Institute of Water 186

SUMMER2015 ISSUE186

IN THIS ISSUE: FUTURE OF WATER LEAKAGE RENEWABLE ENERGY

INSTITUTE OF WATER JOURNAL

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION commitment. They were really interested in the Water Industry and the future challenges of AMP6. Most of them had never thought about how water comes from their taps or where their toilet is flushed to before entering the industry, but they now firmly see themselves here for years to come delivering excellent services to customers and stakeholders.

Unsurprisingly, those who had a real passion for their careers and the industry were members of the Institute of Water, whilst those looking to others to forward their own development weren’t. This has demonstrated that our members are always looking at their career development and how they can improve on their skills and knowledge and expand their experience for the future. Membership of the Institute is a vital tool for today’s Apprentices and Trainees with so many quality events being run, our mentoring programme and, postqualification, Professional Registration routes.

Welcome to the Summer edition of the Journal!

So please help spread the message to tomorrow’s workforce – “the Institute of Water is the only professional body that exclusively supports the careers of anyone working in the UK water sector”.

I am thrilled to have been asked to write the introduction for this journal – as always we’ve got some great articles in this edition.

March was our Apprentices Month and I hope you had time to read and reflect on the articles that were circulated to all Members during this time. I was out and about talking with employers about their training schemes and their perception of Apprentices in the industry – and I was pleasantly surprised. Most Water Companies are now investing heavily in their Apprentices to ensure these business essential roles are filled with quality employees, trained and skilled to the right level for the right job.

Companies are now looking outside the box on Apprenticeships, and new and exciting pathways are opening up for prospective Apprentices (Customer Service Apprenticeships, Quality Monitoring Apprenticeships, Higher Apprenticeships at Degree-level, etc.).

I hope you enjoy reading this edition of the Journal which focuses on the future of water we have some great content including articles from OFWAT and Water UK. As always, you’ll find news on our latest areas of registrations in addition to updates about what’s been going on in our Areas.

Stay safe and have a great summer – I hope to see many of you at our National Conference!

James Williams 2015 Rising Star, Institute of Water Technicians & Apprentices Champion, Institute of Water Automation Engineer, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water jamesjwilliams@live.co.uk

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Features 14 IWA UK Young Water

Professionals Conference

16-34 Future of Water 62-82 Pipeline Technology – Leakage

58-59 Renewable Energy

Regulars 4 Members Update 5 2015 Conference

6-7 Environment News 8-9 Science News

10-11 Wateraid – Ethiopia 84 Wateraid – Tanzania

91-98 Area News

One point that stood out to me from talking with Apprentices across our industry was their

Institute of Water HQ: 4 Carlton Court, Team Valley, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 0AZ Website: www.instituteofwater.org.uk President: Heidi Mottram Chairperson: Dermot Devaney Chief Executive: Lynn Cooper Editorial, Marketing & Communications Manager: Dan Barton Tel: 0191 422 0088 Fax: 0191 422 0087 Email: dan@instituteofwater.org.uk Advertising: Martin Jamieson Tel: 0845 884 2333 Email: martin.jamieson@distinctivegroup.co.uk Designed and produced by: Distinctive Publishing Tel: 0845 884 2383 Email: production@distinctivegroup.co.uk

The Institute of Water is the only professional body solely concerned with the UK water industry. We can support and develop your career whoever you are and whatever you do. We do this by providing a unique learning, developing and networking framework. For details on how to join visit www.instituteofwater.org.uk today.

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MEMBERSUPDATE

INSTITUTE OF WATER WEBSITE RECEIVES ‘MARK OF EXCELLENCE’ The Institute of Water’s website has been given a ‘Mark of Excellence’ for ‘Best Association Website’ at The Association Excellence Awards 2015.

The Institute of Water’s website is a vital component of Membership and acts as a central hub for Members allowing them to book events, pay invoices and benefit from a unique online CPD platform. The website was launched in 2013 and was a significant investment for the Institute of Water, contributing to its goal of continuously improving Member experience and the careers of those working in the UK water sector.

Dan Barton, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Institute of Water commented ‘We’re delighted to receive this accolade – it’s great recognition of our efforts in continually looking to improve the experience of our

members. We’re thrilled with the positive way members have take to our new online approach and alongside the other benefits of membership, we truly believe we offer something different for anyone looking to get on in the water sector’ The website was created by North East Web Design experts Union Room. Michael Justice, Account Manager at Union Room commented ‘We were thrilled to get the opportunity to work with the Institute of Water on such a significant project for the organisation. To get national recognition for the website is testament to all of the hard work carried out, and we’re looking forward to working closely with the Institute of Water on further digital marketing strategies for their membership in the future.’

The Associations Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the important and excellent work done by individuals and teams from professional and trade associations.

There were 18 categories and entries were judged by over 25 of the most accomplished senior association leaders.

A BIG WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBER! We’re delighted to welcome our first apprentice to the Institute of Water Head Office team.

Jordan Maloy joined us in March as a Business Administration Apprentice and will be working with the team on all things membership while he completes his qualification. After leaving school in 2008, Jordan studied at Gateshead College for two years and gained a national diploma in coaching and fitness.

AFC (unfortunately). Jordan also enjoys going to the gym, swimming and walking his dog.

Jordan is a keen football fan which he plays 2-3 times per week and is a big supporter of Sunderland

Be sure to say ‘hello’ next time you call Head Office!

Jordan’s role within the company involves dealing with enquires, processing payments, sending welcome letters and chasing overdue subscriptions. He looks after our membership cycle and is the main point of contact for any matters regarding membership.

WELL KENT FACE RECEIVES FELLOWSHIP Long-serving Member Kathy Auld of Scottish Water has been awarded Fellow Membership of the Institute of Water.

Kathy has maintained continuous membership of the Institute for over 20 years, first joining as an associate in 1994 and becoming a corporate member in 2004. Kathy currently serves on both the Scottish Area committee (a position she has maintained since before the current electronic Scottish Area committee minutes extend), the National Board since May 2011 and has recently become Chartered Environmentalist assessor.

Kathy has fulfilled roles as Scottish Area Chair and National Chair.

At a national level Kathy is a "well kent face" and the majority of the people considering this nomination will most likely be acquainted with Kathy through both her official and "social" activities.

Kathy's contacts and networks across areas and companies are astonishing and she is renowned for her ability to facilitate and organise activities across the UK. Well done Kathy!

INSTITUTE OF WATER WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS FUJITSU The water industry is constantly having to change under the heavy weight of increasing pressure and scrutiny from public and private stakeholders.

Optimising assets and using insight-led analytics to create a smart workforce is key to making sure water organisations don’t collapse under these pressures.

Our knowledge and services in these areas enable you to adapt to industry challenges and help drive operational excellence throughout your

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organisation. Connecting your infrastructure delivers insightful intelligence that you can act upon. It drives improved, insight-led decision making throughout your business with the results being a better customer experience for all.

We have helped the likes of Metawater and Sydney Water overcome such business and industry challenges. At Metawater we overhauled their water maintenance facilities using Augmented Reality technology, and at Sydney Water we

consolidated their asset management systems.

We support the provision of water to 1/3 of the British land mass and support the IT to heat 16m homes in the UK through our work with Centrica, United Utilities and Scottish Water.

For more information, please contact Ask Fujitsu at askfujitsu@uk.fujitsu.com or telephone: +44 (0) 843 354 7998

Institute of Water

ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 9-10 July 2015

Cambridge

Business in the >InnovatiSn >CollaboratiSn

New W rld

>TransformatiSn

If you are innovative, ready to collaborate and help us to transform our industry, come and join us.

Book online at www.instituteofwater.org.uk

Chaired by Peter Simpson, Institute of Water President

A new SocEnv Register for Technicians

Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech)

The Society for the Environment has recently created a register for Environmental Technicians which complements that for Chartered Environmentalists and the Institute of Water is now able to accept applications for this new qualification.

REnvTech potentially has a much broader appeal than Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv): not only is this a qualification in its own right, it also provides a useful platform for career progression.

REnvTech applies to a significant number of people, particularly for employees in the water sector, including water companies, regulators and the supply chain. The qualification is benchmarked at QCF Level 3 and the application forms are already posted on the Institute of Water’s website (www.instituteofwater.org.uk).

In creating this register, the Society for the Environment is delivering on one of its key aspirations when it was formed and is also answering the call by the Technicians Council to raise the profile, status and number of Technicians in the workforce, following a report by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

This report highlighted an alarming skills gap between the number of technicians working in the UK and the 450,000 needed by 2020 to underpin a growing economy.

The application and registration process provided by the Institute of Water delivers a qualification which is independently assessed and recognises both existing Technicians and those aspiring to become registered. The REnvTech competencies are derived from those applying to Chartered Environmentalist, but benchmarked at technician level.

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Eligibility Criteria for REnvTech:

n Be willing to comply with the Institute of Water’s code of conduct and The Society for the Environment’s Code of Ethics.

The full set of competencies for Registered Environmental Technician can be found on the Institute of Water’s web site.

n To apply for registration, an applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria:

n Be able to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development.

n Be an individual member or equivalent, of a Licensed Body such as the Institute of Water.

Eligibility Criteria – Practical Experience

n Have a level of knowledge understanding and skills equivalent to at least level 3 in the Qualifications and Credit Framework of England Wales and Northern Ireland 2013.

Each applicant for registration shall ordinarily have at least the equivalent of two years full time relevant work-based practice, which need not be contiguous.

As with the Chartered Environmentalist competencies, those for REnvTech are deliberately generic, in order to cover the diversity of people working in the environmental field and who are members of one of SocEnv’s Licensed Bodies, such as the Institute of Water.

n Possess sufficient relevant practical experience to be able to demonstrate the REnvTech competencies.

To be considered as relevant, work-based practice must have a direct and distinct environmental focus and / or context.

n Have demonstrable underpinning environmental knowledge and an ability to apply it in practice.

The relevant work-based practice may comprise paid employment, voluntary activity work placements, but may not include pure educational study.

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Individual applicants will therefore need to translate their own specific context to align with the competency criteria in order to claim eligibility for REnvTech.

This is not as complicated as much of the above formal description implies, so if REnvTech appears to apply to your job role, why not apply?

ENVIRONMENTNEWS

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LATEST CHARTERED ENVIRONMENTALIST! Jenny Lundh Environmental Regulation Planner, South West Water I currently work in a specialised environmental role within South West Water’s Engineering directorate, but my previous experience includes teaching geography and environmental science. I applied for CEnv status to bring all of this together and achieve recognition for it.

Initially I thought that I would need to write a Masters level report as part of the application

process, but I was pleased to learn that my existing postgraduate teaching qualification would provide the necessary proof that I had studied at this level. I enjoyed writing the Career Report, as the process of setting everything down on paper helped me to realise how much I met the criteria needed.

My Professional Review interview was a couple of weeks ago and I have just heard that I was successful. I am feeling proud of my new status which I’m sure will help me to achieve my career goal of more responsible environmental roles into the future.

PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT GOVERNMENT – POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ACROSS THE PROFESSIONS Another long held aspiration of SocEnv was to publically express views about the environment to a wider audience than just Chartered Environmentalists and it achieved this for the first time when it launched the report at Westminster on 16th March.

The key message from this event was that “A more holistic approach is needed; creating long-term strategies to tackle environmental challenges”.

breadth of professional interest and experience of SocEnv Member Bodies. They represent a holistic approach to multi-faceted, complex sustainability challenges facing the next Government.”

Tony Juniper, President of SocEnv, who chaired the launch debate said, “Today’s report confirms once more that achieving a healthy environment is far from marginal to Britain’s interests. Looking after where we live, both globally and locally, is vital for our long term health, wealth and security and must be a far more prominent agenda item as we approach the election.”

The full report can be found on the websites of both the Institute of Water and SocEnv.

In conclusion

The main points raised in the report are as follows: n The importance of the UK leading on climate agreements and embedding the environment across education in order to challenge and change behaviors; n Supporting the call for a Nature and Wellbeing Bill, a new Air Quality Strategy and highlighting the vital importance of soil protection; n Asking that energy be regarded as an ecosystem and recommending low carbon

energy policy measures from energy production, through supply to consumption; n Exploring the long term commitments needed to build a resilient UK and create a circular economy, which will return resources to the UK and create jobs.

Commenting on the report, the Society’s interim CEO Adam Donnan said; “The 48 policy recommendations in the report showcase the

With SocEnv at last beginning to demonstrate an outward facing profile and with the addition of a new Registered Environmental Technicians Qualification to complement that for Chartered Environmentalist, those of you who aspire to progress your career have ample opportunities to do so, by becoming registered as REnvTech or CEnv.

Next Journal We will hear all about Ian Barker (VP Environmentelect) and his career with the Environment Agency, covering Regulation, Policy & Strategy, planning for secure water supplies and Management & Leadership.

Tim Boldero VP Environment.

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WE ARE DELIGHTED TO CONGRATULATE OUR LATEST TWO CHARTERED SCIENTISTS! Jacky Atkinson

advertises this. I am thrilled to be awarded CSci status, after all these years of being jealous of engineers & chemists who have their own Chartership bodies!

Principal Inspector with the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI)

I have been an Inspector in the DWI since 2010, and before that I had a long career with Severn Trent Water working in various scientific and technical roles in the company.

The reason I applied for Chartership status is because, working as a DWI Inspector, I believe it is important to be able to demonstrate to the companies that we regulate that we are professionals in our field and are committed to continuous professional development – which is one of the requirements.

It is important to be able to keep up with new developments in water science to enable us to

I have always worked as a water quality and water treatment scientist, and applying for chartered biologist or chartered chemist status did not really reflect my professional interest, but being able to gain CSci through IoW fits my chosen profession much more closely. The application process is straightforward and the professional interview is nothing to be nervous about! carry out our professional duties effectively. It is also important for us to be aware of emerging issues that we might wish to sponsor further research on. Apart from this, I am a scientist, and I love science, and having a CSci “badge”

I was really pleased to recently be awarded Chartered Scientist status by the Institute of Water. I had been aware of the Institute of Water for some time and when I read about scientists from other water companies becoming chartered through IoW I thought that if they had done it then I should too. The combination of being professionally recognised and the challenge of making it happen both appealed to me.

John Coulson Technical Advisor, Northumbrian Water

I have worked in a scientific role for Northumbrian Water for over 12 years, first as a Water Quality Scientist and more recently as a Technical Advisor, spending the majority of my time being involved in water treatment projects. My work can involve investment projects, optimisation, troubleshooting, R&D and policy work. I am lucky to have a varied job with a good balance of office and site work, which allows me to travel around the beautiful North East countryside visiting our different

I want now to promote this with my colleagues in the Inspectorate, and encourage people to consider applying for CSci status – we are as an organisation committed to CPD so people need not be put off by the requirements.

water treatment works and working with the interesting characters that operate them.

After gaining years of experience and having completed a part-time MSc in 2011 it seemed a natural progression to go for a professional qualification. The application process was fairly straight forward. Once I had submitted my initial application I was invited to progress straight to the final report. I structured my final report to demonstrate that I met each of the Science Council competencies, giving different examples of my work for each one.

An interview to discuss my application then followed at IoW Head Office before learning my fate when a CSci certificate dropped through my letterbox a few weeks later. The next steps for me are to continue to develop management of my CPD and to help other Northumbrian Water employees along the path to becoming chartered scientists.

I had been aware of the Institute of Water for some time and when I read about scientists from other water companies becoming chartered through IoW I thought that if they had done it then I should too.

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SCIENCENEWS

Our first Registered Scientist!

In order to identify key areas of development I carried out a series of assessments which tested me on aspects of what I would need to be able to deal with in my day job; from these assessments a development plan was put in place and I began the process of working towards a higher level of knowledge and confidence in each area, committing myself to CPD (Continued Professional Development). Upon doing this I learned to identify other area’s that I needed to expand my knowledge and what I needed to do in order to help achieve this.

OUR FIRST REGISTERED SCIENCE TECHNICIAN

I chose to apply for Registered Scientist status initially as at this point in my career in terms of experience, within work and also academically, I felt that this would be the best place to start and allow it to provide a ‘stepping stone’ to achieving Chartered Status which is where I’d like to be in a few years time after working to continue my development.

Sam Harris Anglian Water, Water Quality Communications Scientist Congratulations to Sam Harris, who has recently become the Institute of Water’s first Registered Scientist. Here Sam describes career to date, and her reasons for striving to gain her Registered status.

I have been working for Anglian Water for the past 11 years in a few different roles all of which involved science or regulation; from Laboratory Technician and regulatory sampler to Scientist.

Currently I am working as Anglian Water’s Water Quality Communications Scientist. In this job role I spend my time communicating with customers usually over the phone and following up on any investigations that we’d carried out to help with their enquiries about the quality of their water. I’m also the main contact for our Call Centre agents and ensure that their training, knowledge and confidence in water quality is kept as up to date as possible so that our customers receive all of the correct information they require as soon as they call in. Other aspects of my role include updating water quality literature including water quality factsheets and being involved with updates on our company website amongst other things.

Throughout my time with Anglian Water it has only become apparent within the last few years that there was an option for me to gain professional recognition for how I’d developed myself and grown as a scientist. When I became aware that this was a possibility I was keen to pursue professional status with the Institute of Water.

The application process was straightforward; I wrote a report against the key ‘Registered Scientist’ competencies and sent it along with an application form signed by two Chartered sponsors and evidence that I was logging my CPD, to the Institute of Water. It didn’t take long to be invited for my professional review interview which was more like a formal chat about my career so far with 2 assessors from the Institute.

I talked through my report I’d submitted and the assessors asked questions to encourage me to provide the required amount of evidence of my experience and knowledge which they knew I had. I felt like it was a very positive experience; the assessors were on my side and wanted me to succeed in my interview.

I received my certificate through the post to advise that I had been successful. I felt like I’d achieved something meaningful; being the first Registered Scientist within the Institute of Water felt like a great accomplishment!

Becoming Registered means that I’m well on my way to continuing my development, learning new skills and gaining my Chartership in the coming years. Achieving Registered status through the IoW was important to me as there are many members in the Institute with different levels of experience and knowledge and although I like to learn and develop myself, I also enjoy passing my experiences on to others within the industry. This became more apparent to me when I was invited to speak at a recent IoW event in Peterborough to share my experience of the Registered Scientist process helping to answer any questions and relieve any worries that people may have had about working towards becoming a Registered Scientist.

Holly Welham Anglian Water, Scientific Technician I joined the Water Quality team at Anglian Water as a Scientific Technician in 2014.

The role is extremely varied and I was able to apply my scientific knowledge in a range of situations; from monitoring the companies alternative supplies, to discussing drinking water quality with customers.

As a new graduate, I felt that it was very important to start developing my career and to establish myself as a young professional. The RSciTech registration status, offered by the Institute of Water and the Science Council, was the perfect first step for me. Striving for my professional registration encouraged me to reflect upon my skills and to focus on my continuing professional development.

Becoming professionally registered means that I have gained recognition for my scientific work in the industry. It is also an excellent foundation for future development and progression, as I am able to build upon the competencies I have already demonstrated. It was a fantastic bonus to become registrant number 000001 for the Institute and I hope that I might inspire newcomers to the industry to apply for their registration too!

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WaterAid Trek Ethiopia March 2015

Last month I had the honour of taking part in the WaterAid Trek Ethiopia Challenge. With a team of 14 volunteers, I trekked through the Simien Mountains and witnessed first-hand how WaterAid has transformed the lives of a community living in Chinkura, Ethiopia.

By Francesca Madden, Member Engagement Manager, Institute of Water

After 10 months of fundraising I finally met with the team and flew to the Capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. From there we travelled to Gondar and then onto the Simien Mountains National Park.

The Trek was surreal with breathtaking views and unique wildlife. The National Park is home to the Gelada Monkeys and features many incredibly steep, canyon-style gorges. Not only did we experience both incredible wildlife and scenery, but we also experienced the local culture while trekking through remote villages.

We trekked for a total of 6 days and steadily climbed to around 4,200metres. Both a mental and physical challenge, the trek made me realise how difficult life is for people living without access to safe, clean water. Despite some of the extreme conditions I witnessed, the people are genuinely happy, generous and humble. One of

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the many highlights was visiting a local village to participate in a coffee ceremony. We were able to talk to the local community and had the pleasure of sampling Ethiopia’s sour dish injera.

After the trek we returned to Gondar to prepare for our visit to the WaterAid Project. We headed 35km outside of Gonder to Chinkura, a village in the Mekuwamia locality. We were proudly greeted by Tewodros Wendmneh, a WaterAid Ethiopia representative, who also works with the partner organisation Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development Arm. The Church is WaterAid’s oldest partner and has been involved in 11 WASH projects, 5 within the Gondar zone.

We visited the Dembo Project Phase 3, which started in October 2013. The project will run until March 2016, with a target of 31,000 people benefitting from the facilities. In order to increase community buy in and ownership of the project, the community has contributed an average of 87p per person. The project has provided 22 water supply points, 5 blocks of ventilated pit latrines and 2500 traditional latrines.

We visited the centre of Chinkura, where the local community had access to two spring taps, a collection chamber, a washing point and a cattle trough. It was evident that access to clean water

and sanitation has provided great benefits to the community, especially in regards to health. There has been a huge decrease in waterborne diseases and time spent collecting water, allowing families to send their children to school.

The Chairman of the WASH committee Getu Endeshaw expressed his gratitude and explained how nine people from the community were on the WASH committee, each taking on different roles such as cashier, secretary and treasurer. He also told us that his community work extremely hard and are very grateful for the help they receive.

Words can’t even describe how amazing the trip was and I feel truly blessed to have been part of such an amazing experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has supported me over the last 10 months. The trip has inspired me to continue working with WaterAid to help ensure that we live in a world where everyone, everywhere has access to safe water and sanitation.

For further information please visit: www.wateraid.org

WATERAID

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VEOLIA

Exciting times for Veolia These are exciting times for Veolia, the environmental solutions provider and world’s largest water company, as it implements its new strategy in the UK water sector.

Driving the strategy is new Chief Operating Officer John Abraham, who heads up its water business in the UK having joined from MWH Constructors Inc and Treatment Ltd., where he was Chief Operating Officer. Since succeeding Steve Shine OBE, John has continued the work to reposition Veolia by implementing a new long-term strategy that maximises customer value through operations and service optimisation.

John, who brings with him a strong track record of driving innovation and delivering business growth, said: “I am very excited about the opportunities that exist for the company over the next few years. We have re-examined everything that we do and reshaped our offer so that it is much more focused on the efficient use of existing assets, the total cost of expenditure and improved customer outcomes and value.

“In the past, we have concentrated more on our PFI operations but also on delivery of major capital projects however we are now focusing our water expertise on improving the efficiency and optimisation of infrastructure.

“In line with the way the industry is being regulated, we are now very much focused on tackling environmental challenges for example on reducing the amount of leakage that occurs by using smart network management. We are also coming up with ways to support the circular economy by reducing our clients’ total carbon usage and in turn improve cost effectiveness. This can be achieved by looking at how our significant recycling and energy operations in the UK can add economically to the services they provide and add back valuable resources, such as energy, to local communities.

“The focus of the new strategy is to implement our global technology and innovation to ensure that existing plants are as efficient as possible.

I am excited about the work we are doing to generate energy from waste water treatment plants and to create fertilisers for farmers from waste. “We are moving away from the negative attitude to treatment plants and turning them into something much more efficient and sustainable.”

For example, biogas-fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) technology has enabled Veolia to use renewable power from sewage treatment to generate electricity for wastewater treatment works. For these applications the biogas CHP plants can be delivered by Veolia’s specialist CHP team Cogenco and give water companies renewable generation. While the biogas is used to generate electricity, the CHP plants also recover heat from the engine and exhaust systems

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John Abraham Chief Operating Officer

through water from heat exchangers. The hot water then heats the treatment tanks and speeds up the bacterial digestion of organic matter.

our teams are coming up with in partnership with clients and partners. Developing those partnerships is an important part of our strategy.

John said: “The opportunities are exciting for Veolia and I do not think that any other business in the water sector is as well positioned as us to make these things happen.”

As an example, he points to the development of smart meters. Thousands of cubic metres of water are lost through leakage but in the French city of Le Havre, M2Ocity, a joint venture between Veolia and Orange, is installing 100,000 smart meters that will enable significant water savings by 2016.

That is because Veolia’s UK water business already has a long-established presence in every aspect of water management services, winning awards and holding a wide range of industry and trade accreditations.

It provides water management services from clients ranging from water companies to airports through: n Commercial Services - Operation and maintenance of private water and wastewater facilities, project and programme management, and customer services n Municipal Services - Operational and maintenance services for water and wastewater companies and local authorities n Technologies - Offering specialist skills in engineering, turnkey design and build projects, as well as an unequalled range of patented, technological products n Organics Recycling - Providing recycling solutions for organic waste streams Integral to everything is a sense of innovation.

John said; “As a company, we have a long history of innovation and problem-solving and I am encouraged by many of the solutions that

Water loss resulting from dripping taps, running toilets and faulty valves often goes unseen but a small box fitted to meters can send information on water consumption to the service operator. If a leak is suspected, the customer receives a text message allowing them to fix it.

And during November’s City Expo and World Congress in Barcelona, IBM and Veolia announced a partnership to improve the efficiency of municipal water systems, opening up new possibilities for smart cities.

Smart network Solutions have been introduced in Lyon, France, and Tidworth, England, where Veolia is providing water and waste water management services using advanced and automated management technology.

By integrating data across water management systems and applying advanced analytics to spot patterns, Veolia contributes to better efficiency, reduced waste and better control of costs.

John Abraham said: “Our commitment to working with partners is that we can take skills developed in one country and use them in another to make the water industry more efficient and reduce waste.”

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IWA

Young water professionals make Glasgow In April over 165 young water professionals packed into the brand new Technology and Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde in the heart of Glasgow for the 16th IWA UK Young Water Professionals Conference.

The three day event was action-packed with a full schedule of keynote speeches, oral and poster presentations, careers forum, drinks reception at the City Chambers, interactive session, gala dinner at Oran Mor, site visits at the Scottish Mining Museum and Dryden Aqua and the Conference Games with plenty of networking opportunities in between.

Day One kicked off with a welcome to the University of Strathclyde from Professor David Nash who spoke of the key values which the university holds close to its heart and he believes young water professionals should portray.

These are Ambition, Boldness, Collaboration, Innovation and People.

Barry Greig from Scottish Government then gave an overview of how the Scottish Hydro Nation was guiding research and innovation across the country. This was followed by the first session of young professional speakers and finished with a keynote delivered by Douglas Millican who spoke of his journey from school leaver to current CEO of Scottish Water. The day was chaired by Diane Duncan from Highlands and Island Enterprise who summarised the day’s highlights.

Following introductions from the careers forum representatives, delegates were able to network with an array of institutions, organisations and charities involved in the water sector to provide guidance on what it’s like to work in their area of the industry and discuss potential career opportunities.

Day Two of the conference started with a welcome from Christian Loderer from IWA Western European Chapter as he discussed the opportunities available to young water professionals and the invitation for everyone to get more active with YWP activities. Mark Kaney from Grontmij provided the keynote for the morning session as he reflected on the challenges of the new regulatory regime and the appetite to gain PAS 55 accreditation.

