cost effective and sustainable maintenance: some...

Cost effective and sustainable maintenance: some ways to adapt anddevelop the technological approach

Brabben T.E.

in

Dupuy B. (ed.). Aspects économiques de la gestion de l'eau dans le bassin méditerranéen

Bari : CIHEAMOptions Méditerranéennes : Série A. Séminaires Méditerranéens; n. 31

1997pages 253-259

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Brabben T.E. Cost effective and sustainable maintenance: some ways to adapt and develop the

technological approach. In : Dupuy B. (ed.). Aspects économiques de la gestion de l'eau dans le

bassin méditerranéen . Bari : CIHEAM, 1997. p. 253-259 (Options Méditerranéennes : Série A.

Séminaires Méditerranéens; n. 31)

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http://www.ciheam.org/http://om.ciheam.org/

http://om.ciheam.org/article.php?IDPDF=CI971544

http://www.ciheam.org/

http://om.ciheam.org/

Thomas Brabben

SUMMARY - This paper considers some examples of current maintenance practice and examines the cost effectiveness of these methods as used. The need for further research into maintenance technology is identified. Timely and appropriate maintenance of irrigation and drainage systems is necessary to sustain the delivery and removal of excess water. Whilst there is no doubt that there is an important organizational and management dimension to successful maintenance there is also a need to use efficient and effective technological solutions. This paper discusses, with examples, how new and adapted technologies can be used for maintenance in developing countries. Examples of successful technologies and practice in the water sector in other countries along with what works in other sectors, like transportation will be used to determine what the practical research needs are and what can be done at the design stage, or more commonly the modernization stage, to make the best use of maintenance technology.

Key words: Maintenance, irrigation, drainage, technology, research.

RESUME - La présente communication examine quelques exemples de pratique de maintenance actuelle, et examine la rentabilité de ces méthodes telles qu'elles sont utilisées. Le besoin de recherches supplémentaires en matière de technologie de la maintenance est identifié. La maintenance opportune et appropriée de systèmes d'irrigation et de drainage est nécessaire afin d'assurer la durabilité de la fourniture en eau et l'écoulement d'eaux en excès. S'il n y a aucun doute qu'il existe une importante dimension d'organisation et de gestion pour une maintenance réussie, il est également nécessaire d'utiliser des solutions technologiques eficaces et efficientes. Le présent article examine, exemples à l'appui, comment des technologies nouvelles et adaptées peuvent être utilisées pour la mainrenance dans les pays en développement. Des exemples d'utilisation réussie de ces technologies dans le secteur de l'eau dans d'autres pays, avec ce qui marche dans d'autres secteurs, tels que le transport, seront utilisés pour déterminer les besoins pratiques en matière de recherche et ce qui peut être fait au stade de la conception, ou plus communément au stade de la modernisation, pour tirer le meilleur parti de la technologie de la maintenance.

Mots clé: Maintenance, irrigation, drainage, technologie, recherche.

Options Méditerranéennes, Sér. A /n031, 1997 Séminaires Méditerranéens

CIHEAM - Options Mediterraneennes

Serie A: Seminaires mediterraneens

254 Brabben

the that technology, in a in making maintenance and

Effective applications of of

A of the last few decades

the with its

in to be expected, the of

some instances the in

example the is in need of not been completed. The lack of timely and adequate maintenance, defined as the physical activities to keep the system functioning in ac-

is of tion et al (1993) define maintenance as "any activity that slows the

by use aging". can also be thought of as the invest-

ment to an in the the unwillingness to

is in of in-

sufficient funds - less maintenance.

all the to now being seen to have a positive effect on maintenance in

ha); to

of (in the in

ftom

and Colombia. Associations having taken maintenance planning to make maintenance

the adap-

tation and application of successful technologies and techniques is also needed.

is no doubt that of fi- on the maintenance of

vital if the benefits of the to be sustained.

to at with the

to in still to be inade-

quate though. example, in in of what was

("Loughlin 1988).

