The Pipe Nobody Has Seen
03 · UNCOVER — Finding, inspecting and managing the water, sewer and stormwater assets underground. Most of a city's infrastructure value sits where no one can see it. Water mains, sewer lines, culverts and stormwater systems are often decades old, poorly mapped and inspected only when something fails. Lead service line inventories, stormwater permit requirements and aging sewers are forcing departments to find out what they actually own. CCTV and robotic pipe inspection, acoustic leak detection, sensors, GIS records and condition data are helping utilities locate, assess and prioritize buried assets before they become emergencies. Each event becomes an Asset Mapping Intelligence Report — a permanent, searchable record of the session: the full write-up, the archived video, every audience question and answer, a practical field guide, a glossary, direct speaker contacts, and supporting material from the technology partners who took part.
Key Takeaways
- How agencies are building a reliable inventory of assets they cannot see.
- Where CCTV, robotics, acoustic detection and sensors each fit in a buried-asset program.
- How regulatory drivers are reshaping inspection and reporting requirements.
- How underground condition data supports renewal and capital prioritization.
Why Attend?
Buried infrastructure is the least understood and most consequential part of the system. Regulation is now forcing the question of what a city actually owns underground — and this session covers how to answer it with evidence.
Who Should Attend
- Water and Wastewater Directors
- Stormwater Managers
- Utility Superintendents
- Public Works Directors
- City and County Engineers
- Asset Managers
- GIS Leaders
- Compliance and Regulatory staff
- Capital Planning and Finance teams
Agenda
- 01 The Infrastructure You Cannot See — why buried assets are the least understood part of the system
- 02 What Do We Actually Own? — GIS records, as-builts, field verification and lead service line inventories
- 03 Looking Inside the Pipe — CCTV, robotic crawlers, sonar and condition coding
- 04 Finding Leaks and Losses — acoustic detection, pressure monitoring, sensors and non-revenue water
- 05 Stormwater and Culverts — permit-driven inventory, inspection and condition reporting
- 06 From Condition to Priority — turning buried-asset data into renewal and capital decisions
- 07 Panel Discussion + Audience Q&A
