Local Versus Full Width Pavement Rehabilitation in the Frame of Old Water Supply Network Repair

Abstract

Since the global financial crisis of 2008, all construction related activities are now subject to cost control of each project. An important component of the optimal choice is the implementation cost. The evaluation of construction activities can be conducted by estimating their environmental as well as their cost footprint, which is also the demand and consumption measure for the societies' needs. Water and sewerage projects have a key role in the standard of living, Public Health and environment. Therefore, water supply network replacements are important to upgrade the quality and quantity of water, through cost-effective choices. The purpose of this study is to present and comment on the uniform cost footprint through the complete replacement of the old water supply network along with complete reconstruction of pavement compared to local repair activities. Usual practices in repair works of old networks and flexible pavement rehabilitations are presented, assessing the benefits of total reconstruction by carrying out life cycle cost analysis in terms of uniform cost per year. The project of replacing the water supply network in the municipality of Larissa, Greece for the period 2015-2019 is analyzed, linking water savings with simultaneous total pavement rehabilitation, calculating average cost per inhabitant and hydrometer, comparing cost and pavement surface area between total and localized rehabilitation activities for a twenty-year rollback period. The fruitful findings of this research study, indicate that full-width pavement rehabilitation along with new water supply network establishment is economically advantageous compared to local rehabilitation treatments, according to the time period considered. Thus, competent authorities can use the proposed methodology as a useful tool to conclude to the optimal choice for maintaining water supply networks in a cost-effective way.