Review of Critical Factors Affecting the Failure of Water Pipeline Infrastructure

A growing population and urbanization place increased demands on water supply and distribution networks. Pipelines are one of the most critical components of water supply systems. It is, therefore, necessary to identify the relevant factors that affect the deterioration of water distribution pipelines. This will help decision makers in future planning and prioritization of the required maintenance. In this study, a systematic review is performed to identify critical factors that affect the failure of water pipelines. A meta-analysis is conducted to determine the relative importance of each factor that contributes to pipe failure. In addition, the source of contradictory results across studies is investigated. The results show that climatic factors, such as air temperature, minimum antecedent precipitation index, and net evaporation, contribute to water pipe failure. Additionally, the results of subgroup meta-analyses show that primary sources, such as pipe material and water pipe size, can lead to high heterogeneity across studies. This study is expected to help water utility owners to collect relevant data and make timely renewal decisions.