The Case
You are a new Junior Asset Manager for the City of Clearwater's Public Works Department. It’s been a challenging month. Last week, a 70-year-old cast iron water main under the city’s central business district failed spectacularly, flooding streets and cutting off service to hundreds of businesses for two days. The emergency repairs were costly, and the public outcry was loud. This wasn't an isolated incident; it was simply the most visible symptom of a system-wide problem: Clearwater’s water infrastructure is old, and it's failing.
The incident was the final straw for the City Council. At an emergency session, they mandated that the Public Works Department present a comprehensive, long-term Asset Management Plan (AMP) to prevent future crises and guide infrastructure investment for the next decade. Your boss, Director Maria Flores, sees this as a critical opportunity to move from a reactive, "fix-it-when-it-breaks" model to a proactive, strategic approach.
She has tasked you with a crucial first step: developing the high-level draft of this Asset Management Plan. You need to dig into the data, understand the true state of the system, and propose a defensible plan that balances urgent needs with the city's long-term strategic and financial realities. The council is watching, and the future reliability of Clearwater's water supply rests on the quality of your analysis and recommendations.
Resources and Evidence
You have been provided with the following documents and data to prepare your draft plan.
Key Document: Memo: Urgent Request for Asset Management Plan
Clearwater Water Main Inventory
| Asset ID | Material | Install Year | Diameter Inches | Length ft | Condition Rating | Break History |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CW-WM-10561 | Cast Iron | 1958 | 8 | 450 | 4 | 3 |
| CW-WM-10562 | Cast Iron | 1962 | 6 | 220 | 5 | 5 |
| CW-WM-12430 | Ductile Iron | 1975 | 12 | 800 | 3 | 1 |
| CW-WM-12899 | Cast Iron | 1965 | 8 | 510 | 4 | 2 |
| CW-WM-14001 | PVC | 1995 | 8 | 350 | 2 | 0 |
| CW-WM-15219 | Ductile Iron | 1988 | 16 | 1200 | 2 | 1 |
| CW-WM-15783 | Cast Iron | 1971 | 6 | 180 | 5 | 4 |
| CW-WM-16104 | PVC | 2012 | 12 | 650 | 1 | 0 |
| CW-WM-17332 | Cast Iron | 1952 | 12 | 950 | 5 | 6 |
| CW-WM-18544 | Ductile Iron | 1979 | 8 | 430 | 3 | 2 |
| CW-WM-19021 | PVC | 2005 | 6 | 300 | 2 | 0 |
| CW-WM-20488 | PVC | 2021 | 8 | 275 | 1 | 0 |
| CW-WM-21530 | Ductile Iron | 1999 | 12 | 720 | 2 | 0 |
| CW-WM-21998 | Cast Iron | 1968 | 8 | 600 | 4 | 3 |
| CW-WM-22401 | Ductile Iron | 2018 | 24 | 1500 | 1 | 0 |
| CW-WM-23056 | Cast Iron | 1974 | 10 | 380 | 3 | 2 |
Key Document: City of Clearwater: 5-Year Strategic Plan Highlights
📊 View Diagram: Clearwater Municipal Water Distribution Network (Simplified)
Your Task
As the Junior Asset Manager, your task is to prepare a professional report for the Director of Public Works that presents your draft Asset Management Plan. This report will be the primary document she uses to brief the City Manager and prepare for the council presentation, so it must be clear, evidence-based, and persuasive.
Your report must contain the following sections, which directly correspond to the evaluation criteria:
1. Asset Data Analysis: A summary of your findings from the clearwater-water-main-inventory dataset. Identify the highest-risk assets and quantify the current performance and service gaps.
2. 5-Year Asset Management Plan: A high-level plan outlining key programs and initiatives for the next five years. This should include a mix of proactive maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement projects, prioritized by risk.
3. Expenditure Justification: A high-level rationale for the investments your plan requires. Explain why proactive investment is more fiscally responsible than reactive repairs, referencing lifecycle cost principles.
4. Strategic Alignment: A clear explanation of how your proposed AMP directly supports the key pillars of the City of Clearwater: 5-Year Strategic Plan.
Submit Your Work
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Next Steps
Excellent work completing this comprehensive assessment. You have tackled a complex, real-world problem that sits at the heart of managing public infrastructure.
Please be sure to upload your final report to the submission area. Once you have submitted your work, you can navigate back to the course home to continue your learning journey.
