News
Viking Johnson Flow Control Solutions Keep Anglian Water Customers Connected
Posted on 01st Feb 2012
Anglian Water has undergone a successful 6 month trial, using the Viking Johnson Through-Bore Hydrant and WASK Hydrant Wizard, with the aim of reducing the number of customers affected by burst water mains.
The Hydrant Wizard isolates fire hydrants by inserting a small, balloon-like stopping bag into the ‘leg’ between the hydrant and the main which allows maintenance or replacement activities on the hydrant to take place without isolating supplies to customers, whilst the Through-Bore Hydrant provides unobstructed access to the network during normal use, enabling a range of further cost saving initiatives. These activities include isolating a section of water main in order to undertake maintenance, live monitoring of water flow, pressure and water quality, internal inspection using a camera, hydrophone or acoustic imaging to check whether the pipe is structurally sound and in good condition, maintenance including flushing and cleaning, and pinpointing the exact location of a leak while the main is still at full pressure.
The 6 month trial in Lincolnshire was undertaken with the aim of minimising the amount of customers who experienced water supply disruption and quality issues during mains bursts. The equipment achieved its aim and more; Anglian Water has reduced the number of unwanted calls they receive and increased customer satisfaction, but also benefitted from savings in excavation and re-instatement costs as well as minimised disruption to roads and pathways.
Both the Through-Bore Hydrant and Hydrant Wizard have been welcomed by the water industry, which are tasked with preserving water and enhancing services to customers. The Through-Bore Hydrant has even won the coveted SBWWI Water Dragons Award for Best Product Innovation in 2009.
Malcolm Holmes, Network Manager at Anglian Water said “The benefit of using this type of equipment is that fewer customers go without water when mains burst or we are doing planned maintenance. Our aim is to deliver a continuous supply of water, and finding alternative ways to manage this will help us to improve customer satisfaction.”
Anglian Water supplies water and wastewater services to more than 6 million domestic and business customers, through 80,000km of pipeline and 1248 water treatment plants. Almost 1.1 billion litres of water is supplied to the East of England every day and, as the driest region in the UK, the preservation of water is of paramount importance.
Both Viking Johnson and WASK are leading utilities brands of Crane Building Services & Utilities (www.cranebsu.com).
