Severn Trent pledges to tackle water leaks
Water company Severn Trent, which serves customers across Shropshire and Mid Wales, has invested in drone and satellite technology as it pledged to reduce leaks by 15 per cent by 2025.
It comes as MPs are calling for tougher targets for cutting water leaks, after figures showed a "shocking" three billion litres are lost each day.
Water industry targets to reduce leakage by 15 per cent by 2025 are "not ambitious enough", said the House of Commons Environment Committee.
Pressure on companies to act should be increased by bringing forward from 2050 to 2040 the goal of halving the amount of water lost, said the committee in a report.
The report also backed new powers for water companies to introduce compulsory metering, even though it could lead to "significant" bill increases in some areas.
Last year a burst water pipe caused chaos in Telford, leaving thousands without water.
Severn Trent worked around the clock after homes and businesses were affected by the burst, which left much of the Telford area south of the M54 with either no water, low pressure or a murky supply.
Severn Trent spokesman Stuart Henry said: “Over the last decade we’ve reduced leakage by 20 per cent and are looking to reduce it by a further 15 per cent in the five years to 2025.
"We’re absolutely committed to doing more, and have invested in drone and satellite technology to help us spot leaks and have announced multi-million pound plans to install new monitors and pressure devices in our pipes to help prevent bursts before they occur.
"We’ve also just announced plans to trial an award-winning leak-finding robot that actually goes inside our pipes.”
The cross-party committee warned that drought summers like 2018 are likely to happen more often in future, increasing the need for resilience in the system.
And it highlighted recent figures from industry body Water UK which found that 9.3 cubic metres of water were leaked per kilometre of water pipe in England and Wales every day in 2017-18, some 3.183 billion litres or the equivalent of 1,273 Olympic swimming pools.
Committee chair Neil Parish said: "Water leaks affect the environment, as the more is leaked, the more must be taken from our rivers and other natural sources.
"It also sends a poor message to the public about the value of water when people are being encouraged to save water.
"Water companies should be leading by example. We are calling for the amount of water lost through leaks to be halved by 2040."
