CONDITION MONITORING AND NDT OF WATER MAINS OF THE CITY OF BORDEAUX

Bordeaux has a network of water pipes totalling 2,400 km, 13 water tre atment stations and art average of 160, 000 m(3) of drinking water dis tributed every day. Total quality management of the water mains is a t ask requiring the latest of technologies. This paper presents art over view of technologies developed by the water company Lyonnaise des Eaux for condition monitoring and non-destructive testing of the water mai ns of the city of Bordeaux, France. Continuous condition monitoring of the whole network (drinking water used water and rain water pipes) is described and the use of robotic visual inspection equipment for stru ctural integrity assessment of water pipes is discussed. Such faciliti es contribute to the essential well running of the company services an d high quality standards.