WINTER 2017/18

WINTER 2017/18 Wildfire management in the Greater Victoria Water Supply Area

VOLUME 26 NUMBER 4

Unique challenges for managing an airport’s buried assets

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Risk-based renewal modelling for water infrastructure in the District of West Vancouver

UNIQUE CHALLENGES FOR MANAGING AN AIRPORT’S BURIED ASSETS By Mark Fodchuk and Justin Hebner, Pure Technologies

Pipeline inspection to manage the critical assets for the Vancouver International Airport takes months of proactive planning, safety and scheduling. In the management of a growing major international airport like Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) operation officials inevitably face a number of unique challenges. Compounding the challenges is the fact that the airport runs almost as a mini-municipality because of its size and discrete island location within the jurisdiction of the City of Richmond. In addition to the day-to-day operations required to service nearly 100,000 arriving and departing

passengers and bags, VAA must proactively manage their critical ageing assets. Moreover, when some of those critical assets, including the water meter chamber recommended for tool insertion entry are located directly under the flight path, project team members face a lot of pressure to ensure that any proposed pipeline inspection goes off safely, and on schedule, without a hitch. After all, when you carry out a water main project in a restricted airfield location, strict rules and extra security precautions apply to how you operate in that area. To accomplish a well-executed inspection with all these parameters in place requires everyone involved to contribute and maintain an ever-present dedication and commitment towards planning, safety, and scheduling. “Being an airfield location, a lot of detailed planning went into managing this South Runway Watermain Inspection project. In the end, the

inspection went off flawlessly. We stuck to the schedule, met all milestones, and were extremely pleased with the execution of the safety plan, which was critical in this restricted environment,” said Stephen Little, Program Manager, Vancouver International Airport. About Vancouver International Airport Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport in Canada, with more than 22 million passengers annually using its facilities for regional and international flights. Being located on Sea Island in the coastal City of Richmond, YVR is one of the few major international airports to have a terminal for scheduled floatplanes. As a progressive, futureforward air terminal, YVR has won the Skytrax best North American award consecutively for the last eight years, a testament to their prestigious status as a passenger-friendly airport.

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In 2017, VAA retained the services of Pure Technologies to perform a Sahara® leak and air pocket detection inspection on the South Runway Watermain (SRW). Built in 1966, the SRW is a 350 mm water main constructed of asbestos cement (AC) that runs from the Airport Field Bulk Water Meter (AFBWM) to the South Domestic Terminal for approximately 870m (2850 ft.). The water line provides an important service to both the South Terminal and leased airport buildings, which include a busy McDonald’s, the Floatplane Terminal/Flying Beaver Bar & Grill and multiple aircraft maintenance facilities. The line also runs along the main airfield, and across some taxiing areas, driving home the point that failure is not an option, considering the criticality of the main. The airport receives water from the City of Richmond, which was also keenly interested in the inspection planning, technology and the outcome. A multi-purpose inspection The main purpose of the survey was to assess the condition of the South Runway Watermain in three specific areas. First, VAA wanted to identify and accurately locate any leaks or air pockets using the acoustic capabilities of the Sahara leak detection tool. VAA also wanted to get a visual take on the inside of pipe using the video capabilities of the tool’s CCTV camera. VAA also wanted to map the bends in the line and take GPS coordinates at select points along the pipeline, using the tool’s locator abilities, to ensure they had updated plans reflecting the alignment of the line.

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Watermark Winter 2017/18

Another important purpose of the inspection was to eliminate water loss at the airport, a goal initiated by management as part of a proactive environmental program to conserve water. Beyond measures such as installing low-flow toilets and rainwater capture, management wanted to locate areas of potential water loss in their system to help achieve their water reduction targets of 30 percent by 2020. YVR receives water from the City of Richmond via several bulk meter locations. From here, VAA distributes the water throughout Sea Island. The presence of leaks would have an adverse effect on the airport reaching its water reduction targets. Why Sahara leak detection platform selected Pure Technologies (Pure) recommended the Sahara leak detection platform for its ability to provide same day results, and to locate small leaks with sub-meter accuracy. The tethered tool is propelled by a small parachute inflated by the product flow, requiring a flow velocity as little as one foot per second to progress through a water main. Because the inline tool is tethered, an operator has complete control, and can closely examine events of interest such as leaks, air pockets and visual anomalies in real time. The fact that the Sahara platform is tethered gave VAA extra assurance on retrieving the tool safely, in the event of an obstruction. The Sahara tool can detect up to four times as many leaks as correlators because the acoustic sensor is brought right to the leak. The Sahara platform also features inline video that allows

operators to observe internal pipe conditions, and in many instances, identify the type of leak – indicating if the leak is on a joint, in the pipe barrel, at a feature, and other details helpful for planning a repair before excavating. Although this first project was limited in scope and budget, because of the criticality of the line, both Pure Technologies and VAA put extra care and planning into efforts to ensure a relatively effortless access and retrieval of the condition assessment tool. Stephen Little explains the requirements. “We wanted to avoid large excavations in the airfield, required for the installation of new valves to facilitate tool launch. Excavations require large machinery which can become a concern from both a height perspective and interference with navaids. Ultimately, the City of Richmond water meter chamber, while logistically more complex due to its location on the extended centerline of the runway, was the most straightforward launch site for Pure’s Sahara tool.” The City of Richmond assisted by removing their aging water meter and installing the flange supplied by the Sahara team for the launch of the tool. The city then took the inspection opportunity to upgrade the old meter to a newer ultrasonic model. Airfield location meant maintaining inspection schedule was critical As the line was located in the airfield, maintaining the inspection schedule was critical. Security escorts were required at all times for non-YVR employees, which meant scheduling for the project was booked nearly five months in advance. It was

also imperative to nail down all inspection logistics, with no room for timing delays or errors. As well, it should be noted that the inspection was a multi-jurisdictional project, as the pipeline was owned by both the City of Richmond and VAA, requiring close collaboration between all parties. Pure Technologies inserted the tool via the City of Richmond’s water meter (in the airfield) and inspected the downstream water main (owned by VAA). “The South Runway Watermain inspection project was a good opportunity to trial and gain better understanding of the inspection technology, and to get a level of comfort in order to identify other areas where we can apply it,” said Little. “Our comfort with the collaboration and how well the inspection went is an incentive for us to explore more nondestructive inspection methods.”

Inspection results The adaptable design of the Sahara tool allowed for a horizontal insertion (vertical more common) at the water meter chamber and the inspection was completed under live conditions without disruption to service, using the water meter bypass and downstream fire hydrants. In a single day, the Sahara crew determined flow velocity, inserted the tethered tool through the water meter chamber, inspected approximately 870 meters (2850 feet) and determined the pipeline alignment with all bends and 100-meter intervals marked. In conjunction with the inspection, VAA and the City of Richmond were able to upgrade the old water meter to an ultrasonic unit, a bonus to the inspection goals.

In the end, zero (0) leaks and zero (0) air pockets were identified during the inspection, and CCTV showed some small tuberculation on the metallic bends. Although VAA recognized no immediate concerns, the airport authority is further ahead, and now knows the correct updated line location and the overall condition of their assets. Knowledge is power. Overall, VAA considers the airfield inspection a great success for their pilot project. “Working in the airfield was a new and exciting challenge for Pure. The close working relationship we had with the YVR operations contributed to an efficient and successful inspection – it was a real team effort,” said Justin Hebner, Business Development Manager, Pure Technologies.

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