Anglian Water has become one of the first water companies to trial thermal imaging drones to detect leaking water pipes.
The new technology has already been used to successfully identify leaks in the rural villages of Southery and Wissington, Norfolk, and the company plans to trial the new technology more over the coming months.
With nearly 24,000 miles of water pipe to keep an eye on, much of it in rural and remote areas, Anglian Water is hoping the aerial technology will help reduce the cost and time taken to find a leak and pinpoint its location more precisely by spotting changes in soil temperature near the water pipes.
Emma Staples from Anglian Water said:
“The drones are just the latest weapon in our £60 million war on leakage.”
“We’re testing other high-tech tools and have put more boots on the ground. Our 300-strong leakage team now includes new detection teams tasked with uncovering hard-to-find leaks, who have been given specialist training on how to use the new drone technology.”
“We’ve also invested millions to better manage the water pressure in our network of pipes, dramatically reducing the number of bursts.”
Anglian Water’s focus and innovative approach has made it an industry leader. Last year the company’s leakage level was its lowest-ever – and the lowest in the country, at less than half the national average.
The drones have already saved the utility time and money finding and fixing hard-to-spot leaks. It will now continue to trial them over the coming months, focussing on leaks in and around Newmarket where Anglian Water’s innovation hub, the Shop Window, is based.
The drones will also help Anglian Water minimise disruption for customers, by covering large distances in a short space of time. The sensor and camera on the drone can identify differences in soil temperature which could be caused by water escaping from the pipe. The differences are then investigated further by a leakage technician on-site, rather than needing to be analysed back in the office.
All of this means the job can be carried out quicker and more precisely – meaning less digging, less money, less water lost and less disruption to customers.
Emma Staples added:
“Leading on leakage reduction is what our customers told us they wanted. It’s the right thing to do for them and the environment. It also helps to increase of region’s resilience to drought.”
Thames Water has also been using drones equipped with a thermal camera for leak detection – the company has carried out several successful trials and is continuing to look for new innovative ways to use drones to enhance operations and reduce the health and safety risks (over water and confined spaces) of personnel.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
bNovate has launched BactoCloud, a secure cloud-based platform that connects and manages its BactoSense instruments, enabling real-time monitoring and optimization of microbial water quality.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.