Utilities network systems: operation experience and practical proposals on development

Summary

Water supply and wastewater disposal systems in the most of the big Russian cities for more than hundred years already have been providing for public water supply and wastewater disposal and treatment which are one of the most significant blessings of civilization. At present assessing the situation with the water supply safety and determining the vector of development with account of the gained experience including overcoming negative trends that reflect different processes in the branch have been tasks of primary importance. The attempt to summarize the experience of operating water distribution networks and evaluate the current state of the industrial relations and water and wastewater services maintenance forms as well as of the prospects for the development of network systems as part of the whole branch is presented. The apparentness of the pending problems and their structural analysis using the example of solving the applied problems of reducing network accidents show the need to formulate the concept of the branch development. Only the extensive discussion and engagement of all the stake holders – business, scientific community, managers of public utilities, regional and federal officials will provide for solving the problems in the branch that have become more acute lately and that have made the residents of the Russian regions suffer most notably.

Key words

reduction in accident rate , reliability of water and wastewater network , concession agreement , concept of water and wastewater utilities development