Wade, Mark

Mark is President of BlueWater Solutions Group. Throughout his 43 years as a consulting engineer, he has accumulated a broad range of experience for the improvement and management of water, wastewater, and stormwater conveyance systems. He has managed more than 1,100 projects and programs related to buried pipeline systems globally. He has also authored and presented several technical papers related to conveyance system evaluation and rehabilitation. He currently provides technical support for several water and wastewater conveyance renewal systems throughout the US and Canada.

Titles from this speaker

Description: Implementing Advanced Technologies and Asset Management to Help Prioritize and...

Implementing Advanced Technologies and Asset Management to Help Prioritize and Rehabilitate Critical Pressurized Pipeline Infrastructure

Abstract

Pressurized pipeline infrastructure (both water and wastewater) throughout the US is reaching a critical stage of critical condition. The outlook of this infrastructure as recently described in ASCE's 2017 Report Card (and statewide individual report cards in each successive years) shows that the trend line of system deterioration is getting worse for both water and sewer conveyance systems. This trend will not change direction in a positive manner, unless a number of critical steps are undertaken. The report insists that the only feasible way to address this rapidly increasing rate of pressurize pipelines for both water wand sewer infrastructure deterioration is through asset management. Specifically, it states that 'Asset management provides utility managers and decision-makers with critical information on capital infrastructure assets and timing of investments. Some key steps for asset management include making an inventory of critical assets; evaluating their condition and performance; developing plans to maintain, repair, and replace assets; and funding these activities'. The ones that are hardest are also the ones that are, for the most part, pressurized 24/7/365. To turn this corner and establish better and more reliable information on the actual condition of these buried and essential pressurized assets, several recent (and very cool) advances in performing both external and internal inspection and assessment of water mains, force mains, valves, hydrants and other ancillary facilities has moved the level of understating condition and remaining useful life (RUL) to new levels. With these technologies and established protocols for determining their associated risks, cities and utilities are starting to bring this all together under effective asset management (AM) planning so that the three pillars of AM can be managed: sustainability, reliability, and efficiency. This presentation will highlight and describe both established and new technologies in the industry's large and ever-expanding toolbox to cost-effectively move through even the largest system representing several hundred miles of pressurized pipeline in a tiered or stepwise strategy to identify those assets that are considered highest in priority and in eminent state of operational failure. This process is illustrated in the following Exhibit A.We will discuss those technologies that fit under the four stages of assessment including those that are particularly effective using science-based systems such as acoustics, correlators, HDCCTV, sonde, GPR, ultrasonic tomography, electromagnetics, and transient wave propagation. These technologies represent a wide spectrum of manufacturers and providers. The presentation will then show how date from these sources can be used, alongside of updated and newly developed NASSCPO PACP codes to compile information from each level of assessment, transform this information into meaningful and representative condition grades and scores and then create prioritized reports for capital improvement and planning projects. The work flow process that will be discussed is shown in Exhibit B. Time permitting, we will show one additional step in the process of moving everything toward an asset management program which will enhance capital improvement, create prioritized planning (again based on risk-managed approach using a traditional risk matrix), and develop preventative maintenance activities and their relative work order frequencies. By using advanced field-based inspection technologies and incorporate them in a sequenced manner, the resultant engineered data will provide water and wastewater utilities with much better information to do PMP for the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning and scheduling. Figure C shows how specific assets identified in the highest risk cells of a risk matrix are polled and integrated into CMMS for work orders and inventory management. In its essence we will show how utilities can logically and sequentially budget and fix buried pressurized before they fail using RISK and high-end technology for field, data assessment and prioritization. Two project examples will be presented to attendees.

This paper was presented at the WEF Collection Systems Conference in Detroit, Michigan, April 19-22.

SpeakerWade, Mark

Presentation time

8:30:00

10:00:00

Session time

8:30:00

10:00:00

Session number7

Session locationHuntington Place, Detroit, Michigan

TopicAsset Management, CIP Development, Condition Assessment

Author(s)

M. Wade

Author(s)M. Wade1

Author affiliation(s)BlueWater Solutions Group1

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Apr, 2022

DOI10.2175/193864718825158342

Volume / Issue

Content sourceCollection Systems

Word count16

Leveraging Smart Pigging Technologies as a Cost-Effective Method to Both Clean and Evaluate the Integrity of Pressurized Pipelines

