Clean Water Networks

Spades in the ground mark start of UK’s biggest water infrastructure project for generations

Anglian Water begins multi-million pound investment into hundreds of kilometers of interconnecting pipelines to prevent water scarcity ‘jaws of death’

Longer than HS2, the project will address the 30 million litre a day water shortage facing the East of England Drinking water to be moved in stages from ‘wetter’ north to ‘drier’ south and east of the region Latest ‘digital twin’ technology used to cut carbon, minimise environmental impact and build the water network of the future

Anglian Water is breaking ground on the largest drinking water grid project the UK has seen for a generation. The first pipes of the new network are being laid in Lincolnshire, kicking off a project that will ultimately connect the county with the rest of the Anglian Water region, protecting the driest part of the country from running out of water.

It will be the inaugural scheme for Anglian Water’s Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA), which will in total create up to 500km of interconnecting pipelines, making it longer than HS2. This long-term project will be crucial in addressing the predicted future imbalance where demand for water greatly outstrips the available resources in the east of England. This is the most fundamental challenge Anglian Water faces in its region, due to the combined impact of a rapidly growing population, climate change and being located in the most water-scarce part of the UK. The mammoth project is part of Anglian’s Water Resources Management Plan, which looks 25 years ahead to make the East resilient to drought. Without taking this action, the East of England would face a water deficit of 30 million litres a day by 2025. That’s a shortfall of 4,380 Olympic swimming pools of water, every year This first section of water main will run for 24km between Lincoln and Ancaster. It will eventually connect with future pipelines to bring water from the north of Lincoln to communities around Grantham.

Ultimately, these new strategic water mains will take water to the south and east of the region, where it is less readily available. The new pipeline will also strengthen local resilience by reducing the number of homes and businesses which rely on a single water source. CEO for Anglian Water, Peter Simpson said: “Two years ago, Sir James Bevan, Chair of the Environment Agency, spoke of the ‘jaws of death’ for water supply - the point at which, unless we took action to change things, there would not be enough water available to meet our needs in 25 years. “The reality is even more stark in the East of England. We operate in the driest part of the country, and receive a third less rainfall than anywhere else in the UK, but are also one of the fastest growing regions, with 175,000 new homes to be built in the next five years. Without action we will face a water deficit of millions of litres a day within the next five years – let alone 25 years. “Our SPA programme is a major part of how we will address this problem, and will ensure we can keep taps running for our customers, and as importantly, without having a detrimental impact on the environment. Water transfer is not new, but something of this scale hasn’t been attempted for generations in the UK. “But this is just one part of the answer to the significant challenges we face - we’re also committed to driving down leakage to world-leading low-levels, and managing the demand for water through installing 1.1 million smart meters by 2025, so our customers can understand their usage better, and work with us to decrease their consumption.”

Cutting-edge technology that won’t cost the earth

As a business with environmental and social purpose at its core, Anglian applies green thinking to every aspect of its capital programme. SPA will make use of the latest technology, some never used before in the UK, each one designed to reduce the carbon footprint and any environmental impact associated with the scheme delivery:

Digital Twin technology: the whole scheme is supported by cutting-edge digital infrastructure - a digital twin - which will mirror the physical infrastructure in a virtual world. This will provide the company with real-time data, helping monitor the network and driving insights that will improve the service for customers.

Virtually waterless pipe testing: engineers will be using equipment and a process never before used in the UK, which allows pipes to be laid to a food grade standard of hygiene and disinfected using a vastly reduced amount of water then in traditional mains laying, further saving this precious resource.

The pipe plough: described as “cleaner, greener and safer,” this specialist equipment will be used on sections of the scheme. It uses a blade to cut through the earth creating a precise trench and immediately lays the pipe within it, so there is no need for digging or re-filling. As part of the water company’s commitment to reach net zero carbon by 2030 Anglian has already reduced the embodied carbon of its infrastructure projects by 61% since 2010. Peter added: “Our commitment to protecting the environment is as vital as securing customer supplies. SPA will help meet our targets to reduce the amount of water we take from the environment by 84 million litres a day, but our infrastructure needs to be sustainable too.

“Climate change isn’t just a risk in terms of the challenges it poses us, it is also an opportunity to challenge established practice and to do things differently and more efficiently, for wider gain. This scheme is an excellent example how we’re doing both for the longterm benefit of our region.”

We operate in the driest part of the country, and receive a third less rainfall than anywhere else in the UK, but are also one of the fastest growing regions, with 175,000 new homes to be built in the next five years. Without action we will face a water deficit of millions of litres a day within the next five years – let alone 25 years.

Peter Simpson, CEO for Anglian Water

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Large diameter distribution input, trunk main & reservoir metering

England and Wales water companies wishing to meet their PR19 Outcome Delivery Incentives during AMP7, need on average to reduce Leakage by 16% and Supply Interruptions by 41% no later than 2025.

