Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | XXXX 20XX | 15 a given reduction in leakage will increase, making leakage reduction more labour intensive and costly." Q. How are you tackling the challenge? ML: "We are working in full compliance with the new reporting guidelines, but using a number of techniques to tackle leakage. These include optimising pres- sures in the network, using advanced data analytics to improve the detection of leaks and improve the efficiency of the workforce. Also, we are investing in tech- nology like noise loggers, smart meters and satellite detection, while the subject of leakage has been a focus of all three of our Innovation Festivals." PT: "We're investing in innovating, training and developing people, and in technology and systems, to both monitor and forecast leakage levels. We're build- ing framework agreements to meet the demands of the above with our service partners. AI and data analytics play a cru- cial part in forecasting leakage, weather patterns and the general state of our net- work. We use all elements of the supply chain to deliver efficient working methods and we're using acoustic logging practices • MANAGING THE NETWORK Pauline Walsh, chief executive of Affinity Water, on why tackling leakage is one of the water industry's biggest challenges. Earlier this year, Sir James Bevan delivered a stark warning that if something isn't done, there is a risk that parts of the UK will run out of water in the next 25-years. For many people outside the water sector this came as a surprise and was heard with some disbelief. But we know it is true. Climate change combined with a grow- ing population means the strain on our water supplies is growing year on year. Water companies have a duty to ensure future generations continue to enjoy the high quality and reliable water supply that we provide today. A future with insufficient resources to meet demand is a scary prospect and one that we cannot allow to happen. Significant action is required now to rise to our challenges. As a water sector we need to get better at what we do; learning, collab- orating and sharing with each other and we need to do different things; thinking creatively and innovatively to come up with different solutions to our problems. Earlier this year, the sector announced its Public Interest Commitments, which set out the sector's intention to work together towards five challenging environ- mental and social goals. On leakage, our goal is to triple the rate of reduction by 2030 – an unprecedented rate of improvement. Along with Peter Simpson at Anglian and Bob Taylor at Portsmouth Water, I am sponsoring the Public Interest Commitment's leakage goal. Reducing leakage ensures more water is available for distribution to our cus- tomers, less water is abstracted from the environment, we lower production and energy costs and reduce our impact on the environment. At our recent newly-expanded Leakage Steering Group meeting, we agreed that one of our first tasks is to gain an understanding of what practices, tools and technologies are currently in operation across all water companies to successfully reduce leakage, particularly from those water companies that are performing well with their leakage targets. We will then create a maturity model to provide visibil- ity of those activities, which will enable us to build a roadmap to bring everyone to those higher levels of performance. In parallel, we are working with UKWIR to identify innovation projects across the sector - so we are not reinventing wheels and so we can see opportunities for collaboration on projects to expedite learning or to provide scale for better results. The challenge for many is now locating and repairing the smaller, harder to find leaks. Across the sector, we're using big data and predictive modelling, which allows us to manage our network proactively, not reactively and to quickly spot when leaks develop. Applying innovative repair techniques means we can increasingly fix leaks without disrupting people's lives by digging up the roads. There is huge conviction and passion in the industry to ensure we meet our 2030 leakage reduction commitment. Cutting leakage is key to ensuring we con- tinue to meet the high expectations rightly expected of us as an industry – serving our customers and taking care of the environment now and in the future. How we step up to address these significant challenges is going to be one of the defining issues of our industry. www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2020 | 15 LEAKS AND BURSTS