After lunch, Rob Mustard from Scottish Water introduced the Interactive Session, where delegates were put into groups and given the challenge of answering some of the most pertinent questions regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals however they only had 140 characters to do as they had to tweet their

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Technology and Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde

answers! The winning team developed the idea of using a toy set inside a bar of soap to promote hand washing for children, in recognition they were awarded a bottle of Champagne courtesy of the Foundation for Water Research.

Professor Bill Sloan from University of Glasgow provided a fascinating Keynote speech on Thursday afternoon when he talked about the challenges facing our world and how we have overcome them in the past, using Cholera in Glasgow as a great local example.

The delegates then headed to the famous West End of Glasgow to sample some fine food, wine and typical Scottish entertainment for the Gala Dinner in support of WaterAid. On Friday morning, delegates set off on two highly engaging and interactive site visits at the Scottish Mining Museum and Dryden Aqua.

At the Mining Museum delegates learnt how difficult working life was for the thousands of hard working miners who made sure the mine was one of the largest producers of coal in Scotland.

Later at Dryden Aqua we saw how discarded glass bottles could be turned into high specification filtration media and distributed around the globe, not just for the water industry but also the growing leisure and aquaculture sectors.

Following the site visits we rounded off the 2015 Conference with the Inaugural Conference Games which saw representatives from Anglian, Scottish and Yorkshire Water, SEPA and the University of Strathclyde take on one another in a number of activities which culminated in the joint AnglianScottish Water team crowned champions.

Remember to renew your IWA membership to gain access to some great online resources, join specialist networks and find out about future events in our region, for more information go to www.iwa-network.org/membership.

Thanks to our supporters; the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Government, Scottish Water, Grontmij, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Glasgow City Council, Panton McLeod, Foundation for Water Research and the Water Industry Commission for Scotland without whom we wouldn’t be able to offer such an attractive programme and cost effective delegate fee.

We want the 17th Young Water Professionals Conference to be even more successful. If you would like the opportunity to bring the conference to your area of the UK, gain fantastic organisational experience and build your network then please get in contact with the current IWA UK YWP chair, Luke Dennis (luke.dennis@nwl.co.uk).

JET-VAC SYSTEMS JET-VAC SYSTEMS – COST EFFECTIVE CLEANING SOLUTIONS Jet-Vac Systems specialises in the cleaning of water and sewage process units and was the first company in the UK to develop a dual-separation system for the treatment of sewage sludge.

We can separate rag and debris down to 4mm and grit down to 75µ. The cleaned liquor is then retained on site for re-processing. The benefits of this system include reduced disposal costs and minimal off-site transportation, helping to reduce our customers’ carbon footprint.

We run one of the largest fleets of Disab™ vacuum loaders in Europe and pride ourselves on offering the most efficient and cost effective solutions to meet customers’ requirements. Within the fleet we also have the versatility of Amphitec Vortex™ Hi-Lift machines which are industrial vacuum / pressure tank units used for suction, blowing, discharging and handling of dry and wet products.

The Hi-Lift units have the added advantage of a unique, hydraulic supported rear lift mechanism which can independently lift the rear and / or front of the tank offering more flexibility for discharging into containers, skips, flow bins or bulk euro bags.

Our technology enables us to efficiently move large quantities of powder, coarse particles, slurries and liquids over large distances through a hose with a maximum diameter of eight inches. We can attach a versatile roots blower and use a single unit to both retrieve material with suction, and then offload to the desired location with the blowing mechanism – no need to change units.

Jet-Vac Systems’ high-pressure water jetting process is a very effective way of not only removing deposits and coatings from tanks, vessels and pipework, but also for remote control exchanger cleaning and rotary pipe cleaning. By thoroughly cleaning vessels with water alone, our system’s approach ensures product quality and is more cost-efficient, improving productivity without having to worry about disposal of aggressive cleaning chemicals and solvents. Our high-pressure water jetting operations include 120 – 36,000 psi operating pressure, enabling us to clean a wide range of surfaces safely and efficiently with minimal downtime; 5,000 – 15,000 psi hot wash; non-entry tank cleaning with state-of-the-art hydro blasting equipment,

eliminating the need for confined space entry thereby reducing risk.

n Grit channel clearing

We provide comprehensive Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS) for all projects through our Integrated Management System (IMS).

n Disposal

Over the past twenty five years, Jet-Vac Systems has established a professional and highly skilled workforce providing safe, efficient and costeffective, single-source and turnkey solutions for all aspects of specialised industrial cleaning and waste management. Our Water Treatment Services include: n Sewage sludge digester cleaning n Anaerobic digester cleaning n Tank cleaning n Filter media removal n Lagoon cleaning n Settlement / storm tank cleaning

At Jet-Vac Systems we have a flexible, creative, pro-active and responsive approach to finding environmentally friendly solutions for the challenges our customers face. We are very aware of the safety and environmental issues unique to the industry. We have developed in-house processes and training facilities to help our technicians consistently execute all operations safely while still focussing on high quality and productivity. We look forward to continuing and developing our relationships with UK water companies and their tier-one contractors during the forthcoming AMP6 period, as well as our major industrial clients.

Visit our website www.jetvacsystems.com for more information, testimonials and case studies.

n Aeration lanes (live or isolated)

Our Range of Services Include: • Waste Management

• Vacuumation and Pneumatic Conveying Technology

• Tanker Services

• High Pressure Water Jetting

• Filter Media Unloading and Re-loading • Digester Emptying and Cleaning

Specialist Industrial Cleaning and Waste Management Solutions

n Centrifuging

• Specialist Vessel Entry (atmospheric and inert) • Controlled Mechanical Bolting and Flange Work

• Catalyst Handling ISO 9001 (2008), 14001 (2004), OHSAS 18001 (2007) Accredited t: 08081 688640 e: info@jetvacsystems.com www.jetvacsystems.com

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What next for the water sector?

Water companies are now almost two months into the delivery of the outcomes they promised to customers during the 2014 Price Review (PR14). With this review complete we are already thinking about what is next for the water and wastewater sector.

Cathryn Ross, Ofwat Chief Executive

How do we all learn the lessons from PR14? What do water and wastewater services need to look like in future, both in the light of the challenges we face, such as the impacts of climate change, and the reforms in the Water Act 2014? How do we drive value creation? And how should that value be apportioned between customers, the environment and investors?

Value creation is about doing more for less – more outcomes for lower cost. Different stakeholders of this sector have different perspectives on what value is to them. For customers, it’s keeping bills affordable and getting a better service; for the environmental stakeholders it’s about an improved natural environment from lower pollution incidents, to less water taken from rivers; and for investors, it is about an appropriate balance of risk and reward. We may also need to think further about how value is apportioned between different groups of customers, and especially to the more vulnerable.

This is the start of the conversation with all of our stakeholders.

Our new strategy ‘Trust in water’ was published this January and sets out that we want to see trust and confidence maintained and built across the sectors. We have been clear that trust and confidence cannot be delivered by us alone. We will be looking to build partnerships and work with all stakeholders to ensure that the sector can continue to meet the challenges it faces. We will also be looking for other stakeholders, especially those in the sector, to step up.

Some of the challenges we face are well documented – such as water scarcity; impacts of climate change; population growth and affordability issues. Others, such as new Government priorities, different Government priorities with devolution, lessons from PR14, abstraction reform and the reforms of the Water Act 2014, are more recent. As well as being

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challenges, they also provide opportunities for the sector to deliver more to its stakeholders.

We want to maximise those opportunities, while helping to manage the risks that come from changing to new ways of delivering services and the evolution of the regulatory framework.

As we do this, we are not throwing out the “rule book” and starting again, but building on the changes introduced at PR14. We are proud of what we - and the sector - achieved in PR14, which represented a step change in the way that we regulate. But as the economic regulator our duties require that we do not rest on our laurels, and instead review the way we use our regulatory tools to create value and help to deliver better outcomes for all our stakeholders.

This is why we are launching a programme of work called Water2020.

Water2020 The Water2020 programme builds on our PR14 approach promoting a sector that delivers “more for less” to its customers. This means that value creation lies at the heart of this programme. In line with our strategy, we welcome stakeholders’ contribution to shaping the regulation of the future. We know that we do not have a monopoly on good ideas and are looking for others to reflect on their involvement with sector and its challenges and how it can evolve to meet these challenges.

As the economic regulator we have two powerful tools to create value – information and incentives.

Information not only helps providers identify the most efficient way to deliver services; but it helps customers identify what they are getting for their money and helps them to hold companies to account for their service. Incentives help to align the interests of investors with those of customers, to ensure that the sector innovates and works

picture by ShinePix

hard to deliver more for less. It is also important that we ensure the regulatory regime does not unduly impede companies' ability to respond to information and incentives.

In Water2020 we have identified three broad ways to deliver better information and incentives: n outcomes and customer engagement; n well-functioning markets; and n effective monopoly regulation.

Within each category there are some fundamental questions that need to be addressed – for example: n How do we build on the customer-focussed approach to PR14 and promote and maintain genuine customer engagement that drives companies’ business plans? n How do we regulate in way that encourages companies to focus on their customers and on delivering value over the longer term, rather than focussing their effort around periodic price reviews? n Consistent with the Water Act 2014, where should we make greater use of markets such as to address the challenges of water scarcity and resilience via more water trading and taking advantage of scope for competition in the sludge market? n Is there scope for making better use of competition to enable and incentivise efficiency, such as in relation to the procurement of new capacity? n How should regulation in Wales evolve to ensure that are customers protected where services continue to be delivered by monopolies, and indeed benefit from the reforms introduced in England?

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER

We also recognise that once value is created, we play an important role in allocating it. For example, value can be passed to: n customers through lower bills and better services; n the environment by funding compliance with environmental protection regulation or delivering environmental improvements over and above requirements; and n investors by aligning their interest with customers, and ensuring the returns they earn are reflective of the risk they bear.

Next steps At the start of this summer we will publish a paper that looks to identify and stimulate debate on the challenges that the sectors are facing. This will be followed by further engagement with stakeholders on addressing the issues raised in that document over the summer and early autumn. At the end of the year, we will publish a consultation on our proposals to drive value creation through changes to the regulatory regime. This will address some of the questions on which early clarity is required such as: where can markets play a greater role and how can we ensure

that during the transition to new arrangements we maintain confidence of stakeholders, including how we deliver on our commitment during PR14 to protect the pre-2015 Regulatory Capital Value. We will also want to be clear on the areas in which we will not seeking change.

It is am ambitious task, one that we will only achieve with the cooperation of all the water companies and wider stakeholders. But it is one that we believe will give early clarity on our approach to PR19, and crucially, how the sector needs to evolve to continue to deliver for customers, the environment and society into the future.

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MWH

The Race is on! Optimising risk and maximising Totex Value to drive great AMP6 outcomes says Louis Quartly, Principal Consultant, MWH

Balancing risk and value is critical to achieving sustainable high performance

The PR14 business planning process has created a substantial challenge to the UK Water industry requiring companies to outperform on their customer-focused Outcomes, demonstrate substantial efficiency compared to AMP5 and satisfy shareholder expectations of levels of Return on Investment (ROI). The outperformance challenge is further driven by the reduction in the allowed Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), resulting in a shortfall in Shareholder ROI that must be bridged by Totex Outperformance and achieving Outcome Delivery Incentives.

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FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER Through the AMP6 early start programmes it has become clear that there is significant potential to achieve Totex savings by challenging previous approaches to capital programme delivery. As Totex thinking matures and influences operational activities, further efficiencies will be realised by exploiting proactive, outcome-focused interventions to replace less efficient output-driven activities.

Much has been written around the subject of risk and value management and the need to develop Integrated Risk and Value Management (IRVM) processes to assure and manage capital programmes. Most of these approaches have focused on the effective and efficient delivery of capital schemes once they have progressed to the delivery stage of the asset lifecycle. With the AMP6 regulatory changes and the need to meet and outperform Customer Outcomes there is a greater need to understand risks, opportunities and value that can be realised through the full asset lifecycle from asset management, asset creation and asset operations.

Root Cause Analysis is Key to Totex Efficiency in AMP6 Delivering the most appropriate Totex solution will be dependent upon the correct identification of the true root cause of any service risk. Robust root cause analysis approaches are seeing greater adoption within the UK water industry, ranging from conventional operational risk assessments, to more sophisticated risk-based and Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) approaches such as FMECA (Failure Mode Effects & Criticality Analysis).

FMECA is a systematic, proactive method for evaluating an asset or plant’s functional processes, to identify where and how it might fail and to assess the relative impact of different failures. The result highlights the failure modes with relatively high probability and severity of consequences, allowing effort to be directed where it will produce the greatest value. This approach can be used to recognise the current and emerging root causes of service risks and to understand how sites should implement and target planned maintenance activities, identify operational interventions and start to prioritise capital maintenance spend.

Applying these asset risk approaches, coupled with appropriate Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), will allow water companies to make substantial Totex savings through a reduction in reactive, operational maintenance and maximise the effectiveness of capital maintenance spend.

Applying an Integrated Approach to Strategic Planning and Delivery Geospatial mapping of activities to group similar work “types” has been used for many years to increase capital delivery efficiencies through improved construction plant utilisation, reduced Streetworks noticing resource, reduced wastage of reinstatement materials and centralised construction hubs. In AMP6 we are applying the new principles of “Outcome Mapping”, recognising that a single risk or opportunity potentially impacts a number of Outcomes. For

instance, a supply vs, demand intervention also impacts the potential number of customer contacts received, the amount of water pumped into an area, the quantity of water abstracted from the environment, the water balance, etc.

The process of geospatially mapping all needs, irrespective of the proposed work type in the Business Plan, by impact upon each Customer Outcome, provides an understanding of the base service risk within a geographic area or system.

It also allows other mitigation measures to be considered, leading to interventions being treated on a truly Totex basis. This ensures “line-of-sight” between the proposed solution and the strategic need, further maximising value proposition by enabling multiple Outcomes to be achieved by a single set of interventions.

Totex Hierarchy Facilitates a Logical Approach to Solution Development Once the service risks in a catchment or system are recognised there are many ways to resolve them. To enable clients to release additional outperformance opportunities, MWH has developed Integrated Asset Management tools such as the Totex Hierarchy, where we utilise a progressive list of Totex measures to mitigate the service risk and drive value.

Eliminate – Remove the root cause of the Risk through upstream activities, such as influencing customer or stakeholder behaviour, or earlier implementation of interventions: n 80% of blockages are caused by inappropriate disposal of material in the sewer n More watercourse pollution is caused by diffused pollution, such as misconnections or run-off, than a sewage treatment work consent breach n Tankering and treating a trade discharge elsewhere to prevent the need for process upgrades n Utilising more proactive methods of communication, linked to smart meters, to remove the need for customers to make contact regarding a service interruption Operate – Proactively operate and maintain assets to bring them up to the designed capability and eliminate service failures, through greater application of performance management and Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM).

Invigorate – Leverage asset capabilities or unrecognised headroom to improve the capability of existing or redundant assets through the implementation of: n Process (rather than Civil) solutions and Process Optimisation n Advanced Data Analytics and control systems n Proactive process activities n Retrofitting of capability and performance enhancing technologies Fabricate – Safe and efficient construction of new assets utilising factory-based production approaches such as modular, off-site construction and standard products

Each catchment or system is ‘processed’ through the Totex Hierarchy to develop a tactical approach to service risk reduction. This approach also recognises that although some lower Totex solutions may save Capex, a highly collaborative effort is required to sustain the benefits, particularly where customer and stakeholder behaviours need to be influenced. In early start AMP6 programmes we have seen that the best approach is a blend of these solutions. The “Eliminate, Operate and Invigorate” approach can successfully resolve around 50% of the service risk, allowing a reduced Capital intervention (“Fabricate”) to be utilised as a backstop.

Risk and Value Benefits Realisation As part of the early start programmes, clients and their supply chains have undertaken outline and theoretical screening processes to understand the benefits of the risk and value approaches discussed above. It is key that as we progress through AMP6, the actual Totex solutions are assessed in terms of their effectiveness in addressing the strategic Outcomes and value of efficiency to be delivered.

The Risk & Value process should form the basis of Asset Planning and Operation & Maintenance decision-making. The ability to show a direct ‘lineof-sight’ between the recognised service risks and the customer-focused Outcomes, ensures interventions provide the appropriate balance of customer experience, shareholder returns, and Totex efficiency.

The regulatory changes driven by Ofwat, and the business plans water companies have developed, present an exciting and challenging environment for the companies and their supply chains. Applying risk-based approaches to Asset Management, Asset Creation and Asset Operation will drive real value and necessitate a wide range of innovative solutions. It is key that the root cause of a need is fully understood so that a most appropriate operational or capital solutions can be developed. AMP6 is less prescribed than the previous five AMPs and those water companies, and associated supply chains, who best understand and manage risk across the entire asset life cycle will, undoubtedly, succeed.

Louis Quartly is a Principal Consultant with MWH. He has been working with UK water clients to develop PR14 Totex strategies and early start AMP6 asset risk optimisation strategies Louis Quartly can be contacted at louis.quartly@mwhglobal.com or more information about MWH is available at www.mwhglobal.com MWH Global, engineers, consultants and construction professionals help solve complex infrastructure and environmental challenges in water and natural resources. Globally, MWH employs approximately 7,000 experts who are Building a Better World.

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The last chance saloon?

Global water pressures, local solutions

By Sarah Mukherjee Director of Environment Water UK

As I write this article, I am sipping a cup of coffee.

Perhaps you are whilst reading it. In the course of the last few hours, we have all probably (forgive the indelicacy) visited the bathroom, perhaps done some washing up, put the dishwasher or washing machine on, travelled by Tube or railway, or bought some fruit or vegetables in a supermarket.

Of course, you know where this is all leading. Yes, all the activities I have listed use water, and yes, water is vital for our health and wellbeing. But I bet you didn’t think about the water you used if you did any or all of the things I’ve mentioned.

You didn’t think “Gosh, the shower’s working today”, or “I’m glad the train’s running because there’s water available for the fire suppression systems”.

Of course you didn’t – and why should you?

According to a recent report written for Water UK by Deloitte, water companies in the UK provide 17 billion litres of water a day, and take away 16 billion litres for cleaning and recycling, all at a cost of about 0.24 pence a litre1. In our 21st century resource-rich bubble, we are often completely disconnected from the natural

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resources we consume. We no longer have to chop wood for heat, or till the soil for food, or dig wells or travel miles to the river for water (and take our chances with how clean it is). Water, like food, was central to many religious practices because our ancestors recognised the precious gift of life that these two commodities provide – if you have faith, it’s a God-given gift.

But we’ve outsourced all of these productive activities to others, and as a result we no longer understand how food, water and energy are created or delivered – or how fragile the systems are that provide these essentials. A hundred and fifty years ago, you would know that if there was no rain for a few months, the levels in the well would drop and your crops might fail because you understood the connection. Now we expect water in the tap and in the loo, whatever the weather, and energy at the flick of a switch.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am not suggesting a return to the questionable idyll of agrarian life, with its associated periods of famine, thirst and disease. But I do think we need as a society to reconnect with the basics, and that is especially true of water.

We all know the challenges that face us, and, as a former environmental journalist, I know just how difficult it is to explain how climate change could affect us. It’s the ultimate hard story to tell – the background is fantastically complex, there’s no speedy narrative and resolution, and we simply cannot say for certain how we are going to be affected. There’s an argument that “global warming” was itself a rather unhelpful phrase.

Many non-scientists in Northern Europe take the view that a couple of extra degrees centigrade of heat every year can only be a good thing. Global unpredictability, with the implication of more extreme periods of hot, cold wet and dry, might have been a better catchphrase. Whatever the semantics, the overwhelming conclusion from the available evidence is that water – too much or too little – will be significantly affected by the change in the climate.

Whilst at Water UK we deal very much with this country and with the institutions of the EU, you have to consider these changes in the context of the global demand for water. A report last year from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggested that climate change is not only an important factor in threats to human security through undermining livelihoods, compromising culture and identity and increasing migration, but that climate change will lead to new challenges to states and will increasingly shape both conditions of security and national security policies2.

Arguably, we have already seen “water wars” in Sudan. We do not yet have a specific category of “water refugees”, but in effect many of the recent conflicts that have forced people to leave their homes and livelihoods for an uncertain future are resource related, or even resource-centric. At a time when the debate about immigration into the EU is increasingly central to the political discourse in many countries, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to imagine a future where political parties in an EU country with severe water

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER the extremes of wet and dry, companies will have to work in partnership – with their customers, with government and with regulators – to ensure the UK is both making the very best use of available water when there is too little, and dealing with too much water as cost effectively as possible.

The first thing we can all do is to reduce the amount of water we use. Just as customers are aware they should buy less food and use leftovers, or turn off electrical equipment when it’s on standby, so customers understand the need to use water wisely, and respond magnificently when companies ask them to restrict their water use, as happened in some parts of eastern and southern England in the spring of 2012. You may remember this was quickly dubbed “the wettest drought on record”, as it poured with rain within days of restrictions being imposed. All that rain hit hard, dry soil which was incapable of absorbing it, causing flooding – a very good example of how sequential unprecedented weather “events” can have unexpected consequences. It’s also a reminder that we may have to give more attention to catching this rain when we can.

shortages could cite a lack of water as a reason to reduce immigration.

But tensions about the availability of water do not need to develop into full-blown armed conflict to have an effect on the UK or Europe. Both the United States and Australia have suffered multiseason and multi-annual droughts, increasing the volatility of food prices – and, as any farmer will tell you, it’s volatile markets that can really harm you, as it makes it very difficult to plan the crops and livestock numbers that will keep your business profitable.

In the UK we have yet to see these sorts of climatic conditions. Nevertheless, companies have invested billions to ensure the system is resilient when there is too much or too little water. However, floods and droughts can exceed companies’ ability to operate in normal conditions, and, with the abnormal becoming increasingly normal, it may be that we have to think collectively about how we all manage these events.

The last Price Review was unique in its level of customer engagement. Customers have been very clear in telling companies what they want – and don’t - for the next five years. And, while they are willing to pay for environmental improvements, on the whole the evidence suggests that they would be unwilling to pay for the sort of investment required to remove all risk – quite understandably, as the costs would be enormous.

If that is the case, and if climate change will make it more difficult to both predict and provide for

With wasted water in mind, water companies are aware that leakage is the lens through which many customers view the success or failure of the industry. In some of the customer research carried out by companies in the run up to the 2014 Price Review, leakage was as – or more - important to some customers than the level of bills. Spotting leaks and dealing with them, responding to customers when they call about leaking water and using innovation to drive down leakage is, and must remain, a priority, and underlines the partnership customers and companies will need to further develop in the future.

We can also slow the water down. A few generations ago, an expanding population and a concomitant need for food led the leading agronomists of their time to try and turn damp uplands into dryish lowlands by creating channels, sometimes known as grips, to allow the water to flow away more quickly. Unfortunately, this also had the effect in heavy rain of the water taking the peat-rich soils of the uplands with it, causing blockages downstream and colouring the water itself.

These days, we want this water, in normal conditions, to stay where it is for as long as possible. The uplands can then rehydrate and act as a natural water filter, slowing down the transit of water to the communities below, and helping to reduce flooding as a result, In this context, innovation does not necessarily mean building a big concrete thing; it can be using straw bales to form an organic block to these man-made channels, or a corrugated plastic sheet to literally hold the water in place. (Incidentally, peatland stores a massive amount of carbon. According to Natural England, if all 584 million tonnes of carbon stored in English peatlands were lost to the atmosphere, this would be equivalent to 2.14 billion tonnes of CO2, around five years of England’s annual CO2 emissions3).

Of course, not all parts of the country have areas of peat-rich uplands which can be set to work on customers’ behalf; in urban areas both the geography and the planning issues are more complex. However, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can provide both green spaces in brown urban areas and safety valves to catch the shorter, sharper showers predicted by climate change scientists. While companies are considering some incentive schemes – for example for permeable drives or green roofs - the industry is disappointed that the last government was unable to introduce a comprehensive solution for the introduction of SuDS. Retro-fitting the entire sewerage network to cope with climate change would be practically and financially unfeasible; we have to find other ways of dealing with too much water.

You may be wondering when I was going to mention the headline. Well, I’ve saved it until last.

The Last Chance Saloon was the place you went to drink yourself under the table before entering an area of prohibition in the United States – and you could argue that, globally, that’s what we’ve been doing. Globalisation, innovation and technology and international co-operation have helped us thus far to avoid catastrophe in the West – although according to the UN, 85% of the world population lives in the driest half of the planet, 783 million people do not have access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation4, so it’s quite a rarefied bubble of safety. Global food markets have allowed those with the cash to ride out droughts and crop failures, and desalination has provided the water to make deserts bloom across the world. If you throw enough money and carbon at a problem you can make it go away for now – but these are all unsustainable in the long term.

If the climate change predictions are right, the challenges of a changing world could overwhelm even the best current technology. We can no longer be passive consumers of energy, water and food. We need to be informed and to help ourselves, whether that’s cutting food waste, storing our own water for the garden, considering solar panels or any of the other things we can do to smooth the curves of the increasingly squiggly graphs. And the suppliers of these essentials for life, including the water industry, should increasingly see a role not just of provider but also of partner and facilitator, to help customers large and small marshal these finite resources as effectively as possible. You can still find Last Chance Saloons in the States. They have survived and thrived with the changing times, long after prohibition was abolished – and with a partnership approach, so can we.

1

www.water.org.uk/policy/financing-industry/finance-briefings

2

ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WGIIAR5-Chap12_FGDall.pdf

3

file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/NE257_Section5.pdf

www.unwater.org/water-cooperation-2013/water-cooperation/ facts-and-figures/en/

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ABB

Maximising TOTEX effectiveness through measurement The introduction of AMP 6 has brought with it a seismic shift that marks a fundamental change of approach for water companies and their supply chain. For the first time since the water industry was privatised, water companies must take a whole-life expenditure, rather than capitalfocused, approach to managing their networks.

Steve Wilding for ABB’s UK Measurement & Analytics business explains how the latest generation of measurement instrumentation can assist in providing the necessary information for an effective TOTEX strategy.

With most of the work on bringing the UK’s water networks into line with the Water Framework Directive now completed, the onus is on water companies to ensure their installed assets are running at optimum performance and delivering value for money for customers.

The total expenditure, or TOTEX, approach aims to maximise infrastructure efficiency by encouraging water operators to optimise their existing assets before investing in new ones. Whereas previous AMP periods have been about achieving specific short-term set goals, or ‘outputs’, TOTEX is focused entirely on long-term ‘outcomes’, proposed jointly between water companies in consultation with their customers.

A key difference between TOTEX compared to the previous CAPEX / OPEX approaches is its focus both on the total life cost of an asset and the performance of that asset in the context of the entire water distribution and treatment cycle.

This more holistic approach is intended to avoid unnecessary plant or equipment being built or installed to rectify problems that could very often be solved by taking simpler and less costly measures elsewhere in the network.

As a means of gathering network data, measurement instrumentation can play a vital role in helping companies to meet their TOTEX goals. The latest generation of measurement instruments and analysers offers an array of functions and features offering accurate, repeatable data in real-time across a wide range of parameters, from flow, pressure and temperature through to chemical dosing in potable and waste water treatment processes.

