PR1816

22nd January 2008

Detecting leaks in Wraysbury

As people in Wraysbury sleep, Three Valleys Water is listening for the tell-tale noises of hidden leaks on underground water pipes.

But water workers aren’t up all night; instead they have placed 190 specialist listening devices on the underground pipe network to monitor the noise level created by leaks.

Shaped like a round mobile phone with an aerial, the listening devices, known as Permalogs, monitor soundwaves during quiet times – mainly between 2am and 4am – when demand for water is lower and there is less traffic on the road.

Each Permalog sends a signal to a special computer on board a patrol van, which travels around the supply area gathering the soundwave recordings. These recordings help to pinpoint the location of potential leaks.

With over 14,500 kilometres of pipe network, this innovative and environmentally friendly technology enables Three Valleys Water to monitor large areas quickly, leading to faster and more effective repairs. By using Permalogs in busy areas, such as town centres, Three Valleys Water minimises disruption to the public by substantially eliminating the need to dig several exploration holes when searching for leaks. Improved leakage surveying also means that short interruptions to customers supply, which are sometimes necessary to pinpoint leaks, can be kept to a minimum.

Three Valleys Water moves Permalogs from area to area, giving priority to areas where water usage has suddenly and inexplicably increased, as well as to places where there are high numbers of known, reported leaks.

Permalogs don’t just help to detect leakage; they can also help to track down homes or businesses that are using large quantities of water. If no leak noises are detected, but water use is very high during the quiet periods, it means that someone somewhere is using a large quantity of water.

Customers using a sprinkler, hosepipe or any other garden watering apparatus, unless held in the hand at all times, or those with a swimming pool or pond with a capacity greater than 10,000 litres, must have a meter installed to ensure they pay for the water they use.

Three Valleys Water is committed to reducing leakage and in 2006 invested £19 million in finding and fixing leaks. By reducing leakage in 2006 we saved 4 million litres of water each day – that’s approximately 1.4 million tons of water a day – enough to fill the London Gherkin building 5 or 6 times a year.

Listening for leaks

Ends

For further information please contact Public Relations, tel: 01707 277110, fax: 01707 277213, website: www.3valleys.co.uk

Note to Editors:

About us
Three Valleys Water has been supplying water to the local community for more than 130 years and is committed to delivering a high quality water service to all its customers . It now provides over 870 million litres of water each day to three million customers, in parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and parts of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, and Enfield. The supply area covers a total of 3,700 square kilometres, stretching from Luton and Royston in the north to Guildford in the south, and from Berkhamsted in the west to Dunmow in the east.

Three Valleys Water is the UK’s largest water supply only company and is part of Veolia Water, the world leader in water and wastewater management. If you spot a leak call the Leakspotters hotline on 0800 376 5325 or use our online leakage form.