Development of a system of indices for monitoring and assessing the sustainability of underground utilities

Abstract

The paper proposes a comprehensive system of indices to monitor and assess the operational sustainability of urban underground utility networks. Modern municipal engineering infrastructures face critical issues such as accelerating infrastructure aging, highly aggressive operating environments, and stringent financial constraints. To systematically address these challenges, this study identifies seven distinct categories of performance indices: availability, funding sources, effectiveness of rehabilitation work, accident mitigation, environmental safety, efficient use of funds, and efficiency of monitoring implementation. Each index is formalized mathematically to measure a specific operational or socio-economic dimension of utility networks. The developed methodology establishes strict regulation for calculating these indicators, determines their variations across stable intervals, and uncovers synergistic correlations between proactive organizational-technological monitoring and long-term network durability. The practical significance lies in providing municipal utility managers with a reliable decision-making framework to optimize capital investments, mitigate environmental hazards, and sustain public service provision stability.