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Water audit services identifies substantial water leak

Author: Graham Mann, Water Audit Expert.

Water audit services are in increasing demand as businesses look to cut operating costs, most companies have dealt with gas and power.  Water in the past was not a priority but is now receiving focused attention certainly in our experience, customers are quite surprised at the levels of water charges, so much so now in this day and age much more attention is given to driving down water costs.

Most if not all companies now pay for water and waste water services based on metered water volumes, for those of you that have never seen a water meter here is an example.

This particular water meter is designed to be fitted to a 50mm (2″) water supply pipe, the meter size is visible just below the dial (50) the directional arrow is the flow of water for the purposes of installation.

In this particular case study example a Holiday Park with 500 or so static pitches had a 50mm water meter fitted measuring all water used. The client was aware the water bills were high as matched against other similar size sites within the company, this site in the North East was the highest water consuming site within the group.

We completed a water audit and recommended installation of a water meter data logger, here is an example.

 This device plugs into the water meter dial and records water flow data and water volume and, then sends the data in a variety of ways such as GPS, GPRS, SMS, satellite or PSTN. We here at H²O use the mobile phone network, the water flow data is then downloaded onto our system and this produces a visual graph of water flow over time and water consumption, here is an example.

In this case we demonstrated to the client there was a water leak on site at 3.3 cubic metres per hour overnight, this is known in the industry as the nightline, between say 12 and 6am very little if any water is actually used. We calculated a £ 63,886 water loss somewhere on the holiday park.

We have clearly shown the client the monetary value of the water leaks and this is now the start point. We completed water leak detection and repairs and as you can see the water flow on the graph reduced saving a staggering £ 46,690 per year.

The water leaks were excavated and repaired as per the example below.

Water had leaked through a brass fitting that connected the isolation valve to the plastic water supply pipe creating a small hole, this will have been leaking for years.

Further leak detection is planned as there is still a calculated £ 20,000 worth of leakage to locate and repair.