The prestigious award recognises the developer of the most groundbreaking technology, product or service that benefits the environment.

The New Energy & Cleantech Awards (formerly the New Energy Awards) were created to celebrate pioneering companies and individuals who play a key role in shaping the future of the new energy, renewable and cleantech industries.

i2O Water’s sophisticated Advanced Pressure Management technology is used in 40 water utilities in 22 countries worldwide. It benefits the environment by saving water resources through reduced leakage and bursts, cutting the energy consumption associated with water distribution and reducing the carbon footprint of operating the distribution network.

The  New Energy & Cleantech Awards ceremony was held at the London Marriot Grosvenor Square on March 21. The keynote speaker was TV presenter and eco-designer Oliver Heath.

Nick Britton, Editor-in-Chief at Vitesse Media, said, “The judges were particularly impressed with i2O Water’s high impact, scalable solutions, which have transformed the efficiency of water networks all over the world.”

“We are thrilled to have won this highly prestigious award,” said Adam Kingdon, co-founder and CEO of Southampton-based i2O Water.

“i2O Water is committed to working with water companies to better manage water resources, which are increasingly scarce in many parts of the world. Our technology helps our customers to save more than 100 million litres of water every day. Winning this award is fantastic recognition for us, for our customers and for their ongoing commitment to optimising the performance of their networks.”

11 March, Southampton – i2O Water has today launched new Network Monitoring software to provide water companies with greater visibility into the performance of their networks. It enables faster, more effective decision-making when optimising and monitoring network performance, reduces operational costs and helps to deliver an improved level of customer service.

i2O’s Network Monitoring gives network engineers the functionality they need to manage the performance of distribution networks. The software is designed to
support a wide range of activities, including leakage management, network service level management, monitoring network integrity and operability, problem diagnosis and performance optimisation.

i2O Water’s Network Monitoring solution has been developed with embedded intelligence specifically designed for operational network management. It replaces slow, manually intensive processes for interpreting network data with easily understood dashboards, reports and alarms. The solution accepts data from both i2O Water and third-party loggers installed in the network, enabling network-wide visibility.

The new Network Monitoring software forms part of an integrated portfolio of solutions for Advanced Pressure Management, enabling water companies to provide a better service to their customers while saving money. The software is delivered as a service, making it quick and easy to deploy and highly cost-effective. For water companies wanting to progress to i2O Water’s higher levels of remote control or automatic optimisation, Network Monitoring is easily upgradable.

i2O Water’s Network Monitoring software has been welcomed by water companies.

Keith Hilson, Head of Leakage at South East Water in the UK, said: “South East Water has been working with i2O Water since 2010 and we have seen the company put a lot of effort into understanding the challenges faced by water companies. They are developing technology in line with the needs of the industry and the new Network Monitoring software will help water companies improve the way networks can be monitored and controlled.”

Ahmad Samhan Bin Daud, Senior NRW Manager at Jalur Cahaya Sdn Bhd (JCSB) in Malaysia, said: “Jalur Cahaya uses i2O Water Advanced Pressure Management technology to improve network performance and reduce water losses for many water companies in Malaysia.

The new Network Monitoring software offers a very high level of network visibility and we predict that Network Monitoring will deliver operational and leakage benefits for our customers and become best practice for water network management across Malaysia.”

Adam Kingdon, CEO and co-founder of i2O Water, said: “Providing water companies with a high level of network visibility has always been integral to our Advanced Pressure Management solutions. Our experience in working with water companies across the world has demonstrated a growing demand for a solution that supports water network management, both as an independent tool and as a complementary system to existing data management systems.

“Our new Network Monitoring solution has been developed with the functionality and flexibility to support and deliver benefits to water companies at all levels of operational development.”

i2O Water’s innovative technology is helping Philippine company Manila Water to cut energy bills and save significant amounts of water through reduced leakage.

To date, i2O Water’s Advanced Pressure Management solutions have enabled Manila Water to save £20,000 (1.3MPhP) a year in energy costs, as well as reducing leakage by 580,000 litres a day (an 18% reduction).

