Southern Water has been able to cut the average time spent on suitable repair jobs from three hours to 15 minutes; new tech is set to dramatically cut the time needed to repair water pipes.

Southern Water’s ‘no-dig’ tech trial of Origin No Dig – a food-grade, calcium carbonate solution injected into pipes to find and seal leaks - has resulted in no road closures, no excavations and completion in under 30 minutes - in a trial of Origin No Dig – a food-grade, calcium carbonate solution injected into pipes to find and seal leaks.

In Duncan Road in Gillingham, Kent, a repair that would previously have required three months’ notice and two separate road closures was completed in less than half an hour. The use of Origin No Dig cut the need for two weekends of out-of-hours working, which would have also involved road closures, and associated disruption to traffic, pedestrians, and local trade.

The trial, across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent, is focused on the repair of communication pipes, which carry water between the mains and customers’ external water meters. Leaks in these pipes can lead to significant water loss and reduced water pressure.

Southern Water spends £4.5 million per year fixing leaking communication pipes. Most repairs require permits, road closures and physical excavation, and can take several days to complete. A team using the standard ‘dig’ process can usually fix between one and three leaks a day. Using Origin No-Dig, teams have repaired up to 11 leaks in one day.

Jon Ross, Southern Water’s Innovation Project Manager, said:

“The results from our trial of Origin No Dig are impressive. The solution enables our teams to undertake work far faster than was previously possible, meaning they can attend and complete a greater number of repairs each week, with almost no disruption or inconvenience to the public. What’s more, we have reduced health and safety risk for our repair teams while helping prevent significant quantities of water being wasted through leakage.”

Andy Farrow, regional operations manager for Southern Water’s delivery partner Clancy, added:

“Origin No Dig has allowed us to complete comms pipe repairs in a quick and effective way. A team can complete increased volumes of repairs when compared with the traditional methods whilst at the same time reducing complicated traffic management solutions and significantly decreasing the risks associated with excavations. Repairs are completed with almost no wastage, minimal disruption to customers and almost no mess. All things considered, it’s a great solution to most communication pipe leaks.”

The water company’s use of new tech and other proactive work has led to a bumper year for leak reduction. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the company reduced weekly leakage by more than 15%, from 108.1 million litres per day to 91.1million litres per day - saving 17 million litres every day, enough to serve 35,000 customers.