Managing Water Crossings From an Operator’s Perspective

Effectively managing watercourse crossings is critical for pipeline operators since a failure in a watercourse can not only cause significant environmental damage, but it can also affect the safety of the public and damage public perception. This paper describes the steps that two liquids operating pipeline companies, Spectra Energy Liquids and Kinder Morgan Canada, take in the management of their watercourse crossing programs. It describes four main phases of the program including taking inventory of the water crossings, completing a hazard assessment of the water crossings to determine which hazards could pose a threat to the pipeline integrity if the crossings were to become exposed, completing engineering assessments to determine the actual risk of failure from static or dynamic loading or vortex shedding if the pipe were to become exposed, and finally prioritizing the mitigation of water crossings. This paper also describes steps to be taken to ensure the integrity of the pipeline during flood events.