Manila Water serves Metro Manila’s East Zone and provides water and wastewater services to more than 6.2 million people in the Philippine megacity.

Its water network spans regions of high altitude, which means pumps are required to keep the supply to customers constant and at the specified pressure. Pumping water to areas of high elevation demands significant energy usage and with Manila’s power rates the highest in Asia, this accounts for a high portion of the company’s operational expenses.

To improve efficiency, lower energy use, cut non-revenue water and improve customer service, Manila Water worked with i2O Water to conduct a pilot of the i2O Advanced Pressure Management Pump Control system in the N. Domingo Pump Station, one of the company’s newly-rehabilitated pump stations.

The N. Domingo Pump Station serves a sizeable area of the city, with a wide range of domestic and commercial customers, including public service institutions, hotels and schools. This means that there is a very high demand for water, with flows ranging from 40l/s at night and up to 175 l/s during peak demand.

The aim of the i2O Advanced Pressure Management pilot was to automatically manage the pump station’s pressure in a way that would hit the minimum pressure requirement at the critical point, while considerably reducing unnecessary excess pressure.

Geodino Carpio, Group Director for Operations at Manila Water Company Inc, said: “We’re a company keen on innovation, and we constantly look for what’s best out there in order to further improve and become more efficient in how we operate. The i2O pump control system is one of the most advanced off-the-shelf solutions you can easily implement.”

Advanced Pressure Management requires a combination of robust loggers and controllers in the field, and software-based services that continuously track and optimise water network performance. The i2O pump control solution continuously and automatically adjusts the pump manifold pressure in order to give the minimum pressure required in the zone, while providing good customer service. Lower average pressures in the zone lead to lower leakage and less water to be pumped. By pumping at lower pressures and also at lower throughput, the pump uses significantly less energy. In addition, lower pressures and smoother control of the pressures reduces the burst rate in the zone.

Adam Kingdon, CEO of i2O Water, added: “We were eager to demonstrate to Manila Water how our Advanced Pressure Management solutions could help them to reduce their energy costs.

“The results from the pilot are very exciting. We are delighted to be working with Manila Water to demonstrate our new pump control technology for the first time in SE Asia. While enabling Manila Water to push up customer service levels to 96%, we have reduced leakage by 18% and had a significant impact on the utiliity’s energy bills. We estimate savings of around  £20,000 or $30,000, giving a fast payback on investment.”

These awards promote and celebrate the leading energy, resource and environmental technologies and innovations by organisations throughout the UK and Ireland. In particular, they highlight the innovations that are most likely to create a stir in the market and to shape the energy, transport, environment and industry sectors in the future.

Southampton-based i2O Water won both the Water Management Award and the overall Rushlight Award.

The Water Management Award celebrates innovation that reduces the use of water in a commercial or consumer setting or controls water flow for the benefit of the environment.

The Rushlight Award is presented to an innovation that has made and will continue to make a substantial contribution to addressing environmental issues.

i2O Water’s sophisticated technology tackles the water leakage problem by managing pressure within water pipelines. It is now helping water companies around the world to save over 100 million litres of water per day.

The Rushlight Awards ceremony was held at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on January 31. The keynote speaker was Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change.

“We are delighted to have won these two very important awards,” said Adam Kingdon, co-founder and CEO of i2O Water.

“The i2O Water team is dedicated to helping water companies better manage the world’s precious water resources. To receive both the Water Management Award and the overall Rushlight Award is great recognition for us, for our customers and for their ongoing commitment to optimising the performance of their water distribution networks. ”

12 December 2012, Southampton – i2O Water today announced that it has won the New Frontiers Award at the International Trade Awards in London, for the global successes of its patented Advanced Pressure Management technology.

Now entering their fifth year, the 2012 International Trade Awards are the only UK wide business awards to exclusively recognise the excellence achieved by the UK’s leading exporters and importers.

Despite a challenging global economy i2O has sold its solutions in 20 countries outside of the UK. This is thanks to a growing demand for its unique Advanced Pressure Management solutions, used by water utility firms around the world to optimise the performance of water distribution networks.

