Asset management is not a new practice. Managing assets to meet organizational or social objectives has existed since humans first began building infrastructures, whether private or public. The effort and resources involved inevitably generated the need to preserve and maintain such infrastructures. In simple terms, assets are managed so long as the benefit of maintaining them is greater than the costs of doing so—and nowhere is asset management more important than in the water supply and wastewater services sector.

Constructing and operating water infrastructure is one of the oldest engineering activities of mankind, and certainly one of our greatest assets. Its earliest function was simply to transport water from one place to another. The construction of aqueducts began more than 3,000 years ago as early civilizations, such as those in Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt, recognized that society relies on a safe and sure water supply.

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