For companies to meet their TOTEX targets, means that these technologies should be adopted as best available techniques wherever possible.

The following are some key considerations that should be factored into an effective measurement strategy to help maximise the value of data being collected from the network.

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Can your measurement give you the data you need?

The well-worn phrase ‘you cannot manage what you cannot measure’ is testament to the value of effective measurement in any well-managed system.

Unfortunately, the cost-led approach encouraged

by CAPEX means that instruments have often been selected on the basis of lowest cost rather than fullest functionality. Such decisions invariably transpire to prove more costly, with lower reliability, questionable accuracy and lack of support all pushing up the total cost expenditure.

For full benefit to be derived under TOTEX, payback on an instrument needs to be considered in the long term. This should cover not only the cost of purchasing and operating the instrument but also the added value that can be derived from its ability to provide useful data.

The use of electromagnetic flowmeters in clean and waste water pumping applications, for example, can have a significant impact on pump performance. By helping to match pump speed to an accurately measured flow rate, flowmeters can help save energy through more effective control of the speed of the pump motor.

Using a flowmeter can also provide a useful indication of overall system efficiency, by helping to identify whether the flow of water is properly matched to the speed of the pump. Restricted

flows even with the pumps running at full speed, for example, may be indicative of a blockage somewhere upstream of the flowmeter.

Furthermore, keeping a record of flowmeter data can help to determine the long-term performance of a pump, as any variations in flow totals will often be indicative of a potential problem that can then be addressed before it deteriorates further.

The inclusion of communications such as Profibus, Modbus or HART in modern electromagnetic flowmeters allows this information to be relayed directly to a centralised control system, where it can be used as the basis for operational decisionmaking.

How do you get information to the control system?

The effectiveness of any management decision is directly linked to both the accuracy and currency of the information it is based on. Being able to assess asset and network conditions by extracting real-time operational data from installed instruments is therefore vital to a successful TOTEX strategy.

There are various ways in which this can be done. Options available include SCADA, remotely accessible PLCs, dataloggers and GSM/GPRS, as well as Wireless HART. Where devices are installed in a remote or hard to reach location, radio-based remote retrieval

techniques are increasingly presenting a solution. ABB’s AquaMaster3 electromagnetic flowmeters, for instance, include GSM-SMS and GPRS technology, enabling up-to-date information to be remotely collected irrespective of the installation location. Using the same technology as a mobile telephone, the AquaMaster3 can be contacted using a PC or laptop or through a mobile telephone via SMS messaging.

Being able to gain access to a host of flow or any other network data in this way eliminates the time, cost and potential errors traditionally associated with the manual collection of flowmeter information, improving both operational efficiency and maintenance team productivity.

Helping you find new ways to manage your TOTEX requirements?

Certainly.

What else could be incorporated into the instrument to help you manage performance more effectively?

Ongoing developments in instrument diagnostic technology are also opening up new possibilities for network management, by enabling the status of the device itself to be monitored. The growing use of features such as NAMUR NE107-compliant clear text alarm and warning messages and on-board selfverification enables quick communication and pinpointing of fault conditions which can then be rectified before they can have an impact on operations elsewhere in the network.

The inclusion of WITS (Water Industry Telemetry Standard) DNP3-based open protocol, again in the AquaMaster3, is another example of how technology can help to deliver rich data that can be used to improve network efficiency.

The technology allows users to download a high-speed, high-resolution log to investigate any water network anomalies in conjunction with detection methods such as step testing, burst / pressure transients or nightline monitoring. As an open protocol standard, DNP3 allows this information to be shared between different types of data acquisition and control equipment, irrespective of manufacturer.

DNP3 also enables remote access to a wide range of data including diagnostics and configuration changes, which can be used to devise targeted maintenance programmes and ensure that engineers are only deployed when necessary.

Is your organisation geared up to interpret the data and act on it?

The full value of collected data will only be able to be realised if it is shared as widely as possible throughout the organisation. Ultimately, the aim should be to use the data to create examples of best practice that can then be disseminated throughout the organisation to help produce operational efficiency improvements.

To this end, thought needs to be given to the mechanisms that can be put in place to allow collaboration, the people who need to be included, the information they can access and how they can access it. The availability of added features built into measurement instruments such as integrated web servers and the ability to set email notifications can help to share collected data, enabling informed decisions to be made at the right time by the right people.

Summary There is strong evidence to show that the TOTEX approach can work. The UK’s rail networks and oil and gas companies, for example, are already reaping the rewards of improved asset management, where a better understanding of their operations has led to greater operational efficiency and improved productivity through smarter deployment of resources.

ABB Measurement & Analytics can help you transform the way you manage your water network.

Our AquaMaster 3 flowmeter, for example, now features integrated WITS DNP 3 technology plus the option of combined flow and pressure measurement. This gives you anytime any place access to near real time data, together with a raft of device-level diagnostics information that enables you to deploy your maintenance teams more effectively.

For more information, email moreinstrumentation@gb.abb.com or call 0870 600 6122 ref. ‘WITS’. To view our video, scan the QR code below.

For water companies, the challenge is to gain a full understanding of the costs and risks associated with each and every asset. With the TOTEX approach almost certainly set to endure into future AMP cycles, steps must be taken now to ensure the necessary mechanisms are in place to turn big data from the networks into rich information that can be used to create and guide targeted asset management strategies.

More information about how to maximise asset efficiency through effective data collection and sharing is contained in ABB’s new white paper ‘The role of performance data in optimising assets under TOTEX’. To request a copy, email moreinstrumentation@gb.abb.com or call 0870 600 6122 ref. ‘TOTEX’.

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FO NO R W BU OP SI EN NE SS

www.kijlstra.co.uk

PANTON MCLEOD

MULTI MILLION ÂŁ

MAKEOVER TO BOOST BRITISH MANUFACTURING

Our first UK factory facility is bringing innovative products and new jobs to the home market to satisfy increasing demand.

Setting new standards in precast drainage solutions A Kijlstra manhole installation video can be viewed on YouTube on www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyJhGG1fQ30.

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Water Industry Products & Services

instituteofwater.org.uk Comprehensive service

KIJLSTRA

Rapidly expanding company opens new UK plant

Fast-growing manufacfurer Kijlstra has started production at its new 29-acre site in Henlade, near Taunton.

The 8,000m2 former Tarmac factory has been re-fitted and will produce a range of pre-cast products, according to the company, which has its UK head office near Alderminster in Warwickshire.

Specialist drainage systems manufacturer Kijlstra, which is a Dutch company, first came to the UK in 2008 with the introduction of its square manhole and its UK operation has grown quickly.

The expansion has been driven by growing demand for its precast concrete drainage products, a growth that prompted the move into the new facility at Henlade.

The new factory is producing manholes, drawpits, combined sewer overflows and panel systems as well as new products still in development, all needed to meet increasing demand from major development sites as the economy goes from strength to strength.

Kijlstra has invested £5m in the refit of the building in Helnade with new moulds and machinery and Kijlstra UK commercial director Dai Williams said: “It’s a new-generation factory for a new generation of products.

“Our long-term strategy has always included the opening of a UK manufacturing plant and the move reinforces our objective to become the UK’s number one, as we are in the Netherlands.

“We have experienced extraordinary growth since we set up in the UK more than six years ago, which has been due as much to our ability to work with consultants and contractors at the earliest design stages as it is to our innovative products.”

Kijlstra products and systems have been supplied to numerous high-profile UK projects; these include the London Olympics, London Gateway, Manchester Metro Link, Medmerry sea defence scheme, as well as major road building projects including A1M upgrade Heysham to M6 and Port Talbot to M4 link roads, Church Village bypass in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, and the £56.7 million St Clears to Red Roses trunk road improvement in Carmarthenshire

The new factory is employing up to 50 people and Dai said: “We have created new jobs to cope with the rapid expansion of our operation.

“In addition to producing pre-cast concrete for our own products, the factory will also be able to carry out a wide range of work for other clients.

“We are seeing our order book increasing at an astonishing rate, driven by high demand from sectors including the utilities, housebuilding and highways.

“Companies are under pressure to ensure that their sites are safe and efficient and one of the key issues is the reduction of costs and wastage. That includes ensuring that the drainage on sites is of a high quality, which is where our products come into their own.

“The high demand for our products means that we are expanding into new markets all the time, helped by the fact that the economy has recovered and there are more major development projects under way.

“We estimate that our order book for the year will be full by the end of April, which reflects the rate at which we are growing.”

In addition to the new UK factory, Kijlstra is also expanding in Continental Europe and has recently invested more than €6m in a new manufacturing facility for a new product range at its existing site at Drachten in the Netherlands.

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Managing the future of our vital water supplies

Mark Hodgens, Managing Director of Talis UK, takes an in-depth look at the issues of water management in the UK and why sustaining this vital resource should be one of our nation’s top priorities.

Water management is known to be a global concern because demand for clean, reliable water supplies continues to rise along with the growing population. However, is it perhaps less understood just how important this issue is for the UK. According to The Environment Agency, in England and Wales alone, water demand could increase 35% by the 2050s. Pair this with climate change projections that suggest summer temperatures will get higher and rainfall will decrease, it could mean regular water shortages become more likely.

If we compare our water levels with the rest of Europe, our country has one of the lowest amounts of water per capita - on a par with Spain.

This means that we face some serious challenges to try and ensure that our water levels are

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sustainable and these issues need to be addressed as a nation.

Some of the main water-related issues that the UK is facing include: 1 Our water resources are not necessarily in the places where they are needed most. Less populated areas such as Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England receive more rainfall than average while the Southern parts of England, which have a greater population, receive far less than the average. This means that those areas that need more water do not have access to sufficient supplies and may be more prone to water shortages.

2 Our water quality is deteriorating. The Environment Agency has rated just 29% of

the UK’s groundwater as being ‘good’ and stated that 50% of our groundwater that is used for public supply is showing a significant deterioration in quality.

3 Water systems are increasingly becoming more strained. As our society constantly changes, demands for clean water are increasing. This is due to factors such as increasing populations, more single person households and intensive land use. All of which are putting more pressure on our water systems which are delivering our water supplies.

4 On a personal level, average water usage is not sustainable. Figures show that on average a person in the UK uses 150 litres of water per day. This statistic has been growing by 1% per year since the 1930s and if this continues, our

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER to lower our consumption to reduce wastage and increase efficiency.

After conducting our Talking Water Report 2014 research, we concluded that the public is unaware of these wider issues that are affecting our water services and supplies and so do not realise the effects that their water usage may be having on the rest of the country. For individuals to be able to play an active role in the water management challenge, more needs to be done to create a greater level of engagement and understanding.

At TALIS UK, we have put together a 20:20 challenge which aims to work to reduce individual daily water usage in the UK by 20 litres and reduce the amount of water lost through leakages by 20%.

We have estimated that by effectively focusing on these two areas, we could save an average of 1.99 billion litres or water per day – this is enough to provide 23% of our nation’s daily domestic needs.

And there are already plenty of innovative ideas across Europe that we could take inspiration from to help reach these targets.

For example, in Caceres in Spain, there is a citywide initiative being organised by SmartWater4Europe. The aim of the smart water grid project is to create a model for smart water management across urban areas that will detect underground leakages and give real time control over water quality and remote meter reading.

current supplies will struggle to support this and water shortages are highly likely.

5 1% of our nation’s carbon footprint comes from producing and distributing clean water.

By better managing how we use water, we can become more energy efficient and work towards reducing our carbon footprint.

6 Greater public awareness of these issues and their implications is needed. From our own research (Talking Water Report 2014), we found that the public actually believe issues such as water shortages, pollution and water wastage are decreasing in the UK. 7 We need to develop a plan to utilise our supplies. As of yet, we do not have a plan in place to ensure that our basic humans needs

are balanced with the wider impact that our water usage is having on the environment.

Practical applications need to be developed on a national level so that we are making the best possible use of the resources that are available.

As is clear from these challenges, it is of vital importance that the country is aware of the situation and as such we need a greater focus on preserving this precious resource. The main issue that is evident within the above points is that our water supplies are becoming strained due to increasing populations and a greater demand for clean water. To ensure that water shortages are less likely to occur, water usage needs to be sustainable so that we are not using more than is available. This means putting more thought into how we are all using water and investigating ways

When it comes to improving the way we use our water resources, it’s worth looking at the ISS-EWATUS project that is being co-ordinated by the University of Silesia. Its techniques include creating a mobile app that households can use to monitor their water usage and using social media networks to distribute information about saving water. The project is also seeking methods to reduce leakages, whilst looking at ways to reward those who are making an effort to reduce their water usage by implementing pricing policies.

At present, we need to focus on creating greater awareness and engagement with the issues that the UK is facing in order for these initiatives to be adopted. This means that as a nation we all need to do our bit, with all members of society – the public, the government and the water industry as a whole - accepting that water management needs to be our top priority.

For more information on TALIS UK’s 20:20 Challenge, please visit www.talis-uk.com/ 2020-challenge

To ensure that water shortages are less likely to occur, water usage needs to be sustainable so that we are not using more than is available. This means putting more thought into how we are all using water and investigating ways to lower our consumption to reduce wastage and increase efficiency.

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Veolia – meeting the future water industry challenges in the UK

Water is fundamental to human activities. As the UK water industry transforms, the world’s largest water company, Veolia is taking the initiative by reshaping its offering with the focus on helping its customers to become more resource efficient and improve sustainability and carbon performance.

Led by John Abraham, its new Chief Operating Officer – Water, Veolia’s move reflects changes in the water industry driven by market reform and pressures of increasing operational optimisation and improving the efficiency of existing assets.

drinking water and manage wastewater systems for another 62 million people. As a result, Veolia is able to draw on unparalleled experience, delivering the expertise that will help utilities drive their businesses forward.

To meet these challenges, Veolia is pioneering SMART technologies which have the capability to drive TOTEX lifecycle savings that could help you qualify for Outcome Delivery Incentives (ODI).

The key to getting the balance right is integrating the benefits of new technology with operational expertise. Ground breaking schemes are now demonstrating that we can deliver major advantages in water asset management and by working in partnership with the industry we can ensure that water can take a step change in terms of infrastructure support.

And rather than acting simply as a consultant, Veolia has the operational expertise and experience to work not on a solely fee-based service, but combine it with a gain-share offering.

This reduces up-front costs with investment offset by improved performance to deliver you financial and environmental benefits.

Resourcing the world Veolia’s global strategy is to ‘Resource the World’ by preserving and giving access to existing resources and manufacturing new resources from existing materials. Implementation of this approach requires the adoption of the best practices from around the world and integrating them to maximise long term sustainable benefits.

Globally we supply 94 million people with

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By taking a lead, Veolia is helping the water industry make this step change and help reduce the ecological footprint of distributing and treating water as well as saving and replenishing resources.

Technology for the future – happening now In the document, ‘Innovation Priorities for the Water Sector’, Ofwat clearly identified smart water technologies as applicable to increasing efficiency in all areas of the water sector moving forward.

Advances in metering and smart networks

and increasing resource scarcity will result in emerging opportunities for intelligent operations over the long-term.

Technological advances in smart metering and network control are needed to reduce leakage within an aging infrastructure and provide greater incentives to improve customer service that will drive further advances in network management.

Veolia can improve performance management through the innovation of the SMART Water Box, a tool to consolidate all network information, automate key processes and analyse trends. In addition, Homerider and Endetec, both Veolia companies, specialise in AMR technology and sensors respectively. Veolia are also active in other joint ventures that are looking at introducing the latest advances in technology to help make the UK water industry the leading example for the future.

The company is already at the forefront of new digital urban solutions through its partnership with IBM to deliver digital services and solutions for urban resources for cities. IBM and Veolia will first deliver new solutions for Smarter Water by deploying market leading software which provides a management system for the integration,

VEOLIA optimisation and analysis of all data related to water management.

The solutions are already currently deployed in Lyon, France and Tidworth in Wiltshire where Veolia is providing water and waste water management services using some of the most advanced and automated water management technology available today.

Operating the future Veolia has the scale of operations and demonstrable experience to ensure the smooth deployment of technology to both above and below ground assets, ranging from treatment works and pumping stations to underground networks. Ofwat’s recent changes in the regulatory framework and the move towards TOTEX will increase incentives for water companies to focus on these operational solutions.

To support this approach, Veolia focuses on providing operational optimisation services, ensuring existing assets have maximum efficiency and all solutions consider operational interventions prior to asset investment. We can provide a legitimate link between in-house operations and capital delivery entities to ensure that the asset creation teams are closely aligned with asset management.

The company has already successfully developed its global OCEAN software which complements its water2energy audit process that includes four individual stages of support to wastewater treatment processes: n Recover: If a site is not meeting regulatory requirements, we can put operational interventions in place to bring the site up to required standards n Stabilise: To be able to benchmark efficiency results, we can stabilise the plant to ensure it has a fixed base to start from n Energy recovery: Using our OCEAN audit software, we can identify where cost and energy savings can be made and implement interventions to affect them

n Support: Once the changes are in place, we provide ongoing support to staff to ensure they understand how deviances would impact results The main cost savings and efficiencies occur at the energy recovery phase where we use our global tool OCEAN. Through the audit review carbon emissions and operational costs are identified and then analysed to determine where operational and investment interventions can be made.

The benefits of the process are then fully realised with the reduction in carbon emissions through consumption management and increased production of renewable energy.

The ‘Water2Energy’ review process can be applied to all wastewater treatment plants, associated sludge streams and anaerobic digestion sites, representing an opportunity for the whole wastewater sector to manage its commitment to carbon reduction in a way that complements its existing obligations.

As the programme can be rolled out across multiple sites, an additional performance benchmarking process can be implemented which enables comparisons with Veolia operational sites throughout the world and aids in identifying areas to drive even greater efficiencies.

Veolia’s core strength lies in its global operations and this focus will deliver a differentiated offering in the UK market place where we can harness the best practices from similarities in delivering operational optimisation services to worldwide clients.

The company is already a trusted advisor in the area of asset and operational optimisation to help clients generate increased value either through operational efficiency, delivering customer outcomes or meeting challenging compliance standards. By proposing an incentive based model, where Veolia shares in the reward, customers will benefit from accelerated performance enhancements which are globally benchmarked.

Low carbon energy for the water industry Water industry operations are relatively energy intensive, requiring large amounts of energy for pumping, water treatment and waste management giving rise to greenhouse gas emissions of around 4 million tonnes. The UK water industry is increasing the use of low carbon and renewable energy achieved mainly through significant investment in Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and in generating biogas from the anaerobic digestion of sludge.

Many water companies have increased renewable energy generation to offset the impacts of increased energy prices, to use their resources (e.g. sludge) as efficiently as possible, and to increase revenue through the sale of Renewable Obligation Certificates on renewable electricity sold. Through organics recycling, Veolia helps minimise carbon footprint through the treatment, disposal and recycling of biosolids. By harnessing energy management and CHP project skills developed for the UK water and other industries, Veolia is uniquely placed to enable major carbon reduction initiatives and is committed to helping deliver these long term benefits.

In the near future, there will be over 73 million people in the UK. Demand is growing and the world needs new resources, this means we need to be more inventive, more responsible and more efficient. Veolia’s purpose is to optimise, assets and drive low or no build solutions. Veolia can do this with managed risks and innovative tools which have been validated throughout the world and be the water industry partner of choice for the longterm. Using this approach Veolia is set to meet the changing needs and support the UK water industry of the future. Veolia – resourcing the world.

For more information see: www.veolia.co.uk/contact-us

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Skills: a perfect storm?

As storms go this is a quiet one, but it has the potential to be as troublesome as any typhoon or hurricane.

At it’s epicentre is skills and the issue is that simply throwing money at the problem is unlikely to work.

For money-throwing to work there have to be enough people to throw the money at, and they have to want to pick it up. The evidence suggests that neither of these will happen.

Age profiles & workforce planning

Bob Windmill

When making forecasts the one reliable data set is population numbers. Clearly, a population of a million 20 year olds today means one million 30 year olds give or take a percent or two, in 10 years’ time.

Using this we can make very reliable forecasts of the number of retirees in a given time period. For the water industry EU Skills’ Workforce Planning Model (see box-out) is predicting retirement driven staff turnover in PR14 of 45% and 44% in PR14. It also show that 40% of vacancies being created are in technical roles at L3.

STEM A key issue is that technical roles need a STEM based education, and evidence from the ROSE project run by Oslo University shows that young people in developed countries, such as Europe and the UK are much less engaged with science than their counterparts in less well-developed countries. This is consistent with the idea of our young people as consumers of, rather than creators, of technology.

Choosing career paths The research report “Nothing in Common” confirmed this, showing young people choosing arts and media rather than science and technology at school. Translated into career choices this would mean media jobs being oversupplied ten-fold with science job having half the number of qualified candidates that they will need in the future.

We all understand that parents want their children to do better than they did, attaining higher status jobs and careers. The perception among many parents is that a university education is the way to do this.

Careers guidance In May 2014 The Telegraph published an article discussing research finding from The Edge Foundation which highlights that only while 27% of parent perceived vocational skills as “worthwhile” some 72% of employers regarded vocational skills “essential”.

The research also highlighted that only a third vocational learners felt that they had the backing of their school, compared with the two-thirds of pupils who had chosen an academic option.

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Bob joined the water industry as a trainee laboratory technician. After gaining his chemistry HNC on day release, he progressed to managing Anglian Water’s most complex treatment works, picking up an MSc and an MBA along the way.

After Anglian and a project management contract with the Isle of Man Water Authority Bob joined Energy and Utility skills, quickly becoming their Head of Research and leading the early development of their Workforce Planning Model.

After EU Skills he worked as UK Research Manager for the Alliance of sector skills councils before setting up his own business consultancy, Windmill Insight Solutions Ltd He currently has contracts as Head of Quality for a private water company and undertakes a wide variety of water related technical and leadership training.

Perhaps the most worrying statistic is the 22% of pupils who were told that they were “too clever” for a vocational education.

Gender imbalance EU Skills’ research shows that technical water roles are largely white male dominated. Clearly, an industry facing a skills crisis cannot afford to ignore potential candidates from large swathes of the population.

Sector image The water industry cannot rely on its image.

Research commissioned by the author while Head of Research for EU Skills indicates that around 80% of those asked know nothing about the utility sector or the jobs that it offered.

The remainder characterised it is being white male dominated with typical roles being envisaged as fat-cat bosses, men in white coats doing impossibly techy stuff and engineers doing manual labour in bad weather. The only female role was that of the woman receptionist.

When asked about jobs, the best they came up with was that it would be OK for some else’s children but not theirs.

Not just a water problem This is not just a problem for the water industry.

The gas and electricity industries have similar age profiles and skills needs with the consequence of

all three competing for the same shrinking talent pool.

What to do There is no quick fix for any of these issues. The water industry collectively has to address a range of significant societal issues if it is to attract the talent that it needs over the next ten years and beyond. While technology and increasing efficiency will help, the industry will need to take a long hard look at the kinds of jobs it offers and how it markets these to the outside world.

EU Skills’ Workforce Planning Model This is a sophisticated web base tool using workforce age profile and skill set data from employers to make accurate forecasts of future recruitment and training needs for specific roles and skill sets.

Further details can be found at: www.euskills.co.uk/workforce-planning or contact their Workforce Planning Consultant, Rob Murphy (robert.murphy@euskills.co.uk)

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER

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AUMA UK ACHIEVES WESSEX WATER APPROVED SUPPLIER STATUS AUMA UK, which has been an established supplier of electric actuators to Wessex Water for over a decade, achieved approved supplier status from the utility on 3rd March 2015. As part of the authorisation process, the supplier of modular actuation technology was comprehensively evaluated for its products, training support and service.

Wessex Water’s Charmouth Site Wessex Water plants Sequencing Batch Reactor supported by AUMA include Charmouth STP where the company supplied products from its sister company SIPOS Aktorik to support Sequencing Batch Reactor technology.

Making the difference

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AUMA has strong roots supplying the water industry which date back over 50 years. AUMA Actuators Ltd, the group’s UK subsidiary, supplies the majority of UK utilities: the company’s credentials include a number of frameworks and approved supplier agreements.

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INNOVATIVE APPROACH REDUCES SURVEY COSTS BY 50% WHILST STILL REDUCING CONFINED SPACE RISKS

CSTS demonstrate the right thinking as AMP6 places greater need for water companies and contractors to innovate.

Water industry confined space specialists CSTS have taken a fresh approach to the challenges surrounding confined space surveys during a recent project for United Utilities.

These methods require less time, fewer resources, expose surveyors to less risk, have less operational impact and provide better results than conventional methods.

As built drawings of assets (particularly those underground) are often hard to come by.

Whilst Water Companies, their Partners and Contractors have, by the nature of the works they carry out, a good knowledge of confined space safety, they often have to call upon experts to carry out their more high risk or specialist works. CSTS’ Confined Space Support Teams in conjunction with Survey Operations’ Special Operations Teams offer a trusted service - providing practical on-site support for clients working in confined spaces and similar hazardous environments.

With many Water Company assets being underground and classified as confined spaces, the retrospective production of drawings can be hazardous, time consuming and expose surveyors to hazards associated with confined spaces and working at height.

CSTS Ltd in partnership with one of their technology providers have developed systems to safely enter even the most awkward of confined spaces and collect data to produce highly accurate as built drawings.

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Recently, CSTS was approached by United Utilities to survey a large sewer overflow structure, detention tank and interconnecting chambers,

in Oldham, with a view to compiling a set of detailed general arrangement drawings. The chambers were up to 25m in depth, with complex four stage multi landing accesses, high through flows (highly weather dependant), and a history of hazardous atmospheres (low oxygen).

United Utilities needed an accurate detailed investigation to show all assets, handrails, accesses and dimensions within the chambers in order to prepare safe systems of work and maintenance schedules.

Surveying of confined spaces is not normally described as a new innovation. Conventionally undertaken by a team of suitably trained surveyors equipped with theodolites and tapes, the method of recording the data has changed little over the years with an individual bearing and measurement having to be taken to each

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER By opting for more innovative and cost effective methods the client can obtain better and more versatile information on their assets, reduce the risks exposed to surveyors and reduce operational impact.

The table below compares the two methods: point to be recorded. Whilst this method can be used effectively to survey confined spaces, it requires several surveyors who need to gain access to points on the structure in order to survey them. This method requires significant resource and exposes surveyors to increased levels of risk. However due to the configuration of these chambers and the significant hazards identified, the team was able to offer their client an innovative approach.

Conventional Surveying Methods

Laser Scanning

Number of days required to survey the chambers (estimated)

8 days

3 days

Number of hours required at invert level within the chambers (estimated)

20 hours +

> 1 hour

Whilst the use of laser scanning is now common place, the use of this technology in confined spaces is still relatively rare. On this occasion the benefits to the client and the health and safety advantages meant that this method was given serious consideration.

Number of confined space entrants required

4 operatives

2 operatives

Evacuation time (estimated time to evacuate all entrants from space in event of emergency)

40 minutes

15 minutes

3D laser scanning provides the ultimate noncontact solution many confined spaces demand.

A single surveyor is able to set up the instrument in a position of relative safety and capture detail (remotely) to sub millimetre accuracy. Coupled with the speed at which surveys can be carried out (approximately 5 minutes per set up), this was the ideal solution for this application.

