Ineffectual and wasteful investment in the water sector causes an adverse effect on the grades of the infrastructure report card for water infrastructures. Moreover, this may lead to a negative impact on water-reliant sectors and water-related infrastructures due to the economic ripple effect. In order to measure the benefit and cost of a strategy of maximizing the efficiency of limited budgets and resources, this presentation will explore how to conduct a benefit-cost analysis due to the investment costs for rehabilitating and improving water infrastructures using economic and financial data. The major objective of this presentation is to understand how to conduct a benefit-cost assessment in terms of private, financial, economic, and efficiency using nominal and real terms for maximizing the benefit of investing water sector and for reducing the vulnerability of water infrastructures. The long-term financial framework, including the deep uncertainties for decision-makers to understand the benefit of investing assets for an optimal level versus the cost of doing nothing allowing the asset to run to failure, will be developed using the cost-benefit assessment. Minimizing risks of ineffectual and wasteful water sector investment through rehabilitating and improving water infrastructures in a rational manner will lead to improving grades of the infrastructure report card and the resiliency of interrelated infrastructures and sectors.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Discuss the novel methodology for efficiency-based long-term investment planning in water infrastructures 

2. Discuss the effect of uncertainties in the water capital investment strategies for water infrastructures 

3. Review measuring the benefit and cost of a strategy of maximizing the efficiency of limited budgets and resources  

4. Establish a long-term financial framework based on cost-benefit analysis and priorities

Speakers:  Tom Iseley, Professor of Engineering Practice at Purdue University; Kevin (KwangHyuk) Im, Architectural Engineer at Purdue University