No-Dig Leak Repair
As potable water infrastructure ages, leakage grows. It’s estimated that water leakage costs consumers over £400 million a year. But, it isn’t as simple as just replacing old water pipe infrastructure. The process is costly, time consuming, labour intensive and causes massive disruption to traffic and water service. No-Dig aims to rectify that.
Project Overview
No-Dig Leak Repair is exactly what it sounds like. In a project led by Thames Water, Synthotech is designing and constructing an effective alternative to traditional pipe leak repair and replacement processes. By accessing the leak from inside the pipework, No-Dig can repair leaks with no need for extensive excavations, and with no interruption to water service for customers.
Why is No-Dig Necessary?
With increasing frequency of droughts in the UK as a result of climate change, and mounting political pressure on the water industry, managing costs for consumers and consequentially managing leakage is more important than ever. An effective solution to repair pipework long term from the inside will drastically reduce costs for water networks, reduce disruption for road users and customers, and will allow for more effective reduction of wastage across the network.
What stage is the Project in?
Currently No-Dig Leak Repair is in the mid-stages of TRL 5, with extensive prototyping and lab testing underway. We anticipate that TRL 5 testing will be finished in September, with the start of TRL 6 scheduled for December.
How Does the System Work?
The system is currently in development and prototyping, so we can’t share many details of the function of the system at this stage. What we can share is that No-Dig will operate entirely within live water networks, and won’t require interruptions to service for consumers to operate.
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