Abstract

There is a demand for technologies to assess pressurized pipelines while they are in-service, particularly larger water supply infrastructure. As these systems age, these types of technologies are more-and-more needed. Combined with other external assessments, smart pigging is growing in interest in use and application by cities, municipalities, and water utilities. This presentation is intended to present an overview of smart pig technology and address the main topics of 'what', 'how', and 'how much' so that the owners of these highly critical infrastructure systems can move forward when they're ready. Why then do we look to the use of smart pigging for pressurized pipeline? The major advantages of smart pigging that will be presented include: (a) improvements of operational efficiency and hydraulic capacity, (b) results are used to extend their respective service life, a reduction of future system 'downtime', (d) improving and management customer expectations and satisfaction, (e) management of residual solids removal, and (f) segue into longer-term PMP. We will explore the range of pre-pigging preparation including jelly pigs, foam pigs, firm pigs and hard pigs and how they are used before a smart pig is introduced. Smart pig systems essentially combine pigging and on-board condition assessment technologies to do all of this at one launch site. It allows for one final pipe scrubbing and scouring and during that deployment it measures pipe diameter, provide X-Y-Z location of pipeline from A to B, collect pipeline condition and anomalies that impact its operation and condition, and finally locate and evaluate pipe joints and other features and such as connection points of hydrants, valves, and tees. The internal technologies of smart pigs allow it to capture XYZ (sub-foot accuracy), has on-board IMU technology, allows for free swimming navigation (even around and through pipe restrictions and fittings), and is for all pipeline material. They can be customized with additional internal technologies to measure and record the following during their deployment through a pipeline, making them super-smart (some would say 'brainy' to measure active leaks, pipe wall thickness, flow 'conditions', and other internal irregularities. They can also help water utilities who are doing asset management to transform internal information into critical data to manage pipeline repairs, replacement, rehabilitation, and preventative maintenance in the following three areas (a) prioritization of future work, improved fire flow, and ease of future access to the system. As part of the presentation, we will walk through an example of a real success story for the City of De Soto, KS where a 1940's DIP 11-mile-long water supply main (including a major river crossing) was successfully cleaned and hydraulic delivery improved by 300%, It also located five isolated sections that required point repairs.

This paper was presented at the WEF/WEAT Collection Systems and Stormwater Conference, July 15-18, 2025.

Presentation time

16:15:00

16:45:00

Session time

13:30:00

16:45:00

SessionAdvancing Pipeline Inspection with Smart Technologies

Session number07

Session locationGeorge R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas, USA

TopicCollection Systems, Force Main Cleaning, Pressure Sewer System

Author(s)

Wade, Mark

Author(s)M. Wade1

Author affiliation(s)BlueWater Solutions Group, Inc., 1

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Jul 2025

DOI10.2175/193864718825159890

Volume / Issue

Content sourceCollection Systems and Stormwater Conference

Word count19

Description: Manhole Inspection and Rehabilitation, ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering...

Manhole Inspection and Rehabilitation, ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 92 (MOP 92), 3rd Edition

Abstract

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published its first manual of practice in 1992 to help the utility industry improve their manhole inventory. Since then, MOP 92 and been updated twice. The most current update is particularly helpful to anyone engaged or involved in manhole inspection, assessment, management, rehabilitation, renewal, or asset management. This particular edition, scheduled to be released as a final published manual, is much more robust and detailed (and helpful) than the prior to editions. This presentation will include an overview of the updates included in this 3rd edition (to be scheduled for release sometime in before March 2023, and highlight the information discussed in the chapters that have been updated. This presentation will also be a helpful one to anyone engaged or involved day-to-day operations, maintenance, and management of manhole structures in the following areas: Non-entry Manhole Inspection, Condition Assessment, Management, Rehabilitation and Renewal, Asset Management. The two prior editions of MOP-92 addressed manhole of the issues associated with inspection, scoring and prioritizing manhole structures. Under this newest edition, there is more emphasis and expansion of the Chapter 5 'Manhole Rehabilitation'. The release of the 3rd Edition will expansion of MOP-992 into nine chapters and they are as follows: 1.Introduction 2.Safety 3.Inspection 4.Quantification of I/I and Structural Condition 5.Manhole Rehabilitation Methods 6.Examining Cost-Effectiveness of Manhole Rehabilitation 7.Wall Thickness Design for Full-Depth Manhole Rehabilitation 8.Quality Management 9.Summary This presentation will go further to discuss specific technologies under Chapter 5 and will include nearly all of those technologies and products that are currently available for both private and public utilities to consider. These include (a) manhole covers and frames, (b) chimney seals, (c) wall joint seals, (d) injection grouting, and (e) coatings and liners. The presentation will wrap up with a presentation of some asset management strategies (and particularly a condition assessment matrix that is featured in MOP-92) along with the impact that these new approaches will be added to the NASSCO codes for both PACP and MACP.

This paper was presented at the WEF Collection Systems Conference, June 27-30, 2023.

SpeakerWade, Mark

Presentation time

09:30:00

10:00:00

Session time

08:30:00

10:00:00

SessionSession 05: Manholes

Session number05

Session locationKansas City Convention Center

TopicAsset Management and CMOM, Trenchless Technology