in the magnitude of the investments needed to im-

and

in 1988 with the objective of making maintenance of 48,000 km of public

component of $45 million is expected to Community has now

assistance and equipment.) Cost effective methods and technologies of maintenance and the

the main tools to the total maintenance budget by 40% The

which is jointly funded by the the and the

totals $1.2 billion. Of this total $77 million has been to the

by the of

little economic analysis and

that exists is



Cost effective and sustainable maintenance:some ways to adapt and develop the technological approach 255

not widely disseminated especially among the de-

and social impacts of the lack of maintenance ill timed, inadequate maintenance on effi-

able. The need to place a value on maintenance the lack of it is step and managing maintenance activities. Not until the high and quantified can on obtaining adequate

be achieved.

on how well the system is

can tion is needed on how effective the will be, on un-

how impact the channels of a system. the case of a length

what time all the be moved? What happens if only a of the is done? What will be the consequence of the activity? an such as

investment now to in the fù- ie.

nologies continue to be used with the that a

up. and Wickham (1985) found that all insufficient to to the

The and weed cutting and using the

the an in- the time

led to the in a system, as was

the case in tem, (J.A. gains in the if, as a consequence,

is beyond the physical capabilities of the then will A combination of these inefficien-

cies has in turn the ability tion agencies to an

The scale also have an effect on the implementation and success of maintenance.

be able to with the to pass the

and maintenance on to associations these to such plant the to a company specializing in supplying and such machines. As pointed out by (1988), in

- notably the of sluices - beyond the technical ca-

The likely consequence is that maintenance specialized equipment and people will not be high technology solutions can be

in that will able to skilled staff to use

New the needs of the

on mechanical and the system, is cost effective

in the long run. ma- the unavailability

simple tasks difficult and often impossible. This is

expensive modifications having to be made because of the

The quality of can also have a long impact on the need maintenance. The use

on An and of sudden be the

on the and

is dissemination of best to be contin- ued and expanded. Skutsch (in details maintenance needs and indicates the scope

is as the

usel l in

associations as they take systems.



256 Brabben

maintenance effective - an example

in schemes dominated by the sediment is an

in is only a small sediment input,

desilting costs become excessive when the is the

available only to desilt the system each then the canals will cease to

in in the

the Agno the be loads in the to high soil and stimulated landslides mean that the studies showed that the intake was as

the wet season has declined by about 50% of the 18,000 ha scheme can now be To be viable the scheme needs to out the with only a close down and

this was insufficient the National Agency to the

quantities of sediment deposited in the main canals. A method of most of the

(sand) in the the main canal was needed. Whilst some still get into the canals it would be possible and the to in the tional and digging.

The planned solution was to make existing maintenance activities investing in a sediment that a

tube sand and con-

by with financial the United States Agency in 1991. The total cost of the The tube is used to sand the canal and it to the the wet season and a settling basin is used in the season when sediment loads

it is estimated that $80,000

the c o m . ) that

the system is now in line with estimates and the

of the of up to 90%. Wet season

incomes and helping the irri-

gation lesson is that with good field studies, an can be used to the system viable and sustainable.

Sustaining weed control - an example

aquatic plants in channels can have a significant on to be

within a planned nance if an acceptable level is to be

Aquatic can classified as (i) mechanical; (ii) chemi-

cal; (iii) biological and (iv)

At most mechanical and chemical methods in of

fiom to small flail the past slow and costs fuel, skilled

New developments in size, efficiency and clean disposal making these

side-mounted cutting buckets 60 kW machine can vegetation 2 of a 20 m channel in ing and skilled tion this can to 5 km. with can is a

of

in the US, six in

in potable use.

and pilot studies the the conditions the suc-

cessful and of (Ctenopharyngodon idella Val.) The is a long one and an initial capital investment

a station and skilled staff it is possible to at acceptable levels with a modest annual investment. the 185,000 ha

a in 1979 to



Cost effective and sustainable rnaintenat1ce:sorne ways to adapt and develop the technological approach 257

alien total of million had been spent to tional the tion ($350,000), staff out a full and

fish, to fì-om in the infestation

fi-om the length of actual infestation and all the that could be in- fested of 1100 km in 1988 to 40 km in 1992 at an

$380,000. (Costs include capital,

ance used to cost between $400,000 to $500,000 to the of the fish. Annual

the in the

in the fish of $4.86.

method is to of the Such methods can be classed as as the aim is to make the canal a less suitable habitat

like on the sections and can limit inci- dent light and so &

the management of the weed, cutting to the to

food all upon using knowledge of the biology of the plants to find ways of mini- mizing

& 1988) in the US,

one example the technique of annd costs by 30%.

