What type of maintenance can prevent infrastructure failures in water distribution systems?

Routine preventive maintenance is crucial in ensuring the longevity and reliability of water distribution systems. This approach involves regularly scheduled inspections, servicing, and repairs conducted on system components such as pipes, pumps, valves, and meters. By addressing potential issues before they escalate into significant problems, routine preventive maintenance minimizes the risk of infrastructure failures.

Through practices such as cleaning, lubrication, and parts replacement, preventive maintenance helps identify wear and tear, ensuring that systems operate efficiently and reducing the likelihood of sudden breakdowns. This proactive strategy extends the life of equipment, enhances system performance, and ultimately leads to a more reliable water supply for consumers.

Other options, while they may include necessary actions, do not encompass the proactive and systematic approach required to maintain and enhance the reliability of a water distribution system effectively. Reactive maintenance implies responses to failures after they occur, emergency repairs are typically a stopgap measure following a breakdown, and irregular inspections lack the consistent oversight necessary to prevent issues from developing. Thus, only routine preventive maintenance addresses the root causes of failures and establishes a comprehensive maintenance strategy.