Pipebots for Rising Mains – Technology Development Phase 2 

 Pipebots for Rising Mains – Technology Development Phase 2

Amount awarded: £1,656,229

Led by: Thames Water

Partners: Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Synthotech Ltd, Thames Water, University of Sheffield, Wessex Water 

Further details on Pipebots for Rising Mains are available on the Thames Water website.

Pipebots for Rising Mains Phase 2 builds on work successfully completed through previous rounds of the Water Breakthrough Challenge. The project will develop technology for condition assessment inspections in live sewer rising mains to enable rehabilitation works to be planned and prioritised, reducing the risk of failure leading to pollution.

“Reducing pollution from Rising Main Bursts is a priority. This exciting development in robotics and new sensor technology brings us closer to being proactive, preventing pollution, flooding and customer disruption.” – Nevil Muncaster, Engineering & Asset Director, Thames Water

This initiative builds on the Breakthrough 2 project, Pipebots for Rising Mains.

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Update from the project (April 2025)

The Pipebots for Rising Mains Technology Development Project Phase 2 is progressing to plan. A workshop meeting held at Synthotech’s headquarters in October enabled all the project partners to meet to discuss the needs and challenges of a rising main inspection system. From the meeting, baseline technical requirements of the survey tool were established. In November, Synthotech circulated detailed questionnaires to the project partners. Feedback captured information on rising main operational practices, asset data and storage. This led to the submission of the Optimisation Report in December. This output defined the preferred pipe access requirements, survey technique, key sub systems for development and testing. Work is currently continuing to plan and build the test rig, sensor testing and prototype systems for trial. The next scheduled output is the Integrated System Design Document, due at the end of April. Later in the project, on completion of thorough rig testing, trials within live rising mains will be undertaken. The capability to inspect the internal condition of live rising mains and measure deterioration will enable asset planners to target pipe replacement, to ultimately reduce incidents of failure and pollution. 

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Resources:

For more information on Pipebots for Rising Mains, take a look at the following resources:

• See the Thames Water website for the most up-to-date information and resources on the project
• This project was featured in the Rethinking wastewater systems Learning Report