News

The lovely weather has returned and with gyms closed and team sports off the agenda right now, more people are out and about in their local area, going for walks and runs.  And we're asking our customers to become unofficial leak detectors while they’re out as when it’s dry is the perfect time to spot a leak. 

Carl Flello, who has been finding and fixing leaks across the region for years, explains why: “We take leakage very seriously, we’ve beaten our leakage target again this year and over the
last five years we’ve brought down leakage by 8%.  But we know how important it is and so we’re working hard to do even more so that our wonderful supply of water isn’t wasted.  And now is a great time to spot leaks as the weather is dry and lots of people are out and about.

“When it rains, spotting water coming out of the ground is pretty much impossible, and in those times we have lots of innovative technology and equipment that can help us.  But with 46,000km of pipes to keep an eye on, even with engineers like me out and about twenty-four hours a day finding and fixing leaks, we also rely on our customers to spot water leaks before we can.  And as the weather is dry again, it should be pretty easy to spot a wet road or pavement.

“So we need your help. If you spot water coming out of the road or pavement while you are out and about, it might be a leak.  We really want people to report these to us by calling our Leakline number on 0800 783 4444. And now you can even FaceTime an engineer to show us exactly where the leak is and how bad it is.  Or report the leak using our on-line form here.  Although if you are visiting our website it’s worth having a look at our ‘Search Your Area’ section on the homepage which shows leaks that have already been reported to us.

“In some cases, we don’t know where leaks are until our customers report them.  Please don’t assume we already know about the burst or leak, even if it is a large one: particularly in rural areas where it’s possible for leaks to run for days without being noticed.”

Each leak or burst is repaired on a priority basis, with those affecting its customers’ water supply being fixed first.  Carl added: “Providing our customers with a continuous supply of wonderful water is a priority for us so we will always fix these leaks first and then focus on others. So please give a good description of the leak when you report it so that we can get to the most urgent first. 

"The sooner we find the leaks, the sooner we can fix them.”