In previous AMP periods water companies have often focused on smaller diameter District Metered Area (DMA) pipelines for leak detection and fixes. However, leaks from the larger distribution trunk main pipelines that principally supply water abstracted from the environment, have the potential for far more significant individual leaks. However, you can’t effectively manage Leakage if you’re reliant on outdated or unproven network flow models rather than real-time dynamic data from in-situ flow meters. And more often than not, there’s no existing flow measurement where you need it. Potable drinking water extracted from rivers, aquifer bore holes, reservoirs, etc is generally delivered via large diameter pipes carrying the Distribution Input (DI) raw water to the treatment plant where the water is treated and disinfected. The water is then pumped to the local distribution system through a network of large diameter trunk mains before splitting into smaller diameter DMA pipes. Conventionally, large diameter trunk main pipes equated to very expensive inline flow measuring systems comprising large diameter electro-magnetic flowmeters, bypass lengths of pipeline, expensive large bore isolation valves and substantial civil costs to create underground chambers of sufficient size to house everything. Such projects can rapidly escalate to hundreds of thousands of pounds. Fortunately , there is a cost-effective alternative.

Not only are FLEXIM FLUXUS WD Series clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters significantly lower cost than large diameter inline meters, but they can also be retrofitted during normal operation, without any supply interruption, nor the substantial additional cost of civil engineering work and pipework modification. Water companies utilising reservoir water sources are frequently incapable of shutting off supply to the network to enable replacement work to take place for failed inline meters. In these circumstances the retrofit of a FLEXIM WD meter is a truly easy retrofit. Transducers sized appropriate to the pipe type and condition, are securely fixed to the pipe with 316ss fittings; so secure you can stand on them without decoupling transducers from the pipe. IP68 transducers are also available for reservoir pipes in flooded chambers.

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4-channel meter in reflect-installation mode, producing 8-paths averaging the flow profile for optimum measurement uncertainty

Extensive large diameter trunk main networks can be responsible for potentially catastrophic leakage events. Network modelling can assist, but nothing is better than real-time dynamic metering at point of flow. FLEXIM Fluxus WD Series meters are installed on significant water aqueduct pipelines supplying raw water to treatment works at some of the UK’s most important cities. Once fitted, with no measuring parts within the flow stream, the meters are virtually maintenance-free and can simply be checked via verification software at prescribed intervals. For one major UK water operator, Distribution Input (DI) flow within 2 pipes, 1.8m and 1.5m diameter was of such critical importance to a significant conurbation, it was decided that the improved uncertainty of 4-channel metering per pipe was warranted for peace-of-mind and optimum leakage detection. For further information on how FLEXIM can deliver highly accurate metering at optimum cost and without any supply interruption contact: sales@flexim.co.uk | 01606 781 420 | www.flexim.co.uk

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Typical Reservoir Inlet / Outlet clamp-on metering

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IP68 transducers installed on reservoir pipes subject to full submersion within chambers 42” and 60” large diameter trunk main metering within an aqueduct pipeline

4-channel meters installed on 1.5 and 1.8m diameter pipes

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Freeze-thaw report shows that water industry has learned the lessons from the winter of 2018

UK water companies have learned from the winter of 2018 and successfully managed a more challenging freeze-thaw at the start of 2021 with little-to-no customer impact, according to a new report ‘Freeze-Thaw 2020-21’.

The report by industry body Water UK finds that collaboration between water companies, regulators, government and consumer groups, has resulted in the industry going into the 2021 freeze-thaw period in a stronger position to manage an unprecedented winter with minimal customer impact. Freeze-thaw, a phenomenon which results in water pipes bursting as periods of cold weather are followed by a warming, occurs every winter. In 2018, freeze-thaw was particularly disruptive and prompted the industry to work collectively to ensure that lessons were learned.

Despite the freeze-thaw 2021 bringing burstrates that were 25% higher than in 2018, the improvements by water companies resulted in significantly enhanced resilience and good customer outcomes with learnings from 2018 being adopted across the industry, including:

Improved warning systems – Freeze-thaw is now an indicator built into companies’ models for supply/demand impacts

Clear escalation processes and procedures within companies – Executive-level awareness and involvement in incidents now begins early with the establishment of the industry’s national incident response group Reprioritising staff deployment – When trigger points are hit, companies respond by redeploying staff to focus on operational priorities in order to ensure better customer outcomes

Customer communications – All water companies now run customer-facing campaigns via multiple platforms to communicate the impact of frozen or burst pipes and what preventative measures can be taken

The preparedness of the industry was made even more imperative given the challenges faced by companies managing the risks posed by COVID-19 and the end of the EU transition period. As changes in climate increase the risks of extreme weather variability during the winter, it’s clear that there will need to be further collaboration between the industry, government and the regulators to reduce burst rates and ensure continuity of service for customers.

Commenting on the report, Charlotte Owen Policy Manager at Water UK said: “The last year has presented water companies with a number of unique challenges including COVID-19 and the end of the EU transition period. This winter saw some sustained periods of freezing temperatures which also brought with it significant challenges. “Fortunately, thanks to the robust procedures put in place as a result of our learnings from 2018, the preparedness of water companies meant that the impact on customers was significantly reduced. It’s vital that the industry continues to build on these learnings and that’s why the upcoming Leakage Routemap will be crucial to furthering our understanding of freeze-thaw and its impact on our systems.” You can access the full report here: Freezethaw 2020/21: Recommendations from an unprecedented winter