News | September 23, 2013

Smart Water For Europe?

Award winning UK based pipeline technology company Syrinix is pleased to announce that it has been invited to join a European consortium to design the drinking water supply of the future.

Founded in 2004, Syrinix Ltd is based at the world-class Hethel Engineering Centre on the outskirts of Norwich in the UK. The Company develops and provides automated pipeline monitoring technologies for water utilities, with its products already being used extensively across London by Thames Water.

Dr Paul Linford, Syrinix CTO, said: “This project is a great opportunity for us to showcase our passion for innovative technologies and demonstrate the full capabilities of the TrunkMinder and TransientMinder.  We will be installing our TrunkMinder and TransientMinder products at the demonstration sites with a view to showcasing our technologies to other consortium members and the global water community.  To be part of something that could future proof the water supply in Europe is an great opportunity and we are looking forward to working with the consortium.”

This unique project, titled SmartWater4Europe, aims to make a business case for smart water supply networks across Europe. The project leaders, Dutch water utility Vitens, has brought together a consortium of public and private water operators, technology providers, and research organisers from across Europe.

The project has identified four European test sites, each with its own unique set of issues; including leakage control, water quality management, energy optimizations and ageing pipe network. The SmartWater4Europe consortium seeks to overcome these hurdles by developing and demonstrating an integrated solution for smart management of water distribution channels.

“The current method of water supply and distribution is outdated, reactive and certainly not intelligent,” explained Erik Driessen, Vitens’ Innovation Manager. “Having a sensor on its own doesn’t provide any information. You need a set of sensors and even more important is the software on top of it. One of the reasons behind bringing Syrinix on board is that they have the ability to apply their software and provide a comprehensive picture of the water pipeline network“.

Historically there was a lack of data-sharing between departments within water utilities, a lack of political and regulatory support and the available technology was fragmented. By collaborating with 12 companies, each with their own area of expertise and innovation from different European countries, project leader Vitens aims to have an integrated solution, a one size fits all approach, which can be easily adopted.

About Syrinix
Syrinix was founded in 2004 and is an award winning leader in developing smart pipeline monitoring technology. Its products are building a growing reputation for their ability to improve the management of water pipelines and to help utilities move their network management from reactive to active on a highly cost-effective basis.

Syrinix - TrunkMinder service utilises a combination of sensors permanently attached to pipelines, including hydrophone, geophone, pressure sensor and optional flow monitor. Continuous 24/7 monitoring, data acquisition, interrogation and intelligent analysis enables clients to identify very small leaks very accurately and then deal with them in a planned and proactive manner. TrunkMinder also provides robust leak mitigation which provides evidence for UK regulatory reporting.

Syrinix - TransientMinder service is focussed upon the detection and identification of pressure transients within a network of pipes which enables clients to detect immediately and remedy the causes. TransientMinder also provides clients with the ability to understand the impact on pipelines of various operational activities, such as valve closures, which are often the cause of damaging transients. For more information, visit www.syrinix.com.

Source: Syrinix