Earlier in the year, as reported in The Guardian, water firms came under criticism from Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) after it was found that water lost to leakages had increased for the second consecutive year. Nine companies failed to meet their targets on cutting leakage in the year to April and CCWater found that leakages had increased by 1.5% on the previous year.
Despite the increase, this is still progress. 1994-95 saw peak leakage and the latest results show that leakage has dropped by a third since then. Water companies have ambitious targets to continue this progress going forward.
Leakage is described by Ofwat as ‘treated water lost from the distribution system’ and includes water lost from companies’ distribution networks and supply pipe losses from consumers’ pipes.
As long as the cost of fixing the leak does not outweigh the cost of the environmental damage and the cost of developing new water resources to compensate for the water lost (this is called the sustainable economic level of leakage) then it is down to water companies to fix leaks outs ide of properties.
With increasing pressure on consumers and businesses alike to reduce water wastage, especially in light of the near-hosepipe ban from the summer, it is time for water companies to look for ways to solve leakage problems now more than ever.
One of kinex’s water wholesalers, United Utilities, has taken innovative measures to tackle the leakage problem – Denzel the sniffer dog.
The water company told BBC Radio 5 Live about Denzel the three-year old springer spaniel who traces leaks in its pipes. Through detecting chlorine in soil, Denzel is able to highlight ‘areas of interest’ where potential leaks might be. United Utilities then use this information from someone with their nose quite literally to the ground to investigate further. Watch Denzel at work here:
With the cold weather fast-approaching (/already here) there are measures that can be taken to protect your pipes and prevent further leakage – take a look at our blog to find out more.
If you’re a kinex customer and think there is a water leak surrounding your property, please visit our water help page.
Are you looking for a new supplier for your business water? kinex offers the same water at a better price – talk to us today on 0161 871 1097 to find out how much you could save.
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