Founded in 2005, i2O developed and patented its Advanced Pressure Management solutions, which integrate robust loggers and controllers in the field, and software-based services that continuously track and optimise water network performance. This enables water utility firms across the world to typically reduce leakage by 20%, reduce pipe bursts by 40%, achieve 20% energy savings, extend the lifespan of their network assets, improve their customer service levels and reduce operating expenses by around 40%.

Adam Kingdon, CEO, i2O Water, comments, “We are tremendously pleased to win the New Frontiers award and to be recognised amongst so many outstanding exporters. Our successful work in new markets around the world is testament to the quality of our technology and the talent and dedication of the i2O team.”

By awarding i2O this industry honour, the judges recognised the company’s rapid growth, in the UK and abroad. This growth has been achieved through the installation of more than 900 of its unique Advanced Pressure Management systems in 21 countries, delivering benefits of leakage and burst frequency reduction, lower operating costs, increased customer service, energy savings and extended infrastructure lifetimes.

i2O’s dedication to innovation was also acknowledged at the awards, with judges highlighting the unique and patented Advanced Pressure Management system, which combines robust loggers and controllers in the field, and software-based services that continuously track and optimise water network performance. The i2O technology delivers benefits to water utility firms around the world, including leakage and burst reduction, lower operating costs, increased customer service levels, energy savings and extended infrastructure lifetimes.

Adam Kingdon, co-founder and CEO of i2O Water, said:

“We are delighted to have been recognised by the panel. This overall award highlights the importance of new technology for optimising water distribution networks.  i2O customers around the world are saving massive amounts of water through reduced leakage and burst rates, while at the same time improving their customer service and bringing down operating  costs”

About i2O Water

Founded in 2005, i2O Water’s patented Advanced Pressure Management solutions provide world-leading technology for optimising the performance of water distribution networks.

900+ installations across 21 countries have generated a rapid return on investment from Advanced Pressure Management, based on six significant benefits: Leakage reduction, burst frequency reduction, lower operating costs, improved customer service, energy savings and extended infrastructure lifetimes.

i2O has delivered its award-winning Advanced Pressure Management solutions to major UK water companies including South East Water, Veolia Water, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water and Anglian Water, and in hundreds of water networks in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. Each achieved substantial ROI and rapid payback.

Some examples include:

• SYABAS in Malaysia cut water leakage by 40 million litres per day and burst frequency by 48%
• Veolia Water is saving 2.5 million litres of water a day, leading to operational savings of £375,000 a year from an initial roll-out to 31 District Metering Areas (DMAs)
• Severn Trent Water reduced leakage by more than 19% across 30 DMAs

i2O Water is headquartered in Southampton, with offices in Malaysia, Spain and Colombia.

For more information please visit www.i2owater.com
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The aim of the workshop was twofold:

1.  To stimulate ideas and discussion between Malaysian water utilities, stakeholders and and NRW experts on how NRW can be reduced throughout Malaysia.

2.  To explain how Advanced Pressure Management can play a role in reducing NRW, and examine some examples of how Malaysian water utilities have implemented Advanced Pressure Management, and their experiences.

You can download all the presentations delivered here.

We were honoured to welcome Ir. Dr. Hasnul Bin Mohamad Salleh, Director General KeTTHA, Water Supply Department as keynote speaker at the workshop.

Dr Hasnul delivered an address entitled  ’An Overview of NRW in Malaysia’, calling all Malaysian water utilities to bring down the high levels of NRW across the country and adopt more creative thinking in their approach.  He explained how high levels of NRW increase operating costs and reduces the ability of utilities to meet the drinking water requirements of the population.

He went on to describe how the current levels of NRW are of grave concern to the government, and that KeTTHA will address NRW reduction and resource conservation as a key part of its strategy.

Dr Hasnul urged all water utilities to take an “outside the box” view of reducing NRW, and adopt a strategy of sustainable continuous investment and improvement, rather than the current practice of piecemeal project-based activity.  The vicious circle of low investment, institutional constraints and stakeholder indifference needs to be actively tackled, and Dr Hansul then went on to highlight some positive and encouraging examples of water utilities that have started to make gains and reduce NRW, and called for all utilities to learn from their experiences.

