Water & Wastewater Treatment

In the know Technically speaking: Supply pipes L eakage levels, customer service and water quality all stand to benefit from a step change in how customer supply pipes are managed. The supply pipe is the part of water service pipe between the property boundary and the internal stop tap that connects a property to the water distribution main, and is not currently owned by the water company. Defra recently consulted on alternative options for future supply pipe management to ensure long- term good asset stewardship from source to tap and received over 60 responses, showing the importance of the issue to many stakeholders. The options include formal adoption and a voluntary code of practice. These options are similar in terms of operational practice whilst obviously being very different in ownership structure. A voluntary code of practice could allow water companies to effectively fully manage supply pipes, in terms of network and leakage strategy as well as customer engagement, without gaining ownership of the asset. Therefore the types of information and boundaries that they would need to set for such an approach would mirror those which would be needed should formal adoption go ahead. Focus on customer supply pipes Leakage levels, customer service and water quality all stand to benefit from a step change in how customer supply pipes are managed Business costs The water industry needs to prepare for the change by understanding the likely business costs and customer service implications from a change in management strategy. Technical and legal barriers remain for which solutions are required. For example, right of access under different ownership models, and effective management of very different configurations of supply pipes need to be understood to avoid undue cost burdens on consumers and additional operational risks for companies. Difficult cases that will be encountered include shared backyard services and those locations where a significant proportion of the supply pipe is located under the customer's property. Business risks The business risks associated with the change in management of supply pipes have a number of components which interact, as illustrated. Supply pipes impact on service performance in terms of the quantity (leakage, metering) and quality of the water delivered. Dealing directly with these assets to enable improvements to be made to service delivery presents a number of challenges. Minimising consumer exposure to lead from pipework in so… water areas, for example, would be further enhanced if all of the lead supply pipe were removed. However, if much of this pipework is beneath the property and hence difficult (expensive) to replace, the reduction in risk of water quality failure from elevated lead concentrations at the customer tap will be marginal if the company decides it is not cost-effective to replace the whole supply pipe. Less disruptive in-pipe lining systems are available, but for how long are the water quality and leakage benefits sustained? Customer co-operation must also be gained; a potentially difficult task if the only contact with the water company is when customers wish to complain or when they receive a water bill. Recent regulatory-driven moves to increase customer engagement can only help in this regard. CC Water comments, in its response to Defra's consultation, that it has concerns that the cost and customer service aspect of any transfer of water supply pipes to company ownership has not been given adequate consideration. Specifically it mentions the impact on bills, cross subsidy, and access rights as issues that need further consideration. This reflects the conclusion from Mark SMith Managing Director, Wrc pLc Mark kowalSki HeaD of asset ManageMent, Wrc pLc 36 | MaY 2014 | WWt | www.wwtonline.co.uk Leakage levels, customer service and water quality all stand to benefit from a step change in managing customer supply pipes www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | MAY 2014 | 37 the 2009 UKWIR study on the issues regarding the potential adoption of supply pipes: costs, customer service and regulatory impacts, which although providing an estimated cost of adoption of £4 per property per year stated: "improved data (including the lengths, age, and condition of water supply pipes) is essential so the water industry can formulate a robust view on water supply pipes. Even if adoption of water supply pipes does not take place in the near future, this information would be useful, especially in the management of leakage". That said, the water industry has not ignored their supply pipes; in recent years investigation into the economics of supply pipe repair and replacement policies have been carried out to identify how these could be better incorporated into leakage strategies, and there is a current study in the UKWIR programme being carried out by WRc on the economics of customer side leakage that builds on this original work. Further information is available from Mark Smith: mark.smith@ wrcplc.co.uk and Mark Kowalski: mark.kowalski@wrcplc.co.uk Portfolio project ● WRc is currently developing a collaborative Portfolio project to quantify the operational risk and business cost associated with each of the future management options in Defra's consultation ● Specifi cally the prevalence of diff erent supply pipe arrangements will be classifi ed and quantifi ed in an approach similar to that taken by the industry ahead of adoption of private sewers and lateral drains ● Estimates of the management costs of each arrangement will then be made, so that boundaries for supply pipe management can be recommended that represent the best balance between risk and cost ● Guidance will be developed for diff erent strategies that will meet the challenges of rights of access, customer liaison, leakage and water quality ● By the time this work reports, Defra will have proposed a defi nite approach and timeline for its selected option. Whichever option is chosen, with the right evidence in place, the industry will be well prepared for the outcome. A new era of integrated supply pipe management is on its way Customer views ● Companies have been testing their customers' views on adoption, for example in Severn Trent Water's Strategic Direction Statement, Focus on Water, in 2007 it is stated: "Our survey of willingness to pay shows signifi cant support for taking over supply pipes (£5.55 per domestic customer)… supply pipe adoption would also have benefi ts in terms of reducing leakage and reducing the number of customers with lead supply pipes". Other UKWIR research seeking customer views on supply pipe management is also underway ● What is clear is that the water industry currently has a window of opportunity to gather evidence and carefully consider in what circumstances alternative management strategies would be of benefi t both to the company and its customers ● A better evidence base would allow water companies to engage with regulators to ensure a smoother transition to a new management strategy with reduced business risks. One obstacle to this evidence gathering is the variation in approaches currently taken across the industry – from generous repair and replacement policies, to very limited approaches where repair is off ered only to vulnerable homes, or those in enhanced metering areas. Coupled with many diff erent approaches to the customer journey experienced when reporting a leak, the identifi cation of the best way forward is far from clear ● A further signifi cant complexity for supply pipe management lies with the pros and cons of metering at the property boundary. Currently a relatively low metering penetration and infrequent meter reads results in leaks going undetected for very long periods of time. A natural inclination is therefore to promote metering to allow faster detection – and hence fi xing – of supply pipe leaks. However, the disruption to the service pipe through the act of meter installation could result in an increase in the leak break out rate; the natural instinct of a company considering an integrated policy could therefore be to reduce joints in the pipework and, hence, reduce the number of boundary meters in place. "A voluntary code of practice could allow water companies to eff ectively fully manage supply pipes" Mark Smith and Mark Kowalski

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