Yorkshire invests in smart network to tackle leakage

To reduce leakage Yorkshire Water will install 650 smart water devices to monitor and analyse pressure changes across the network.

The devices will help identify and resolve causes of pressure fluctuations that can cause stresses to the network and lead to leaks or supply interruption.

Yorkshire was tasked by Ofwat to reduce leakage by 15 per cent in the PR19 final determination – down from a 25 per cent target at the draft determination stage.

The regulator made leakage a priority for all water companies in the business plans and leak detection technology looks set to play a more significant role than ever before to meet targets.

Working with Inflowmatix, the project is part of Yorkshire’s wider investment into smart networks. This includes spending £50 million on leakage reduction across the network including £4 million to replace customer pipes and installation of around 40,000 acoustic loggers. Yorkshire is also investing in satellite technology to identify leaks from space.

The InflowSense devices capture high frequency pressure data and perform edge analytics coupled with device management, data and insight visualisation.

Sam Bright, innovation programme manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Reducing leakage is a key priority for us at Yorkshire Water and we are excited by the potential of the InflowSense devices and the benefits they will bring to the network and our customers.”

By Ruth Williams