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Is Data The Best Weapon To Fight Water Wastage?

Leaking water pipe - Water leak survey - H2O Building Services

A broken pipe that leaks water in all directions.

 

Protecting global water resources is becoming increasingly important, with more and more pressure being put on supplies around the world because of climate change and population growth.

 

The UK’s Environment Agency recently warned that the country could run out of water in just 25 years if action isn’t taken now to make sure that supplies are safeguarded and that the amount of water wasted isn’t reduced.

 

So what can be done to ensure that life-giving water supplies are protected in the UK and elsewhere around the world? Writing for Utility Week, Rik Gunderson – UK utility director with Software AG – explained that data could provide us with the answers that we’ve been looking for.

 

For example, collecting information from devices connected to the Internet of Things could help utilities save water, enabling more effective leak detection, incident management and maintenance.

 

Water management solutions can be used to help prioritise water leak detection and repair, thanks to the adoption of monitors and sensors that will allow data to be analysed in real time. Suppliers and customers can be alerted to the severity of any leaks detected, as well as the environmental impact through geofencing and geospatial referencing.

 

Resources can also be managed more effectively, with data analysis allowing water suppliers to send the right teams out into the field to carry out the most relevant tasks as quickly as possible.

 

“Water shortages impact every aspect of life; it is fundamental to not only human life, but also to the transportation and manufacturing processes that define our modern economies.

 

“Health, commerce, the economy, education all rely on a clean and available water supply. Leaks, pollution, drought are the enemies of water. Over 2 billion people live without safe water at home,” Mr Gunderson went on to say.

 

Businesses concerned about their water wastage might find it useful to have a leak detection survey carried out across their site to see if they do have any issues in this regard.

 

It can be very difficult to know if you do have a leak since the majority of them are either so small that you don’t notice them or they’re hidden away below ground, where you have no chance of discovering them until you see a spike in your water bills or notice water damage on site.

 

Unfortunately, it can prove quite expensive to resolve water leak-related issues if they’re not detected quickly enough. If you do spot them immediately, the resulting damage is likely to be minimal so you can keep your repair bill under control. But if the leak is left trickling for a significant amount of time, serious structural damage can be caused – which will likely see you hit with a big repair bill to sort out.

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