Number of days required to process data and produce drawings (estimated)

3 days

5 days

The CSTS and Survey Operations proposal (of using innovative laser scanning rather than traditional surveying methods) enabled the teams to keep within the ethos of the confined space regulations and prevent the need for most of the entry. Although it was not reasonably practicable to prevent the entry into the confined space, there could be significant reductions in the number of operatives required to enter and the length of time they were within the space.

Not only does this method reduce the risks posed to operatives but it also offers other significant advantages.

The level of detail captured from laser scanning far outweighs that normally obtained from traditional methods. The ‘point cloud’ of data can be manipulated to show silt levels, the presence of handrails, ladders and other access equipment, and even used to predict flow behaviour and identify defects. Areas (including soffits and other difficult to access elements) that would have been inaccessible using traditional methods can be surveyed to the same sub millimetre levels of accuracy.

Whilst safety is always at the forefront of decision making, undoubtedly one of the most significant

savings offered to the client on this project was in cost. It is estimated that the client was able to save 50% of the total cost by opting to use laser scanning over more traditional methods.

By opting for more innovative and cost effective methods the client can obtain better and more versatile information on their assets, reduce the risks exposed to surveyors and reduce operational impact.

All too often, improved safety management comes at a cost both financially and to resource. CSTS and Survey Operations are proud to be able to offer their clients improved safety management with the added benefit of time, financial and resource savings.

Helen Collins manages the Confined Space Support Teams at CSTS Ltd and performs the role of Entry Manger during larger scale entries. She is passionate about confined space safety and works for continual improvement in methods and techniques used through innovation and a common sense approach.

The Confined Space Support Team arm of CSTS Ltd was started in 2001 and provides specialist confined space services (including rescue) to clients throughout the UK.

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FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER

APPRENTICES ON APPRENTICESHIP MONTH

By James Williams

As I mentioned in my introduction to this edition, March was apprentice month and there were a few contributions from apprentices we were unable to squeeze in to that campaign. I’m keen to share their stories here.

Gary Thorpe, 19

Matt Beagent, 19

Anglian Water

Anglian Water

Apprenticeship type: Intermediate Level Apprenticeship for Laboratory & Science Technicians.

Apprenticeship type: Technical Skills NVQ

Apprenticeship length: 3 years 6 months

Current year: 2nd

Current year: 2nd Qualifications gained so far: Qualifications currently studying for: Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Laboratory and Associated Technical activities.

Qualifications gained so far: PAA\VQ – SET Level 2 Qualifications currently studying for: Level 2 Technical Skills NVQ

Q1. What is the most rewarding part of your role?

Being able to develop my skills and further my knowledge whilst working in a Job I love.

Q1. What is the most rewarding part of your role?

Continuous gaining of knowledge within the scientific and technical environment whilst gaining valuable experience within the working world.

Q2. Do you feel part of the team? How do your colleagues engage with you?

I do feel part of the team, I settled in very quickly. My colleagues treat me with the same respect as everyone else here, they are always helpful and a pleasure to work with.

Q2. Do you feel part of the team? How do your colleagues engage with you?

Occasionally I feel as though I am being talked down to and that my views are inadequate, however, for the majority I feel I am a valued member of the team and am able to contribute where necessary.

Q3. What are your thoughts of working in the Water Industry?

Had you ever thought about a career in the industry before you applied for the apprenticeship?

I never thought about a career in this industry before I actually applied, I finished A levels not really sure what job I wanted. I am glad that I got this opportunity as I feel that there is so much to learn about this industry and the way it works. I feel that I’ve come so far in just a year and I still learn new things everyday.

Q3. What are your thoughts of working in the Water Industry?

Had you ever thought about a career in the industry before you applied for the apprenticeship?

From what I have experienced the water industry is extremely specialised however having had very little experience in any other industry it is difficult to have an opinion.

Q4. What are your career aspirations after your apprenticeship?

Do you see your career staying in the Water Industry?

I would like to stay within the water Industry. Hopefully still working for Anglian Water continuing my development, making my way up the career ladder.

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Apprenticeship length: 3 Years

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Q4. What are your career aspirations after your apprenticeship?

Do you see your career staying in the Water Industry?

Continue to gain experience within the scientific and technical world acquiring the knowledge to become a successful team leader.

This may or not be as part of the water industry however will most certainly be part of a laboratory environment.

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A perspective of urban drainage modelling We have come a long way in modelling our urban drainage systems. Reflecting back some decades ago – when our interest in urban drainage was dominated by a dread of sewer collapses as these Victorian assets deteriorated – there was incredibly little to assist drainage engineers with hydraulic assessments and enhancements. Computers were few and far between and there was no spate of software like there is today. However, around the same time CCTV inspections of drainage systems was being pioneered, a step change in the hydraulic design and analysis of drainage systems took place known as the Wallingford procedure. Arguably, this is has been the platform upon which urban drainage modelling as we know it today was built.

We have come a long way in modelling our urban drainage systems. Reflecting back some decades ago – when our interest in urban drainage was dominated by a dread of sewer collapses as these Victorian assets deteriorated – there was incredibly little to assist drainage engineers with hydraulic assessments and enhancements.

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Computers were few and far between and there was no spate of software like there is today.

However, around the same time CCTV inspections of drainage systems was being pioneered, a step change in the hydraulic design and analysis of drainage systems took place known as the Wallingford procedure. Arguably, this is has

been the platform upon which urban drainage modelling as we know it today was built.

Following significant post millennium floods across the UK and enactment of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act and the Flood and Water Management Act in 2009 and 2010

FEATURE: FUTURE OF WATER respectively, flooding is now a clear focal point for organisation with a flood risk function in the UK. As we assess flood risk and appraise solutions this has continued to drive development in urban drainage modelling techniques and software.

Both the natural and the artificial systems are accurately mimicked, and now more than ever how they interact with each other is readily accounted for.

As with many areas across the UK, surface water flooding is a significant problem in Scotland, particularly in urban environments, and will likely to be further exacerbated in the future as a result of urban creep, climate change and population growth. To manage surface water flooding and our urban drainage networks in the long-term, it won’t be sustainable to continually rely on upgrading or upsizing of ‘traditional’ drainage infrastructure.

Instead, in Scotland (as I’m sure is the case across the UK) we are looking at a fully integrated approach to drainage that not only takes account of all aspects of the urban drainage system but also the organisations that are responsible for each element in order that long-term and sustainable outcomes are realised. At Scottish Water, in partnership with Local Authorities and SEPA, we are undertaking a number of Integrated Catchment Studies across urban centres where surface water flooding is complicated by the interactions that occur between the above ground

drainage system (including natural watercourses) and the artificial below ground drainage system (including road drainage and sewers).

creep and legislative drivers, to name but a few, may present and then designing sustainable solutions to meet such challenges.

Modelling different elements of an integrated urban drainage system has, however, historically presented problems. A water and sewerage company, for example, may have been able to represent the sewer network in its intended model environment but will have struggled to represent other influential systems robustly in the same software. Furthermore, the fact that traditionally partnership approaches to flood risk assessment haven’t been the norm will have further exacerbated this as different elements of the urban drainage system will have been modelled separately.

Integrated urban drainage modelling is still relatively novel, there are lessons continually being learnt and a number of challenges that still remain. One such challenge is the level of detail captured within these complex models and the subsequent impact this has on processing results, particularly as we move towards realtime data capture, verification and processing.

The introduction of cloud based storage and processing may go some way to resolving this.

Nevertheless, there is likely to still be a need for alternative modelling software’s and techniques that speed up or simplify model processing, allowing a rapid assessment of flood risk whilst maintaining the same level of accuracy as conventional integrated urban drainage models.

Nonetheless, further advances in software and modelling techniques that tolerate the integration of various elements of the urban drainage system has permitted some of the most accurate representations and consequently flood risk assessments to be produced to date. For Scottish Water and our partners we have been able to utilise integrated urban drainage modelling in our studies to improve our understanding of the flooding mechanisms, assess the impacts, and appraise solutions. Our Integrated Catchment Studies are not only assessing the risk of flooding to customers, the environment and the economy today, but are also looking to predict and take account of future risks that climate change, urban

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WRC

CUSTOMER OF THE FUTURE If we really want to embed customers’ priorities, preferences, needs and values at the heart of business operations then, at the same time as thinking about forward planning for assets, we need to think about how those customer foci might change.

There are two key elements to look at – practices (for instance how people use water or gas), and perceptions (how people perceive and value the supply of those services). Both of these elements are critical to planning a future delivery network, as the demand for the quantity of the product changes and also society is increasingly concerned about the product itself -

whether it is sustainable, locally produced etc. Think about the way we now have a choice about the way our eggs are produced – from low cost battery production through to particular breed free range local farming.

Add to this the myriad of options we have for how we get and pay for those eggs – via delivery, click and collect, traditional shop, supermarkets, direct from small producers, cash, card, contactless payment, self-serve checkouts – the options are manifold and tailored to meet different customers' different needs. It is not inconceivable that in the future water and gas services will look quite different to the current day

in terms of our demands for delivery of the service from the network. With such long term investments we need to start to build a picture now of what customers in the future might value about these products, and how the use of these products might change through clever ways of teasing out information from different stakeholders.

WRc are working with University of Sheffield to do just this with the gas sector; it won’t be long before the water sector may wish to take a similar approach for future network planning ahead of PR19.

Carmen Snowdon Principal Consultant, WRc.

WRC 2015 INNOVATION EVENT – ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS On the 28th April, WRc kicked off their 4th Innovation Event in the exciting surroundings of STEAM Museum in Swindon with an evening invitation only “Best of the Best” Awards Ceremony.

Nestled alongside the Caerphilly Castle Steam Engine (Photo), WRc’s guests saw 11 previous Innovation award winners from the water, waste and gas sector each give 5 minute pitches against the clock, WRc’s guests then interactively voted for the innovation that impressed them most. The WRc “Best of the Best” Innovation Award 2015 winners were Synthotech for their winning innovation Tier One Replacement System (TORS) for Aged Iron Metallic Distribution Gas Mains (picture) closely followed by 2 highly commended winners Wessex Water with their The Wastewater Meter and Business Modelling Associates (BMA) who presented on data analytics to Improve the

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future of sludge management. The awards were presented by WRc’s CEO, Mark Smith and the winner of the 2014 Awards, Stuart Clough from APEM. The following morning guests arrived at WRc in Swindon to a street festival event. Mark Smith opened the event with a welcome speech followed by 3 great talks from the Keynote Speakers – Mark Fletcher from Arups, Steve Lee from CIWM and David Morgan from Synthotech. WRc guests then went out into the “WRc Theme Park” to see and experience over 80 live demonstrations of “Innovation in Action” hosted in a series of marquees around WRc’s site. This included a WRc Showcase Marquee with a “Meet the Experts” zone and live demonstrations from Swindon Guide Dogs (WRc’s Charity of the Year).

A “Street Food” themed lunch was followed by

WRc’s Café Creation Workshop. The workshop posed two questions on Innovation for WRc’s guests to discuss and debate in a “World Café” atmosphere which gave guests the opportunity to move around different tables to network and get different views on the questions.

The event came to a close late afternoon with a video produced by local Year 10 students from Isambard Community School which they had made during the day. The video was the student’s own take on the event and was a huge success – it captured the feel of the day perfectly. WRc also announced that the event had raised £7000 to “Name a Dog” in support of Swindon Guide Dogs - a fitting close to the day.

For further information about the event, please visit http://www.wrcplc.co.uk/ innovation-day-2015 or email pr@

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MORRISON UTILITY SERVICES

Reducing the time to reinstatement There is no denying that road works have a major impact on our everyday lives. As the population grows, the road network will come under more and more pressure. It is the responsibility of utility companies and their service providers to minimise disruption wherever possible to improve customer experience.

Working together with Severn Trent Water Operations Strategic Leaders and their teams, Morrison Utility Services have embarked on an ambitious project to reduce the time from task completion (eg. mains repair) to reinstatement to just 24 hours. This is known on the contract as the D+24 target.

An industry leading 80%+ works on the contract are now reinstated within 24 hours, a huge improvement from just 50% in November 2014.

Achieving this ambitious target began with reviewing the backfill and reinstatement process.

The planning and scheduling of all activities has been redesigned to be more sequential to enable a more responsive solution. Additional resource was brought in and thorough training was provided. Mobile devices were deployed to streamline communications between the field and the back office.

Performance monitoring is a big part of achieving success and the project has used the Deming cycle approach of plan, do, check, act. Daily conference calls take place between the reinstatement managers and scheduling managers, with the aim of understanding work progression throughout the day and facilitating quicker activity. Gap analysis of failures is carried out to understand areas for action.

Dan Barnes, Operations Manager at Morrison Utility Services said “Working collaboratively with Severn Trent Water, we have focussed on the ethos of “delivering the day”; ensuring wherever possible the planned activity is completed with upfront planning geared towards achieving full completion and site clearance within 24 hours. The performance improvement to date is a real achievement, and goes some way towards delivering an awesome customer experience for Severn Trent Water customers.”

As we move into AMP6, focussing on the needs of the customer is more important than ever. The D+24 initiative is a real example of how we can go further to meet customer expectations.

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THE FUTURE OF STREETWORKS COMMUNICATION Analysis of 2014 activity on roadworks. org has revealed a dramatic increase in demand for detailed information about road works, which rose to nearly 7 million enquiries during 2014.

According to the authoritative SOCITM Better Connected Report, Elgin’s roadworks.org is now the primary means of accessing current road works information. Last year the site displayed information on over 2.5 million road works. Over 40% of the streetworks published received at least one enquiry over the last 12 months, whilst a large proportion received many hundreds.

These figures indicate that there is a huge demand from the public for more information about major schemes and routine maintenance that cause temporary traffic disruptions on a daily basis. Many of these enquiries have been self-served via roadworks.org and have helped to divert calls away from individual company call centres.

Elgin’s Communication Management App enables works promoters to communicate road works information in real-time via Twitter, Facebook, mobile alerts and QR codes. The app transforms the technical language of the official process and vastly enhances the information available to members of the public.

Morrison Utility Services conduct over 25% of the UK’s road works on behalf of the leading utility companies and helped to develop Elgin’s Communications Management initiative. Andrew Hunt, Head of innovation at Morrison Utility Services, commented: “Elgin’s Communications Management App is a complete step change in the way utilities communicate to the public - it transforms streetworks communications!

Brilliantly, it does so without having to re-engineer present systems and workflows. It is a huge advance in helping the utility sector to keep step with current social trends in information consumption.”

With population and traffic volumes both projected to rise significantly in the next few years, the effective and efficient management of streetworks is more important than ever. roadworks.org is a vital tool to help our industry meet the challenges of the future.

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PSS HIRE

GROWTH CONTINUES APACE AT PSS HIRE Market leader PSS Hire is going from strength to strength following the acquisition of Plant & Site Services Ltd by A-Plant, one of the UK’s largest equipment rental companies, and has just recorded a 40 per cent increase in year-on-year turnover.

The key to its success? A dedication to providing a quality service to its customers; many of whom operate in the water sector.

Following the acquisition by A-Plant in July 2013, Plant & Site Services was re-branded as PSS Hire, the UK and Ireland’s leading specialist supplier to the pipeline, utilities, civil engineering and infrastructure industries.

Since then, PSS Hire has invested heavily in growing its market share under the leadership of Director Mark Hamilton. Mark joined shortly after the acquisition, from Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions where he was Head of Plant and Logistics Services, and has been responsible for building on the company’s history of success through a mixture of innovation, investment and improvement.

He said: “The acquisition has been a success because following the merger of the old Trenchless Technology business unit within A-Plant with PSS, it allowed us to develop and expand further our range of products and services. PSS has always been known for innovation. We have introduced many new products to our sector over the years and are perceived by many of our clients as actively improving the equipment and solutions they use on a daily basis. That has continued since the acquisition.

“In addition, we have worked hard to improve our customer service, through staff recruitment and training and also by increasing our number of strategic Service Centres from five to nine, with a further four satellite locations.

“This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. If we need to open a Service Centre in a client’s area then we will do so, as we can potentially utilise any of the 135 A-Plant locations as required. We are committed to driving the expansion of our Service Centre network accordingly.”

The result is that PSS now employs 115 people and stocks more than 8,000 items of specialist plant. With more than 20 years’ experience of providing innovative products and first class service to its customers, the company prides itself on offering the very latest and largest fleets of equipment available, from Butt Fusion Machines and Winches, to Moles and the state-of-the-art iVac Suction Excavator, which is proving popular in the water industry.

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This is backed by the suite of online tools and Apps that they have available to help ensure compliance and provide real efficiencies to businesses.

PSS Hire invests millions of pounds in new equipment from leading manufacturers each year, so when you hire equipment from the company, you can be assured that it is best-in-class, as well as being serviced and maintained to the very highest standards.

In addition to offering equipment for hire or sale, the company also offers Customer Training so if you need specific product training on the operation of equipment, the company can help.

Mark said: “The business has really gone from strength-to strength-since the acquisition, with much more capital investment in new products for new markets. We select the best suppliers in all product categories and work with them to develop equipment that utilities and contractors want to use.

“Our staff are amongst the most knowledgeable in our industry and we always put our customers first – having Service Centres in strategic locations across the UK and Ireland to makes sure we can deliver equipment when and where our customers need it. We are expanding our operations in the water sector through a range of products and services that add value to our customers.”

To find out more, please contact PSS Hire.

Call 0370 330 6023 or email

enquiries@psshire.com

Mark Hamilton

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LOCKEN

SECURING AND CONTROLLING ACCESS IS KEY TO PROTECTING SENSITIVE WATER SITES With approximately 6.5 billion cubic metres of water directly abstracted for public use in England and Wales each year, securing and controlling access to drinking water sites is of critical importance.

Nick Dooley, managing director of LOCKEN UK explains the challenges faced by the water industry and reveals the security solution being adopted by an increasing number of water companies worldwide.

Identified as vulnerable sites, water treatment facilities are at risk to a number of threats such as terrorism, vandalism and theft, and therefore require greater surveillance and high level security. The rising number of subcontractors in the drinking water sector increases this risk, making monitoring and controlling access points more prevalent than ever in order to guarantee water quality.

The key challenge that affects security in the industry is that water treatment sites (for example collection systems, bore wells, treatment stations, water towers and distribution platforms) are often isolated and located a considerable distance from one another, and therefore ensuring that sites are secure while also providing enhanced access control is essential.

Another main issue is guaranteeing access to authorised users at all approved times; an authorised person who is unable to gain access at the right time can adversely affect the operation of any infrastructure.

Water distribution – Water treatment plant

The last vital consideration is protecting the locks themselves, which over time can become corroded and damaged due to exposure to wet weather.

The digital cylinders, which are passive and perform well in extreme climatic conditions, are unlocked on contact with the key, which transmits power and communicates access rights.

There are a number of ways that water sites have been protected in the past including:

The key records access details, including who opened or attempted to open every lock and when, providing critical information when investigating a security breach. In addition it enables security managers to instantly add or delete electronic keys, eliminating exposure when keys are lost or stolen. It also allows them to assign customised access privileges based on time, date and authority level.

Mechanical lock systems, which are the most basic function of any security device. These are expensive to manage due to the risk of lost keys and are unable to meet the demands of 21st century security and flexibility.

Electronic lock centric systems that offer a key combined with digital control, enabling traceability. These are often unsuitable for securing and controlling sensitive water sites due to battery management issues.

Cyberlock key centric access management, which provides the highest possible levels of security and access control with the power delivered by a re-chargeable digital smart key and traceable data held in the key.

Large utilities and companies with multiple sites are increasingly moving away from the outdated

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mechanical lock system and looking to Cyberlock technology to provide their future security solution.

Key centric access management is based around three elements, a smart digital key, digital cylinders and access right management, supported by a secure software suite.

The key itself contains the power source, configurable access rights and enables tracking. With no mechanical key profile it is reprogrammable and its unique identifier cannot be duplicated.

A dedicated fixed terminal, mobile device or computer with internet access allows assignment of access rights, direct transmission of reports and the coordination of activities at different locations.

With over one million access points secured worldwide and LOCKEN Cyberlock currently used by 14 major water companies, there is no doubt that the simple and flexible solution will play a strategic role in the future security solution for the water industry. www.locken.co.uk

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Water Industry Products & Services

New asset commissioning services Panton McLeod are often known as the pioneers of Robotic Inspection and Cleaning in the UK, but their roots still lie in the “traditional” cleaning and disinfection of potable water tanks and pipelines.

They inspect, clean & disinfect hundreds of potable water assets as part of ongoing annual maintenance programmes but are also called in to prepare assets for first use.

Today they remain first choice for many clients whether it is a short section of 50mm HDPE pipework or a whole new treatment process at a critical Water Treatment Works combining a broad range of services, some unique products and vast experience gained over the past 21 years. Panton McLeod are able to provide a more efficient commissioning process creating a single interface between specialist and principal contactor, and their reputation for excellence in Water Quality and hygienic working practises allows for the removal of duplicated supervision.

Their commissioning services include : Consultancy & Advice – Engineers are often asked to provide advice at the detailed design stage ensuring that pipework can be installed with safer and swifter commissioning in mind, this can include modification to sample points, the provision of de-chlorination chambers or the location of air release valves and washout points.

Pipeline Flushing and Swabbing – With dedicated potable water equipment and extensive experience Panton McLeod engineers are able to remove any residual construction debris and entrapped air.

Pressure Testing – Through the use of GPS tracked data loggers, offsite 3rd party verification and bespoke equipment pressure testing can be completed with full traceable assurance for the end client. Testing is always completed to the latest standards and with minimal disruption to program.

Pipeline Cleaning & Disinfection – Whether it is 3 metres of 50mm or 12,000m of 900mm Panton

McLeod can take on the project. They able to employ a variety of methods and products to best suit the asset and its surroundings including the removal of contaminants such as cryptosporidium and hydrocarbons.

Flood Testing and Asset Condition Grading – During commissioning Panton McLeod are often asked to provide an independent assessment of the asset condition to the shared end client.

Reservoir Cleaning & Disinfection – As industry leaders Panton McLeod can provide a range of cleaning and disinfection methodologies similar to those offered to the pipelines to suit the asset.

This can include PM100 chemical treatment, low pressure cleaning to protect the asset substrate or high pressure cleaning where required.

Onsite Waste Treatment – Where commissioning works produce waste waters Panton McLeod are able to provide a full range of treatment options to ensure compliance with EA or SEPA discharge consents. All of our procedures have been designed to provide a cost effective, sustainable and portable solution often removing the need for liquid waste to be removed from site.

Reactive Snagging or Repair Works – Although every new build project aims to be delivered without any snagging it is prudent to have a partner who is agile enough to help out if issues are identified at short notice. Panton McLeod teams are multi-disciplined and are often able to carry out reactive waterproofing, protective coating or joint works to ensure “into supply” dates are met.

All of these factors have resulted in Panton McLeod being integral to many of the largest and highest profile investments including the expansion to Frankley WTW in Birmingham in 2010 and 2014 and the Loch Katrine and Glencorse WTW projects in Scotland. In 2010 the upgrade to the GAC plant at Frankley required over 13 mega litres of water to be pumped, dosed and disposed safely but Panton McLeod can be equally important on the smallest rural scheme involving only a few hundred litres of water.

For more information about the services provided

by Panton McLeod please contact Paul Henderson at info@pantonmcleod.co.uk or call 01896 663 330.

Tel : 01896 663 330 • info@pantonmcleod.co.uk

Water Quality Engineering

Asset management tailored to your needs

HEALTH & SAFETY EXCELLENCE RECOGNISED AT CENE 2015 Panton McLeod are delighted to announce win another award win for the “Team Horsley” reservoir cleaning project.

Previously celebrated for their role as principal contractor through Northumbrian Water’s own “Going the Extra Mile” awards in the categories of Creative Working and H&S, the project has now gained recognition at the Constructing Excellence (North East) awards. The project was awarded the Health & Safety excellence award and will now be shortlisted for the national awards to be held in London in October.

Panton McLeod took on the role as principal contractor in a team comprising Northumbrian

Water, Mott McDonald, MHW Global and Stonbury.

The combined strength of the team being testament that collaboration and innovation can deliver on projects previously considered impossible.

The project allowed the large treated water storage reservoir to be cleaned robotically while remaining online. One key challenge overcome during the project related to poor access provision, therefore to provide additional access points new openings were cut in the roof slab.

During the works customer supplies were unaffected without any impact on water quality.

Jim Panton, CEO is thrilled, “The win is a major honour for us, as principal contractor our team were responsible for supervising all site activities and the fact that a project as complicated and critical as this was delivered without incident shows the skill and dedication of our team, the award will be proudly displayed at our Head Office and we look forward to the national awards in October”.

"The win is a major honour for us, as principal contractor our team were responsible for supervising all site activities and the fact that a project as complicated and critical as this was delivered without incident shows the skill and dedication of our team, the award will be proudly displayed at our Head Office and we look forward to the national awards in October"

Water Industry Products & Services

Water Quality Engineering

Come and meet us in Cambridge at the IoW National Conference

• Pipeline Commissioning

• Robotic Inspection & Cleaning

• Award Winning Service

• Reservoir Cleaning & Disinfection

Tel : 01896 663 330 • info@pantonmcleod.co.uk • www.pantonmcleod.co.uk •

www.pantonmcleod.co.uk •

@pantonmcleod

@pantonmcleod

Bacterial remediation – the proven way forward For years now, the UK waste water treatment industry has been searching for a bacterial product which “does what it says on the tin.” At last a new product has arrived on the market which actually does just that. eco-tabsTM are tablet and granular products that contain only natural strains of non-pathogenic bacteria, oxygenation agents and non-toxic ingredients. When delivered into a water column, oxygenation through micro bubbles starts immediately and provides a buffered aerobic environment for germination and growth of bacteria which breakdown organics materials and remove chemical pollutants.

This process, called Microdot Separation Technology (MST), a truly innovative approach, is proving to be the way forward. It is also what makes eco-tabsTM truly different from all competitive products and the reason it will outperform all competitive products in the worst and best environments.

Microdot Separation Technology creates individual effervescent plumes which are saturated with pure oxygen, pH buffers and bacteria. The high germination rates are key to the successful delivery of active bacteria into the water column.

The bacteria delivered are a unique blend of 14 bacterial strains which target the specific organic pollutants to be remediated.

Eco-tabsTM contain active oxygenation agents that quickly raise the dissolved oxygen levels in the water body with a bottom up approach and therefore are very effective at Sludge and FOG remediation. Without oxygen, it doesn’t matter how much or what kind of aerobic bacteria you apply to the water body, the bacteria will simply not work.

The addition of oxygen into a waste stream is not a new technique. Almost all WWTP’s and most filtration systems incorporate a delivery method of oxygen into the water column, eco-tabsTM has simply found a more effective method of delivery.

The most common method is to use an aeration system in bioremediation tanks and diffusers.

These systems typically create bubbles that composed of only 25% oxygen. eco-tabsTM process generates microscopic bubbles of divalent oxygen which are pure oxygen and therefore 4 times more concentrated than conventional compressed air bubbles. A key factor is the size of the microbubbles. Smaller bubbles have less buoyancy, and are affected greater by drag causing them to rise slower to the surface. A slower rise means Network clear of FOG after 3 weeks treatment with eco-tabs

the bubbles have longer interaction time with the water column which leads to a more efficient exchange of oxygen from the bubbles into the water leading to greater absorbtion.

