Water demand in the UK will exceed supply in just 25 years, the head of
the Environment Agency has warned – with part of the blame falling on
leaking pipework. What can be done to avert this?
We will not have enough
water to supply
our needs in 20 to
25 years from now,
unless we take urgent
action to change things, according
to Sir James Bevan, chief executive
of the Environment Agency, who
has singled out climate change and
population growth as the two major
contributing factors. “And that, ladies and
gentlemen, is the jaws of death,” he told
those present at the 2019 Waterwise
Conference (www.is.gd/evafi g).
Whatever the reality of that
deliberately attention-grabbing,
cataclysmic statement, the solutions
needed to remedy the situation are
complex, diverse and far from instant.
Yet there is something that can be done
right now to preserve this most precious
resource – namely to tackle the huge
quantity of leakages that continue to
plague our pressurised water networks.
Take the length of water pipes (mains)
owned by water companies in the UK,
for example. This stretches to a massive
345,034km – equivalent to a distance of
8.5 times around the equator
(www.is.gd/tehuya). It will come as no
surprise that some of the water passing
through this pressurised network leaks
out. The daily loss is calculated to be
around 3,170 million litres, which equates
to 1,268 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Reasons why this happens can vary:
from ground movement,
especially in weather
extremes when the ground
expands and contracts
around pipes, to natural wear
and tear, especially in older
pipes; from soil corrosion
that can literally eat away
at some pipe materials,
to vibration
damage
from heavy
tra c. The
stresses
and strains
result
in holes,
cracks or weak seals in the pipework
that lead to a constant battle to detect
and mend the leak sites – a battle that
admittedly can never be entirely won, but
where every victory is critical.
And the primary weapon when it
comes to determining if an object,
product or system functions within a
speci ed leak limit – whether that be for
water companies or industry at large – is
widely hailed as non-destructive testing
(NDT). Its unique selling point? Using a
host of testing and analysis techniques
to evaluate the properties of a material,
component, structure or system for
characteristic di erences, or welding
defects and discontinuities, without
causing damage to the original part.
“Of all the problems facing water
companies, leaks remain high up on the
league table of headaches,” says Alan
Hunt, ABB product manager UK & Ireland
– electromagnetic ow (pictured, right).
“Despite high rainfall in the UK, we have
no cause for complacency about our use
of water. Much of the water distributed to
consumers, a staggering 3.2 million cubic
metres of water a day, escapes through
leaks. These enormous water losses
must be replaced, treated and pumped
again to maintain supplies to customers.
This, in turn, uses more energy and
resources, cutting the sustainability of
water operations and leading to higher
operating costs.”
TEST & MEASUREMENT – LEAK TESTING
jOawuts o of f‘t dheea th’
By Brian Wall
66 www.operationsengineer.org.uk Autumn 2020
/evafi
/tehuya)
/www.operationsengineer.org.uk