Dr Hasnul closed by saying how pleased he was that so many water utilities and industry stakeholders had come together to discuss the issues, review some successes, and together start to find ways to implement structural and operational changes to revolutionise network management and reduce NRW in Malaysia.

Following Dr Hasnul’s address, Gary Wyeth delivered an introduction to the principles of basic pressure management, supported by research by the IWA and other industry organisations.

Gary explained that the burst frequency in Malaysia is particularly high due to the ageing and poor quality network, which makes pressure management a particularly important tool in order to reduce burst rates.

Following this introduction to basic pressure management, Adam Kingdon introduced i2O Water and Advanced Pressure Management, explaining how i2O solutions deliver quantifiable benefits with:

• Reduced leakage
• Lowered burst frequency
• Improved customer service
• Reduced operational costs
• Extended asset lifespan
• Lowered energy costs

Adam went on to highlight how i2O works with a number of Malaysian water utilities, delivering a daily saving of over 63 million litres of water.

We were then pleased to welcome three i2O Water customers to describe their experiences with Advanced Pressure Management:

1.  Mr Roshidi Bin Lat, NRW Manager, SADA described the spectacular results achieved in Kedah from the installation of four i2O systems, from which he is saving 6.4MLD.

2.  Mr Ram Sulaiman, Labuan Project Manager, Jalur Cahaya described the successful NRW project carried out by JC on the island of Labuan, where 8 systems are delivering savings of 1,029 m3/day.

3.  Mr Ahmad Samhan Bin Daud, Senior NRW Manager, Jalur Cahaya presented the experience of Syabas with the i2O system, with 229 i2O systems now saving 54MLD, with 40% burst rate reduction.

Find out more about the customer case studies, download the workshop presentations.

Each of the i2O customer presentations generated a great deal of discussion, with ROI a key theme. Sylvain Lejeune addressed this topic in his presentation ‘Cost Benefit Models and ROI Calculations for Advanced Pressure Management’.

With over 70 attendees representing almost every water utility in Malaysia, the workshop facilitated a highly positive exchange of views, ideas and experiences with NRW in Malaysia, and was hailed as a success by attendees.

We look forward to seeing how KeTTHA, the water utilities and industry stakeholders move forward with a new vision for reducing NRW in Malaysia.

There’s long been an assumption that reducing pressure will impact burst frequency, but this relationship has never been well defined.

Over the last ten years, the IWA Water Loss Specialist Group has conducted studies investigating the wider benefits of pressure management, such as burst reduction.

Based on this work, it is now possible to accurately predict the impact that pressure reduction will have on burst frequency. There is a growing number of water companies who have demonstrated this in practice.

Join Allan Lambert, a key figure in the IWA for more than 17 years, and Andrew Burrows, CTO of i2O Water, for a half-day workshop on the latest research and best practice in this area. View the workshop agenda and book your place now.

“I was delighted to be invited by i2O Water to participate in these best practice workshops.

The IWA Water Loss Specialist Group exists to promote international best practice, and I hope these events will help to rapidly update UK Utilities and other groups on recent key international developments on pressure:burst relationships and their implications”

-  Allan Lambert

 www.leakssuite.com

We have two choices of date and location:

• Tuesday 27th November 2012 at the Royal Society of Chemists, London
• Wednesday 16th January 2013 at Coombe Abbey, near Coventry

Each workshop will start at 10:00am and finish at 2:00pm, with lunch and networking opportunities included.

The workshop will cover:

• Methodology: A globally applicable method for understanding how pressure impacts burst frequency
• Predicting burst reductions: Best practices for applying this methodology to successfully predict burst frequency reduction
• Real examples: Practical experiences of the impact of Advanced Pressure Management on burst frequency
• Quantifying the business impact: Burst frequency reduction drives lower operating costs, increased lifespan of network assets and improves customer satisfaction. Understand how to quantify these financially.

