Most of Phoenix’s nearly 1.7 million residents may not give much thought to the more than 600 miles of large-diameter water transmission mains buried beneath their feet. They simply expect water to flow when they turn on the tap.

That’s exactly the point, and that trusted reliability is the ultimate compliment to the water utility.

But behind that everyday reliability lies a decades-long effort by the growing desert city and Black & Veatch to understand, maintain and continuously improve a critical component of Phoenix’s water infrastructure: transmission mains. While these large-diameter pipelines represent only a portion of the city’s overall water distribution network, they are among its most consequential assets in helping deliver a dependable water supply to customers.

That collaboration is entering a new chapter. After years of helping Phoenix assess and manage different portions of its water conveyance system, Black & Veatch has secured a new program unifying assessment initiatives under a single strategy meant to give the city a more comprehensive view of risk, condition and investment priorities across its transmission infrastructure.

The pipes that keep Phoenix running

Think of water main maintenance like that for cars: A pipeline may have an expected design life, but condition, operating environment and upkeep help determine how long it actually lasts. While water systems often receive attention when a main breaks or service is disrupted, the city and Black & Veatch are focused on understanding the condition of critical assets before they fail.

Phoenix’s transmission mains are the large-diameter pipelines that move water between treatment plants and storage facilities and throughout the system to serve customers. Because these pipelines play such an important role in the city’s water distribution system, failures can have significant consequences for customers and communities.

More than 20 years ago, Phoenix began investing in understanding its buried transmission infrastructure, long before today’s conversations about aging infrastructure, drought, water security and resilience became commonplace.

Along the way, Black & Veatch has helped the city prioritize which assets should be inspected, assessed, rehabilitated or replaced. The work includes condition assessments, risk analysis, capital planning and recommendations for long-term infrastructure investment.

Rather than replacing every pipeline based solely on age, the city looks to make data-driven decisions that extend asset life where appropriate while directing investments to the infrastructure most in need of attention.

From inspections to predictive asset management

Historically, Phoenix managed separate efforts focused on different sizes and materials of transmission mains. Black & Veatch helped the city bring those initiatives together into a unified framework that assesses risk across the system, enabling resources to be directed where they can have the most impact.

The shift reflects the evolution of infrastructure management itself.

Black & Veatch helps Phoenix evaluate and deploy advanced pipeline inspection technologies and water asset management solutions, including tools that can assess pipeline conditions while assets remain in service. Black & Veatch also works with industry organizations and technology developers to assess emerging approaches to condition assessment.

Where data, innovation meet decision-making

Using information collected across more than two decades of assessments, Black & Veatch is refining machine-learning models designed to better understand how different pipe materials age and deteriorate over time. This modeling is intended to support evaluation of deterioration trends and help inform decisions about inspection schedules, rehabilitation efforts and capital spending.

The approach helps move utilities beyond fixed inspection cycles toward a more predictive model of asset management.

Rather than treating each pipeline the same, the city can better identify which assets require immediate attention and which may continue operating reliably for years to come. Funding then can be directed toward higher-priority risks while avoiding unnecessary spending.

A blueprint for aging systems

Across the United States, utilities face mounting challenges tied to aging water infrastructure, asset lifecycle management and the need for greater water system resilience. Much of the nation’s buried water infrastructure was installed decades ago and is approaching or surpassing its intended design life.

Phoenix exemplifies a different approach, recognizing that infrastructure stewardship is an ongoing responsibility. By investing consistently in condition assessment, rehabilitation planning and long-term asset management, the city has developed a deeper understanding of its system and positioned itself to make more-informed infrastructure decisions. That has helped reduce risk and improve the city’s ability to prioritize spending before small problems become larger failures.

For Black & Veatch, the program showcases how utilities can move beyond reactive maintenance and embrace a more resilient future through data-driven asset management, water infrastructure resilience, and long-term infrastructure stewardship.

Each inspection, assessment and data-driven decision supports the same goal: ensuring that when residents turn on the tap, water is there when they need it.