Cost benefit analysis for failure of sewer pipelines

Abstract

Sewer pipelines failure in sewage networks can have adverse potential impacts on socio-economic aspects in any community. Due to the fact that it's difficult to capture the relationship between the physical and economical aspects as a result of critical sewer pipelines failure, economic concepts are used to evaluate the economic loss as a result of these failures. In this paper an analysis for the costs resulting from sewer pipelines failure and the benefits achieved from avoiding failures are presented. The costs included in the cost benefit analysis are the direct costs used to reinstate failed pipelines and the indirect costs, borne by the society and economy. In the benefits analysis, only the tangible and measurable benefits limited to the health sector and preventing diseases are addressed in this paper. It is expected that the proposed approach could help in estimating the economic losses due to sewer pipelines failure especially for the intangible factors that are difficult to measure. In addition it could help decision makers in taking necessary measures to preserve critical assets that could have adverse potential impacts on valuable natural resources such as surface and groundwater and soil surrounding failed pipelines.