Southern Water using Lightsonic’s fibre-sensing tech to detect leaks

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The technology has already helped to save more than 4 million litres of water per day over 650km of the UK’s water network

Southern Water, which provides drinking water for millions of customers across the South of England, has announced a new partnership with Lightsonic, aiming to use the company’s sensing technology to help identify their leaking pipes.

The UK’s aging pipe network leaks roughly 2.6 billion litres of water every day but identifying the specific locations of these leaks is a major challenge.

Lightsonic’s solution works by adding acoustic sensing units to Openreach’s fibre network, which often runs parallel to subterranean pipelines. If a leak is present in a nearby pipe, the resulting vibrations shake the fibre cable, delivering a small but measurable impact to the optical signal within. By measuring these signals, Lightsonic can locate and prioritise repairs for the water company.

According to Lightsonic, the solution typically detects 1.2 million litres of water leaks per day per 100km of network covered annually.

An illustration of how Lightsonic’s technology senses leaks

“Ageing infrastructure, leaking networks and mounting climate pressure are converging, causing major water stress,” says Tommy Langnes, CEO Lightsonic. “By utilising existing fibre optic infrastructure, we have a solution that can be quickly and effectively scaled across the UK to help utility companies get a handle on leaks, secure supply and generate savings that can be reinvested to upgrade our aging network. The industry needs a quick and comprehensive response and that is what we offer.”

For Openreach, this deployment marks a deepening of their partnership with Lightsonic, with who they ran initial trials alongside Affinity Water in March this year.

“The results of our existing pilots with Lightsonic show that our new full fibre infrastructure can deliver value far beyond broadband – and could prove to be a real game changer in solving real-world challenges like water conservation,” said Trevor Linney, Director of Network Technology at Openreach. “Combining Lightsonic’s technology with the reach of Openreach’s Full Fibre network makes continuous utility monitoring genuinely scalable, without the cost and disruption of building a separate sensor network.”

The UK’s water supply is facing immense pressure. The country is currently experiencing the hottest summer on record, with hosepipe bans in place across much of the country. Plans for a new reservoir to alleviate water stress have this week been delayed by 5 years and, with more global temperature records predicted, the UK’s water security is more precarious than ever.

Turning the country’s fibre networks into passive sensing frameworks represents a cost-effective and efficient way to begin to tackle the nation’s water challenges.

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