Utility Week

Operations & Assets UTILITY WEEK | 24TH - 30TH NOVEMBER 2017 | 15 the "signature" of drinking water escaping into the ground. Severn Trent says the trials have identified "many points of interest", which teams are then following up with on-site investigations. Southern Water: Target 100 Southern Water has introduced an "ambi- tious" project called "Target 100", which aims to help customers reduce daily water usage to 100 litres per person by 2040, from a current average of 130 litres. It recognises water companies play a crucial role in protecting, maintaining and improving the environment, but stresses cli- mate change and an increasing population also contribute to greater pressures on vital water and wastewater services. Chief executive Ian McAulay says: "South- ern Water has already made great progress in helping our customers reduce the amount of water they use, which means we take less water from the environment. "We've done this through an industry-first universal metering programme, which has led to a 10 per cent fall in consumption. As a result, our customers are among the most water efficient in the country, but there's always more to do." To achieve its Target 100, the company is working closely with planning authorities and housebuilders, embedding water sus- tainability into new homes and retrofitting properties with water-efficient products as well as working on behaviour change aware- ness campaigns across the region. "Of course, we need to make sure water services are resilient, which is why we've commissioned a report that takes a detailed look at the future of water in the South East," McAulay adds. Welsh Water: reducing discolouration Last year, Welsh Water spent more than £7 million on innovation projects to improve services and lower customers' bills. The company is addressing problems that cause concern and upset for customers, such as discolouration of water and blockages. To better understand why discoloura- tion happens and to help reduce the risk of future occurrences, Welsh Water is involved with PODDS, an ongoing project with the University of Sheffield. The Prediction and Management of Discolouration in Distribu- tion Systems (PODDS) model, developed by the university, proposed a new concept for understanding discolouration in potable water networks. The project has investigated how increas- ing flows in the pipes in managed incre- ments reduces the risk of discolouration. By slowly elevating the flow, accumulated material would be removed gradually, reduc- ing discolouration risk in an unplanned flow event. This effectively "conditions" the main, creating a self-cleansing pipe. The study investigated the turbidity response follow- ing elevations in flow from multiple field sites. Through real-time data, Welsh Water can see exactly what's happening, when it happens on site, allowing the company to be more proactive to prevent discolouration for customers. Welsh Water is using the learnings from the PODDS trial in its £130 million Zonal Studies programme, which targets discol- ouration in affected communities. By high- lighting sections of mains that require flow conditioning, it can manage the condition of the main in the long term. Wessex Water: The Optimiser Wessex Water says a good example of an innovation it is utilising to increase resil- ience is "The Optimiser" – digital technology that manages the flow of water through the company's new regional supply grid. Centrally controlling and monitoring the transfer of water along a new 74km trunk main, it is an automatic, real-time, closed- loop optimisation system, which Wessex Water claims is a first in the UK. The water supply grid is the largest scheme ever undertaken by Wessex Water. It provides important infrastructure for the South West region with resilience connec- tions to Bournemouth Water, Bristol Water and South West Water via Wimbleball reservoir. The £228 million programme of works has spanned two AMP periods between 2010 and 2017 and comprises more than 50 individual projects. The grid will meet the demand for water over the next 25 years while reducing water abstractions in areas of low river flows. Yorkshire Water: landscape project Yorkshire Water is introducing a series of measures to help reduce the risk of flooding in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. The first of up to 200,000 trees were planted towards the end of October as part of the pilot landscape project, in a bid to slow the flow of flood water in the Calder Valley. The company will also be working on leaky dams and the restoration of 43 hectares of blanket bog to the moorland to reduce the risk of flooding in places such as Todmor- den, Mythmolroyd and Hebden Bridge. Alongside this landscape project, York- shire Water will trial a change in how some of the reservoirs above Hebden Bridge are managed this winter. This will involve reduc- ing reservoir levels to allow for flood storage to determine whether a longer-term change to reservoir operation is possible. Above Todmorden, the landscape around Gorpley reservoir will be transformed with a natural flood management plan that will involve 7,500 trees and 3,500 hedge plants being planted this month with the help of local organisation Treesponsibility. Yorkshire Water's natural flood management project is being undertaken where the steep banks of the Calder Valley pose a flood risk to Hebden Bridge, Mythmolroyd and Todmorden

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