The Water Research Foundation announced that it is conducting a comprehensive review of how the water infrastructures in Japan and New Zealand performed in light of the earthquakes and tsunamis that recently affected those countries. The project will examine the effectiveness of the water systems during those natural disasters and assess how they have recovered in the months following those crises.
Among the topics of focus are: quality of earthquake planning, reliability of water distribution immediately following the disaster, water pipeline durability and location, and recovery time for restored water service to the affected population.
Officials will launch the project in June 2011 and will issue a case study report in January 2012. Chairman of G&E Eng. Systems John Eidinger will conduct the research. Eidinger is an industry-recognized expert on the seismic performance of pipelines and reliability of water systems in earthquakes.
“Water utilities on or near fault zones are very interested to learn from the experiences of Japan and New Zealand,” said Executive Director of the Water Research Foundation Rob Renner. “We expect this case study to illustrate key lessons that will be invaluable to utilities at risk of facing similar challenges in the near or distant future.”
This project is part of the foundation’s recently established Emerging Opportunities initiative, which enables workers to respond quickly to emerging challenges and new research ideas.
Source: Water Research Foundation