Yorkshire Water, which manages the collection, treatment and distribution of water in Yorkshire and supplies around 1.24 billion litres of drinking water per day to its customers, was keen to reduce leakage on its water distribution network. Not only that, it wanted to use the i2O Water systems to monitor the performance of its top 50 district meter areas (DMAs) and ensure it could respond rapidly when required.

i2O Water’s Advanced Pressure Management technology tackles the leakage problem by automatically and continuously managing pressure within water pipelines. It also gives water companies a remote control capacity over their PRVs, enabling them to increase and decrease pressure remotely at any time of the day and night.

Yorkshire Water ordered 62 Advanced Pressure Management systems for PRV control and 30 for network monitoring (these provide water company executives and network managers with a simple, visual interface to the real-time performance of their water systems).

The i2O systems have been installed in a range of locations across Yorkshire, including Harrogate and Longwood, near Huddersfield.

The systems have already made an impact, with improved customer service and savings of more than 1.5 million litres of water a day. They have also helped to detect network anomalies, equipment failures and problems such as increases in DMA flows.

“We are delighted to be working with Yorkshire Water on these projects,” said Adam Kingdon, CEO and co-founder of i2O Water, which is based in Southampton and has offices in Malaysia and Spain. “Our technology is already helping to reduce leakage, cut burst frequency, improve operational control and service for customers in the region.”

Steve Stanyon, Asset Operations Manager at Yorkshire Water commented on the successes of the project,

“With the help of this pioneering technology, we’ve just recorded our lowest ever leakage levels last year.

But we want to do more, and over the coming months and years we’re looking forward to working with i2O as we continue to drive down leakage and gain further control of our network.”

-Ends

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The traditional wisdom of water network management was that reducing background and unreported leakage was equivalent to replacing infrastructure. Let’s shoot a hole in that idea.

Leakage in water networks is separated into three groups, with tactics to address each:

1. Reported leaks and bursts

There’s a geyser in someone’s street or yard. Tactic: Send some service engineers to shut off the water, dig up the offending pipe or valve and repair or replace it.

2. Unreported leakage

Water that’s seeping out of valves or pipes, but goes unseen and unreported.Tactic: Record and monitor the rate of leakage and set a leakage ‘trigger point’. When this point is reached, take action to repair pipes and valves. Otherwise known as ‘find and fix’.

3. Background leakage

The water that seeps or bleeds out of joints, connections and valves across the network.Tactic: No real solution, this leakage is considered part of the marginal cost of water within the industry. There’s nothing to “find”.

At some point the effort of cutting leakage gets more expensive than the perceived benefits, so we have the idea of the Economic Level of Leakage (ELL). In the UK at least, this figure’s under constant negotiation between water companies and the regulators.

Water Pressure Management Mathematics: Flipping the economic level of leakage

But there’s another way to reduce both unreported leakage and background leakage that defies the typical mathematics of the economic level of leakage. Advanced Pressure Management has cut leakage by 30% or more in water networks by reducing background leakage, and significantly decreasing the growth of unreported leakage.

This benefit rests on another calculation that’s well known in our industry: an X% reduction in pressure leads to an X% reduction in leakage. And, because Advanced Pressure Management is implemented once but cuts leakage continuously, it’s a different kind of cost; the long-term benefits are not tied to new investments, like find and fix.

Mapping Advanced Water Pressure Management

The effects of Advanced Pressure Management are best illustrated below, with leakage on the y-axis and time on the x-axis:

Because Advanced Pressure Management continuously keeps pressure at the optimal level for maintaining customer service, it keeps background leakage at a minimum. And – on top of that – unreported leakage levels increase more slowly, and reported leaks are less frequent and less intense (there’s less pressure putting strain on the water network).

It is estimated that UK water companies spend £250,000 to £500,000 in traditional, manual find and fix activities to achieve 1,000,000 litres (1 Ml) of leakage savings. With Advanced Pressure Management the same savings can be delivered with just £100,000 of spend.

The Advanced Water Pressure Management eBook

This is just one of several myths about water networks. To read more and find out the six benefits of Advanced Water Pressure management, download our eBook here: