In 2006, a team of four researchers and engineers invented LeakFrog, a device that fits to a property’s water meter overnight to identify hidden leaks on customers’ pipes.
LeakFrogs work like stopwatches, showing the longest period of time it has taken for one litre of water to pass through a household’s water meter. The shorter the time, the bigger the leak.
Of the 70,000 properties’ supply pipes across London and the Thames Valley that have had LeakFrogs fitted since 2008, 2,100 were found to have large enough leaks to warrant a repair or pipe replacement.
Thames Water modeller and LeakFrog co-creator Leo Kiernan said: “Up to a quarter of all leakage is from pipes belonging to customers. So far, the LeakgFrog has saved 10m litres a day for our customers – that’s four Olympic-sized swimming pools every single day.
“Reducing leakage is as important as ever right now as we face the prospect of a very dry summer. Although reservoirs in London and the Thames Valley are more than 90% full, we don’t know what the weather will bring. So, as well as repairing leaking pipes, it is as important people are careful about the amount of water they use.”
Source: Thames Water
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