PACP - No Panacea! How to Make Sure You Get What You Paid For

NASSCO's Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (PACP) rating system establishes specifications for sewer defect characterization which have been accepted throughout the pipeline condition assessment industry. However, it does not set quality standards for the resulting data regarding correctness or accuracy. The growing practice of merging PACP certified application databases used in the field with geographical information systems (GIS) used in the office requires consistent and accurate data to get the most benefit from these data.Initial use of CCTV inspection data for sewershed analysis or system recommendations may occur long after the CCTV contractors have left the field, yet sewer system owners and engineers must rely on CCTV inspection accuracy without stationing full-time inspectors in the CCTV van. Data quality becomes important when more than one CCTV inspector is collecting CCTV data that is later merged and utilized for engineering purposes. The importance becomes critical when several inspectors from multiple CCTV inspection contractors are producing multiple streams of incoming CCTV data. The question remains: What is the best way to implement a comprehensive CCTV Quality Control process while efficiently using available project funds and ensuring quality data for use in a GIS environment?The Joint Venture of ADS/JMT (High Level Team) was contracted by the City of Baltimore (the City) to perform the High Level Sewershed Study; located in one of eight Baltimore City sewersheds. This sewershed study will be used as the case study to support the High Level Team's PACP quality control process.