WRc hosts Metering & Demand Focus Day with Severn Trent Water

On 14 May, a group of 33 metering experts from Severn Trent Water made the journey to WRc Swindon for a Metering & Demand Focus Day, part of their preparation for AMP8 and the water industry’s focus on increasing and improving flow metering.

The day was opened by WRc’s Managing Director Andy Blackhall, who confessed to being a “measurement geek” and emphasised WRc’s vision to help Severn Trent to help their customers, adding “The thing that drives us at WRc is knowledge sharing.” The day developed into just that with WRc speakers sharing their knowledge about a wide range of metering topics and specialties, and the Severn Trent team interacting with each other and the speakers.

Andy Godley, WRc Principal Consultant in Flows and Metering, kicked off the main schedule with an insightful talk about ‘Source and strategic meters’, focusing on WRc’s specialist meter testing services, consultancy work and modelling. Andy’s talk was illustrated with a huge range of old, new, small and large meters, which participants were able to hold, examine and discuss during the course of the day. He spoke in depth about the importance of correct and accurate installation of meters and their maintenance, and the conundrum of verification – a topic that WRc is currently working on with Severn Trent Water.

Lively discussions ensued covering many hot topics, including electromagnetic versus mechanical meters and the testing of different technologies, a subject that WRc has specialised in over many years, including through collaborative Portfolio projects.

Mikal Willmott, Water Analyst at Severn Trent said, “At WRc we can test if a meter we have chosen is really what we need before we install it. With so much choice [in meters] out there, this testing service is really helpful.”

Glen Mountfort, WRc Technical Consulting Director, spoke about district and network meters, and water balance and reporting; Richard Foster, Head of Water Networks, led a breakout session on trunk mains; and James Tremlett, WRc’s expert in Digital Products & Services, led a breakout session to discuss Water Asset Network Distribution analysis (WANDa) software.

After a tour of WRc’s exciting testing facility where attendees saw testing in action, the workshop returned to an in-depth review of revenue meters and the expected greater usage over AMP8. As the coverage across the UK grows there will be an ever-expanding database of test results to analyse. The question was asked of the workshop participants: Are all meters equal at measuring, and, therefore, do they all produce accurate measurements? “No, not all meters are equal”, said Andy Godley, which is why meter testing and investigating, including meter under-registration, is such a vital service for Severn Trent and the wider water industry.