What we are able to do with eco-tabs Clients who are using eco-tabsTM are benefitting from a much improved treatment and a more cost effective solution than using chemical dosing or mechanical intervention. Virtual increases in operating capacity and reduction in operating budget expenditure makes using eco-tabsTM beneficial for the operating company and the community it serves.

Immediate and Direct Benefits of using Eco Tabs include: n Sludge reduction and therefore drying, handling and disposal cost reductions n FOG clearing of networks and therefore removing need for mechanical intervention

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ECOTABS WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN USING ECO-TABS BOD

O2

n Energy usage reduction for aeration, agitation and drying n Chemical reductions on polymers and flocculants n Odour reduction and therefore less complaints handling and improved customer service n Increased asset life due to a less corrosive environment n Lowering the carbon footprint All these benefits are directly in line with the UK Water Industry objectives of each of the individual companies.

What to expect when using eco-tabs

pH

Neutral

TVS

Applications areas: n Sewage Network Applications • Lift Stations

• Primary Basin / Degreaser • Primary Sediment Tanks / Ponds • Aeration Basins / Bioreactors • Clarifiers • Sludge Lagoons • Reed Beds n Industrial Waste Water

• Degreasers

n Reduction in BOD, COD, TSS, TDS, H2S n Reductions in Ammonia, Septicity and Toxicity n Oxidation of inorganic matter such as nitrites and sulfides.

“Ultimately, your products do what you claimed they would do.

That is, they work!”

– CanAm Energy (USA)

• Networks Pipelines

• Buffer Tanks

n Reduction / elimination in Odours

“eco-tabs sachets and tablets are efficient as a treatment method for H2S removal compared to the current chemical dosing and in some instances it has shown that the eco-tabs can treat the sewage to the same standard as the chemical dosing for H2S removal” - Southern Water (UK) “The use of Eco-tabs for the removal of FOG is cost beneficial when compared to current methods of jetting to remove FOG. – Welsh Water (UK)

n Higher levels of dissolved oxygen in the wastewater

n Reduction / elimination of FOG

Nutrients

pH

n Better overall water quality

n Reduction / Elimination of organic sludge

Sludge

Up to 90% Reducton

COD

Up to 80% Reducton

TDS

Up to 90% Reducton

Up to 90% Reducton

TSS

What are our customers saying

“We found the Eco Tabs de-sludging process to be cost effective and very efficient. In addition to the 98.5% reduction in sludge volumes achieved, we have also noticed significant improvements in the quality of effluent leaving our Renoir pond.”

– Harvey Beef (AUS)

• Sludge Thickeners • Canalisation n Hydrocarbon Pollution (Water and Soil) n Individual and Community Septic Tanks n Grease Traps (Fast Food and Restaurants) n Pond and Lake Remediation n Recylced Water (Cooling systems and Car Washes) n Portable Toilets

Over 110 billion CFU per tablet Active Oxygenation

Contact | Tel: +44 7796 170 190 | email: contact@eco-tabs.co.uk | www.eco-tabs.co.uk

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Flexible approach to best suit our customers and their needs Water Process Solutions Ltd(WPS) are extremely pleased to officially join the Institute of Water.

We pride ourselves as a provider of engineered solutions to Water and Wastewater treatment applications across the global market place.

Operating from our facility in Aylesford, UK, Water Process Solutions Ltd is a manufacturer and distributor for a variety of products, providing additional value through innovative design, vast experience and focused service support. Our portfolio offers value to a range of applications within areas of drinking water, wastewater, leisure resorts, food processing, breweries, mining, power generation, facilities management and mainstream industrial processes.

Created from a core team of long standing water treatment specialists, Water Process Solutions is proud to focus its operation to best suit its customers and their needs. Through this focus we have made ourselves flexible to suit the changing processes and landscape demands of the users application, developing and responding swiftly to ensure leading standards,high quality and exceptional customer service remains a constant.

Development is a high priority to us at WPS and as a result we are continually discussing and exploring NPD and partnerships to meet market place and specific client requests - if you have a need and would like us to consider a development, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We work in association with UGSI Chemical Feed Inc in the United States for some of our product range.

The product lines include: Pumps: n Digital Encore® n Encore® 700 mechanical diaphragm n Encore® 700 Plunger n Chemtube® tubular diaphragm chemical metering pumps.

Polymer preparation and dosing: n Polyblend® PB series emulsion polymer dosing system n Polyblend® M series emulsion polymer dosing system n Polyblend® DP series dry powder preparation and dosing systems Flow meters - Varea-Meters® n Glass tube purge meters n Arma-view®II n Amoured purge meters

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n Glass and metal tube Varea-Meter® units Electro-Chlorination systems: n Electro-Chlorination / generation systems low capacity generation, less than 500 g/h n On Site Hypochlorite Generation systems - PSI Micro-Chlor systems to 1076 kg/d On line analysis: n Chlorine analyser - measuring Free and Total Cl2 Other solutions: n Floating ball cover systems - easy covers for tanks / lagoons / leachate pools n Tank Shark - tank / lagoon mixing system The services include: Spares and support: n Spare parts, kits and technical support of the above lines are available- please enquire for anything not shown. n We offer a return to base refurbishment service for our chemical metering pumps and PolyBlend® systems. An excellent opportunity to have your pumps health checked, repaired where possible, fully serviced, upgraded with accessories and even supplied back with a warranty.

1

Pumps

When it comes to pumps, the Encore® 700 in its wide variety of configurations is a long standing and trusted partner in the chemical metering world, providing accurate and reliable operation for decades opposed to a few years. There are many operational Encore® pumps in the market today and we are pleased to confirm that we are here in the UK and able to provide full support for these units, in the majority of cases, direct from our stocks.

The Encore® 700 diaphragm metering pump combines the robustness of hydraulic diaphragm pumps with the unparalleled economy, simplicity, and serviceability of a mechanical pump. Supplied with a cast iron gearbox assembly and the head materials carefully selected for compatibility to the duty to be metered and the environment to operate within.

As mentioned, an excess of 20 years reliable

operation is not an unrealistic desire with this range of metering pump and our confidence in this range is rubber stamped by a new 5 year warranty on newly supplied configurations. The existing field units can be fully supported through us and so should you require spares kits, upgrades or would like to discuss a refurbishment, then do not hesitate to contact us.

The Encore® 700 mechanical diaphragm pump handles capacities up to 2500 l/h, discharge pressures to 12 bar.

The Encore® 700 plunger pump handles capacities up to 290 l/h, discharge pressure to 200 bar.

The pumps can be supplied with manual stroke control, which offers infinite continuous adjustment via the hand wheel over a 10:1 feed rate range. If remote adjustment is preferred, an electric stroke positioner mechanism for remote stroke length adjustment can be supplied.

REGISTER WITH US: If you operate an Encore® pump, please contact us to register your configuration on our database. We will be pleased to hear from you and work with you to ensure you continue to receive the optimal performance from your asset.

2

Polyelectrolyte

The PolyBlend® systems are automated polymer feed systems for precise control and economical performance of liquid grade polymers.

Polyelectrolytes require specifically designed energy regimes during preparation to attain the correct physio-chemical state in solution to perform the tasks they were designed for.

That’s why the PolyBlend® automated polymer feed systems provide precise, programmable control of dosing rate, dilution levels, retention time and energy. With this exclusive control of these process variables you can be sure your polymers have the ideal mixing environment. That means you get the maximum yield efficiency from any polymer.

Features of this design include: n High capacity mixing chamber. The unique multi-zone activation chamber is designed to give energy values appropriate to the swelling and hydration needs of the chemical through this operation.

WATER PROCESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED 1

2

4

1

Encore 700

2

PolyBlend PB small frame

3

Low capacity generation system

4

MicrOclor

5

Chlorine Analyser

n Flow sensors, variable set-points for low water protection, auto restart. n Operates to a maximum water pressure: 5 bar. n Mixer motor: 0.37 KW n Single phase continuous duty n Remote Proportional Control via 4-20mA signal or manual control 3

Electro-Chlorination

3 of hypochlorite generation equipment.

Advancements in system safety and ease of operation make MicrOclor the overwhelming choice for facilities. The combined benefits of the following unique features make MicrOclor the most robust and durable system available today:

process monitoring and control. Quality in performance and optimal process efficiency is not possible without accuracy and reliability and not operationally practical without longevity of service.

The WPS chlorine analyser meets and exceeds those demands, further offering benefits of:

n Vertical/Multi Cell Configuration

n Bufferless analysis - improving safety, saving chemicals, associated transport and operator intervention.

n Direct Hydrogen Management n Continuous Process Control

Electrochlorination is the process of generating a solution of Sodium Hypochlorite from three common place and readily available materialssalt, water and electricity.

n Full Wave DC Power

This process is economically proven to provide a low cost of ownership over the life of the systems.

The simple process occurs when a DC voltage is applied to a salt solution flowing between a series of electrodes. An electrical current results in a chemical reaction which produces a low strength Sodium Hypochlorite solution. The solution can be safely stored in a product tank and used to disinfection water.

VERTICAL/MULTI CELL CONFIGURATION: MicrOclor’s vertical “V-Ray” cell arrangement is the most significant of the many features that distinguish it from the earlier generations of equipment.

Water Process Solutions are pleased to be able to offer a variety of approaches to on site generation needs and for lower capacity applications we have our WPS-P range. This range is typically suitable for process needs of less than 400 g/h of chlorine equivalent.

For the larger capacity requirements, WPS have the PSI MicrOclor system available.

4

The patented MicrOclor design is the result of over twenty five years of experience in the manufacturing, installation and servicing

5

n Compact Cell Design n High-Velocity Electrolyte Circulation

The V-Ray electrolytic cells are configured in a vertical array and vented directly to atmosphere. This prevents the chance of over pressurization by releasing all hydrogen directly from each cell. Other systems use the storage tanks as hydrogen separators which can contribute to excessive cell pressure and vibration in the discharge piping.

With Capacities of: 9-1088 KG per day chlorine equivalent. The MicrOclor OSHG can generate Sodium Hypochlorite solution of 0.8% + 0.05% using a potable water supply and salt.

5

n Large clear display screen - providing easy operator interface. n Low flow cell requirements - saving water consumption for analysis n Integrated low / loss of flow detection providing remote confidence in sample feed for continued accurate analysis. n Easy maintenance and calibration - designed for simple care and ‘fast cal’ to reduce menu scrolling.

We welcome you to our organisation and look forward to working with you and supporting your business needs.

E: enquiries@waterprocesssolutions.com Sales enquiries, call Aran Bray +44 (0) 7557 363728 Office Tel: +44 (0) 1622 719945 www.waterprocesssolutions.com Chemtube, Encore and PolyBlend are trademarks of UGSIChemical Feed Inc, its subsidiaries or affiliates.

Chlorine analysis

Accuracy, reliability and longevity are the baseline needs when discussing chlorine analysis within

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HYDROK

HYDROK TERTIARY FILTRATION SOLUTIONS GAIN RECOGNITION A number of UK Water Companies are recognising the role the Hydrok Tertiary Filtration solutions have in the wastewater processing market. configurations built at the Hydrok factory. Pilot plant studies in various regions, having proven themselves, are now being adopted for full scale operation. Thames Water have - through their AMK contractors working with Hydrok, since installed the Hydrok/ Projects are underway for South Mecana system at Deephams WwTW West Water, Severn Trent Water, which is able to handle 4,150l/s Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, using 12 x 18 disc filters. The Anglian Water and United system will become the principal Utilities - either as retrofits into tertiary filtration process once existing or new concrete tanks, or purpose built stainless steel commissioned.

Hydrok Mecana Vol 186:IoW half pg 31/03/2015 13:04 Page 1 Several water companies are now running pilot and full scale installations at a number of WwT sites; which are delivered in association with their Mecana Pile Cloth Media exclusive UK distribution partnership.

The Hydrok/Mecana Pile Cloth Media system is a true filter, with depth filtration being the dominant particle removal which leads to highly efficient solids removal using very low power consumption within a small footprint. It is capable of delivering a high quality TSS removal to <5mg/l and suitable for phosphorus removal consents to 0.1mg/l, plus no wash water system

required with continual operation during backwashing.

For more information visit the website, www.hydrok.co.uk or to discuss how Hydrok can help with your tertiary filtration solutions contact Lewis O’Brien on 01726 861900,

lewis.obrien@hydrok.co.uk

Speak to us about our

Tertiary Filtration Solutions The Hydrok/Mecana Pile Cloth Media Filter offers a superior operational performance to that of any micro-screen or micro-strainer in the market today as it is a true filter with depth filtration being the dominant particle removal mechanism.

• • • • • • • •

Highly efficient solids separation Suitable for Phosphorus removal consents to 0.1mg/l Ultra-low power consumption & footprint Continual operation during backwashing Gravity or pumped flow No wash water system required High quality TSS removal to <5mg/l Low Power Costs and Low Maintenance costs Bespoke ‘Off-site’ Construction: Purpose built stainless steel tank construction for ease of installation or fitted into existing chambers

www.hydrok.co.uk

01726 861900

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sales@hydrok.co.uk

Drum Filters - Disc Filters - Diamond Filters

Less is more The Brightwater HSAF® provides nitrification treatment or suspended solids removal taking the stress out of meeting your compliance consent on a temporary hire or permanent basis, and giving you more time to manage the rest of your plant.

Less Totex costs Less carbon footprint Less time on site Less compliance failure

01234 852900 info@fliwater.com www.fliwater.com

EMBRACE GRAVITY. DEFY CONVENTION. Increase wastewater plant throughput, eliminate clarifier bottlenecks and improve secondary effluent quality by retrofitting your Activated Sludge Plant with BioMag™ System.

The BioMag™ System can triple a plant’s existing biological treatment capacity and achieve enhanced nutrient removal limits — all within existing tanks — and has been proven at multiple industrial and municipal facilities.

SETTLEMENT FOLLOWING BIOMAG™ SYSTEM TREATMENT

KEY BENEFITS OF UPGRADING YOUR ACTIVATED SLUDGE PLANT TO A BIOMAG™ SYSTEM: • Simplicity and reliability • Enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) • 3X activated sludge capacity without new tanks

Evoqua Water Technologies Ltd

info.uk@evoqua.com

• 5X hydraulic capacity • TN < 3.0 mg/L and TP < 0.2 mg/L

+44 (0) 1732 771777

www.evoquawater.co.uk

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SELWOOD

Selwood - the complete package Founded in 1946, Selwood is one of the largest private companies serving the Water, Environmental and Construction industries. It is the leading pump supplier in the UK as well as a leading distributor of construction equipment on the south coast.

Selwood has built a reputation on the quality of its extensive pump and plant fleet together with the services provided by its dedicated local teams.

Operating from a nationwide branch network, Selwood offers an unrivalled depth of technical expertise and on-site service to all of the market sectors served. Recognised today as one of the leading pump and plant hire companies, Selwood is the No. 1 Pump Hirer in the UK with the ability to adapt, respond and provide bespoke solutions to its customers’ pumping requirements quickly, safely and efficiently.

Selwood has also designed and manufactured mobile site pumps since 1953 and is the only UK company that manufactures, hires and sells its own range of both mobile surface and diesel hydraulic pumps. The Selwood pump success story is one of continuous growth, innovation and enterprise with the company having seen consistent expansion into new market areas both in the UK and overseas, with 75% of pump units now being exported through a worldwide distributor network.

The Selwood pump fleet encompasses some 4,000 units that span from 2” to 12” pumps, surface, electro-submersible and hydro-submersible, capable of moving a variety of substances including bentonite, water, sewage and sludge.

The units are suitable for a wide range of industrial and construction applications and the

company can provide advice on any pumping requirement.

All Selwood pumps have a choice of diesel or electric drivers with different chassis options available, including super silent, and most also incorporate the company’s own unique “Selprime” self-priming system utilising a water tolerant diaphragm air pump. An environmentally friendly design that has none of the problems of oil vapour emissions and oil emulsification associated with other priming systems.

All the diesel pump engines used are compliant to the latest emissions regulations and to combat ever increasing fuel costs, Selwood has upgraded its auto stop start control system using the latest available technology. The system is now available as auto stop start only or auto stop start with telemetry offering a more flexible and appropriate system for different applications. The auto stop start facility provides an efficient and automatic operation with the use of float level

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controls and ultrasonic level devices turning the pump on and off as required. Telemetry allows the remote measurement and reporting of the pumps operation directly to pre-selected mobiles or landlines, providing real time alarm messages for high level float, failure/start, engine fault and emergency stop activation using “pay as you go” technology.

As a company Selwood has undertaken a review of its environmental aspects and impacts and sets targets to reduce the impacts in certain areas such as oil storage, discharges to the drains and energy savings. Selwood is increasingly active in achieving and demonstrating sound environmental performance by controlling the impacts of its activities, products and services on the environment. www.selwoodpumps.co.uk

HUBER

MEETING THE AMP6 CHALLENGE Huber Technology Packaged Sludge Thickening and Dewatering Equipment During AMP5 it has become evident from discussing solutions with the water companies and their consultants and contractors that packaged solutions, built off-site have significant benefits when delivering projects.

As the plans for AMP6 are released to the supply chain it is clear that these features will become even more important over the coming investment cycle and beyond.

In response, Huber Technology has developed a new concept for a skid mounted package plant for its innovative Sludge Disc Thickener (RoS2S) and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sludge Dewaterer (RoS3Q). The technology is ideally suited to decentralised sites where sludge is thickened and dewatered to reduce transportation costs to larger sludge centresanother growing requirement of AMP6.

Key Benefits: n Small Footprint n Meets AMP6 requirements n Reduced installation time, health and safety risk, environmental factors and interfaces

Sludge Dewaterer RoS3Q

n Includes all ancillaries, poly preparation plant and thickened sludge feed pump. n Skid mounted / containerised / trailer mounted n Temporary or Permanent Solution The units are designed to allow for full access for operation and maintenance and depending on the equipment can even be mounted outdoors to reduce building costs.

Due to the fully enclosed nature of the equipment it is ideal for unmanned sites and also features low washwater, power and polymer requirements.

The design of the plant can be customised to suit individual customers and site requirements

Sludge Disc Thickener RoS2S enabling solutions for all sizes of sites to be catered for.

For further information please contact us on 01249 765000 or view our website www.huber.co.uk

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Ovivo sells UK municipal business to in-house team Ovivo Inc. has sold its highly respected UK municipal business for an undisclosed sum to part of the well regarded existing senior management team led by Alex Lloyd, Ovivo’s Vice President, UK Municipal and Finance Director, Peter Sargent.

The deal is supported by award winning corporate finance experts Clearwater International and backed by asset based lending specialists Shawbrook Business Credit. The new Company, which will focus on the UK and Ireland wastewater sector, will trade as Jacopa, underlining and consolidating the outstanding reputation and heritage of its leading product range.

The agreement brings some of the UK’s bestknown wastewater brands - Copa, Jones+Attwood, Aquator, Tomkinson and MBR Technology, including a licence for Brackett Green products under the new Jacopa umbrella.

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MBR Technology and Aquator focus on municipal aerobic MBR biological wastewater treatment, and Tomkinson’s specialises in clarification, sedimentation and biological wastewater treatment for the municipal market.

The new management team is led by well known and highly respected industry figure Alex Lloyd, previously Vice President, OVIVO UK Municipal, Alex now becomes Managing Director of Jacopa.

The Jacopa product portfolio is certainly well matched to the needs of today’s municipal water sector. Market leader Copa offers products and technology for the municipal markets, specialising in sedimentation, biological treatment, screening and stormwater management.

A Chartered Chemical Engineer, Alex has outstanding experience in the industrial and municipal sector, having held a variety of key posts. In recent years he has held high profile posts as both Managing Director of Operations for Severn Trent Services and Sales Director for Degremont UK. Previously he held key technical and engineering roles with Nokia and Nalco for water and wastewater treatment in paper mill and oil refinery operations.

Jones+Attwood is another market leading brand, specialising in wastewater treatment plant inlet works products and Brackett Green is a wellknown name in screening for municipal water and wastewater treatment.

Alex says: “Jacopa is an exciting development for the UK municipal wastewater sector and will provide a comprehensive range of marketleading processes and products from a single well respected source, and which have been proven

instituteofwater.org.uk

over many years to deliver on exacting customer requirements.”

“The Jacopa team are dedicated to the UK and Ireland municipal wastewater market with a clear and uncompromised focus on the sector. AMP 6 is widely acknowledged as a ‘challenging AMP’, creating an emphasis on cost-effective solutions and flexibility of approach to which Jacopa, with its emphasis on tested products and technologies, upgrades and refurbishments, and also customer focus respectively is uniquely well placed to respond.”

“Above all, exceptional customer service is at the heart of our business and we are committed to working in partnership with our customers to solve their problems in a cost-effective and sustainable way. We will actively seek to respond to changing market demands, and will have exciting news about new products in the coming months.”

www.jacopa.com

Your complete rental solution...

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Call: 0800 146 763 / Email: info@sldpumpspower.co.uk / Visit: www.sldpumpspower.co.uk

The Rise of Community Energy: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE WATER INDUSTRY? It is well known that government subsidy mechanisms for renewable energy projects such as the Renewables Obligation (RO) and in more recent years the Feed In Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has driven a huge increase in the rate of deployment of renewable energy technologies at all scales. In the South West area alone some 1.4GW of generation capacity has been connected over the past 3-4 years, with a further 1.9GW of connection capacity currently agreed but not yet connected.

The below graph (sourced from RegenSW’s: South West Renewable Energy Progress Report 2014) shows the huge growth in renewable energy capacity in the South West, notably in solar photovoltaic and onshore wind technologies: Ray Arrell Renewable Energy Engineer at South West Water

Many water companies have the resources available to invest in technologies to generate significant renewable energy volume from core activities such as hydro power and sewage gas CHP. More recently, these companies have also taken the decision to commercially invest in non-core business technologies such as solar PV and wind either on or adjacent to their own landholding.

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Source: RegenSW “South West Renewable Energy Progress Report 2014”

FEATURE: RENEWABLE ENERGY

It is however not just industry or commercial developers that are keen to deploy and own their own generation capacity, with co-operatively, locally funded and owned renewable energy projects becoming more commonplace in the UK through the rise of community energy groups.

Either as an offshoot of other local focus groups, part a of wider community representatives getting together or simply through likeminded individuals within a community meeting up regularly to talk about green ideas for their area, community energy groups focussing on benefits to specific locales, have significantly grown in number over recent years. Such is the rise of these groups, now totalling some 5000 nationally, that the significance of community energy has been recognised at national level, with the Government Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) publishing its first Community Energy Strategy document in January 2014 with an update to this strategy in March of this year. The core message from these strategy papers focuses on the ability to enable local communities to build, connect, own and operate their own generation capacity in their local area, whilst contributing to overall decarbonisation of UK energy.

So with community energy becoming a common theme nationally, is there a linkage to the water industry and its aspirations to source more of its energy from renewable sources, in line with WaterUKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations? The answer is a definite yes. It is recognised that water and waste water services rely on energy intensive processes, with strategic sites often having significant Grid connection infrastructure. To renewable energy developers and community energy projects alike, this is a prime opportunity to investigate the opportunity for private wire connections from co-located projects. The majority of large-scale renewable energy projects export 100% of the generated electricity directly to the Grid, whereas if there is the potential for a project (of any technology) sited on land adjacent to a water treatment or sewage treatment site, appropriately sized to match the average power demand of that site, the benefits of a direct private wire cable from the project into the site and associated long term power purchase agreements (PPA) can be assessed.

of its renewable energy strategy for AMP6 and beyond, with community energy groups showing distinct interest in this approach to the provision of renewable energy projects.

This collaborative approach can enable the community energy group to fund, own and operate their own renewable energy assets in their area, earn subsidy income from mechanisms such as the Feed In Tariff to reinvest in other local community initiatives, as well as the prospect of providing free electricity to their local water or sewage services. The water industry also sees renewable energy volume coming in to its operational sites from this collaboration, contributing to carbon reduction and renewable energy volume targets set out as part of business plans, environmental strategies and overall sustainable operation.

This approach is something that South West Water has been investigating and progressing as part

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Z-TECH

Z-Tech Hot Topics Big Data and Cyber-Security The top two technology trends for 2015, according to Gartner1, are ‘Computing Everywhere’ and the ‘Internet of Things’, both of which can be considered elements of ‘Big Data’.

The question posed at the most recent Sensors for Water Interest Group was: What is Big Data?

Though opinions vary according to the context of the respondent, the view of Big Data, and what it can provide, to the Nick McLauchlan Quality Department is different to that of the Financial Department, it was agreed that, with the weight of companies such as IBM and ARM behind it, Big Data is here to stay.

or unauthorised action, constituting a security threat, as being reasonably foreseeable, then a security threats analysis should be carried out.”

There are a number of important considerations when dealing with Big Data, beyond what it is to be used for, and the most pressing is security.

At the 9th IET System Safety and Cyber Security Conference the representative from GCHQ posed the question ‘If your system is not secure, how can it be safe?’, this question is re-enforced by the recent change to IEC 61508 -Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic Safety-related Systems, which now includes the following: “7.4.2.3 The hazards, hazardous events and hazardous situations of the EUC and the EUC control system shall be determined under all reasonably foreseeable circumstances (including fault conditions, reasonably foreseeable misuse and malevolent or unauthorised action). This shall include all relevant human factor issues, and shall give particular attention to abnormal or infrequent modes of operation of the EUC. If the hazard analysis identifies that malevolent

It is also important that people bear in mind Edsger Dijkstra’s statement: “Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence.” The same is true of safety and security, just because testing has not shown the security weaknesses of your systems, all that can be concluded is that you have not tested it enough. I recommend all companies make the most of the resources available on the CPNI website2, and those that are responsible for the security of their companies’ data start to look beyond the Information Technology systems and realise that the bigger danger is to the Operational Technology systems. Whilst you may be fined for the release of client data by a security breach, you could go to jail if the SCADA system is compromised and someone is injured or killed by machinery starting or stopping unexpectedly or through changes to chemical dosing set points.”

Nick McLauchlan, Z-Tech’s Head of Projects said: “With this push to embrace Big Data and the Internet of Things, our systems engineers risk assess all the systems we work on, whether the client requests it in the scope of work, or not – the Health & Safety at Work Act requires every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the Health and Safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work. We are duty bound to ensure the systems we work on are safe, and a system that is not secure cannot be proven to be safe.

With this push to embrace Big Data and the Internet of Things, our systems engineers risk assess all the systems we work on, whether the client requests it in the scope of work, or not.

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Changes in legislation - ATEX Directive 94/9/EC (also known as 'ATEX 95' or 'the ATEX Equipment Directive') on the approximation of the laws of Members States concerning equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres has been recast as Directive 2014/34/EU on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres.

This change comes into force on 20th April 2016, with only the following transitional provisions: ‘Member States shall not impede the making available on the market or the putting into service of products covered by Directive 94/9/EC which are in conformity with that Directive and which were placed on the market before 20 April 2016.’

