Engineers at Severn Trent have been rolling out an innovative new technology to help detect potential problems in its network of sewer pipes up to three times more quickly than by using traditional methods.

Developed by French firm, SUEZ, SewerBall®s are floating spheres packed with sensors and placed in pipes to monitor for changes to things like temperature or the pH balance of the wastewater, which could indicate a potential issue.

The devices – which are about the size of a tennis ball – can be placed in a single location, or allowed to float through the network, going with the flow and sampling along the way.

Other types of SewerBall®, which include a high resolution 360-degree camera, can be sent in to make a visual inspection, allowing operators to get a better look at the health of the pipes than ever before.

Darius Bristow, Innovation Project Manager at, Severn Trent, said: “SewerBall® means that we can access more of our network far more easily than with a standard CCTV kit. Being untethered and able to move with the flow lets us get a really good look inside the pipes and can complete an inspection much more quickly.

“We’ve been trialling the SewerBall®s and they’ve worked fantastically, helping us to pinpoint potential issues. It can sometimes be difficult to find the exact location of a problem, so knowing exactly where we need to go and what the issue is will mean we can potentially dig down and make a repair much more quickly.

“This kind of technology can be a huge help in more rural areas, where things like infiltration can be more difficult to detect,”

In the trial – which took place over two weeks at sites in Shropshire and Staffordshire – the team was able to survey 14km of sewage pipes, with 80% of the potential issues identified by SewerBall® confirmed as requiring attention.

“We're thrilled with the successful SewerBall® trial at Severn Trent," said Regis Saugey, Operations Director for SUEZ. "Already in use across Europe, this tool is revolutionising sewer network monitoring, increasing efficiency and reducing problem detection time. We look forward to further enhancing this groundbreaking technology with our partners."

Two major benefits of SewerBall® are its ability to detect infiltration - when groundwater finds its way into the sewer network from outside – or the presence of commercial waste, which might indicate that someone is dumping their waste into the network illegally. 

Darius continued: “Infiltration can be a problem as it means more water is in the network than should be there, taking up capacity at pumping stations and treatment works, and some businesses dispose of commercial waste directly into the sewer rather than paying to have it taken away.

“Both of these are significant issues that are absorbing capacity from our sewer network and being able to eliminate them will help to reduce sewer flooding or the need to use storm overflows.”

Severn Trent now intends to purchase the devices and recruit a team of operators.

ENDS

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