How can digital analytics support the water industry by detecting and predicting leaks?

Currently, the estimated daily personal water consumption rate in the UK is on average 142 l/day (as per 2020) equating to an estimated total usage of 14 billion l/day. By mid-2041, it is estimated that the UK population will rise to over 72 million people, increasing this demand further. It is expected that the estimated population increase is likely to occur in areas of the country where water scarcity is likely to already be an issue i.e. the South East. This coupled with climate change is going to have a significant impact on the volume of useable freshwater available, and by 2025 it has been estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages.

Action is required now to reduce demand, increase supply and apply the principles of a circular economy to meet future freshwater requirements. There will be enough water to meet the world’s growing needs, but only by dramatically changing the way water is used, managed, and shared. In recent years the UK Water Industry have made great strides in leakage reduction, however with the Ofwat requirements for a 16 % reduction in leakage by 2025 much more work is still required. Therefore, in order to be able to reduce leakage levels to those required by the water regulator it will be important to use new technologies in leakage reduction.

To help support the water industry meet this goal, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory are taking digital analytical technologies that have been developed for the oil and gas industry and apply these to the water industry. In the last few years, the availability of inexpensive computing power and measurement databases has enabled the development of powerful data analysis techniques that allow metering networks to be monitored daily. Such techniques can give operators details about meter performance and leakage and are much more effective than the traditional water balance calculation over the distribution network.

This webinar presented by Dr Carl Wordsworth will introduce a range of techniques will be discussed and provide an explanation of how they could be used for leak detection and prediction within the water industry.