Acoustic leak detection

Background Wessex Water is able to deploy up to 800 acoustic loggers a day as part of our ongoing leakage detection. These devices log noise levels throughout a predetermined period of the night (usually 2:00-4:00 am),  recording a sound file that the loggers use for spectrum analysis. This data is reviewed, including cross-referencing between multiple loggers,…

How we can serve new developments more effectively

With government targets to build upwards of 250,000 new homes a year, the number of new developments across the country is set to increase. Within the Wessex Water region we are seeing ambitious plans to increase the number of homes in the South West – a Joint Spatial Plan is being created by four of…

Intelligent sewers; can we make alarms smarter?

This challenge is now closed to new entrants due to the high number of companies involved. The data is still available to download on the datasets page. Background With the increased number of monitors in the wastewater network (mostly at combined sewer overflows; a result of the Event Duration Monitoring programme) Wessex Water’s Control Room…

Keeping STWs clean with anti-fouling paint – can you help?

Background Sewage treatment works, water recycling centres, waste water treatment plants – whatever you call them, the principle is the same. They treat domestic and trade waste to an appropriate level to discharge to the environment. By their very nature they accumulate dirt and debris, but we’re looking to further improve our compliance record by…

Bringing AI to sewer scanning – can you help?

Please note that as of 9th August this challenge is now closed to further entrants due to the high number of parties involved. Thank you for your interest. Every year Wessex Water surveys 400km of sewers via CCTV – with staff watching the footage live and manually recording the issues seen in our sewers. This…

Phosphorus removal on small sites – can you help?

This challenge is now closed, but the page will remain to share the challenges that we have previously explored. During AMP7 (2020-2025), we are required to remove phosphorus (P) from the effluent discharges of many of our water recycling centres (WRCs), to meet new or tightened discharge permits as identified in the Water Industry National…

Water Efficiency Marketplace Challenge

This challenge is now closed, but the page will remain to share the challenges that we have previously explored. Supporting our customers to reduce their water consumption at home is a core part of our water efficiency programme – if approved, our 2020-25 business plan sets out ambitious new actions to enhance our programme and…

The business plan

Our business plan for 2020-2025 sets out proposals on how we intend to further improve water and sewerage services over future years. To put our plan together we carried out our biggest ever consultation with customers, with more than 140,000 people providing feedback through surveys and independent focus groups giving their views on bills and services.…

The PSTN challenge

In May 2018 OpenReach (BT) launched a consultation on the move from analogue telephony to digital voice services by 2025. We have ~2800 sites that rely on analogue PSTN (Public Switched Telephone network) services to communicate back to our central control systems. We need to replace these lines to maintain visibility and control of the…

Hampshire Avon phosphorus reduction challenge

This challenge is now closed, but the page will remain to share the challenges that we have previously explored. If approved as part of our 2020-25 business plan, we’ll aim to improve the river water quality in the Hampshire Avon catchment by reducing levels of phosphorus in the water. We’re looking to the market to…