Large diameter flow meters (≥1000mm) are used by water companies to measure flow on trunk mains and their accuracy is vital to manage water resources, leakage and optimising the network. The JIP will research the level of flow meter measurement inaccuracy which results in large volumes of water being incorrectly logged as ‘missing’ and reported to OfWAT as leakage.
TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory and Severn Trent Water are calling on interested parties from the water industry to join the JIP. There is already interest from potential collaborative partners in Australia, Europe, North America and South Africa.
Mikal Willmott, Leakage Analyst at Severn Trent Water, said “The water industry is trying to halve abstraction by 2050 and has an aspiration to eliminate leakage by 2050. To achieve this, accurate water metering is essential. Large diameter flow meters are extremely important for water balance and leakage calculations, yet there is little evidence of how precise they are. The ability to calibrate and understand the accuracy of such meters is vital for our designers, engineers, and analysts if the water industry is to achieve its targets.”
Carl Wordsworth, Senior Engineer at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, said: “Accurate metering is essential for effective, economic and sustainable water management. However, unlike small meters which can be easily validated at minimal cost, there has been little independent testing of large diameter meters due to the sheer size and cost of calibrating them. This has led to a gap in our knowledge of the uncertainty performance of this important meter type. As pipe diameters can have a significant effect on the accuracy of flow meters, independent testing is required to investigate the levels to which these effects impact flow meter uncertainty.”