Super-sniffer spaniels track down water leaks for Southern Water in Hampshire

Southern Water have been trialling “super-sniffer” spaniels to track down leaking pipes in Hampshire.

The water company has brought on board Mylo, Kilo and Tico to detect the scent of chlorine from treated water which has enabled them to find leaks on pipes several metres below ground. The move has enabled them to locate issues in hard-to-access parts of the county as it looks to crack down on its leaks across the network.

Handlers Stephanie Barrett and Lewis Worley and the three dogs form the canine-assisted detection team CAPE SPC who are helping Southern Water. The team follows the route of water mains, moving in a zigzag pattern.

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When they find an area of interest they lie down and the handler will then confirm if their is a leak by testing surface water for chlorine or via acoustic confirmation. Over a 30 day period the dogs have identified around 20 leaks with a 95 per cent accuracy rate.

Dr Nick Mills, Director of Environment and Innovation at Southern Water, said: “We’re committed to cutting network leakage by 50 per cent by 2050 and hitting that target means combining prevention with smarter, faster detection.

“Rural areas have long posed a challenge in identifying leaks and CAPE’s dogs offer a promising solution that complements existing approaches such as acoustic network sensors and our work upgrading water mains across the region. By combining data, technology, skilled people and innovation we can cut bursts, reduce interruption to supply and ensure future resilience for the network."

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Water leaks in rural areas are harder to identify with the usual methods of detection not being as effective. Underground leaks are usually identified by monitoring flow and pressure data with acoustic sensors but in rural areas the sound of a leak travelling along a pipe does not always carry. This is where Southern Water hope the dogs can help, using scent rather than sound.

CAPE SPC is the only company in the UK delivering canine-assisted leak detection and is the first in Europe to develop the service.

Handler Lewis Worley said: “While there’s no denying our dogs are cute, these are working animals specially trained to carry out a job. Dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses where humans only have about six million. Day after day we see them sniff out leaks in remote and hard-to-access areas that may otherwise have gone undetected.

“We all know how effective dogs are when it comes to detecting explosives or drugs and CAPE is excited to be leading the way in demonstrating how they can help water companies.”