Leakage Management: A missed opportunity?

Leakage has been a key metric measured by water companies for decades and has become engrained in the industry. It represents a huge admission of failure that our industry continues to accept leakage on key infrastructure assets in both waste and potable networks, instead of realising that this is a fundamental failure their customer service and a waste of our most precious resource.

Is there any other industry that would invest in transforming a raw resource into a valuable commodity, only to waste volumes by failing to deliver to the customers it was produced for, and who paid for its production?  Then, to add insult to injury, the same customers are charged to collect effluent, only for their local environments to then be polluted through failings in transfer networks.

Following years of the water industry accepting leakage as an operational inconvenience best addressed through reactive repairs, there is now an established culture of tolerance that has spawned terminology such as the ‘Economic Level of Leakage’, as well as a myriad of repair technologies, from clamps to platelets. The fact that Ofwat sets leakage targets is evidence of settling for lower standards and never has the term ‘fail to prepare or prepare to fail’ been more relevant.

With networks under growing stress because of age related deterioration, population growth and climate change, now is the time to adopt a proactive approach that consigns leakage to history, in much the same way as Water Quality was addressed in the Section 19 Programme of the 1990’s.

Whilst considerable advances have been made in leak detection, data logging and condition monitoring of networks, the fundamental approach of ‘find and fix’ remains unchanged. Instead of future proofing assets to prevent leakage, companies continue to play ‘chase the leak’ on pipelines, demanding multiple interventions and causing disruption for customers. 

Such an approach had been taken on a wastewater asset in Matlock, Derbyshire, until an alternative, sustainable solution that extended asset life by 50 years and eliminated the risk of leaks and future pollution incidents was adopted.

Severn Trent Water had experienced frequent bursts on a 10’ Cast Rising Main running along Matlock High Street with at least 10 repair interventions over a two-year period. A programme of ‘patching’ was attempted to resolve the issue, involving a number of excavations and traffic management that caused delays for customers. Subsequent CCTV surveys showed that the pipe had been subjected to internal erosion and that a groove had been worn along the base of the pipe providing a continuous weakness. Severn Trent turned to Sanivar’s innovative pull through liner, SaniTube®, to refurbish 750 metres of main, repairing existing leaks and mitigating against future internal erosion. SaniTube® was chosen thanks to its:

• Ease of installation, requiring minimum excavations
• No curing time, minimising customer disruption
• Pressure tolerance of 34 bar
• Ability to navigate 45 degree bends present on main
• 50 year warranty providing extension of asset life

The liner was installed by Colus, a specialist lining contractor, in three 250m sections running from the top of the High Street through to a discharge chamber in the park adjacent to the river at a rate of 6m per minute. 

Having proved this concept of refurbishing to future proof assets against leakage, Severn Trent has now adopted SaniTube® as a BAU solution for rising main failures and other water companies including Yorkshire, South West and Anglian are also using SaniTube® on wastewater networks. Furthermore, there is an appetite to use this technology on potable networks and, subject to final leachate testing, Sanivar expects to achieve Reg 31 approval within the next three months.

One of the barriers to wider adoption of Sanivar’s solutions is the relative cost of lining, versus a dig down repair. There is no doubt that on a like for like analysis the latter is the cheapest option. However, this is a short-term view and ignores the wider benefits of refurbishing and protecting a length of pipeline rather than repairing a small section. What is also often overlooked is the cost of accessing underground assets both in terms of excavations and temporary service provision. Excavations are disruptive and carry inherent HSE risks, not to mention increased carbon emissions. A liner can be installed over a 200m section of pipe with the same excavation footprint that it would take to install two isolated repair clamps. Meanwhile, tankering costs to maintain serviceability can typically exceed £5,000 per day and would apply equally for a single repair or wider refurbishment.

Totex was supposed to extend analysis to ‘whole life costing’ and benefit analysis, yet many asset owners continue to look at short term Opex costs in favour of a holistic intervention that delivers wider benefits.

It is clear that the water industry’s culture of tolerance will stand as a barrier to its own progression, as they favour traditional, temporary fixes over new, alternative techniques that offer a log-term, cost effective solution to the problem of leakage.

SaniTube® and other lining technologies can repair and mitigate against future asset failures and need to be widely considered as viable alternatives for future proofing networks, mitigating leakage and improving customer service – all key priorities for water companies whose responsibility will only increase with depleting resources. 

Find out more about SaniTube® here, or speak to one of our team today.