Researchers find new estimation method beefs up leakage strategies

Water industry researchers have trialled a novel method for leakage measurement based on smart meter data, concluding that it “reduces uncertainties” compared with the current approach and “can help water companies strengthen leakage reduction strategies and achieve the strict goals of leakage reduction.”

UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) compared leakage estimates derived from the most commonly used minimum night flow (MNF) measurements in 30 district metered areas (DMAs) with those calculated from a dataset drawn from some 25,000 individual smart meters using a hybrid method.

According to UKWIR, the new leakage estimation method — the Wallingford Hybrid Method (WHM) — is “a much more practical solution when compared to a full mass balance (smart metering data alone) approach.” It described the method as “a modified version of the MNF.”

UKWIR said the new method can be applicable even with smart meter coverage as low as 10%. “This provides an interesting alternative strategy for water companies when starting to roll out smart meters, favouring initial low coverages to reach more DMAs rather than focusing on achieving high coverage in just a few DMAs.”

In the report, the researchers said WHM can be fully automated and can provide a daily analysis of leakage status to support water companies in tackling new leaks appearing in their systems.

However, the researcher also warned that WHM “relies on assumptions that cannot always be 100% accurate,” so it is suggested as an “operational improvement that can support water companies in taking functional decisions more effectively when trying to detect and locate leaks in their systems”. 

UKWIR added: “At this stage of information, it [WHM] is not intended as a method for calculating the absolute level of leakage in DMAs, but as an indicator of how these systems are evolving in time to understand if the level of leakage is reducing or increasing.”