An evaluation of large diameter steel water pipelines

Steel water pipelines, as a part of America's underground infrastructure play a key role in maintaining quality of life and well-being of communities. Most of these pipelines are laid underground for almost over a century and have reached the end of their useful life. They degraded over the years in terms of performance by creating high maintenance cost and low efficiency. Having thousands of miles of footage steel water pipelines lead to a huge and complex network of water transmission system. This complexity generates the necessity of research on failure of underground infrastructure in general and steel water pipelines in specific.;This research aims towards tracking down the causes of failures of steel water pipelines. It is achieved by asking various water utilities across North America to provide details about their failed pipelines. This data is processed graphically and statistically in order to arrive at useful results and sensible conclusions and also some recommendations for future researchers. The research is limited only to large diameter (24 in. and larger) steel water pipelines in North America. This research concludes that the occurrence of steel water pipe failures is higher compared to other pipe materials in business. This research concludes that the increase in number of failures of steel water pipelines will continue to grow if no proper action is taken. It also highlights causes and modes of failures which are most affecting to degradation of steel water pipelines.