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How Digital Mapping Can Support Water Management
There are many issues affecting the UK’s water network, issues that are putting increasing amounts of pressure on resources and driving up the water stress and scarcity risk around the country.
Pollution, naturally, is one of the biggest concerns and it is vital that this is addressed from a water quality perspective, but another pressing matter is the pipework itself, much of which is now starting to crumble, having been built by the Victorians.
Our ageing pipework means that leaks are more likely to happen, with years of underinvestment only exacerbating the situation.
Another issue that needs to be considered is the fact that there are lengths of pipework that are currently unknown to water companies, with more than 155,000 miles of sewer invisible that are inevitably challenging to maintain.
Writing for Water Magazine, Peter Henley – principal consultant with water industry consultancy WRc – explained that because these pipes are unmapped, it’s harder for blockage reports to be responded to and it’s harder to implement preventative measures to drive down pollution and sewer collapse cases.
At the moment, when a blockage report comes in relating to a section of the sewer that is unmapped, the water company in question will need to send out an investigatory team.
At this point, the sewer is then mapped and incorporated into official records, a reactive strategy that will see coverage of the unmapped network completed in 80 years if the current rate is maintained.
However, it’s essential that mapping takes place more quickly than this, given estimates indicating that between 60 and 70 per cent of reported pollution incidents are down to blockages along the network, blockages usually found close to the property side.
Furthermore, with climate change putting evermore pressure on the water network, 80 years is simply too long to resolve the situation.
How can digital mapping help?
As with most things in the digital age, part of the answer lies in technology, with work underway to see how manhole cover locations can be used to develop a more in-depth picture of the network beneath gardens and roads.
Aerial photography and drones can be used to produce high-resolution images of a large area of ground, identifying manhole covers and working out sewer routes, routes that can then be overlaid on street maps to build up a more concrete picture of hidden pipe networks.
A pilot programme has been carried out by WRc for Thames Water, with various areas of known pipework studied in this way, demonstrating an 80-90 per cent success rate for inferred sewers.
Scaling this up, however, is challenging, but Mr Henley suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) could have the answers, noting: “[We} exploring how to train an AI solution to create the inferred networks according to the defined property age and type and then fitting this configured network to the identified drainage features such as manholes and soil vent pipes.
“This approach would use that same knowledge to automate the digitisation process, enabling the mapping operation to become much less intensive.”
What can businesses do?
While digital mapping is sure to help reduce pressure on the network, businesses can also do their part to build resilience into the system by having a water audit of their site carried out.
Identifying weak areas of pipe network can be difficult, but an audit will identify vulnerable parts of the system on your premises, comparing water use (including volumes) with what you’re being charged for.
If a spike in usage is seen, this could be an indication that there’s a leak somewhere on site, which can then be dealt with more immediately, preventing water wastage and saving you money.
Interestingly, you could see up to a 30 per cent reduction in charges for your water services once an audit has been conducted – and you may also be able to claim refunds for any instances where you’ve been overcharged.
In this instance, you could recoup anything between £500 and £500,000, so it’s certainly worth investigating from both an environmental and a financial perspective.
If you’d like to find out more about water audits and what the process involves, as well as the various benefits that could be reaped, get in touch with the H2o Building Services team today.