Water and sewerage authorities in Australia and New Zealand have agreed to adopt a uniform technical standard to accurately record and position the precise ‘as built’ location of their networks of underground water utilities assets (water, stormwater and wastewater – sewerage).
The program is being spearheaded by the Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Corporation, which will control all water and sewerage activities in Tasmania when it starts operations on July 1, and the city council of NZ’s capital, Wellington.
The new standards – S-Spec for wastewater (sewerage) and W-Spec for water supply and recycled water are the fifth and sixth in a series of technical standards developed for local government authorities and utility service organisations, to enable them to manage and maintain public assets.
The specifications also cover storm water drainage systems and telecommunications conduits to aboveground assets such as roads, parks and reserves and buildings.
The program is coordinated by Melbourne company, GISSA International, and based on specifications developed by specialist technical committees experts in each asset area.
GISSA International managing director, George Havakis, said the system provides data in a digital format, which can be incorporated directly into the Geospatial Information System (GIS) and or Asset Management Information Systems (AMIS) of each council or public utility.
“This streamlines council processes for receiving, handling and storing the data on each class of asset, saves costs and enables councils and utility organisations to improve service to both internal and external users,” he added.
“It also improves the quality of information held in council systems for audit and financial requirements, and helps reduce ongoing maintenance costs.”
