Southern Water is celebrating a record-breaking year for leak-busting – thanks to new technology on the streets and in the control room.
The old way of finding a leaking water main was by pressing one end of a rod to the pipe and placing the other end against a worker’s ear to feel the unique vibration of a burst.
Now, 24,000 acoustic sensors are attached to the 15,500km of the water network and they send intelligence straight back to the control centre. Any problems are sent to 90 teams of leak busters who are on the ground across the region, ready to pinpoint those issues as quickly as possible.
This new way forward is proving a big success. Between April 2024 and April 2025, Southern Water reduced weekly leakage by more than 15%, from 108.1million litres per day to 91.1million litres per day – saving 17million litres every day, enough to serve 35,000 customers.
Overall, during those 12 months, the proactive work saved a total of 138.7million litres per day, which would otherwise have been lost through leaks. This compares to only 107.7million the previous year – a 28.8% boost.
Tim McMahon, Managing Director of Southern Water, says:
“There’s been incredibly work by our teams around the region – finding and fixing the leaks from big pipes far below the ground which show no trace on the street. Thanks to clever technology and new control systems, we are able to prevent pressure spikes which can burst water mains, and work as fast as possible to respond to every reported leak.”
In addition to the use of acoustic devices, which pick up the tell-tale hiss of a split in a pipe and the gurgle of a full break, Southern Water is also exploring other innovative technologies to help move forwards.
Around 160 employees are currently undertaking leak detection activities, either repairing leaks on the ground, or working in the control room on planning, reporting and performance improvement.
In total, teams repaired 20,820 leaks on the network last year, as well as 3,488 repairs to customers’ own pipes.
Interesting, I recently had a supply leak at a property we own. The gentleman from said water authority came and said he would show me where the leak was. He duly got out his metal rod with an ear cup. I commented that it was lovely to see this old method still in use in our day and age of digital everything. His response was simple, the old method was more reliable.
Can’t beat the old methods.
About time Southern Water started doing their job, maybe they can stop pumping out sewage into our waterways next, we should see some improvements as our bills are up 47% I would hope so after years of under funding making sure their b….y shareholders get paid above all else.
Does that mean cheaper water bills
Lol