The hunt is on for private pumping stations

Water companies are stepping up the search for private pumping stations in preparation to adopt them by October 2016.

South West Water compared the task to finding “needles in a haystack” as it launched a press appeal for information last week.

It said it had identified 315 out of an estimated 900 pumping stations in its region and urged anyone responsible for one to fill in its online form.

Meanwhile, some companies are turning to mapping experts to predict where the assets might lie. Tony Adams, enterprise information sales manager with 1Spatial, said his company could infer, with 80 per cent accuracy, the location of pumping stations by looking at geographical clues.

1Spatial is working with United Utilities and is “in discussions” to provide a similar service to others, including Thames Water and Southern Water.

Water companies “haven’t got a clue how many [pumping stations] there are or where they are”, said Adams, and would “dearly like” to have a clear idea of their new assets by the next price review.

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 31 August 2012.

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