Swapping lessons across oceans on seismic resiliency

Earthquakes pose a massive challenge for utilities near or along fault lines: How do you create an underground system of stable pipes that can also absorb the intense duration of a seismic event?

American Water Works Association leaders traveled to Taiwan last month to discuss just that. The Water System Seismic Conference is hosted by the Chinese Taipei Water Works Association (CTWWA), the Japan Water Works Association (JWWA), and the Water Research Foundation (WRF).

Nineteen members from AWWA — specifically, from the California-Nevada, Pacific Northwest, and Hawaii sections — contributed technical perspectives from U.S. utilities. Presentations covered a slippage-based seismic design approach for ductile iron pipe under extreme ground motions, experimental assessment of hazard-resilient pipeline systems, and structural health monitoring of pipelines using distributed strain and temperature sensing.

“I was honored and pleased to be part of the delegation representing the U.S. at the seismic conference,” said Mike Britch, engineering and construction manager at Tualatin Valley Water District in Oregon, which is in the process of building a $1.6 million seismically resilient water supply system. “The conference provided a great opportunity to hear ideas from engineering and academic communities from across the world related to improving the seismic resilience of water systems.”

AWWA members also visited the ITRI Innovative Water Technology R&D Center, which employs new technologies for wastewater recovery and desalination, and the Taoyuan North District Reclaimed Water Plant, which supplies 18,000 tons of recycled water daily; it is the first of three for the region.

At the two-day conference, experts from Japan, Taiwan, the United States, Türkiye and Canada shared new research on seismic design, pipeline performance, and recovery planning, drawing on lessons from recent major earthquakes in the Asia-Pacific region like the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

“This conference further solidified the cooperation among the United States, Japan and Taiwan as we work together to enhance the seismic safety and resilience of water supply systems across our regions,” said CTWWA Chairman Jia-Rung Lee.

This was the 13th edition of the conference and AWWA’s first participation. With 124 participants and featured 43 presentations from five countries, it was the largest convening in its history.

“We are genuinely excited to be part of it,” AWWA President Heather Collins said in her opening remarks. “Seismic resilience and water reuse are critical to the future of water systems everywhere, and we see tremendous potential for lasting cooperation.”