Northumbrian Water, which supplies water to 2.7 million people in north-east England, is aiming for an 8% reduction in leakage in AMP8 - 2025-30 - with a long-term target of 55% by 2050.
The company’s revised draft Water Resources Management Plan 2024 said innovation is key to achieving its goals and pledges to use new technology to make its network smarter to identify leaks more quickly.
As a result, Northumbrian Water is undertaking a range of feasibility studies and trials ahead of AMP8, including one with Ovarro. The results will be used to inform future leak detection investment and strategy.
Andrew Blenkharn, Northumbrian Water’s technical policy manager, said: “The purpose of the Ovarro trial was to understand what our options are to deliver leakage reduction in AMP8 and to explore the feasibility of permanent logging. For us, the technology was quick to deploy and proven to work, delivering excellent results.
“I was particularly impressed that it found the big leak on the PVC main, which would not have been found otherwise. Leakage had been increasing for a while in this area and the leak had not been picked up by normal methods.
“Overall, we got down to the historic minimum level we were aiming for and had confidence that if any leaks did break-out in future, we would have been able to respond to them quickly, if the loggers were kept in.
“As leakage gets more difficult to drive down, permanent logging, particularly on plastic, becomes more of a viable option for the future. For Northumbrian Water, leakage will remain a big focus and this is just the start of our efforts to drive down levels in AMP8.”
Ovarro-Northumbrian leakage trial achieves nightline target
