Northumberland County Council is a large public sector customer which benefits from our Key Account Management service. Account Manager, Claire, has worked closely with the council since they became a customer in 2017, to understand their water use, help them cut waste and lower their costs.
Recovering the costs of a leak
In 2021, one of the council’s premises, Swansfield Park Primary School, had a significant leak.
We were able to contact the council’s water wholesaler, Northumbrian Water, and complete a leak allowance claim on the customer’s behalf. The claim was successful, and the customer was given an allowance of £13,000 to cover the cost of the water they lost during this period.
Investing in an Automatic Meter Reader
To help prevent a leak going unnoticed in the future, the council purchased an Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) for the school site. Installing an AMR unit means they’re able to use regular data to monitor their water consumption and set up tailored alarms to alert them if their water usage changes, making sure they catch any issues more quickly.
Shortly after investing in the AMR, an alert showed that the school’s usage had increased considerably to 51m3 a day from their usual 7m3. After investigation, we found that a pipe had burst and was the cause of the extra 44m3 a day. The burst was costing the school an extra £107 a day, which, if left unnoticed, would’ve totalled over £39,000 a year.
The quick alert from the AMR meant the leak was found and repaired within nine days of receiving the alert.
Katie Ershadi, Energy Systems Officer at Northumberland County Council said: “Because of the burst location, the school wouldn’t have known about it if we hadn't had the AMR high usage alerts. I’m so pleased it was picked up and they managed to fix the problem within days. If we’d been relying on usual meter reads being taken, this would’ve cost a lot of money.”
Claire Robinson, Wave Account Manager said: “This truly shows the value of investing in AMR. Without this, the school would’ve faced potentially catastrophic consequences with damage to the premises as well as budgets.”
Avoid wasting water and money
Our range of data collection services are designed to help large organisations like Northumberland County Council, as they give regular, accurate data that monitors water use over a number of sites. Not only does this mean more accurate bills, but water usage can be compared across individual premises. The real-time alerts identify any changes to consumption, so issues such as leaks are spotted quickly to minimise water wastage.
Get in touch with us to find out how our water efficiency services can help your organisation.
