New Chlorine Monitors see £336K Savings a Year for Yorkshie Water

One of UK’s largest water companies, Yorkshire Water, has announced operational expenditure savings of £336k a year, following the installation of a new bufferless chlorine monitoring system.

The ground-breaking two year asset replacement scheme to supply and install a new chlorine monitoring and control system has helped Yorkshire Water to provide 4.8million people with high quality drinking water, whilst securing vast savings that can be passed on to customers.

The region-wide asset replacement programme, the first of its kind, has seen 450 new chlorine monitors installed throughout the company, replacing the inefficient and costly amperometric system previously used throughout the company.

Following an extensive tender process in July 2010, results established that specialist electrochemical sensor manufacturer Analytical Technology offered the most accurate, efficient, reliable and cost effective system, therefore winning the framework. 

Yorkshire Water requested that the new system be free from the use of chemical buffering wherever possible, as acetate and phosphate buffers are expensive and environmentally unfriendly. It is estimated that the cost to the UK water industry of operating these monitors with buffer can exceed £20 million per year, while impacting on environmental, health and safety issues. Buffer delivery systems are also maintenance-intensive and reagents are costly. By minimising the use of reagents, Yorkshire Water sites now achieve huge operating cost savings and reduce their environmental impact. 

Analytical Technology tailor-made a bespoke solution to fit Yorkshire Water’s needs and provided instruments that fitted their individual criteria. Since their installation, the intuitive interface of the Q46H Chlorine Monitors has enabled operators to easily calibrate and operate  the instruments. A huge investment in training also means that Yorkshire Waters ICA department carry out all front line maintenance with no need for regular ATi assistance.

The vast majority of the installations are buffer free, eliminating problems of storing, handling and disposing of 25 litres per month of chemical reagents, proving to be an extremely economical solution. 

Alan Henson, Project Manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Analytical Technology came out comfortably the best performer in our rigorous selection process, and ATi’s vast experience with membrane technology places them ahead of most of their competitors, who were one step behind them in adopting the new technology. Now that the roll-out is complete, we have seen around £336K of OPEX savings per annum, comprising £155k yearly reduction in reagents costs and £181.4k savings in maintenance. 

“Our main criteria was to focus on reliability, accuracy and cost effectiveness. This is why we selected Analytical Technology’s Q46H Residual Chlorine Monitor as our preferred analyser. The customer service provided by Analytical Technology throughout the initial development of the monitor to ensure it best suited our needs, as well as during the installation process, has been excellent. ATi provided a first rate service and it has been a pleasure working with a company who are so customer focused.  The high level of technical support that ATi provides really differentiates the company, and all staff have extensive knowledge of their products.”

Dr. Michael Strahand, General Manager Europe at Analytical Technology, added: “The results of this ground-breaking asset replacement scheme confirms that Analytical Technology’s chlorine monitors are unrivalled in the market, maintaining our position as one of the leading suppliers of water monitoring systems in the UK.

“This framework agreement to supply bufferless chlorine monitors to Yorkshire Water now means Analytical Technology provides instrumentation to 95% of all of the UK’s major water companies due in no small part to the industry leading high levels of service and experience that ATi offers.

“ATi prides itself on providing award winning customer service, offering first rate support and response times to any customer requirements. It has been a real pleasure working alongside all the staff at Yorkshire Water, providing them with a chlorine monitoring system that offers reliability, accuracy and cost effectiveness, ensuring high quality drinking water for their 4.8million customers.”

For more information about ATi’s Q46H Chlorine Monitors, or any other ATi products, please call 0800 804 6062, email or visit the website.