No one method will be effective in and sustaining the in gation the application of new low cost and efficient machines in combination with

the of achieving sustain- this

existing in and tween disciplines.

-

is that the technical chal- lenges and

can lows: (i) the impacts of not ing adequate maintenance; and (ii) choosing maintenance methods and technologies that sustainable, technologically, financially and envi-

of of

maintenance in of an adequate level of

of the sys-

cessful maintenance methods and to adapt and de-

velopments in

to achieve

in missions indicate the

finding sustainable and solutions to the

sediment deposition and the functioning of open been

in to these many instances is a gap though

and the application of the knowledge to de-

that the needs could be met with on pilot studies and im-

dissemination of instance, the on the efficacy of maintenance techniques need testing and adapting in the the and successful adaptations need to be to a

the next few is likely to be an need human development based upon



25 8 Brabben

the net- of to the choice of techniques and

equipment. The need to

in is emphasized if tic to be made.

the same attention as the schemes, too often it is taken

is that available finance is

to This

nance is not to

to that maintenance must be-

tivities still in

to of

in

be beyond the capabilities of the

is that inadequate maintenance will continue. Gorriz et al on the in

the need to the sustainability of

that in Egypt still have to

communication systems,

to weed, silt

als and”,guidelines highlight some of the possibili- ties for the

planning an of these manuals will depend

on the capacity of institutions to adapt them to local conditions and on the policy, financial, technical,

the to tion

the need.

An education and at all levels of decision plan to give a lead with in 1995. The example of the

the et al, 1991), would

be an to follow in the the aim was to to-

so facilitate policy to and

education aimed at institutions and technical peo-

that policies have to put in place to elevate maintenance activities in in educa- tional

in aspects of

needed if existing ties to

to develop the in follow up is needed.

ties in the of

of such as

ties with

volvement that

pilot of

the in is that they allow

to at a pace acceptable to the

in the theme of nance technologies is to: (i) the development and application of good maintenance in



Cost effective and sustainable maintenance:some ways to adapt and develop the technological approach 259

and (ii) facilitate the

ment studies to and (iii) give a lead capacity building by the collation and dissemination of maintenance and

ments in

is (i) developing and applying good

and (iii) dissemination and capacity building.

to im- but so too is the availability of technologies

effective and sustainable systems. the long in the tions about maintenance has to be

and (1 993) the status of

tasks in This

to the value of maintenance is the

tion agencies and

Brabben, T.E. (1988). Canal maintenance in Summary the Commission of the

Brabben, T E. (1992). aquatic plant management in Aquat. 31: 214-217.

Carapetis, S et al. (1991). The road maintenance initiative: Building capacity for policy reform.

(1993). of the issues. the

Chancellor, F. (1991). A method for evaluating the economic benefit sediment control. Tech. Note 59,

F and Brabben, T E. (1991). Conflicts of in In Techniques for environmentally sound water resources development.

Gorriz. C Subramanian, A., and Simas, J. (1995). management in and seminar on participatory irrigation management.

(1988). in systems: economic Bulletin.24(3): 599-607.

(1988). before management: A new strategv for small scale irrigation tanks in Sri 88/2e.

Orstom, E. et al. (1993). policias in perspective.

Plusquellec, and Wickham, T. (1985). in Thailand and its general applicability. Technical 40. Washington

Skutsch, J C. scope technical and In 1993. Ltd,

Subramanian, A. (1995). - the case of Egypt. ODU Bulletin. 3 1:4-6,

F. F (1986). The management of calcareous by cutting in England. Symposium on Aquatic Weeds. 7:395-400.

F. (1988). The effects of autumnal weed cuts in a lowland on and flooding in the following Verhandlungen, Vereinigung f i r theoretische angewandte

23: 1273-1277.

pp. 137-154.



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