NI Water is moving forward with the deployment of innovative satellite leak detection technology following a number of successful trials.

The utility, which trialled the technology to detect leaks on the local water network, will now expand its use across the region.

The leaks are detected with the assistance of Satellite mounted SAR technology which identifies water spreading from underground pipes. This innovative technology can penetrate below the ground surface. 

NI Water leakage teams work around the clock locating and repairing issues, with 27,000km of water mains to maintain all over the region. A large part of Northern Ireland is rural, therefore, many of the pipes are located across kilometres of fields and hilly areas. It can therefore be extremely challenging to locate leaks when they do occur.

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Head of Water with NI Water, Brian McCalmont said: "NI Water is very much committed to reducing leakage which has been and will continue to be an ongoing challenge for NI Water, as it is for any water utility. The recent freeze/ thaw in December 2022 is a reminder that our water system is vulnerable to nature. Extreme weather, hot or cold, can have a major impact on assets, causing increased leakage within our network and on customer properties.

"While we have made significant progress in our leakage figures, we cannot be complacent. As a company we are always looking at ways of working smarter and more efficiently. The satellite technology is an example of how NI Water is embracing new methods in leakage detection which will help us continue to identify and repair leaks before they have an impact on our customers or the environment."

Suez and technology partner ASTERRA UK have been appointed to supply satellite leak detection services to NI Water over a four-year period. 

To reduce leakage, the satellite mounted SAR technology identifies water leaking from underground pipes using algorithms that have been fine tuned to recognise the signatures of water leaking from different systems. Points of interest (POI) are identified which are provided to NI Water in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) data files, these files are overlaid with the water network pipe layer from the system owner to create a highlighted area (POI) for leakage detection investigations by NI Water Leakage Technicians.