Control Valves Reducing Leakage

Every day in the UK, approximately 3.3 billion litres of water disappears before it reaches the tap, which equates to 20%, while in Ireland the figure is nearer 50%, and water companies who fail to meet their leakage targets face can substantial fines by the Regulator.

In addition, the very high temperatures and lack of rainfall in May and June 2018 created a spike in demand resulting in a number of water companies, across the UK and Ireland, urging customers to conserve water amid the prolonged spell of warm weather. With no expectation of any significant rain for the near future Irish Water has imposed a nationwide hosepipe ban as drought conditions continue*

With little sign of rain to come, farmers and gardeners are watering their crops and plants as the ground dries out, again putting pressure on water reserves. As always, an immense strain has been placed on the water companies to reduce leakage and to produce innovative and resilient solutions, not only in finding and fixing leaks but also in conservation and reducing water consumption.

One such solution for the water companies is the use of Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV’s) that can make a significant impact on the amount of water used.

David Hurley, AVK UK Limited, Non-Revenue Water Business Development Manager, said,

"AVK UK Limited understands the pressures that the water companies are under to reduce not only water leakage but, more recently, consumption too and have been liaising with them to produce innovative solutions. AVK companies have already proactively conducted network studies in the UK and other European markets and have recently acquired control valve and smart networking solutions experts, ACMO, sharing best practices with them."

AVK UK’s research led to the development and introduction of a new PRV range to the market.  The AVK Series 859 is manufactured to a higher specification than the industry standard and offering a more resilient solution to the client. Materials are of the highest quality, the product performs more efficiently, is extremely simple and easy to maintain, carries a 10-year guarantee – and reduces leakage.

"Many other, PRV products in the market place are outdated and have struggled to help Water companies addressing the 20% leakage figure. The new, AVK UK PRV design and high quality offers a longer lasting and robust product that will help reduce this percentage. The AVK valves are of a modular design which means the components are there same through the valve range and which incorporates a vast amount of pilot variations – we expect them to last in excess 50 years." David concluded.

As part of delivering innovative and resilient solutions, AVK UK has been developing ‘Intelligent PRVs’ and Smart networking solutions. A smart valve can regulate pressures/flows and water level automatically and can be remotely accessed to alter profiles and reduce pressures when the demand is low. Leakage can be reduced significantly more than a standard fixed-outlet PRV. The acquisition of ACMO valves has given AVK the immediate availability of tried and tested smart solutions for our customers.

AVK Control Valve Support and Information

As product experts, AVK offer our readers and customers easy to access information and support: -

• Visit our control valve section on the website - click here
• Product brochures and technical information.
• Product selection tool
• Contact David Hurley for one to one consultation and advice.
• Book a training session at the AVK UK PRV facility near Chesterfield, Derbyshire or on your premises.
• AVK case studies

For more information about any of the above please contact David Hurley.

*Source RTE news