Amount awarded: £1,332,205
Led by: Severn Trent Water Limited
Partners: Costain Group plc, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Focus Sensors, Northumbrian Water Limited, Hafren Dyfrdwy Cyfyngedig, South Staffordshire Water plc
By 2030 the water industry must reduce leakage by 1 billion litres/day to ensure future water supplies. This requires step change innovation that is more accurate and affordable than current leak detection tools. We can deliver this by using the fibre-optic cables already adjacent to water mains as leak sensors. We demonstrated this concept in the first catalyst funding round (Dark Fibre 1). This project, Dark Fibre 2, builds on this work to solve remaining challenges, prove at scale and build industry confidence. We will then bring this to market to enable deep reductions in leakage whilst keeping customers’ bills low.
“Dark Fibre sensing has the potential to provide a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective way to detect leaks. Without the support of the fund, we would not have been able to trial this at the scale and pace needed to develop this solution to address the changing facing the water industry.” – Keiron Maher, Innovation Architect, Severn Trent Water
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The Dark Fibre 2 project has installed five Indus units on fibre networks at two Severn Trent Water sites, two Welsh Water sites and one site in Northumbrian Water. Calibration and commissioning of the sites is ongoing, with the first operational and reporting leakage locations for investigation. As we move into the new year, the project aims to identify specific points of interest for our leakage teams to investigate. Each point will be assigned a confidence rating, and detailed information will be gathered from the leakage team to further refine the system’s accuracy. Additionally, we plan to create controlled leak scenarios to rigorously test the efficiency of our technology. This proactive approach will help ensure that our leak detection system is both reliable and effective in real-world conditions.
This is a continuation of the Innovation in Water Challenge winning initiative, Leak detection using dark fibre.
