Lunch ‘n’ Learn Training Puts Pressure On Water Leaks

New ABB training course explains why leaks occur and how to prevent them using variable speed drives

ABB has launched a Lunch ‘n’ Learn training session that shows how water companies can use variable speed drives (VSDs) to make dramatic improvements in their leakage rates.

As part of the 2019 price review from the UK water sector regulator, Ofwat, water companies are required to meet performance targets for a number of key criteria that contribute to improving the resilience of water networks. These include cutting the number of supply interruptions and reducing water leakage by at least 15 percent over five years.

VSDs reduce leakage by controlling water pressure and preventing the rapid pressure transients that occur when pumps are switched on and off. These transients can cause damaging water hammer to occur – a common cause of burst pipework.

Despite the great strides the water companies are making in reducing leakage, industry statistics from the UK’s Consumer Council for Water state that a staggering 3.1 mega litres of water is lost every day through leakage in England and Wales . That is an enormous amount of water that must be replaced, treated and pumped all over again to maintain supplies to customers.

“Using variable speed drives can cut these leaks dramatically by controlling pressure,” says Dan Banks, ABB drives water framework manager. “Our training session is a convenient way to ensure that those responsible for specifying, operating or maintaining pumps learn how they can use VSDs to reduce the waste caused by leakage.”

Topics covered include:

• How VSDs tackle common causes of leakage including elevated supply pressures and water hammer
• The role of inbuilt VSD ‘smart’ functions (soft pipe fill, sleep boost)
• The increasing use of cloud-based monitoring techniques in leakage prevention strategies
• How one ABB customer is set to save £4.5 million on repairs and energy costs by 2021 by using VSDs to maintain correct water pressure

Reducing leakage through the use of variable speed drives is just one of the training courses available to water companies, consultants and contractors as part of ABB UK’s 20+20+ vision for improving customer outcomes in the water industry. The 45-minute session is free to attend and can be delivered to individuals or groups at customer premises or an ABB facility.

For more information or to book training, email energy@gb.abb.co.uk, call 07000 374837, or use the online booking form here