Singapore's National Water Agency, PUB, has implemented a strategic pipeline renewal programme to reduce leak rates, aiming to maintain them below 5 leaks per 100 km annually. Since 2016, PUB has intensified its renewal efforts, particularly targeting 450 km of Cast Iron (CI) mains that exhibited a high failure rate of 22 leaks per 100 km in 2015.

To efficiently manage this renewal process, PUB partnered with Echologics, employing their non-invasive acoustic technology, ePulse®, to assess 80 km of CI mains. The data gathered was then analysed using Suez's Netscan® risk-based analytics to extrapolate the condition of the remaining CI mains. This analysis revealed that 271 km of CI mains had a high likelihood and consequence of failure, while 179 km were in satisfactory condition.

This data-driven approach enabled PUB to prioritise the renewal of high-risk mains while deferring replacement of low-risk sections, resulting in significant cost avoidance. The combined use of these technologies also led to operational expenditure savings compared to assessing the entire 450 km of CI mains.

Since the programme's inception in 2020, PUB has successfully replaced 135 km of the high-risk CI mains identified in the Suez/Echologics study. Consequently, the leak rate for CI mains has markedly improved, decreasing from 22 leaks per 100 km per year in 2015 to 12.2 leaks per 100 km per year in 2023, demonstrating the effectiveness of this targeted, technology-driven approach to infrastructure management.