Thames Water is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of the United Kingdom. Thames Water is the UK’s largest water and wastewater services company, and supplies 2.6 gigalitres of drinking water per day, and treats 4.4 gigalitres of wastewater per day.
Their 15 million customers comprise 27% of the UK population!
Thames Water estimates by 2045 there will be a water shortfall of 360 million litres per day in London alone. One of the biggest problems faced by Thames Water is leakage, with 98% of this occurring underground and therefore harder to detect. As well as this, Thames Water need a way to effectively manage its water consumption across its sites in a streamlined and efficient way.
We have been able to help Thames Water tackle these issues in a number of ways. We have been able to supply Thames Water with Walk by/Drive by systems for the meter readings, and in more recent years have supported the trails and implementation of loT Low Powered Wide Area Networks (LPWAN)
We monitored 132 sites across London via a LPWAN fixed network and provided hourly consumption data on all meters logged. These sites included primary schools, retail establishments, government buildings, leisure faculties and prisons with a particular focus on areas with stretched water resources.
By using our technology Thames Water is provided with live consumption data which has helped them better understand their usage and efficiencies. Not only has our technology ensured Thames Water sites have the correct meter size and has up-to-date consumption patterns but we were also able to highlight and alert wastage and leakage issues within days of installation
38.5% of meters monitored were showing a high probability of leakage or unknown water use of 40+ litres per day. Our data was able to alert Thames Water to this an enabled them to focus on fixing leakage issues effectively.
Our longstanding relationship with Thames Water has not only helped to save them money but has aided them in becoming more sustainable in their effort to tackle water shortage.