Water and Wastewater companies operating all around the world have faced rising asset management and replacement costs, often to levels that are financially unsustainable. Management of investment needs, while meeting regulatory and other goals, has required:

• A better understanding of what customers demand from the services they pay for, and the extent to which they are willing to pay for improvements or be compensated for a reduction in performance;
• Development of models to predict asset failure and to identify and concentrate investment on critical assets;
• Improved management systems;
• Improved accounting for costs and benefits and their incorporation within an appropriate cost-benefit framework;
• Incorporation of risk management techniques;
• Utilisation of advanced maintenance techniques including new rehabilitation failure detection technologies;
• Enhancements in pipeline materials, technologies and laying techniques.

LESAM 2007 will provide an opportunity to discuss developments at the leading-edge in these and other fields to an audience of utility operators and managers, regulators and consultants. It will be focused on the techniques,
technologies and management approaches aiming at optimising the investment in infrastructure while achieving demanded customer service standards.

Subject and topics

The subject of LESAM 2007 is Strategic Asset Management of Water and Wastewater Infrastructure. The topics within this subject are:

• Global approaches to asset management;
• Target definition and assessment of performance;
• Cost and benefit valuation;
• Target definition and assessment of risks;
• Asset data and information systems;
• Engineering developments;
• Institutional and organisational aspects;
• Financial management;
• Social and economical dimensions.

Language

The working language of the conference is English.