Affinity surpasses leakage target

Affinity Water has beaten its 14% leakage reduction target for 2022/23 and is “confident” of meeting its 20% goal by 2025.

The company said it is now at its lowest level of leakage following the 15.8% reduction for the year, which it claimed as the largest percentage drop in the industry.

During the past year, Affinity’s technicians have found and repaired 19,800 bursts. The company saved 9.3 megalitres of water daily through its interventions.

This was against the challenging backdrop of extreme weather during the year. The extended dry weather last summer followed by the winter freeze/thaw caused pipes to move and crack in the ground.

Affinity’s neighbours SES Water as well as South East reported that the weather negatively impacted their leakage rates for the year, with SES saying the winter was its worst since 1989.

Last year, Affinity reduced its leakage rates by 10.5%. An average of 109 litres are lost each day per property in the region, which is below the national average of 113 litres daily day per household.

Keith Haslett, Affinity chief executive, said: “We are confident that we are on track to deliver on our commitment to reduce leakage by 20% for 2025 and are determined to follow up on our success from the 2015 – 2020 period in having the largest reductions in leakage of all UK water companies.”

This, Haslett said, would be achieved by continuing to use novel methods, such as artificial intelligence and digital networks, to find and fix leaks faster than ever before. He restated the ambition to halve leaks by 2050.

Affinity’s region is home to chalk streams, which the company has committed to stop abstracting water from to ensure their future health. This means that as well as cutting leakage rates, the company must secure alternative supply sources and help customers to use less. More than 240,000 householders in the area signed up to the company’s water efficiency pledge through Save Our Streams.

At PR19, Ofwat laid down the challenge of cutting leakage by one-fifth on a three-year average basis – or 15% compared to the previous period to 2020.

All companies are due to report their leakage figures for 2022/23 this month.

Leakage has consistently grabbed headlines and angered customers. As the changing climate worsens the water scarcity in the UK, leakage continues to rocket up the sector’s agenda. It will be a key topic at Utility Week Forum this October. Find out more here.