Putting Pipelines On The Map: How Location Data Strengthens Modern Asset Management Programs

By Brianne Nakamura, Global Product Manager, Xylem

Modern utility management relies heavily on advanced analytics and predictive modeling, yet these tools are only as accurate as the underlying spatial data. Decades of unrecorded infrastructure changes, congested underground rights-of-way, and an aging workforce nearing retirement leave many organizations relying on incomplete or outdated pipeline records.

Without precise location and elevation data, utilities face significant operational risks, including costly project delays, inaccurate risk modeling, and dangerous third-party utility strikes during excavation. Integrating three-dimensional spatial coordinates with asset condition assessments allows engineers to pinpoint leaks or structural defects, optimize capital planning, and implement minimally invasive, trenchless repairs.

Establishing exact asset locations safeguards critical subsurface infrastructure, improves hydraulic model reliability, and protects communities from service disruptions. Explore how combining spatial mapping with condition data transforms pipeline asset management.