City of Whitehorse

Published purpose

This Project seeks to improve the efficiency and robustness of Whitehorse’s water supply system through a combination of field observation and desktop modelling. Fieldwork includes water audits and pressure tests, soils and corrosion pit sampling, as well as the installation of a ‘smart’ bleeder control unit. Water audits involve localizing specific areas with suspected leakage and conducting a water balance using a portable flow meter. They form the basis of future leak detection and repair campaigns and help the City understand consumption throughout the network. Pressure tests help estimating pipe roughness which is needed to calibrate the computer model of the network. Soil sampling and corrosion pit analysis of a major sewage forcemain will support a statistical deterioration model to inform rehabilitation planning. Improved bleeder control units can reduce unnecessary water use in anti-freezing operations. Finally, desktop analysis will feature a criticality study of the system using existing data and information obtained from the field to examine a variety of failure/stress scenarios.