From Renewal Needs to Deliverable Programs: Improving Water Main Replacement in the United States
The crisis of deteriorating water and wastewater infrastructure is no longer an isolated problem occurring in isolated locations. In its State of the Water Industry Report, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) cited rehabilitating and replacing water infrastructure as the main challenge facing the water sector. The estimated total required for the drinking water systems by 2050 will be between $2.1 trillion and $2.4 trillion, and according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2025 Report, over 450,000 miles (20% of total) of water mains have reached the end of their service life and will need to be replaced.
Behind the staggering figures found in industry reports lies a pressing practical question: how can the need to replace hundreds of thousands of miles of pipeline be translated into construction programs that are completed on schedule and within available resource limits? Identifying sections of the network that require replacement is only the starting point. The actual program must account for the real world of water distribution operation, urban constraints on construction, the capacity of contractors to perform the work, and the throughput of individual work stages. Transforming strategic goals of water infrastructure renewal into operational programs that deliver timely replacement of water distribution networks is a complex task.
Similarly, huge needs for renewal of utility networks, hundreds of thousands of kilometers in length, exist in many countries. In the article below, we will consider some aspects of solving this problem in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Experience with large-scale group water supply projects in Kazakhstan demonstrates that the systematic approach developed by Ivan Lazarev yields measurable results.
International practice demonstrates that large-scale infrastructure renewal programs can be delivered more effectively when supported by proven project management approaches and methodologies developed through practical experience. One such example is the work of international expert Mr.
Lazarev, who has applied his own methodological developments to infrastructure projects in different countries. Drawing on this experience, he shares practical insights into how complex water infrastructure programs can be structured, managed, and delivered more efficiently.
Ivan Lazarev is a construction industry executive and specialist with extensive practical experience in the implementation of water pipeline rehabilitation and modernization programs. His professional expertise has also received academic recognition, with one of his research projects taking first place in an international research competition.
Mr. Lazarev specializes in open-cut construction projects for municipal water utilities, state-owned enterprises, and concessionaires. Practical experience handling annual volumes of approximately 25,000–40,000 linear meters, while navigating two different regulatory frameworks, formed the basis of the production methodology he developed; elements of this approach are now applied in water network reconstruction programs across EAEU countries.
The methodology encompasses the entire production cycle following a project’s inclusion in the reconstruction program. Each section is evaluated against specific criteria. Next, the interaction between individual operations is analyzed to identify bottlenecks in the production flow, pinpointing the specific stage of the process that dictates the actual pace of work.
Annual program planning plays a pivotal role. Projects are allocated to specific permitting and scheduling windows, production packages are defined, and calculations are made regarding the number of available productive shifts and the required pace of work. Consequently, even at the planning stage, the contractor receives an estimate of whether their existing resources can handle the program’s projected volume and meet its deadlines. Actual data from completed projects are used to establish the contractor’s own production standards and improve the accuracy of future planning.
Experience with large-scale group water supply projects in Kazakhstan demonstrates that the systematic approach developed by Ivan Lazarev yields measurable results. In certain projects, access to centralized drinking water supplies rose from 54.8% to 82%; furthermore, network modernization led to a significant drop in failure rates and a roughly 30% reduction in emergency repair costs. Ivan Lazarev’s practical experience in managing linear infrastructure projects focuses on enhancing the feasibility of reconstruction programs and optimizing the use of production resources.
This experience is of practical interest to the US, where open-cut excavation remains a primary method for water main replacement. A study titled *Water Main Break Rates in the USA and Canada* revealed that 93% of surveyed utilities use the open-cut method, with 98% planning to continue doing so. Given the scale of network renewal currently reported by the AWWA and ASCE, tools that allow for the advance calculation of productivity, resource requirements, and the feasibility of multi-year programs are both relevant and essential for American utilities and contractors.
The scale of the upcoming renewal of US water networks demands not only investment but also effective tools for organizing the work itself. It is in this context that Ivan Lazarev’s experience and methodological developments offer practical value to utilities and contractors engaged in multi-year open-cut water main renewal programs.
