Monitoring ground settlement to guide sewer asset management
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Abstract
The study into the influence of (differential) settlement on the functioning of sewer systems was initiated to search for additional criteria to make sewer pipe replacement decisions more sensible. For this Amsterdam was used as a case study. Like many megacities (e.g. Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, Shanghai), Amsterdam is situated in a delta area. As delta areas are characterized by soft soil conditions, it is to be expected that (differential) settlement is an important cause for dysfunctioning of sewer systems. Because the influence of settlement on sewer system performance has not yet been studied using empirical data, a large part of the study was focused on the assessment of the potential and accuracy of methods to study (differential) settlement. Application of the assessed monitoring techniques (sewer invert measurements, sewer profile measurements, visual sewer inspection) showed that even within an area with a limited settlement rate (5 mm/year), the influence of settlement on sewer system performance is significant (blockages, fouling and FOG deposits) and to a large extent predictable. Ultimately, understanding of the failure mechanisms related to settlement can be used to improve decision-making for sewer asset management.