Digital Integration for Condition Assessment for Water Tunnels in Hong Kong

Unbeknown to many, the supply of fresh water in Hong Kong is dependent on water conveyance through almost 200 km of water tunnels in conjunction with other waterworks installations managed and maintained by the Water Supplies Department (WSD). A significant number of these tunnels were constructed during the 1960’s and 1980’s, with over 50% now being more than 50 years in age and some even dating back to the late-1800’s. Given the age and strategic importance of the tunnels, periodic condition and maintenance assessment works are required to enhance the asset management performance continuously so that water supply service of the highest quality is provided to the public. In the last complete round of asset-wide condition assessment for the tunnels, the development and use of digital inspection and data management tools were in the early stages and not ready for digital asset management. To address this and provide an integrated, structured and more usable dataset for asset management and future assessment works, a variety of digital approaches and tools have been explored, developed and implemented during the on-going round of condition assessment works. These have included the use of a central dashboard-based system for data management and access, together with trials of tools such as mobile apps, 360 imagery, laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry to aid with data collection, management and reporting for the tunnel inspection works. An outline of the findings from the trial of these approaches is provided herein, together with recommendations on the preferred solution for digital asset inspection and management as well as possible future developments that could be integrated to these.