We deliver 542 million litres of water every day. To make sure we meet the needs of our customers, our controllers, monitor and control our network, including our Water Treatment Works, boosters and reservoirs.
Our Controller, Rob, shares an insight into what a day in the Control Room looks like.
Who works in the Control Room?
The Control Room consists of a Duty Control Manager, an Eastern Controller who looks after Kent and a Western Controller who looks after Sussex and The West.
Each Controller is responsible for monitoring the network via a system which gives us a live, real-time view of what's happening across South East Water.
We can view all the water treatment works, Boreholes, Boosters, Valves and Reservoirs across our patch.
What does your job role look like?
We, as Controllers, are responsible for responding to alarms that may come in from sites, investigating the cause, taking the appropriate action, and working in conjunction with our dedicated Production staff, such as Site Operators, Electricians and Treatment and Mechanical Operatives.
All alarms and actions must be logged and kept up to date. This is very important and requires excellent communication between staff to ensure that the water keeps flowing and that we have the right people on the right job.
During the day, we need to manage our abstraction from river and borehole sources and liaise with other water companies to ensure the water keeps flowing during times of demand.
Reservoirs need to be turned over. Like stock rotation, the freshest water goes out first to be replenished by the newly treated/produced water from our works.
Reservoirs need to be turned over. Like stock rotation, the freshest water goes out first to be replenished by the newly treated/produced water from our works
We also monitor the network looking for potential bursts, by examining the flow of water and the pressures around the network. Working alongside our colleagues in Distribution and Wholesale Household to ensure that any bursts that occur are reported and responded to as swiftly as possible.
Each Control Room Team works a 12-hour shift and must produce a concise handover for the incoming team. During the evening, we work with our standby teams to ensure the same quality of response and water quality management that our Day Team provides.
We work closely alongside our out-of-hours Wholesale Household Team. We keep the water flowing whilst responding to our alarms and filling reservoirs up overnight, ready for morning demand.
From burst mains and leak detection to reservoir maintenance and watching the water treatment works, every day is always different in the Control Room.
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