Water firm aims to expand drone use to cut leaks

Johnny Bevan said the equipment would help them to reach targets to cut the number of leaking pipes

Drones could be used to rapidly track down leaking pipes when laws around flying them are relaxed, a water firm said.

Severn Trent Water, based in Coventry, already uses the technology to find leaks in hard to reach places but strict limits mean operators must be able to see them directly at all times.

New rules around drone usage from the Civil Aviation Authority, which could come into effect later this year, would mean the equipment could be flown beyond a drone user's line of sight for longer distances.

Severn Trent said the drones, which includes an infrared camera to detect drops in water temperature on land, would make them more "efficient".

"If we've got drones strategically placed across our network, we can then fly them out from the nearest location, that will then help us to achieve our leakage reduction targets," said Jonny Bevan, their drone safety officer.

The drones are being used to look for leaks by the firm

Severn Trent, which covers most of the West Midlands including Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, has committed to cutting the number of leaks on its network by 15% this year.

A spokesperson for the firm said they were aiming to halve the amount of water lost through leaks by 2045.

The water company is currently trying out a drone in a box which is waterproof and can be controlled remotely.

"The most important thing is it's going to make us more efficient, so this is going to better utilise our time doing our drone operations which again, at the end of the day, gives us better value for our customers," added drone lead Duncan Turner.