Are your DSEAR & ATEX teams aware of the impact of this change in legislation?

As an NICEIC Hazardous Approved Company we design, install, inspect, test and maintain all your hazardous area electrical installations in accordance with BS EN 60079 as well as the DSEAR and ATEX regulations.

Gary Howard, ATEX Business Unit Manager says: “It is important that all asset owners are aware of the legislative requirements, as set out in the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR), both of the ATEX regulations (ATEX 95 & 137), and BS EN 60079, which require risk assessments to be carried out and regular periodic inspections with an interval of no more than three years to be undertaken by competent people. Additionally there is a requirement for all people who work on systems affected by the DSEAR and ATEX legislation to be certified as competent, which is laid out in the legislation, but can be accepted as compliant if they have successfully completed a recognised training course such as CompEx 01-04.

Work carried out by staff who are not competent can put lives at risk, including our own when we come to inspect or work on such equipment, we take this matter very seriously, it is a genuine Health and Safety consideration.”

Complete solutions for large and small water network projects.

Our teams and equipment are tailored to your individual needs.

Problem Solvers www.z-tech.co.uk

Tel: 01223 653500 Fax: 01223 653501 engineers@z-tech.co.uk

SAFE TRUSTED RESPONSIVE & PROFESSIONAL

Reducing Water Leakage: A Collaborative Approach Water leakage from new and replacement pipelines is a major issue affecting not only the customer, but the entire supply chain within the water industry.

With a target of achieving zero leakage by 2050, the UK water industry needs to act now to begin implementing new strategies and processes that will deliver real improvements. However, it will take the entire industry, from water companies through to contractors, installers and manufacturers, to work together to make a difference.

In all pipeline construction, the integrity of the joint between pipe lengths, service and ancillaries is vital to ensuring that a new pipeline is leak free. High quality engineering principles through correct design and selection, clear installation standards, training, on-site application and auditing are central to minimising the potential weak point, which joints can introduce to a pipeline.

It is crucial that the most appropriate jointing method is selected for each individual application and so this needs to be considered on a projectby-project basis with fittings selected based on specific application requirements. Manufacturers need to work closely with water company engineering teams to ensure the correct technical information and recommendations are provided to allow an informed decision to be made.

With the joints being the most vulnerable part of a pipeline, it has been easy for many within the industry to lay the blame at specific jointing methods for being a major cause of water leakage.

However, analysis of joint failures reveals that less than 1 in 10,000 fittings, which have been returned to manufacturers, are due to product failure.

While the focus has been on the fittings themselves, it detracts from the real issues of installation standards, training, good working

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practices, quality control and auditing, which are central to reducing joint failures. The majority of fittings that leak do so because of poor quality workmanship or incorrect installation of the fitting. The three main causes of joint failure, when using electrofusion fittings are: n Poor joint preparation n Contamination of the joint caused during the jointing process n Misalignment of the pipe within the fitting It is not just the skills of the installers that need to be addressed, site practice, along with quality control and auditing procedures, is a major area in need of improvement. With support from manufacturers, contractors and installers need to be ensuring the highest standards of installation; confirming that a genuine, leak-free joint has been made is critical and so a clear quality control procedure needs to be implemented, including on-site pressure testing and regular auditing and feedback to facilitate improvement.

This is not an easy task and it requires a culture change across the entire supply chain, starting with the utility companies. Bristol Water and United Utilities are leading the way when it comes to adopting a new way of thinking by working closely with the whole design and installation team.

Discussing its improvements in water leakage rates, Bristol Water commented: “We are seeing a big improvement in leak free jointing due to a strong partnership between ourselves and our contractors and manufacturers. Clear guidance, effective training and stringent auditing measures are central to our strategy and by collaborating with the entire supply chain we are edging ever closer to achieving zero leakage in pipe systems.”

Comments from utilities, such as United Utilities, have included: “Our repair rate of PE fittings is less than the perceived industry average due to external auditing that monitors our site methods and techniques, which drives best practice.”

The industry needs to take the lead from these utility companies, build on their successes and implement strategies than will deliver genuine improvements. Water leakage from pipelines is a major issue that needs addressing but there is no quick fix, it will take the whole industry – water companies, contractors, installers, manufacturers, trade bodies and training providers – to work together to make it happen.

LEAKAGE

PMP are moving to larger pre mises

LEAKING PIPELINE?

See our w ebsite for detail s.

.

AMEX-10 joint repair system can fix it - guaranteed!

AMEX-10 IS A GUARANTEED JOINT REPAIR FOR PRESSURISED AND NON-PRESSURISED PIPES OF 600MM TO 4000MM

www.pmp-utilities.co.uk Call 01706 836110 or email info@pmp-utilities.co.uk 30 years experience of working safely in hazardous areas

DISCOVER THE ADVANTAGES

Double-Seeâ&#x201E;˘ Vinyl Double Containment Piping Systems GF Piping Systems introduced Double-See, a pressure-rated double containment system for transporting hazardous liquids.

Double see advert.indd 1

www.georgefischer.co.uk 08/05/2014 16:03

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GPS PE PIPE SYSTEMS

The Truth Behind Electrofusion Jointing Throughout the water and wastewater treatment industry, Polyethylene (PE) plastic pipes are widely installed as the material of choice for conveying water, yet certain methods of jointing the pipelines are beginning to develop a poor reputation.

Electrofusion is a popular method of joining plastic pipes and works by using fittings with built-in electric heating elements, which are used to weld the joint together. The pipes to be joined are cleaned, inserted into the electrofusion fitting and a voltage, of typically 40V, is applied for a fixed time depending on the size of the pipe and fitting being installed. The built in heater coils then melt the inside of the fitting and the outside of the pipe wall, which melts together to produce a very strong homogeneous joint.

However, electrofusion jointing has come under much criticism over recent years, not least because of a UK Water Industry Research Limited (UKWIR) report claiming that up to 20% of PE electrofusion joints fail before they reach their design life, due to poor site practice. As a result, this method of jointing plastic pipes has come under severe scrutiny, leading to several water companies questioning the use of electrofusion fittings to join their pipelines.

Despite later publishing a statement that confirmed its report had been misinterpreted and reinforcing the message that “PE pipes have the lowest failure rate among different materials used in the construction of water mains” and identifying “poorly constructed electrofusion joints” as the problem, the damage had already been done.

This report cast doubts over the integrity of electrofusion as a jointing method, however, analysis of products that have been returned, reveals that less than 1 in 10,000 fittings are returned to manufacturers due to product failure.

The majority of fittings that leak do so because of poor quality workmanship or incorrect installation practices of the fitting. The three main causes of joint failure when using electrofusion fittings are: n Poor joint preparation

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n Contamination of the joint caused during the jointing process n Misalignment of the pipe within the fitting These failings occur due to poor site practice and poorly skilled installers of the pipe systems. A major failing in the UK is the lack of mandatory legislation regarding the installation of pipelines and training and qualification of the installers of pipe systems.

In the UK, there has been a relevant training and certification standard available since 2003; ‘BS EN 13067: 2012 – Plastics welding personnel: Qualification testing of welders and thermoplastic welded assemblies.’ However, this standard has not been adopted by the UK water industry, which has led to poor workmanship and ongoing problems with the quality of jointing.

Work is ongoing in the UK to develop a new set of training standards for pipe installers, with a view to improving the quality of installations, ultimately contributing to the industry aim of achieving zero leakage by 2050. However, in order to deliver real benefit, the industry needs to consider mandating these, rather than adopting it as an advisory approach.

The UK water industry also has its own standard for product specification; WIS 4-32-08 ‘Fusion Jointing of Polyethylene Pressure Pipeline Systems’. However, this standard is just advisory rather than mandatory.

European countries have adopted a different set of standards to the UK and training bodies provide certification in accordance with DVS standards, with DVS 2207-1 and DVS 2212-1 being the relevant standards that are used. Both of these standards cover electrofusion, Butt Fusion and Socket Fusion jointing methods.

The process descriptions of these standards are no different to those available in the UK, but they include some specific requirements, in relation to quality and training, including ‘every trainer has to be trained and in possession of a valid qualification certificate’ and ‘the welding work must be monitored’. Making these standards, along with the existing WIS guidance, mandatory in the UK would improve the quality of joints, significantly reducing the risk of leaks occurring.

Freeflow Pipesystems Quality and Service First Freeflow Pipesystems is the only UK Pipework Fabrication company to be DWI (Drinking Water Inspectorate) approved for the application of Fusion Bonded Epoxy Coating.

Manufacturing Bespoke Pipework in Carbon Steel and all grades of Stainless Steel, sizes 50mm to 3500mm diameters.

Producing a full range of pipework related products: • Dismantling Joints • Flexible Couplings • Flange Adaptors • Wall Couplings • Pressure Vessels • Saturation Tanks • Fabriweld • Hatch Boxes

Autobase Industrial Park, Tipton Road, Oldbury, West Midlands B69 3HE

Tel: +44 (0) 121 522 3552 Fax: +44 (0) 121 522 4783 www.freeflowpipesystems.com

+

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SSL 256bit encryption

Tags

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App/PDA/Detector

PDA/ Detector

THE OXEMS SYSTEM is an integrated cloud-based solution that enables Smart Asset Management of underground assets by linking physical points on buried assets (precisely identified and identifiable in three dimensions) with any amount of related photographic and critical data held in a database. Priced for network-wide use, the OXEMS System empowers utilities to minimize costs and maximize efficiencies by improving asset management, streamlining job performance and quality assurance, and improving Health & Safety, while all the time reducing environmental impacts.

At the heart of the OXEMS System is the unique, patented OXEMS Tag, originally developed at the University of Oxford. They development team set about creating an underground tag that, when attached to an underground asset, would function 100% reliably and accurately in all ground conditions, throughout the full lifetime of the asset. The OXEMS Tag uses a patented RF technique (operating at multiple frequencies) that enables ‘points of interest’ on buried assets to be identified as ‘frequency barcodes’ with absolute three-dimensional pinpoint positioning. Because this overcomes the limitations of traditional RFID, it is a game changer.

IN THE STREET The most obvious benefits of precise underground asset ‘what & where’ information come from being able to ‘see’ specific points of interest before making interventions,

Intelligent Database

Intelligent Database

and then go straight to those exact points. The OXEMS System and App enables this, and this capability alone delivers a proven ROI. But there’s more.

IN NETWORK MANAGEMENT Network Operations professionals are able to record data against specific points on buried assets – for example, who did what and when, and the invoiced cost. The information enables analysis of repair & maintenance activities and quality standards, informs training requirements, and provides other data to help raise operational standards.

IN ASSET MANAGEMENT All of the information progressively accumulated by the OXEMS System enables ever better asset management.

Facts and costs that have stayed hidden up until now see the light of day and enable a new level of best practice.

And in-depth knowledge of existing assets is valuable when planning network additions.

IN CUSTOMERS’ HOMES AND BUSINESSES Making underground assets visible gives customer satisfaction a real boost. As it is rolled out the OXEMS System progressively enables faster, more precise, less wasteful interventions. This translates into better outcomes for customers and their communities, and excellent PR.

Clean Water Systems The Full Package

www.ttpumps.com Tel: 01630 647200

Our range of WRAS approved products is expanding, ensuring we can provide a complete solution to your clean water application.

• CDL/ CDLF range of electrically driven stainless steel vertical multi-stage pumps • Range of Aquaflow valves • Fully WRAS approved CDL/ CDLF highlights: • Transfers clean liquids over a wide range of dis charge flow rates and pressures • Ideal for domestic to industrial potable water pressurisation systems • Fully WRAS approved

• Associated controls and monitoring equipment • Service and aftercare

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AVK

Water loss – engage with AVK, we can help albeit incrementally…

Kieran Fitzpatrick, Head of Marketing for the AVK UK Group (and keen cyclist living in the Peak District), considers how they as a Market Leading Valves and Fittings Solutions provider can contribute to the water industry’s drive to cut water loss across the UK Water Industry..

Anyone who has attended any water conferences over the last 6 months can’t help but notice that generally the first point of the opening address relates to leakage and water sustainability closely followed by the consumers’ view of the industry.

There has been success in reducing leakage by 35% since 1994, but still the water loss rate post-treatment across England and Wales is 3,100,000,000 litres per day, which is still a staggering number no matter how many times you hear it.

To try to visualise this lost volume I view it in terms of bodies of water that I’m familiar with… now if a well-known web based encyclopaedia and my maths can be relied upon, that daily water loss represents over 360 times the maximum content of the very beautiful Howden Dam (at the top of the Upper Derwent Valley reservoir complex in Derbyshire), per day, and that’s an impressive body of water!

The issues that this level of water loss creates are well documented but how we provide a sustainable supply of water to the current and future growing population with what seems to be an increasingly unreliable source is in itself a massive task to resolve.

Nobody with an interest in sport, particularly in the Tour de France or cycling in general, can have failed to be impressed by the meteoric rise and seemingly unchallenged victories by the Sky cycling team in 2012 and 2013. Their amazing results were down to a strategy of incremental improvements in everything they do, any improvement in any and all facets of the Sky team, no matter how small, were encouraged and celebrated as they knew everything would contribute to the bigger picture…team victory.

History proves that this approach worked.

This is how AVK view our contribution to resolving water loss. We cannot solve the water loss issue alone; in terms of the spend on our valves and

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fittings products as a proportion of the cost of a network or a project is relatively small. We believe however we are already contributing toward but could still significantly contribute further to help resolve the issue, should the trading environment be less unit cost driven, but rather more receptive to discussions regarding overall and longer term benefit. We are encouraged that a small number of Utility Businesses are early adopters of this approach.

Examples of contributory causes of water loss are burst pipes caused by a variety of issues - air entrainment, water hammer etc, leaking pipe joints of all types, leaking equipment seals/ glands dripping taps; some of these factors exacerbated by a reduction in maintenance and local knowledge.

At AVK we consider that 4 key factors contribute most to reducing water loss, these are Detection,

Repair, Prevention and Network Management, and are therefore part of our innovation process for either products or services.

Examples of some recently launched AVK initiatives with these considerations designed into them are shown on the adjoining page There are more such products in existence and many more innovations in the pipeline…

All of these things can help on the long journey to continue to reduce water loss and improve water sustainability, please allow us to engage.

ExPECT... SOLUTIONS, NOT jUST ExPECT...

PRODUCTSOLUTIO NOT jUST PRODUC

AVK PRODUCTS TO REDUCE WATER LOSS & IMPROVE WATER SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK MONITORINg, ACCESS AND SECURITY

The CLEARWAY Type 2 Fire Hydrant that has a full straight bore for the introduction of pipeline survey and repair equipment, a data logging point for convenient system monitoring and an optional anti-tamper anti-theft device.

ExPECT...

LASTINg INNOVATIONS

SERIES 29/91 AND SECURITY CAPS

ACCURATE PRESSURE AND FLOW CONTROL

Pressure and flow Flowcontrol Controlvalve Valvesystem Systemwith withtelemetry telemetry The Series 859 pressure adaptors for remote data capture and operation.

SERIES 859

REDUCED LEAK PAThS

The Series 01/79 Resilient Seated Gate Valve with Tensile Resistant coupling terminations for PE and PVC pipes, no flanges required and a significantly easier and quicker installation with reduced potential leak paths.

SERIES 01/79

ENgINEERINg SITE SOLUTIONS

The AVK Engineering Site Solutions package that includes pipeline audit and repair using our own range of repair fittings as well as valve maintenance, valve refurbishment and actuation.

There are more such products in existence and many more innovations in the pipeline...

All of these things can help on the long journey to continue to reduce water loss and improve sustainability.

Northampton Office 8 Rushmills, Northampton, NN4 7YB England, UK.

Tel: +44 (0) 1604 601188 Fax: +44 (0) 1604 604818 Email: customerservice@avkuk.co.uk

www.avkuk.co.uk

Stonbury Civils expands

In August 2012, Stonbury announced the expansion of their in house services to include a civil engineering capability. A steady increase in civils projects has seen extremely positive changes and growth within the company.

The acquisition of Stonbury’s largest civil engineering subcontractor has led to a substantial increase in civils projects. Due to this success Stonbury appointed a dedicated Civils Manager, Richard Harrison, who is responsible for overseeing projects with a value range between 10K and £2 million across the UK. This is a positive step towards the longer term goals of the company for entering into minor civils framework packages, additional to carrying out individual schemes within the clean, waste and raw water sectors.

With over 30 years of experience as a water industry specialist, Stonbury have maintained 100% framework retention for AMP 6 and added 3 more, now boasting a modest 12 framework agreements direct to the Water Companies across the UK as well as many other individual schemes.

Stonbury believe that their success has been driven by combining an innovative approach to solutions along with technical excellence, gained from years of refurbishment and civils expertise.

Their constant drive for improvement has seen numerous innovative schemes born throughout many areas of its business.

Richard Harrison Q&A Q. How do you feel the civils aquisition has benefited Stonbury and its clients?

A. Stonbury has always prided itself on quality and innovation and merging with our main civils subcontractor, we have seen combined strengths, values and experience, offering quality solutions to our clients under the current Stonbury Management System, which is used very successfully for framework clients on the refurbishment side. Along with the company also came approximately 40-50 water industry experienced civil engineering staff, both site, admin and management. These staff members were integral in ensuring a seamless consolidation of the 2 companies and I must say

the transition was so fluent it just emphasised what a great move this was for the future of the company. The package we now offer as Stonbury is one which encompasses all parts of the water industry, the integration of experience both within the office and on site has seen measurable improvements and we are very excited about the perpetual expansion.

Q. How do you see yourselves against the competition?

A. The plan for the civils side of Stonbury is not to attempt to compete against the big players. We saw the benefits of the two companies becoming one, working in unison for complete congruency as a key benefit to our framework clients. ‘One stop shop’ is an awful term but in essence, this is what we are able to offer. Refurbishment of structures and water sites, installation of new internal pipework, divide walls, external pipework and sample kiosk installations. All completed under one management system and one team as opposed to multiple separate contracts or contractors.

We also offer one off civils schemes like the current project we have with a current framework contractor which consists of constructing a new break pressure tank and pipework, working with us from design to construction through to final handover.

Existing clients have been requesting our involvement with their civils projects in the initial planning stages and the fact we can offer the practical expertise at the very beginning of a project can produce not only the best solution for our clients but hopefully work towards long term cost effective solutions specific for their needs and restraints.

As I’ve already said, we know the industry inside out and having that breadth of knowledge and experience from Chairman and MD right through to our site operative, means we can solve almost any problem presented to us. Our goal is to be the No1 specialist contractor to the water industry.

Q. Where do you see yourselves in the future of civil engineering?

A. With more and more clients discussing future projects with us, we have been presented with an opportunity to expand our ability to fulfil these needs. Our aim is to grow the company with emphasis on the civils side of the business, whilst maintaining and seeking continual improvement for our position as one of the top specialist contractors to the water industry, providing an unrivalled service to our clients. Growth will be measured to ensure that quality standards are maintained consistently throughout, with a capacity to handle larger projects. Dedicated teams are appointed to align values and build positive and outstanding working relationships with our framework clients.

This expansion will see new staff who will be trained and placed with experienced gangs to help shape their skills. We also plan to make some exciting additions to our current collection of blue & white Stonbury plant, that you may have already seen on our sites across the country.

We are always on the hunt for new innovations and solutions for our clients and are regularly looking at new products on the market, which may offer better solutions, both on site and electronically.

This is reflected in the development and use of our Client Portal and eSite Electronic Site File System which has seen us nominated for multiple awards this year. This area of the business has its own dedicated team of staff members who are working to develop these systems continually.

We strive to be the first name in the minds of our clients, whether it be for anything from, refurbishment works, new inlet connections to a tank, a new sampling facility or maybe a brand new service reservoir!

Stonbury civils can be contacted on our existing office telephone numbers, through our website www.stonbury.com or via enquiries@stonbury.co.uk

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STONBURY OFFERS EXTENSIVE CIVIL ENGINEERING SEVICES ADDITIONAL TO REPAIR AND REFURBISHMENT WORKS WITHIN THE WATER INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION: CONCRETE ACCESS STAIRCASES TO EMBANKMENTS/STRUCTURES. REINFORCED CONCRETE DIVIDE OR BAFFLE WALLS. NEW ACCESS ROADS, HARD STANDING, PARKING AREAS AND FOOTPATHS. INSTALLATION OF NEW GRP UNDERGROUND TANKS AND STRUCTURES E.G. SETTLEMENT TANKS, STORM WATER CHAMBERS ETC. DEMOLITION AND RECASTING NEW CONCRETE ROOFS ON TANKS OR WATER TOWERS. INSTALLATION: NEW CONCRETE FLOOR SLABS OR FLOOR SCREEDS. NEW CONCRETE TANKS AND STRUCTURES INC. HOLDING TANKS, RESERVOIRS, CHAMBERS. SPILLWAY IMPROVEMENTS TO BOTH FLOORS AND WALLS INC CONCRETE/STONE SETS INSTALLATION AND SEALING. EROSION CONTROL, INSTALLATION OF GABION BASKETS TO RIVER SCOUR AREAS OR IMPOUNDING RESERVOIRS. RIVER AND STREAM INTAKES/CATCHMENT IMPROVEMENTS. EXCAVATION AND RE-INSTATEMENT OF TOPSOIL AND GRAVEL TO SERVICE RESERVOIR ROOFS. RESERVOIR ROOF AND PERIMETER DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS. ALTERATION AND INSTALLATION OF NEW PIPES, MAINS, VALVES AND CONNECTIONS BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL. OVERPUMPING AND INSTALLATION OF CONCRETE CULVERTS, REPAIRS TO CULVERTS. FENCING AND SAFETY HANDRAILING TO WATER AUTHORITY SPECIFICATION INCLUDING GALVANIZED STEELWORK. SAMPLE TAP INSTALLATIONS. REMOTE CAMERA SURVEYS TO SEWAGE PIPES. SEWER CONSTRUCTION AND CONNECTIONS. DEEP/MASS EXCAVATIONS.

Stonbury, 187c High Street, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0JB t 01234 750924 e enquiries@stonbury.co.uk www.stonbury.com

NIVUS

FLOW METER SHOWING REAL TIME FLOW PROFILE NIVUS present a new generation of intelligent transmitters for wastewater flow measurement.

The NivuFlow 750 features new numeric discharge models saved in the transmitterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s internal memory which allow more accurate and reliable determination of flow rates even under difficult measurement conditions. Based on the ultrasonic cross correlation method the system detects single velocities at different levels of the flow profile where the real 3D flow profile is computed from. Several factors having an influence such as channel shape, discharge behaviour and wall roughness are considered accordingly while calculating the flow. The ultrasonic flow meters visualizes the 3D flow profile in real time.

The compact dimensions of the new transmitter allow to install the unit on DIN rails and in switching cabinets even under confined conditions.

The connecting options using plug-in terminals

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on the transmitter front ensure quick and reliable wiring as well as to quickly exchange the transmitter without tools. The modern menu-based operation with rotary-push button and colour display allows quick and easy commissioning of the measurement system on site. Additional input devices or software are not required. The internal

memory contains all common channel shapes and pipe geometries so that only the dimensions need to be entered. This additionally facilitates and expedites commissioning.

Comprehensive diagnostic functions support users during the commissioning procedure as well as with maintenance and hence save more time and costs.

IChemE Forms of Contract We publish contracts for both UK and international use across the process industries.

The Red Book – Lump Sum Contracts The Green Book – Reimbursable Contracts The Burgundy Book – Target Cost Contracts The Yellow Book – Subcontracts The Brown Book – Subcontracts for Civil Engineering Works The Orange Book – Minor Works We also provide formal dispute resolution procedures. www.icheme.org/resources/forms_of_contract To order contact sales@icheme.org or call +44 (0)1788 534470

Coming Soon: Professional Services Contract Short Form Consultancy Agreement Register your interest for a 10% early bird discount by emailing hrourke@icheme.org

VAG USECAD® 7.0 – OUR FREE SOFTWARE THAT SIMPLIFIES YOUR VALVE PLANNING! From concept design through to installation, long term and demanding users agree that VAG UseCAD® 7.0 is the must have valve support tool for Engineers, Consultants and Technicians.

The 3D CAD valve library is a special highlight of version 7.0. The database supports you in your 3D project planning, providing the required 3D valve blocks in a wide variety of output formats.

While 2D drawings were still the standard planning format a few years ago, working methods are increasingly moving into the third dimension. VAG UseCAD® 7.0 with its large number of 3D valve CAD blocks meets these requirements. Users can select the valve type followed by the preferred operating method such as a handweel or a specific type of actuator.

Having made this decision, users select the required nominal diameters or make a choice based on other dimension parameters which are relevant to their decision, such as the nominal pressure. Once the desired version has been chosen, VAG UseCAD® 7.0 automatically generates the precise 3D model in a matter of seconds.

The solid models generated with VAG UseCAD® 7.0 can be exported in all the standard 3D formats such as DWG 3D, IGES 3D, SAT 3D or STEP 3D. They can then be imported into a wide variety of user planning systems and be adjusted in these systems. Special attention was paid to the critical valve components since their flexibility can have a decisive impact on how the plant is designed.

Main features of VAG UseCAD® 7.0:

In addition to the 3D CAD generation, the VAG UseCAD® 7.0 planning software supports users in other areas of conventional valve planning, providing valve expertise at your fingertips.

n Loss co-efficient Head Loss and Flow

VAG UseCAD® 7.0 also contains a user friendly valve catalogue that has customised tender text, data sheets, user manuals, state of the art animations and cut views for all of the valve and penstock products.

VAG UseCAD 7.0 is available free to those in the Water, Power & associated industries and can be ordered by contacting our UK office:

n 3D & 2D exportable CAD library in a number of compatible file formats

n User friendly Product Catalogue n State of the art animations – Products as well as Applications

n Valve Sizing Calculation Wizards – Control valves, butterfly valves, air valves Coefficient Calculation Wizards

n Data sheets n User Manuals

t: 0141 881 5578 e: enquiry-uk@vag-group.com www.vag-group.com

With Weholite

01633 273 081

SARCO STOPPER LTD

Innovative under pressure Ferrule Removal Solution Current regulations require that domestic drinking water is practically lead free, with levels not exceeding 10 袖g/l (10ppb). Therefore, with an estimated 40% of UK homes still having their tap water fed through lead pipes, coupled with OFWATS increased regulatory requirements to improve customer service and avoid shutting down water supplies, these lead pipes now need to be replaced using under pressure solutions.

The Arctic Driver process requires the lead supply pipe connected to the ferrule to be squeezed off and therefore stop the flow of water. The ferrule is then secured throughout the operation by the Arrestor Clamp and then frozen by delivering liquid CO2 through the Freezer Shroud which has been placed around and fixed to the ferrule. This creates a solid ice plug inside the elbow of the ferrule and allows for the supply pipe to be cut off, leaving the frozen ferrule stub within the Arctic Driver Shroud, over which the Golf Driver Saddle is then placed. Once the saddle has been secured around the pipe, the existing ferrule can be extracted under pressure. The patented Arctic Driver Saddle, has a unique isolation feature that allows the removal of the Artic Driver equipment and ferrule stub under pressure, to leave the existing drilled and tapped ferrule hole encapsulated by the Arctic Driver Saddle.

