Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 16TH - 22ND FEBRUARY 2018 | 25 Operations & Assets Analysis E very day, water companies lose 3,123 million litres of water from leaky pipes. But how much of this water loss is down to faulty and ageing assets, and how much is down to the? Recent warning signals from several water companies suggest the number of unauthorised connections to water mains – a criminal offence under the Water Indus- try Act 1991 – has increased significantly in recent years, and may be partly to blame for a stagnation since 2000 in water companies' ability to reduce leakage. How big is the problem? Late last month, Thames Water revealed that the number of unauthorised connections within its London and Thames Valley licence area had soared from 33 in 2011 to 734 in 2017 – resulting in a loss of between 2 million and 3 million litres of water each year. To combat this "dramatic crime spike", Thames has deployed a team of investiga- tors, led by a former police detective to track down thieves stealing water from its pipe network. And it's no wonder the company is taking the issue so seriously. In June 2017, the water company was fined a record £8.55 million for missing its leakage reduction targets for the year, by a margin of 47ml/day – suggesting Ofwat applies a notional value of around £180,000 for every megalitre per day unaccounted for by water companies. Clearly, water the is only a small contributing factor to Thames' bigger leak- age problem, but with an estimated 2-3 mil- lion litres of water being illegally tapped each year, a crackdown on the criminals could still save the company more than pocket change. Nor is Thames Water alone in its struggles against water the. Speaking on behalf of Severn Trent, spokeswoman Ria Gaffney tells Utility Week the crime is a "huge problem". And South West Water, too, takes the con- nection of unauthorised standpipes to its network "very seriously". In part, the suddenly overt concern expressed by these companies about the problem of water the can be explained by the impending introduction of challeng- ing leakage reduction targets of by Ofwat in PR19. Companies are expected to reduce leakage by at least 15 per cent by 2025, as an absolute minimum. With such testing targets ahead of them, it is understandable companies feel newly motivated to come down hard on crimi- nals who could contribute to punishable performance shortfalls in the coming asset management plan period (2020-25). Further, water the is not just a prob- lem because of its potential to expose water companies to leakage fines from the regula- tor if they fail to differentiate between water lost through criminal activity and that lost through asset faults. Water the also affects customers because it leads to higher bills and can disrupt supplies. Then, too, there is a risk that unauthor- ised connection could adversely affect water quality, potentially posing a public health risk. And unauthorised connections can damage water company infrastructure. What companies are doing Water the is not an issue for all water com- panies. But those who are affected are acting to mitigate its impacts in a number of ways, including encouraging public tip-offs, regu- larising temporary access, and introducing new technologies. Temporary water access is required by both construction and development com- panies, as well as fire and rescue services, and companies like Aqua Water Services have set up collaborative partnerships with water companies to provide an approved hire scheme for offi- cial water connection points. The Aqua Water Service scheme not only provides users with an approved method of obtaining water but also training to ensure that their consumption minimises adverse effects on the network. Severn Trent senior technician of water fittings Dan Littlewood tells Utility Week: "When we work with official users of our hydrants, which range from fire and res- cue services to housebuilders, we make sure they're aware they can have a very real impact on our customers' lives, and we can educate them on how to use them properly." Technology, meanwhile, offers another way to mitigate water the by reducing the opportunity for meter tampering. The intro- duction of smart water meters by compa- nies including Yorkshire Water, South West Water, Severn Trent and Thames Water, for example, enables them to monitor water use throughout their pipeline networks, making it easier to identify illegal activity. And in instances where water the is unequivocally identified, water companies have also become increasingly ready to resort to prosecution, making an example of perpetrators and recovering some of their costs. Severn Trent's Gaffney says that over the past 18 months the company has successfully prosecuted 42 companies for illegal hydrant use and issued warnings to more than 160 others. More recently, cleaning firm Hydro Cleansing pleaded guilty to 18 offences of illegally connecting to Thames Water stand- pipes and was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling almost £15,000. Cracking down on water the is a sensi- tive process, especially at a time when water company legitimacy is under scrutiny and politicians seem determined to frame utili- ties as the bad guys in a showdown between the public and privatised institutions. But as downward pressure mounts on water bills and Ofwat applies its challeng- ing new targets for leakage reduction, water companies will have little choice but to get tough on those who believe they can dodge legitimate access routes to water, incurring added costs to consumers in the round and exposing companies to inflated regulatory penalties. Nicholas Newman is a freelance journalist The rise in water theft The news that Thames Water employs detectives to catch water thieves brought the issue of water theft to the fore, but just how big a problem is it? Nicholas Newman investigates. "Water theft also affects customers because it leads to higher bills and can disrupt supplies"

• Cover