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On a visit to the 330-metre-high Emley Moor Tower, the tallest freestanding structure in the UK, Mr Eastwood learned about a lesser-known application of the site – helping to detect and repair water leaks.

The Yorkshire Water area was hit particularly hard by water shortages in 2022, with a hosepipe ban in place until 6 December 2022.

Arqiva, the company which owns and operates the Emley Moor transmitter, has developed a way to use its pre-existing television infrastructure to monitor water flow using connected smart meters.

(From left) Craig Kelly, broadcast operations manager at Arqiva, Dewsbury MP Mark Eastwood and Laura Hedge, public affairs manager at Arqiva.

The company’s transmitter sites, including Emley Moor, form part of a network receiving signals sent out by smart water meters connected to domestic and commercial properties, allowing water companies to monitor consumption across their pipe network in near real-time.

The technology can allow water companies, like Yorkshire Water, and consumers to quickly locate and repair water leaks.

The data provided by these smart meters can also be used to provide accurate billing and give consumers the intelligence to manage their own usage.

Mr Eastwood was given a behind-the-scenes tour of Emley Moor Tower, in his capacity as member of parliament for the area.

As well as recognising the importance of this critical national infrastructure to the provision of television and radio to more than five million people in Yorkshire, Mr Eastwood was ‘impressed’ to hear about the latest innovation in utilities monitoring.

Commenting on the visit, Mr Eastwood said: “Emley Moor Tower is hugely significant, at twice the height of Blackpool Tower, I have a huge sense of pride in it, as the constituency MP.

“Everybody associates Emley Moor Tower with TV transmission, but I wasn’t aware, until today, that it is also used in the smart metering of utilities.

“It could be further used to prevent the leakage of water; it could potentially be used by Yorkshire Water with the roll-out of smart water meters.

“We don’t want any more hosepipe bans, and if we can alleviate that by using modern technology linked to this mast, then that’s all for the good.”

Laura Hedge, public affairs manager at Arqiva, said: “Emley Moor Tower is an iconic structure, which everyone from West Yorkshire recognises. But it’s so much more than just a landmark.

“Not only does it provide Freeview TV and broadcast radio services to more than five million people across the region, it is also part of a network that receives smart water metering information to enable water companies and their customers to save millions of litres of water.

“We were delighted to welcome Mr Eastwood to Emley Moor Tower for a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on behind the façade of our most iconic transmitter.”

Arqiva is at the heart of the broadcast and utilities sectors in the UK and abroad, providing critical data, network and communications services.

For more information about Arqiva, visit www.arqiva.com

Dewsbury MP transmits support for smart water metering on visit to iconic Emley Moor Tower