In the case of a service disconnection, the saddle can be capped off using a brass plug, or a new ferrule and service pipe can be fitted as required for a service relay or lead renewal. This solution was initially, and continues to be developed, with leading tier one contractors and Sarco Stopper to eliminate shut offs during the extensive AMP5/6 lead replacement programmes, where many hundreds of thousands of lead service pipes are to be replaced.

Commercial Benefits As no mains shut off is required for this solution, the following cost savings can be noted: Arctic Driver速

n No planning costs to assess the impact and cost of customer supply interruptions n No valve operating risk assessment required n No enabling works to mitigate stuck or broken valves

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It is often commented throughout the UK water industry, that after burst mains, ferrule related jobs are often the biggest cause of planned shut offs, customer supply interruptions and therefore poor SIM performance.

n No line stops to minimize impact of valve shut offs

The Arctic Driver速 Ferrule Extraction System allows for the under pressure removal and/or replacement of an existing ferrule, while only isolating the specific customer having their lead service pipe upgraded to the current specification in around 20 minutes. Importantly, during this process, the rest of the network remains live. By adopting the Arctic Driver solution, water companies are improving customer service levels and reducing customer complaints. Hence, the achievement of improved SIM scoring must be seen as a long term sustainable benefit, which is derived by this new way of working.

In addition, the removal of cut and capped old ferrules eliminates a significant risk of future background leakage and re-excavation to carry out leakage repair.

By removing the need to shut off and drain down sections of main, water loss through drain down, recharge and the potential for knock-on bursts, (which has been previously tabled at 63% of all network interventions over the following 7 days), the pressure equilibrium of the distribution network can be maintained, leading to a more optimal operational status. This also avoids the need for any further drilling of the main and potentially compromising its integrity.

n No out of hours working, overtime costs or working in a less safe environment

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n No on site valve operation, drain down and recharge costs n No customer card warning or compensation costs

n No risk of knock-on bursts on recharge, discolouration or contamination incidents n No risk of customer contacts to call centres or DG7 letters of complaint n No future leakage risk from old capped ferrules The BSI pressure certified and patent pending Arctic Driver速: Under Pressure Ferrule Extraction System is also suitable for a range of day to day network activities such as disconnections, service pipe renewals, pressure and flow complaints and all manner of supply pipe leakage jobs.

For further information contact Sarco Sales at: E: mail@sarcostopper.com T: 01506 855824 www.sarcostopper.com

ADOPT SARCO’S MATURE & PROVEN Under Pressure Line Stopping & Bypass Systems

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Sustainable Drainage Systems.

Ask a man who built one.

In 1858, Joseph Bazalgette built a new sewerage system for London. It extended 82 miles and required 670,000m³ concrete. Victorians didn’t talk about sustainability but they certainly knew how to build things that last. New legislation requires owners to manage their sustainable drainage systems to function over the lifetime of a development, which means building with materials that endure. That wouldn’t have bothered Bazalgette and it shouldn’t bother you.

For more about sustainable drainage systems in concrete visit www.concretepipes.co.uk

The Wilo Way: Individual solutions and reliable technologies you can trust in.

Water Management by Wilo – that’s more than innovative technology and long-term expertise.

The Wilo Way rather means making your working life easier by providing you with excellent product quality that is tested for outstanding reliability and long service life. Our qualified experts support you personally in selecting the best solution for your individual need. That is how we live our promise “Pioneering for You”.

So how can Wilo support you? www.wilo.com/WaterManagement T:01283 523000 E:sales@wilo.co.uk

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HWM

New data logger offers highspeed radio communication

Self-contained with GSM data logger

VEGA Water Radar: non contact solution for open water level measurement.

LoLog R can be used outside meter pit for greater convenience The new portable data logger from water and asset monitoring specialist HWM features high-speed radio communication for safe and easy use. LoLog R allows operators to download and program from outside the meter pit or within their vehicle, meaning they can avoid roads, hazardous areas and two-man lifts.

Compact, submersible and battery powered, LoLog R is supplied in single- or dual-channel models. The analogue channel can be used for internal pressure, external pressure and 4-20mA. A digital channel is available for flow and status data. The dual option combines one analogue and one digital channel.

LoLog R incorporates pulse interval timing to establish accurate recording of minimum flow. The unit can store up to 262,000 readings in non-volatile memory as standard, with the option to extend to 1m readings. Its lithium battery will last for five years under typical operating conditions.

LoLog R is fully compatible with Radwin software, so data can be combined with other current and historical Radcom loggers.

No echo loss from wind, rain or surface conditions, even cobwebs! Just reliable level monitoring for any open water or remote site. No stilling tubes, civil works or special mountings. Low cost unit, 15m range, 2mm accuracy and miserly enough on power to use with battery loggers.

So, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s stopping you changing the way you measure level? www.vega.com/uk Phone: 01444 870055 E-Mail: info.uk@vega.com

Supplied in a rugged case, LoLog R is fully sealed and submersible and rated IP68.

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STEVE VICK

New pipe cutters reduce cutting time significantly Steve Vick International has introduced two new pipe cutters to its range – one for cutting ‘windows’ and one for circumferential cuts; both developed for cutting ductile iron.

The Rapid Window Cutter

Rapid Rotary Cutter

The Rapid Window Cutter has been developed in collaboration with Wales & West Utilities who saw the need for a fast, safe and easy-to-use machine which would dramatically reduce cutting time on ductile iron pipes. Since its development the Rapid Window Cutter has won first place in the Best Gas Improvement Category at The UK Energy Innovation Awards 2015; both Steve Vick International and Wales and West Utilities are extremely proud of this achievement.

The unit is small, lightweight (5kg) and is probably the fastest window cutter on the market. It is able to cut a window in ten minutes when traditional equipment would take significantly longer. The machine comprises a cutting disc mounted on a bespoke chassis assembly which has four small wheels.

Pneumatically powered, the operative guides the cutter, applying sufficient pressure to penetrate the pipe wall and is able to pivot the chassis to change direction.

Comprehensive safety features have been incorporated including an automatic emergency cut-off on the trigger handle and depth controls prevent damage to internal PE. The machine is quiet and user friendly with a finely tuned motor that operates at low torque; consequently the cutter is easy to control. An air exhaust hose prevents dust, debris, and water from being blown around the trench and into the operative’s face. No water is required as a coolant which results in a cleaner trench, however, a water feed hose is fitted to the unit and can be activated if needed.

The Rapid Rotary Cutter The Rapid Rotary Cutter is a compact circumferential cutter that is assembled over the main in seconds and cuts a 4” ductile main in around two minutes. It requires very little space around it resulting in reduced trench sizes.

The unit comprises two aluminium shells with a motor mounted onto the top shell. The resulting circular frame sits closely around the circumference of the main. The motor and cutting disc assembly are common to all three sizes; different sized frames are available for diameters 100mm, 150mm and 200mm (4”, 6” and 8”). Bespoke frames are available for different dimensions to special order. For safety, the cutting blade is mounted away from the operator’s hand and the depth control discs prevent damage to internal PE. The motor is air driven and powered from a typical air compressor. A standalone lubrication unit maintains the operation of the motor preventing it from freezing or seizing up and prolonging its life. An air exhaust hose prevents dust, debris, and water from being blown around the trench and into the operative’s face.

No water coolant is required when cutting ductile iron which is convenient and leaves a dry trench, however, a water feed hose is fitted to the unit and can be activated if needed.

Pipe Cutting Made Fast and Easy With these two new products – The Rapid Window Cutter and the Rapid Rotary Cutter – Steve Vick International believes that it offers utilities faster, safer and more efficient cutting of ductile iron mains.

Steve Vick International is a leading designer and manufacturer of products for the trenchless renovation of pipes worldwide. stevevick.com info@stevevick.com The Rapid Window Cutter

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+44 (0) 1225 864864

HWM

NEW LEAK DETECTION CORRELATOR OFFERS IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND EASE OF USE Touch Pro delivers better results on plastic or large diameter pipes Water and asset monitoring specialist HWM has designed the new Touch Pro correlator for improved performance and ease of use. The unit features upgraded electronics throughout the leak noise processing path to deliver better results in traditionally difficult leak detection situations, such as on plastic or large diameter pipes.

AFIS automatically runs up to 55 different filter combinations on each correlation, checking the quality of the result and optimising the filters to obtain the best possible result. The system can be used with both live and pre-recorded correlation data, removing the need for manual filter setting by building a virtual “expert user” into the unit.

The Touch Pro’s high-visibility full-colour VGA touch screen greatly improves data entry and the quality of graphical representation. The intuitive user interface enables operation with the minimum number of key presses and the step-bystep menu system easily guides the user through the correlation process.

The Touch Pro’s improved outstation offers long-range radio transmission with clear sound quality. The compact outstation features a magnet to allow it to be secured to metallic street furniture.

The new correlator is equipped with an Automated Filtering Intelligence System (AFIS).

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A purpose-designed robust case carries and protects all components, while allowing the base station and outstations to be charged from a single power lead.

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NORTHUMBRIAN WATER OPTS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT ATLAS COPCO SCREW BLOWER TECHNOLOGY Northumbrian Water, has chosen Atlas Copco screw blower technology to help reduce energy consumption and minimise service costs at its sewage treatment works in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The company, need a constant, reliable supply of air in the region of 480mbar for aerobic treatment of waste water at its site in Newton Aycliffe. This process uses bacteria to break up waste particles and requires large amounts of air to be blown into the aeration tanks to maintain the desired level of dissolved oxygen within the wastewater containment system - a biological process that typically utilises up to 70% of the energy consumed on site.

There is a changing perspective within the water industry that the widely-used lobe blower design principle no longer meets the needs of today’s low carbon economy and that operators can benefit substantially from energy savings through the replacement of conventional lobe equipment with innovative screw technology.

Such was the experience of Northumbrian Water, whose aeration air supply was originally delivered to the site by four lobe type blowers. However,

when one of these units started to develop reliability issues, the opportunity was taken to investigate the possibility of installing one of the new generation of high efficiency screw type blowers which, compared to standard lobe type machines, offer potential savings of up to 30% in energy consumption.

Northumbrian Water decided to replace one lobe blower with the Atlas Copco ZS screw blower technology. On completion of the installation of the new ZS blower, Northumbrian Water carried out a comparison performance test between the existing lobe blowers and Atlas Copco’s ZS technology. Data from air flow meters and power monitors was put into the site’s PLC/ SCADA system to calculate the specific power of all four air blowers. The calculated values of air production were averaged over a 12 hour period. In order to compare like for like, the ZS unit was compared with the performance of the other blowers at the same time on the following or preceding days during similar weather, flow and biological load conditions. It revealed that the existing lobe blower used approx. 19% more power for the same output.

Energy savings are derived from the efficiency of

the internal compression screw design and the direct drive, integrated gearbox that ensures fewer losses compared to the traditional belt and pulley system. For example, to deliver a flow of 1600 m³/hr (942 cfm) at a pressure of 0.8 bar (e) (11.6 psig), a tri-lobe blower consumes 61 kW (82 hp) on average. By comparison, the screw blower consumes only 43 kW (58 hp) to match this performance. At the same time reliability has been improved and maintenance costs reduced.

Northumbrian Water has now placed a third order with Atlas Copco to replace the remaining two lobe units installed at Newton Aycliffe Waste Water Treatment Plant with a further two ZS 90 screw blowers.

Alan Harle, the Northumbrian Water engineer who conducted the comparison tests, commented: “From an operational perspective, Atlas Copco’s ZS blowers have performed well, especially when compared with the incumbent blowers, and we are very pleased with the 20% improvement we have already seen. I would say that the proof is in the pudding and given that NWL have chosen to replace all blowers with the Atlas Copco units speaks volumes.”

CDENVIRO IMPROVES RECYCLING PLANT EFFICIENCY AT SITA UK SITA UK has recently upgraded the CDEnviro recycling plant at their Wolverhampton facility by introducing a centrifuge to increase the volume of silt that can be processed by the plant. The introduction of this technology has enabled SITA UK to help their clients achieve their recycling targets.

Since its installation in 2012, SITA UK have been processing road sweepings and gully waste recycling at Neatchells Lane, Wolverhampton through the CDEnviro system.

The 15 TPH road sweepings plant includes a bespoke feed hopper arrangement and a high attrition system designed specifically to handle this heavily contaminated material. Through this recycling process, SITA UK can help their clients to achieve their recycling targets while also reducing their requirement for virgin aggregate and increases CLO (Compost Like Output) composting volumes.

SITA UK also invested in CDEnviro Preventative Maintenance programme through which assessments are carried out to ensure that all aspects of the plant are performing to optimum

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has been designed to improve water cleanliness and reduce chemical contaminants found in the clean water stream at recycling plants.

The CO:FLO is a multi-staged process which incorporates both mechanical and chemical treatments, ensuring the optimum water clarity is maintained.

Following a trial period, the CO:FLO has proven to improve water cleanliness on this type of waste stream by 300-400% in comparison to the previous system. This design is currently pending patent. levels. CustomCare Manager at CDEnviro, Fergal Campbell comments “Through a close working relationship, it was identified that further efficiencies could be achieved by replacing the Filter Press with a Centrifuge . The introduction of the Centrifuge allows the plant to more efficiently deal with the higher silt contents and cope with the variability in the feed material.”

In addition to the centrifuge, CDEnviro has also successfully installed their new CO:FLO unit at the SITA UK Neatchells Lane site. The CO:FLO

Commenting on this system improvement Martin Bladon, Project Development Manager at SITA UK said “We continue to work with CDEnviro to improve our processes and take on board their advice as the experts in recycling technology.”

For further information contact Orla McGoldrick, CDEnviro Tel: + 44 28 8676 7900 Email: omcgoldrick@cdenviro.com

As the UK’s largest pump hire company, Sykes Pumps are constantly looking to enhance and modernise their extensive range of equipment. A new product – the Sykes Hydraset – is now available for hire and will help clients streamline projects without raising energy costs. This latest innovation comprises of a Sykes Hydrapak, a Sykes Hydrapump and a Sykes Hydrahose set and provides an alternative solution for when suction lift requirements exceed nine metres.

The Hydraset Range includes 100mm and 150mm models, specifically designed with construction, quarry, marine, industrial and water utility projects in mind. The units are suitable for heads of up to 46m and offer flow rates as high as 95l/s, underlining their versatility.

If you require any further information simply call our team or visit our website.

WATERAID

Sustainable technologies to solve slum sanitation challenges WaterAid is enabling communities to access safe water and sanitation by introducing gulpers, gravity schemes and waste treatment in some of the world’s poorest urban settlements.

In the urban slums around Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam, there are huge challenges to accessing safe water and removing waste. But WaterAid has found that working with local people and organisations to implement new technologies can help provide solutions.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer to delivering safe water, sanitation and hygiene services – each community we work with has its own unique set of challenges. We set up practical, sustainable and low-cost projects, putting in place effective systems to maintain them. This means developing technologies to address new challenges and coming up with solutions that meet the real needs of the community.

Difficult geography Like urban slums around the world, Kibonde Maji A in Dar es Salaam is an unplanned settlement. Its narrow streets run along a steep hill and are lined by packed concrete houses. The area is called the ‘Valley of Water’, but residents in the slum live without a safe water supply or sewerage system.

People collect water from a spring-fed stream at the bottom of the valley, but the valley is filled with rubbish and waste, which contaminates the water and makes people sick.

When the rains come from March to May, the pit latrines in the slum fill with water and overflow.

The human waste flows through the community and down into the valley and the stream below.

With no waste-removal service, the people in the community have no choice but to dump their rubbish into the valley too. The rubbish bags split open to add to the piles of waste.

Technological solutions Because of its hillside location, addressing the issues in Kibonde Maji A is not going to be easy, but we do have some tried and tested solutions. Six years ago we worked with local

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Mattius Millinga stands next to one of the ‘pajaj’ vehicles that transports the gulper pump equipment, outside his house in Kigamboni. Credit: WaterAid/Eliza Deacon entrepreneurial groups in Kigamboni, a similar settlement just 20km away, to develop new technologies that would dispense waste.

The use of gulpers – hand-operated pumps that suck sewage into a tank ready for transfer – has seen huge success. Gulpers are cheap, and can be fitted onto motorbikes to access even the narrowest alleys. Once the sewage has been extracted, a Decentralised Wastewater Treatment System (DEWAT) breaks down the waste into safe by-products of fertiliser and gas.

Green businesses Mattius runs a DEWAT at his home in Kigamboni.

WaterAid supported him to register as a company, which enabled him to access microfinance and bank loans. His wife uses the gas from the waste he collects and treats as fuel for their house, and Mattius is looking into selling the dried solids to farmers as manure.

Mattius is proud of the contribution his business is making to his community. He said, “Before, when the pit was full they would dig somewhere and pay young people to take it out and put it somewhere… in the rainy season there is a bad smell and everything comes up. So now the people say ‘thank you, thank you’.”

A cleaner future WaterAid is developing new technologies to help deliver safe water and sanitation to communities like these in Tanzania. We have plans to work with people in Kibonde Maji A to establish businesses using gulper technology, to protect the water source using gravity schemes, and to install a working borehole and tapstands, so everyone can access safe, clean water all year.

You can read more about how we work to address water and sanitation issues through innovative techniques by visiting wateraid.org/uk/ technology.

Water Quality Scientist turned Inspector at the DWI

By Krishna Morker

I learned of the DWI secondment process during our Scientist’s team meeting in York. Being fairly new to the role of Scientist, it was the first time I had witnessed the extreme operational nature of my team’s role, in that upon arrival, a colleague was immediately dispatched to provide scientific support at a WTW in the South of Yorkshire, a good two hours’ drive away.

Once my colleague was dispatched, the agenda items ensued, with topical and vibrant discussion by all. We were then joined by our Manager of Water Quality, who presented to the team the new work streams undertaken by the Business to improve our performance and relationship with the Drinking Water Inspectorate. This included the possibility for one of my team to spend 6 months seconded to the Inspectorate at their offices in London. I remember thinking what a fantastic opportunity for a young scientist carving out a career in the Water Industry and in that moment, I knew that I wanted that young scientist to be me.

Despite being in the team for less than six months, I had strong scientific and technical credentials; A degree in biology, a PhD in plant molecular biology, a post-doc in plant defence responses and published research papers. I had followed this with two years working as a technician in the Developer Services Team at Yorkshire Water, completing a HNC in Civil Engineering whilst carrying out the day job of assessing new development sewerage designs for adoption under Sections 104 and 102 of the Water Industry Act, 1991. And now, as a Water Quality Scientist, this would be a chance like no other. An opportunity to see how the regulator works and to understand their requirements and needs for shaping Yorkshire Water’s working relationship with them. I showed my interest (I couldn’t hide it!) and was lucky enough to be selected for the process. The first Yorkshire Water Secondee to participate in the process and the first Secondee to enter the scheme who was not from Anglian Water. I had a lot to live up to.

The secondment process was well underway at the Inspectorate with two secondees due to complete their secondments and two secondees due to replace those that were finishing. I was effectively the 5th Secondee to participate and was given a provisional date of Summer 2014, pending satisfactory completion of paperwork and police criminal checks by DEFRA. As my start date drew closer, I was preparing for the secondment by spending the majority of my time on site carrying out process investigations and company WTW audits. I completed a three and a twenty day investigation report for a notified discolouration

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introduction of the Chartered Scientist title, which I have commenced my application for and my imminent move to the Inspectorate, I couldn’t think of a more perfect time to join.

My first day at the DWI was spent gaining access to the IT systems with the new laptop I had been provided with for the duration of my work period and meeting the Inspectors and teams in the office. I spent the majority of the day with my line manager, Principal Inspector Keith Smith, discussing the sorts of work I wanted to be involved with during the secondment, the three week induction process that I was due to commence and the opportunity to attend a company audit within the next few days; my diary was very quickly filling up!

IoW South East Area’s visit to the Thames Barrier event, which was a thrilling experience; it allowed me to gain first-hand experience of the processes that Yorkshire Water undertake in response to an event and the numerous individuals and teams that are involved in incident review meetings and investigations to supply relevant data, figures, maps and information required to write both reports issued to the Inspectorate; all the while having a clock ticking in the background with the deadline in sight. I had been familiarising myself with The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000 (as amended), which resulted in many random “What is Regulation 9?” style questions being thrown my way at every opportunity by my Managers and colleagues.

I moved down to London the weekend prior to my start date and had begun to familiarise myself with a far more fast-paced way of life. My commute to work was less than an hour door to door on the District line and I was ready to go. I decided to join the Institute of Water (IoW) just before I moved to London and became a member of the South East Area to take full advantage of my new location. Having previously won a place sponsored by GA Valves, to the IoW Annual Conference in London (2012), I had previous knowledge of the Institute and had been looking to become a member for some time. With the

I was lucky that when I began my secondment, I had a short overlap period with Ray Butler and Amy Ryan from Anglian Water, who were in their final months of the secondment and as they left another of their colleagues from Anglian Water, Kara Sadler commenced her secondment. My secondment also coincided with the starting dates of six new Inspectors; Steve Youell, Simon Benton, Mike Turrell, Guy Franklin, Caroline Knight and Tim Williams. It was a really vibrant and lively time to be in the office, with lots of activities, events, meetings and training sessions occurring. Any preconceptions that I had about the DWI evaporated within seconds. I knew that this was going to be a fantastic six months.

A large part of this feeling of settlement, was due to the interactions that I had with my new colleagues, who were welcoming, friendly and ever so helpful and with Steve Youell being a committee member of the IoW South East Area, I was certainly more informed about IoW events and socials occurring in the Capital.

During my initial three week induction, I spent time with various Inspectors and Principal Inspectors who provided an introduction to the main functions and core work streams of the Inspectorate. These areas included Compliance, Events & Complaints, Regulation 31, Media & Communications, Private Water Supplies, the Data Management Unit and the Business Performance Unit. Within my first three weeks I had a vast array of interesting work to be assessing from a wealth

DWI

Giving a talk at the IoW South East Areas Young Speakers Forum of different water companies across the UK. I was provided with full access to the IT databases and work systems and soon I was participating in providing feedback on compliance breach reports, event reports and complaints at company liaison meetings and Inspectorate team meetings. I was dealing with a variety of fascinating cases, some slightly more bizarre than others such as a customer complaint regarding Nematoda apparently found in their drinking water supply and a compliance assessment of a coliform failure where the sampling facility had been crashed in to by the on-site farmer.

Marcus welcomed the first Secondee from a company other than Anglian Water as a major step forward in the advancement of this scheme.

Krishna proved she was up to the high standard set by those before her but more importantly removed any semblance that distance could be an insurmountable problem. I am pleased to say that this has now driven a number of other companies to include in this unique opportunity with the development of a two year waiting list. However, those companies who have not yet taken up this offer may still be able to join as the scheme has expended in response to demand.

Through the duration of the secondment I attended six audits at six different companies; I was given the opportunity to organise and lead a significant portion of the latter two. I found the audits particularly useful for building on my process science knowledge, questioning and auditing skills and interpersonal skills, which are transferable and will be incredibly useful on my return to my role as a Water Quality Scientist at Yorkshire Water.

I attended several liaison meetings at different water companies, some of which had a Director of the company present. I’ve also been fortunate to visit sites that employ different treatment

IoW Conference (London, 2012) with sponsors GA Valves

practices to those used at Yorkshire Water. It was fascinating to see a direct filtration site and to understand the differences in raw water quality which allows such a process to ensure effective removal of organic material, Cryptosporidium and achieve a final turbidity that is compliant with Regulation 26. Visiting Thames Water’s Desalination Plant was also a unique experience and led to some interesting discussions relating to the future provision of a sustainable water supply, especially when trying to meet the demands of an ever-growing population.

Secondees are given a project as part of their workload. I was tasked with carrying out an Industry wide audit on Bulk Supply Agreements.

This was following the integration of a new template document, by the Industry, that was issued by a working group formed by Water UK with the specific purpose of improving the water quality aspects of the agreement. Writing out to Industry day to day and board level contacts was quite a daunting experience; it also meant that I had to research the relevant part of the law and be prepared for any queries raised by the Industry. I have since provided my report of findings to my managers at the Inspectorate and I’m certain that this feedback will be delivered to the Industry in due course.

I think perhaps the best thing about the secondment is the amount of exposure you are given to the day to day practices and responses of individual companies during water quality related events. This really provides an opportunity to critically evaluate and suggest improvements to your own company’s operational and non-operational practices. You are given the opportunity to align your view with the Inspectorate’s view and this again provides a unique occasion to provide feedback gained from that insight.

Becoming a member of the South East Area of the Institute during my secondment has enabled the participation in some interesting events. I have visited the Thames Barrier, which is a magnificent, futuristic site to behold. As part of the visit we were able to walk inside the structure and climb the 500 or so steps within the barrier and learn how it was constructed and is currently used.

I attended the day conference on the future of Asset Management; a series of seminars exploring the challenges and innovations in this arena.

I attended the Presidents Day which was a day trip out to the Harry Potter Studios in Leavesden and provided a friendly informal setting for members to network in. And finally, I was invited to speak at the Young Speaker’s Forum about my career experiences as a Water Quality Scientist at Yorkshire Water and my secondment at the DWI. On my return to Yorkshire Water, I am keen to pass on my findings and experiences at the Inspectorate to my company with the aim to improve processes where required with a view to developing a self-regulating environment and raising the awareness and importance of Water Quality within the Business. I have witnessed first-hand some excellent practices across the Industry, which I plan to share with my company, along with some of the more cautionary tales. I am working on my application for registration as a Chartered Scientist with the Institute of Water and hope to become more involved with events run by the Northern region. I will most certainly promote the secondment scheme to anyone who asks, as it is a secondment like no other currently available in our Industry and the more companies and individuals that benefit from this, can only be a positive step for water quality and the Industry as a whole.

I think perhaps the best thing about the secondment is the amount of exposure you are given to the day to day practices and responses of individual companies during water quality related events.

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Feralco is a leading manufacturer of high performance water treatment and process chemicals. Our product range includes both traditional inorganic coagulants and innovative products to ensure optimum treatment efficiency. Applications include the treatment of drinking water, process water, sewage and industrial effluents and paper processing.

Products such as aluminium sulphate have been joined by new products derived from the synthesis of highly cationic inorganic polymers to satisfy today’s demand for higher quality water and to meet tighter discharge consent limits. Feralco can provide specialist advice and technical support to ensure the most cost effective methods of treatment are employed.

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INSTITUTE OF WATER JOURNAL

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MORGAN MARINE’S GRP AND STEEL ENCLOSURES GET ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL The Prince of Wales has officially visited UK GRP and steel enclosures manufacturer, Morgan Marine, as the company celebrates its 50th year in business.

The Prince visited Morgan GRP’s headquarters in Carmarthenshire, South-west Wales - Morgan GRP encompases Morgan Marine, PFS Wales and Envico Engineering. He officially opened a new extension to the company’s office building and to tour the factory, meeting staff and learning how the company's steel and glass reinforced polymer (GRP) housings, enclosures, kiosks and covers are made.

Morgan Marine is the UK’S only leading designer, manufacturer and installer of GRP and steel LPCB security-rated enclosures and door sets for use on sites to protect infrastructure and where security is paramount. The company has been providing equipment housing solutions to many of the water industry’s leading names since 1965 and is also an approved supplier to every provider within the water industry.

