Around three billion litres of water are lost through leaks across hundreds of thousands of miles of water pipe in England and Wales daily, says water industry economic regulator Ofwat. Engineers have now developed miniature robots to patrol the pipe network, check for faults and prevent leaks. They say maintaining the network will be "impossible" without robotics. Water industry body Water UK told BBC News that companies were already "investing billions" in leakage.
But a recent Ofwat report pointed to a lack of investment by water companies. It named several that it said were "letting down customers and the environment" by not spending enough on improvements. Water UK responded saying that leakage was at "its lowest level since privatisation".
Leaks are a widespread and complicated problem: Across the UK, hundreds of thousands of kilometres of pipe - of varying age and in varying condition - supply millions of properties with water.
Colin Day from Essex and Suffolk Water said: "In [this region] alone, we look after more than 8,500km (5,282 miles) of pipe and only about half the leaks in those pipes are visible, which means it's complicated to pinpoint where [the rest] are."
Wasted water has been a particularly sensitive issue this year. According to Water UK, three companies - South East Water, South West Water, and Yorkshire Water - still have localised hosepipe bans in place following the summer drought. And, amid the cost of living crisis, Ofwat estimates 20% of customers in England and Wales struggle to pay their water bill. In the last year, though, according to Ofwat, companies have reduced leakage by an average of about 6%.
The industry has committed to a government target of halving the amount of water lost by 2050. Water UK accepted that progress needed to "accelerate". "We're adopting the latest technology, including special in-pipe cameras; satellite imaging; thermal drone technology, high-tech probes, and artificial intelligence," it told BBC News. READ MORE...
