Challenges facing water networks around the world
As concerns grow over the condition of Papua New Guinea's ageing water infrastructure, experts from Monash Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are highlighting the broader challenges facing water networks around the world.
Responding to reports of strain on Port Moresby's water supply system, Professor Jayantha Kodikara and PhD candidate Thisara M Bandara Senarathna say ageing pipelines, deteriorating protective coatings and corrosive soil conditions are creating long-term infrastructure resilience challenges that extend well beyond PNG.
“What is unfolding in Port Moresby reflects a wider challenge with ageing pipelines, though the cause depends on the construction practices used at the time. Many older networks were not laid with engineered backfill,” Professor Kodikara said.
He explained “Soil density and moisture determine its corrosivity, and variations along the pipe promote the microcell formation that accelerates localised corrosion. Our ongoing research is engineering corrosion-resistant backfill incorporating recycled materials, with promising early results, offering a sustainable means of extending the life of ageing networks.”
Thisara said “Once protective coatings deteriorate, buried metal pipes become increasingly vulnerable to corrosion, particularly in aggressive soil environments.” He continued “Similar challenges exist in Australia and elsewhere, demonstrating that this is not simply a local maintenance issue but a broader infrastructure resilience challenge.
For rapidly growing cities and many Pacific nations, the key opportunity is to move beyond costly reactive repairs and adopt more sustainable, long-term approaches that consider how the surrounding soil environment influences pipeline performance and service life.”
Their research is helping develop more sustainable solutions to extend the lifespan of ageing buried infrastructure and improve the resilience of water networks for communities around the world.
Read a full article in The Indian Sun here.
Professor Kodikara is co-author of "Renewal Assessment of Deteriorated Pipelines" released in April 2026. Read more here.
