Water Plus research finds loggers detecting leaks saved customers £1.6m

Data loggers which detected leaks saved large users £1.6m last year, according to data from Water Plus.

The country’s largest water retailer estimated that 650,000 cubic meters of water would have been lost, had discovered leaks been left to run for 12 months without repair. The £1.6m cost saving was calculated based on average wholesaler water and wastewater charges per cubic metre of water.

Water Plus shared some illustrations of how Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) data loggers, connected to water meters, had helped its customers identify leaks this year. It said:

• a major industrial water user identified four leaks on-site that were repaired within 48 hours;

• a national gym chain identified leaks at 14 sites in March. AMR data loggers measured the water loss as 13.35 cubic metres a day. If these were left without repair for a year, it would have cost around £350,000;

• a packaging company had two leaks on site and needed new pipe laid and the leaks, spotted by the data loggers, had affected a major access road to the site, which had started to sink, impacting operation; and

• one of the largest universities in the UK was able to identify leaks on two sites after 29 AMR data loggers were installed this year. Around 100 cubic metres of water a day was being lost.

Water Plus called on customers to track water use closely to avoid water wastage and to contribute to other sustainability aims. The retailer said it has installed more than 720 data loggers during 2019 to help organisations to track levels of water consumption.