada and the United States. It considers several factors and their effect on prioritizing candidate water mains (i.e., pipe type, age, diameter, C factor, break rate, number of breaks, population served, water quality, and risk of misallocation). Qualitative data are collected from practitioners across North America, and water network data are collected from two main municipalities in Canada. The developed model is relevant to researchers and practitioners (municipal engineers, consultants, and contractors) to support decisions and prioritize water mains for fund allocation.