Rising sewer mains leak detection: discussing next steps with United Utilities
Serving North West England, United Utilities is one of the largest clean water and wastewater service providers in the UK.
United Utilities recently met with Atmos International (Atmos) colleagues at our UK headquarters to discuss the future of our already successful partnership. Here’s how their visit went.
A deep dive into Atmos’ journey on the United Utilities Innovation Lab 5 program
Atmos’ partnership with United Utilities began during the fifth Innovation Lab, an idea development program headed up by United Utilities in partnership with L Marks.
In an application process that saw pitches from over 130 suppliers, Atmos was selected as one of six partners.
Atmos’ proposed innovation for the program was a multimethod approach to provide both pre and post-pipeline failure analytics within rising sewer mains, which have a high burst rate frequency. The concept included upgrading Atmos Aquarius to enable single-ended leak detection and also the creation of a new pipeline inspection tool.
During their visit to Atmos’ headquarters, Atmos demonstrated the progress made through Innovation Lab and discussed next steps with United Utilities around development and implementation.
What the future looks like for wastewater innovation
During Atmos’ participation in the fifth United Utilities’ Innovation Lab, the unique insight gained into the company’s wastewater operations led to the development of Atmos Sentinel models as a direct outcome of the innovation project.
Atmos Sentinel models provide crucial diagnostics for rising sewer mains in a potentially cost-effective way. United Utilities expressed an interest in Atmos’ innovative hardware that supports leak detection across the whole network and a range of asset scenarios.
Atmos Sentinel models provide a leak and rupture detection solution to address the water network’s weak point by:
- Detecting both pipeline leaks and bursts in rising mains
- Monitoring pressure transients in the pipeline
- Connecting easily to existing flanges at the pipeline’s pump location
- Using cellular and radio link communication*
- Processing data internally within the device using Edge processing
- Deploying single ended leak detection on low complexity pipeline sections (instead of the more traditional double ended leak detection solution typically used in the oil and gas industry)
Following United Utilities’ visit, Atmos’ Business Development Director for water Martin Duff said: “The Innovation Lab offers great exposure to United Utilities’ operations and challenges, and I am pleased that both Atmos and United Utilities have put so much effort into the process.
We’re delighted that United Utilities wishes to continue working collaboratively with Atmos and we look forward to helping them realize their goals as we head into the next regulatory period.”
United Utilities Innovation Programme Manager John Browne said: “It has been a pleasure partnering with such a skilled development team.
From the first day of the Lab5 Accelerator program, they demonstrated their technical prowess, agile problem-solving skills and open collaboration. We look forward to the potential future cooperation to support our infrastructure challenges.”
About United Utilities
United Utilities provides water and wastewater services for 7 million people in Northwest England. Between 2020 and 2025 it will invest £5.9bn running and upgrading services to customers, with more than 5,000 employees and another 17,500 jobs supported through its supply chain.
United Utilities’ headquarters are in Warrington. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 100 Index.