Water distribution networks (WDNs) are undoubtedly a critical part of water utility assets, as they are responsible for water transmission (Atef et al., 2016;Berardi et al., 2014). It has been reported that, on average, 80% of water utility expenditures are spent on the management of WDNs (Poulakis et al., 2003). However, available evidence shows that the failure of WDNs is increasing at a fast rate, which negatively impacts individuals' social, economic, and health status (Steffelbauer et al., 2022;Yazdani & Jeffrey, 2012).In the USA and Canada, around 700 water pipes fail daily, thereby contributing to the loss of over 2 trillion gallons of clean water annually (Fan et al., 2022). In 2017, more than 2.2 billion m 3 of water was loss in China (Liao et al., 2021). The enormous financial commitment associated with the failure of water distribution networks cannot be overemphasized. According to the American Water Work Association (AWWA), the USA needs to invest around $1 trillion in replacing and repairing the deteriorating components of their WDNs (Fan et al., 2022). In Australia, the estimated cost of repairing and maintaining WDNs is about AUD 1.4 billion (Weeraddana et al., 2020). In South Korea, 52.5% of the water pipes will require rehabilitation by 2024, as indicated in a study by Seo et al. (2015). In the case of Colombia, a developing country, approximately 50% of water is lost due to water pipe failures (Giraldo-González & Rodríguez, 2020). From the aforementioned, the failure of WDNs, which mostly consist of water pipes, is a global issue that requires utmost attention. WDNs are founded underground; therefore, these infrastructures need to be designed to resist traffic, soil, internal, and overburden pressures, and other environment and operation related loads (Berardi et al., 2008). In essence, the reliability of WDNs must not be compromised during their service life; hence, catastrophic failure