Martyn Ingram, Managing Director of Morgan Marine Ltd, said: “We were delighted to welcome The Prince of Wales to help Morgan Marine commemorate its fiftieth year in business. He enjoyed meeting and talking to our staff and learning how our products are made. Its been great to mark our fiftieth year with a royal visit and it certainly leads the way for some very exciting projects in the future.”

Over the past 50 years, Morgan Marine has invested heavily in research and development and, as a result, has become the first company

in the country to meet LPCB physical security test standard LPS 1175 for all its GRP products.

The company continues to add to its already comprehensive array of LPCB products with the recent addition of bar-sets to protect windows up to LPCB SR level 4 and the current testing of cages will mean they have the largest range of LPCB

accredited security products in the UK. Morgan Marine’s range of GRP security enclosures, the Titan range, revolutionised the industry by offering clients a choice of build materials for the first time, this combined with complete flexibility in build size introduced a new dimension to the current products available. The Titan range complements the already popular Hercules SAF and Taurus ranges of SR2 and SR3 and SR4 steel enclosures and doors, with each range offering total flexibility of build size. There are multiple lock options to suit specific specifications plus a selection of LPCB certified ventilation options and numerous additional features. Other products of note include the choice of adding viewing windows and panels, generator cap flaps, louvers and cowls al tested to LPS 1175 Mr Ingram continues: “Here at Morgan Marine we are continuously developing new product ranges and pushing the limits of manufacturing to make sure we stay ahead of the field and remain at the forefront of the security enclosure and door sets industry worldwide. Our heavy investment in research and development will ensure we keep meeting the needs of our clients for the next 50 years and beyond."

For more information about Morgan Marine and their range of products, please visit the website www.morgan-marine.com

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WELSHAREANEWS

DCWW innovations finalists at Wales quality awards 2015 Two innovation projects from the Institute of Water Wales Area Awards have also been awarded finalist trophies at the Wales Quality Innovation Awards.

The annual awards ceremony held last month at the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, near Cardiff was hosted

by BBC TV presenter/Newsreader, Lucy Owen.

The Wales Quality Centre has a mission is to celebrate Innovation in Wales and promote and encourage innovation in every sector of the Welsh economy. The Centre has been campaigning through the Wales Innovation Award to raise the profile of innovation in Wales and have been working with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and the Institute of Water, Welsh Area, for over 10 years to recognise the achievements of innovative projects and reward their continuing efforts.

The two finalists were:

Sophie Straiton Innovation Scientist, Dwr Cymru: Ultrasonic Algae Removal Sophie, Innovation Scientist at Dwr Cymru, worked with Isle Utilities and LG sound to develop the MPC-Buoy which floats in the reservoir, is solar powered and incorporates ultrasonic technology and on-board water quality sensors to predict and prevent algae blooms, thereby helping to reduce taste and odour problems at WTW.

James Williams Automation Engineer, Capital Delivery Team: Tap to Zero With the widespread use of Smart phones within DCWW’s Capital Delivery department, the ‘Tap to Zero’ app is an innovative solution that allows individuals to enter Positive Interventions into their phone and send them to a central database.

The water quality sensors help to determine which algae groups are present and then the frequency, amplitude, wave form and duration of the ultrasound are remotely controlled to slowly kill and prevent the algae from growing, preventing algal blooms.

The unit was first trialled on Court Farm reservoir. Results were positive, showing decreased Total Algae and Chlorophyll levels, resulting in additional units being installed in Plas Uchaf reservoir.

The ‘Tap to Zero’ app has predefined text boxes and tailored drop-down menus and enables users to attach photos to support their intervention. It is quick, easy and simple to use.

The statistics generated enable the next month’s safety briefings to be relevant and make a difference to the Capital Delivery team’s Health & Safety performance.

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SOUTHWESTAREANEWS

Dragons slain by Innovation!

The SW Area’s Innovation Entry was selected at a Dragon’s Den event at WRc on 11 February, and it was a tense group of innovators that faced up to the scaly, fire breathers.

3

1 The vastly experienced and knowledgeable panel quickly set upon their first victim, a Portable Turbidity Monitor presented by Analytical Technology. The Dragons were particularly impressed by the level of user involvement in the monitor’s design.

Next on the Dragon’s menu was the Bio-Bus, put forward by GENeco. The large audience was surprised to be greeted by the site of two presenters apparently taking their ease on the porcelain, as the subject of waste to energy was comically introduced. The commitment of Richard and Francis in carrying two real, floor standing toilet units up the stairs at WRc was typical of the genuine enthusiasm shown by all the presenters for their subjects. The gift of a basket of fruit however, accepted on behalf of the Dragons by Frank van der Kleij, Networks Director at Bristol Water, was never going to swing such an objective jury.

Next up was Leo Carswell from WRc who brilliantly demystified the “Loadmon” unit for wastewater process control. Test results from both the UK and Italy brought a truly European view to our Innovation day.

After a couple of dips into the wastewater sector it was APEM limited who showed us a new use for remote sensing aimed at improving catchment management. Dragon, and director of ARK, Charlotte Hitchmough, recognised the issues raised in the presentation and was interested in how it might help her work on stretches of the River Kennet.

Over halfway through the seven presentations and the Dragon’s, headed by water industry consultant Phillip Mills, were not letting anything get past them without proper scrutiny.

Paul Harding of SWW was next into the den with

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2 an innovative approach to Reservoir Hatch monitoring. With such a wide area to cover, the ability to process multiple responses from the field was proving to be very useful to the company.

Mark Karkeek representing SWW and Ashwoods Lightfoot described how the company is improving driver behaviour by giving feedback and training through an in-cab device. Dragon John Vinson, Managing Director of Water2business, was interested in the trial results but also queried whether the system would lose impact over time?

As things turned out, it was definitely a case of last but not least as Matt Wheeldon representing Wessex Water Services, Dynamic Flow and Elster Water Metering, described a new wastewater meter designed to measure the flow going away from a premises. Both audience and Dragons were drawn in by Matt’s excellent presentation and left wondering why they didn’t already have one.

In the end, after some animated discussions amongst the Dragons, it was Matt’s descriptions of his equipment trials that clinched the day for the wastewater meter. The GENeco and APEM Limited entries were presented with runner up certificates.

An excellent evening’s entertainment for the SW Area members and a really innovative contender from Wessex Water Services for the National Award later this year. Many thanks to WRc for their hospitality and organisation and to all the presenters for their entertaining efforts.

4 1

The Dragons Den

2

Matt Wheeldon representing Wessex Water Services

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The Bio-Bus, put forward by GENeco

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Matt Wheeldon receives his certificate

EASTERNAREANEWS

Eastern Area professional registration event

NEW PRESIDENT

Eastern Area outgoing President Paul Gibbs (Director of Water Recycling, Anglian Water) hands over both the role and Presidents chain to Paul Valleley (Director of Water Services, Anglian Water) at the Eastern Area AGM. From left to right: Chris Peel, Sam Harris, Robin Price, Kara Sadler and Catherine Fearon

By Kara Sadler The Institute of Water’s Eastern Area Professional Registration Event on 27 March 2015 provided a motivational insight into Professional Development and Registration.

Robin Price (Regional Quality Manager, Anglian Water) kicked off the event with an inspiring presentation on Continuous Professional Development and the positive aspects of having so many options to gaining professional recognition within the Institute of Water.

I followed on from Robin’s presentation by speaking about the benefits of becoming a Chartered Scientist and how my increased confidence and morale has helped me to show my employer and the water industry that I am a competent and experienced individual.

Sam Harris (Water Quality Communications Scientist, Anglian Water) gave an interesting talk, reflecting on her experience of becoming the first person to become a Registered Scientist through the Institute of Water. Sam explained that gaining professional recognition has helped her to develop within her role to become a well rounded scientist.

Chris Peel (Category Manager, Anglian Water) spoke next, with a passionate talk on how since becoming a Chartered Engineer, everyday job tasks provide a new opportunity for learning and developing. “It is not just about academic qualifications and technical knowledge; it is about how you develop as a person”.

Break out session

Catherine Fearon (Water Quality Performance Manager, Anglian Water) rounded off the morning’s presentations by highlighting her experience on becoming a Chartered Environmentalist (as well as a Chartered Scientist). Catherine reiterated the importance of CPD and how it can help you to become involved in tasks in other areas of your business which are not part of your day job, further developing your

Robin Price

career within the water industry.

Before drawing the event to a close, breakout sessions provided the ideal intimate setting to further discuss Professional Development and the process involved in gaining Registration. The event proved a huge success with everyone who attended left feeling driven, encouraged and ready to build on their CPD.

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MIDLANDSAREANEWS

Delivering customer service in the digital age

By Kyrsty Buckenham

Midlands Area hosted ‘Delivering customer service in the digital age’ with guest speaker Sarah Bentley, Chief Customer Officer, STW, on 19th February 2015.

As we all know the digital age is upon us. Sarah talked us through how digital is about doing things differently with a couple of examples; design our own trainers with Nike in minutes, live stream videos through Netflix and Amazon, order a taxi through UBER at the click of a button and split the bill with friends for the right amount to be taken straight from your account - no more worrying if you have change!

Sarah then shared a story about her little girl who had woken her early in the morning asking where her Hello Kitty umbrella was. Sarah insisted she did not have a Hello Kitty umbrella and carried on with her day. A few days later Sarah couldn’t believe it when a Hello Kitty umbrella arrived at her door! Her daughter, not even at school yet, had accessed the family iPad, and not only ordered but also paid for the item along with a couple of other things, and she couldn’t understand why the items hadn’t arrived immediately!

This made Sarah think about how technology has changed the expectations of the digital generation. Expectations are changing, long ago

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are the days when you would wait 3-5 days for a delivery ordered over the phone. We will soon be expecting 3D printers to start building the item once that order button has been hit.

These are just a couple of examples, as we grow digitally expectations of the consumer are changing, so what does this mean for the water industry? It means we have the tools to get to know our customers better, through social media alone we can provide them with a truly personalised experience. Here is an example shared by Sarah: KLM decided to carry out an experiment to see if they could use social media to make customers happy.

They came up with few steps: 1) Find KLM passengers who had mentioned they had checked in on a KLM fight using Foursquare and twitter.

2) Search social profile to get to know them to think of a small carry on size personal gift.

3) Find the individual and deliver the gift.

In just three weeks and 40 passengers later over 1,000,000 impressions on twitter alone, a great example of small effort - big difference!

Sarah finished with areas of focus: Customer, Colleague, Enterprise and Industry and the behaviours that will get us to ‘great’ in the customer service arena Absolute attention to detail - the basics have to work.

Enquiring minds break down of silos and diverse thinking.

Optionality and pace - try things out and be prepared to fail and accept uncertainty.

I couldn't possibly write in this small review all of the other areas Sarah went into. I found the session truly inspiring and would recommend anyone to go to any of the upcoming events!

NORTHERNAREANEWS

CAREER TIPS FROM THE TOP INSPIRE AT BOLDON HOUSE IoW Northern Area - Evening Seminar - 26th February 2015

By Paul Henderson With the dawn of AMP6 imminent (now upon us) and the industry working hard to reduce the risk of any future skills gaps the latest Northern Area evening seminar attracted a large crowd to hear career advice from two high profile industry figures under the banner of “Tips from the Top”.

As the industry enters the next 5 year investment period, one that will be shaped by a period of transition as retail competition begins in 2017, the session provided inspiration of what is possible, especially if staff are supported to follow their dreams.

Hopefully this session will be reviewed fondly in 5 years’ time at the start of AMP7 by those who have followed their dreams and fulfilled their potential.

Before the two speakers Simon Cyhanko, IoW host and NWG Water Production Manager shared a film titled “Our Way, Your Direction”.

The film (produced by NWG) highlighted how important personal development is regarded within the business as they aim to be the national leader within the industry.

With a foreword by Northumbrian Water Group CEO Heidi Mottram the video explained how the company promote knowledge transfer within the business, and support staff to take ownership for their own personal growth and career development.

Some of the opportunities for growth detailed included involvement in organisations such as the Institute of Water, involvement in joint project teams, secondments or even moving roles to allow key skills to be developed and maximised.

she believes this contributed to her promotion to the board by the age of 26.

During this time Louise met some key staff from NWG and it wasn’t long before the connection resulted in a move to NWG as Corporate Responsibility Manager, further promotions have followed and Louise is now Director of Corporate Affairs.

So what were Louise’s tips ? As with all good advice, it is the simple ideas that have the biggest impact:

Although very modest it was noted that a certain Mr Cyhanko was one of the stars of the film !!

n Be generous with your time and things, people appreciate this.

The first speaker of the evening was Louise Hunter (Director of Corporate Affairs – NWG), Louise began with a brief view of her role with the NWG group which includes both internal employee engagement, and external communications with a wide range of stakeholders including the public, political, environmental and charities.

n Have faith in people.

As the theme of the night was related to career development Louise shared the intriguing story of the journey from KPMG accountant to NWG corporate affairs.

Or summarised excellently by Louise as “do something you love, nurture good networks and let your work do the talking.”

n Take pride in continuing to learn and your hard work. n And hula hoop! Well not quite, make sure you don’t lose sight of things you love to do, if possible do something you love.

The journey was a great example of how challenges faced within one role can highlight a more natural path into another career.

The second speaker of the evening was Ryan Brennan, currently Strategic Development Director at Fastflow, as with Louise, Ryan shared his story of lessons learnt through a varied career.

Louise left the role as an auditor and followed her natural inclination towards supporting the community and a role at Business in the Community certainly fitted the bill. The renewed enjoyment of this role allowed her to thrive, and

Starting life as a trainee Architect, a key lesson early on resulted from answering the phone to the boss without the correct tone and manner, this was rewarded with a week’s duty as the company receptionist!

Ryan later left the firm before the end of his training and entered the world of utilities, but it wasn’t long before his ambition saw him setting up with own company within the field. Although the business was very successful Ryan learned some hard lessons along the way and again his career took a change of direction.

Ryan then decided to further his education, completing a degree in Civil Engineering before holding a number of key senior management positions with some of the industry’s leading contractors.

But there were still ambitions to do more, Ryan wrote a business plan and was seeking investment when he was headhunted by Fastflow, sharing this business plan Ryan became part of the team.

He now operates as the Strategic Development Director across their key markets, Water, Gas, Clean Energy and Property Maintenance.

So another very successful and varied career, what are Ryan’s top tips ? n Follow your dream. n Understand that experience will allow you to only make new mistakes, not repeat old ones. n Business is about people. n Make your job your career, and even better your lifestyle.

Overall another very inspiring night showcasing the quality of the events available to IoW members.

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SCOTTISHAREANEWS

HAPPY BIG 60 FOR THE SCOTTISH AREA!

Presidents Dinner – the biggest so far!

The 60th AGM of the Scottish Area was held on 7th March at the Marriot Hotel, Glasgow. A wine reception was held prior to business starting and 25 people were enticed along.

We were delighted to welcome both Heidi Mottram and Dermott Devaney to our AGM and also to our President’s dinner held afterwards. They took the opportunity to say a few words about the Institute on a national level and had much praise for the Scottish Area for its vibrancy and governance.

The Business of the day was swiftly dealt with, chaired by Paul Maxwell. Jennifer Littlejohn, Hon Secretary reporting healthy numbers but a reminder that there were opportunities to gather more.

Paul reported on the successful events from the year, highlighting the Family Day (apparently the funniest and most competitive of the ones he has attended), the Presidents Dinner and the Autumn Seminar. Vivienne Dell, Hon Treasurer reported a healthy profit for the year and we supported the Welsh trip, 1 full conference place including travel and accommodation and 1 place at the Autumn Seminar for the Rising Star. Craig Jackson, Area Rep delivered the National Report.

Jim Panton was installed as Vice Chair and the mantle of President was passed from Rob Mustard to Ian Mathieson. . Rob moved to Past President and gave his final address thanking the committee members leaving and welcoming the new members on-board. He also thanked the committee for their commitment and support to deliver a successful year.

Ian Mathieson is MD of WGM Engineering and, in his address, stated that he was looking forward to the year ahead and was aiming for his Presidents Dinner next year to be bigger than Robs – thank heavens for healthy competition! Belinda Oldfield, General Manager Revenue and Risk, Scottish Water accepted the role of Vice President. She is the first female Area Vice President in Scotland and her first job is to organise the Family Day. We all look forward to that.

All business was concluded within the 1 hour target and we all eagerly left for the festivities of the Presidents Dinner.

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Scottish Area Innovations Winners – Clancy Dowcra

Kathy has no idea what is happening!! Well done Committee.

Job Done – Rob Mustard and Ian Mathieson

Birling!

The Marriot Hotel, Glasgow was the fantastic setting for this year’s well-attended President’s dinner on the 7th March. A pre-dinner drinks reception was provided by the Marriot, before the 314 guests were seated in a beautiful function suite and served with a fantastic 3 course dinner.

Some special chocolates were also on the tables to celebrate the 60th year of the Institute of Water in Scotland.

unwavering support for the Institute of Water over the years. He then asked Craig Jackson to come forward to help announce and present Kathy with a certificate recognising her as a Fellow of the Institute of Water.

Rob Mustard thanked everyone for coming, recognised the record attendance and the dinner sponsors Cap Gemini, Caledonia Water, ABV and Hydro International. It was also an added pleasure to welcome both the Nation Chair & President to the dinner, Dermott Devaney and Heidi Mottram. Rob thanked the committee for a very successful year and introduced Ian Mathieson to the guests as the new Area President. Ian set out some strong ambitions to make the coming year a great success - building on the some great work of the committee and offering some events in the forthcoming year that “money can’t buy”.

He also took the opportunity to introduce Belinda Oldfield as the incoming Vice President and his plans for expanding the committee.

Rob thanked Lynda Scott and Kathy Auld for organising a fantastic event whilst presenting them with flowers. As an additional surprise, Rob kept Kathy on her feet and thanked her for an

For the Scottish Area Innovation Awards Matt Bower, Scottish committee member introduced and thanked all the entries. Matt invited Heidi to the floor to announce the winner, which was Clancy Dowcra for their Cat 4 Replay solution.

They now go forward to the National Innovations Awards at the National Presidents Dinner after the National Conference in Cambridge in July.

Congratulations and good luck. Thank you to the judges and the Award Sponsors, Scottish Water and the Scottish Government.

Thanks to all those who donated a raffle prize and golf /rugby tickets to auction. As always this is appreciated as are the donations that people make in their envelopes. We raised the amazing sum of £3720 for Wateraid!!!

Our well known band for the evening, Callanish, did a fantastic job in filling the dance floor by playing an eclectic mix of Ceilidh, old classics and new songs to dance the rest of the night away.

Much wobbly juice was consumed and much waffle was spoken, but all agreed that the night was very much a success and enjoyed by all.

NORTHERNIRELANDAREANEWS

NORTHERN IRELAND AREA VISIT TO ULSTER RUGBY V CARDIFF BLUES

BY Karen Topping Assistant Secretary, NI Area With apologies in advance to any Welsh Area members who may be reading…!

On Friday 27th March a group of twelve members from the NI Area travelled to the Kingspan Stadium (still affectionately known as “Ravenhill, the home of rugby” to some local devotees!) to watch an exciting Guinness Pro 12 fixture between Ulster Rugby and Cardiff Blues. Following the recent defeat away to Newport Gwent Dragons, Ulster fans were buoyed by the prospect of the return of Paddy Jackson, Stuart Olding and Chris Henry to the side following injury and there was much discussion over the pre-match meal in Ormeau Park Golf Club about the team’s chances – along with of course, the usual opportunity to catch up with fellow Institute members and meet some new faces.

The match itself was full of incident right from the kick off, with Craig Gilroy scoring a try for Ulster after just 3 minutes. Unfortunately both sides suffered injuries and at half time the score stood at Ulster 18, Cardiff Blues 0. We felt very fortunate to have been close to a lot of the scoring action from our vantage point in the Memorial Stand terrace. The second half proved to be just as eventful as Cardiff staged a brave fight back, bringing the score to 21-17 with just under 20 nail-biting minutes remaining. Luckily, (for us!) Ulster returned to scoring form and even got an all-important bonus point try, making the final score Ulster 36, Cardiff Blues 17.

A great night was had by all and the cries of ‘Stand up for the Ulstermen’ were still ringing in the ears as our intrepid rugby fans (including perhaps one adopted Ulsterman!) made their way home after a very enjoyable and successful evening.

AREA’S ANNUAL TECHNICAL EVENING: PC15 In February, Malone House in Belfast hosted the Northern Ireland Area’s annual Technical Evening in partnership with CIWEM. George Butler and Paddy Brow presented an overview of NI Water’s PC15 Business Plan.

PC15 is NI Water’s third business plan and covers a six-year period from 2015-16 to 2020-21. Closing the performance and efficiency gap between NI Water and leading UK water companies remains a dominant issue.

However PC15 also addresses the longer-term sustainability issues regarding water and wastewater services in the Provence. The strategic approach is facilitated by the Long Term Water Strategy that is being developed by the Company’s shareholder, the Department for Regional Development, working in partnership with other principal stakeholders.

George began the evening by providing the audience with a brief summary of the development process. He explained how the Customer Views Survey informed the priorities along with input from the shareholder’s Long Term Water Strategy, the Social & Environmental Guidance and the NI Utility regulator’s Information Requirements.

Paddy then addressed the audience to explain in more detail the role of each of those key inputs to the final plan and began by thanking all those who contributed including Stakeholders, the supply-chain and NIW staff.

He set out the shareholder’s long term vision, “To encourage a sustainable and integrated approach to managing the different water cycle needs to promote regional development without compromising the environment or increasing flood risk.” He showed how this brought in aspects of transport, road drainage, river management and planning, alongside the water and wastewater provision for which NI Water are currently responsible.

While almost £2.3billion would be necessary to meet all of NI Water’s capital investment drivers over the PC15 period only £842million is presented as the constrained sum available in the draft PC15 budget. The capital projects incorporated into the final program included:

Paddy also reported on the key priorities for NI Water’s customers, namely a reduction in instances of internal flooding and supply interruptions. Finally, he laid out one of the key themes of the business plan, which is that Sustainable Service Delivery giving the Stoneyford Integrated Constructed Wetland as an example of possible future investment in that direction.

n 9 water treatment works schemes

Previous business plans have set out a list of all costed potential projects for capital investment in order of priority. When the final determination was agreed, a line was drawn with projects above the line included in the capital expenditure for that price control period. PC15 was to be different, in that projects were grouped into zones and again into work packages and finally into overall packages such as ‘Metering’.

Funding to each programme depends on the shareholders Social and Environmental Guidance and Customer Views Survey.

n 816km of water main rehabilitation / replacement n 2 nominated trunk main schemes

n Removing more than 830 properties from the low pressure register n Removal of 54 unsatisfactory sewer discharges n 19 large WwTW upgrades n Programme of upgrades to 45 small WwTWs With regards OPEX, the plan includes an efficiency challenge which would put NI Water in the band of ‘Most Efficient’ companies in England & Wales by 2020/21.

George concluded the evening by stating that the PC15 business plan was the Company’s ‘greenest’ and most sustainable capital submission yet. The program should invest £842.5m into the local economy, delivering a wide range of improvements in spite of significant economic constraints.

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SOUTHEASTAREANEWS

INNOVATION AWARDS The South East Area’s Innovation Awards Showcase took place at Thales’ Design Thinking Centre and saw 8 applicants compete for the prestigious prize.

This year the standard was exceptionally high and included presentations from the following companies: n Z-tech Control Systems n Southern Water n AVK n Stuart Turner Pumps n i2O Water n APEM n Acoustic Sensing Technology (U.K.) Ltd n Homerider Systems Each presenter was given 10 minutes to pitch their innovation to the audience which also included time for questions and answers The event format, that worked so well last year, allows members to be exposed to 8 different presentations, each outlining innovate ways of dealing with a variety of issues within the industry.

During the networking coffee break the audience was asked to submit their top 3 innovations. Points were awarded depending on the order of the 3 applicants and after the points were tallied the winners were announced as: First Place: Southern Water - Mobile Sewage Treatment Works Second Place: Acoustic Sensing Technology - SewerBatt Third Place: Stuart Turner Pumps Direct to mains boost pumps The Area would like to thank all the speakers for their submissions and presentations and we wish Southern Water luck in the National Innovation Awards, to be held at the Presidents Dinner in July.

We would also like to thank Thales for hosting the event and to our members for participating in choosing the winner.

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INSTITUTE OF WATER - 2015 AGM WWT ARUNDEL WETLANDS A bright sunny Saturday in April saw more than 50 IoW members attend the South East Area AGM at WWT Arundel Wetlands. The location was a perfect mix of professionalism, with the AGM being held in a small theatre, and informality - a tone the South East Area believe is important to strike to ensure our members enjoy the experience of attending IoW events.

South East Area committee for 2015

The AGM comprised the usual elements of updates from committee members and the proposal and acceptance of the committee for the coming year but also included an interactive discussion with the audience. The aim of this was to provide our members with an opportunity to voice their opinions on a range of topics and to ensure the committee are meeting their needs. This generated a wealth of valuable information which the South East Area committee will use to inform the event line up from now on.

Jason Ryall (PA Consulting)

The AGM concluded with the handing over of the chain of office to the South East Area President for 2015/16, Neville Smith - Managing Director of Portsmouth Water. Neville outlined his vision for the coming year and the committee are looking forward to working closely with him.

The committee would like to thank last year’s President Lawrence Gosden, Managing Director of Wholesale Wastewater at Thames Water for his support over the year.

Following the AGM, the day continued with a boat trip, perfect for nature spotting, and a leisurely walk around the wetlands - a great way to spend a Saturday.

Chairman Steve Youell (DWI) Vice Chairman Treasurer Paul Holton (Southern Water) Secretary Holly Banham (Thames Water) Area Representative Shelley Williams (Southern Water) Committee Members Emma Norris (Thames Water) Ben Mowatt (Southern Water) James Baker (Portsmouth Water) Carl Evans (Thales) Sharna Richings (Thomson Habitats) Mandhy Senewiratne (MWH) Claire Watson (Black and Veatch) David Port (Independent) Ameer Abro (Independent)

INTERNATIONAL EVENT February saw the South East Area explore the challenges that are faced by other countries in managing water demand and the impacts that it has on the country and its population.

The session started with a presentation by Ameer Abro (International Consultant) who outlined the tendering process that companies have to complete in order to undertake water management projects for World Bank, a United Nations international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs.

Dominic Molyneux (Technical Director, Head of Dams and Hydropower, Black & Veatch) gave a case study on the Mangla Dam project. This included a background on the Dam’s construction and the challenges faced when undertaking remedial work to raise the embankments to offset the effects of future sedimentation. The

work required 31 million m3 of fill materials, and is one of the largest dam-raising projects ever undertaken.

The final presentation was by WaterAid speaker Isabelle Herszenhorn who focused on the work undertaken by WaterAid in delivering clean drinking water to villages and people in developing countries whilst also looking at the challenges of working with these countries’ to ensure their work is sustainable and will deliver long term benefits to those who need it.

Our thanks go to Ameer, Dominic and Isabelle for making it an informative afternoon and also to Black & Veatch for their excellent hospitality and refreshments.

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