SVT to create £20m smart water data region

Severn Trent has invested £20 million to create a smart water network in Coventry ahead of schedule as part of the green recovery programme.

The company appointed metering and data company Itron and smart technology provider Connexin to turn Warwickshire and Coventry into a smart water data region with more than 150,000 smart meters.

The installation of the meters, which will begin in March 2022, will be complemented with intelligent infrastructure to gather data.

The scheme was accelerated by the company’s application to bring forward work as part of the green recovery programme to help the economy bounce back after Covid-19. Severn Trent is investing £566 million between now and 2025 as part of the programme.

Smart metering will help customers and the company better understand and manage usage, locate and repair leaks and promote water efficiency. This will support company performance targets to reduce leaks and lower per capita consumption (PCC) as a means to lower carbon emissions across water networks.

Anthony Hickinbottom, green recovery project lead, said: “We all have a vital role in making sure we’re looking after water and doing right by it. This project will give us valuable learnings and insight in shaping how the industry can better understand where water is used, and make sure we’re looking after it for the future.”

Connexin and Itron will provide low-power, wide-area networking to enable Severn Trent record and access data from water meters and optimise data collection.

Other fast-tracked schemes in Severn Trent’s green recovery programme include creating bathing-quality stretches of river, improving 500km of river ahead of schedule, increasing water supplies, using nature-based solutions and supporting customers to replace lead pipes.