Robots in the pipeline to reduce water leaks
Robots that identify and repair links within live water mains are to be taken forward with £5.8m contracts as part of the fourth round of Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge.
Synthotech, a Harrogate-based utilities engineering company, and its innovation division Synovate, will use its latest robot technology to identify and repair links within live water mains without requiring extensive excavations and minimising interruptions to water supplies.
Project partners include Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, Affinity Water, SES Water, Anglian Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Uisce Éireann Irish Water, and Southern Water, alongside Sheffield University, WRc, ALH Systems, and Arcadis.
In another project, robots equipped with advanced sensors will also be deployed in rising mains to predict failures and make repairs before they burst.
The water industry uses human-controlled robots to assess its partially filled sewer tunnels and sewers, which use gravity to move sewage. The project is expected to pave the way for autonomous robotics technology to be used in fully pressurised sewer pipes. Project partners include Thames Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Wessex, and Sheffield University.
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