Freeze-Thaw: Early Warning Alerts for Networks

The winter of 2022 saw one of the worst freeze/thaw events in recent years – as temperatures flipped between ‐12°C and +14°C over the course of just a few days. Such temperature swings create significant problems for water companies, most notably burst pipes and leaks.

As “weather patterns become more unpredictable with climate change”, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), such freeze/thaw incidents may increase in likelihood and possibly get more severe. Finding new and innovative ways to mitigate and manage the risks associated with freeze/thaw incidents is vital to meeting the obligation of providing a continuous supply of water to customers.

While the DWI noted companies “demonstrated an improved response from the 2018 freeze/thaw event” – infamously known as “the beast from the east” – they added “further improvements” are still required. They made recommendations that ranged from identifying the locations of pressure valves to empowering an “incident team”, performing critical reviews of site resilience to ensuring sufficient asset availability.

Digitisation of key assets – such as the aforementioned pressure valves – is an opportunity to gather real-time data on network performance and provide vital early warning signs of potential problems caused by events such as those at the end of 2022. Smart networks are, of course, a key element of the industry’s wider strategy on tackling water loss, with freeze/thaw events just one example of how digital assets can help companies pinpoint network problems almost instantly – rapidly accelerating repair timeframes.

As an industry leading supplier of Smart Water intelligent solutions, AVK UK is working closely with water companies to test and install smart sensors and on gate valves, air valves, hydrants and more. They include VIDI positioner, VIDI Open/Close, VIDI Flow, VIDI Pressure, VIDI Temperature, and VIDI Level, which send data to a dedicated software platform or, through an API, to the customer’s preferred IT system.

This enables companies to get a clearer picture of network conditions, which during a freeze/thaw event could be vital to ensuring customers have access to a continual supply of water.

It’s worth noting also that AVK also provides hydrants and gate valves that have pressure tappings, to allow connection of Smart Water devices as shown on the image below.