Institute of Water Journal 190

SUMMER2016 ISSUE190

IN THIS ISSUE DRILLING AND TAPPING THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE RETAIL SEPARATION SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE INSTITUTE OF WATER JOURNAL

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Summer edition of the Institute of Water Journal. My name is Sarah Dunn and I am happy to be one of the latest recruits at Institute of Water HQ. I joined in October 2015 as Professional Registration Coordinator and have learned so much over this short period of time.

My role is to oversee the professional registration journey for members covering all levels of Registration in Engineering (CEng, IEng and EngTech), Science (CSci, RSci and RSciTech) and the Environment (CEnv and REnvTech). The role was somewhat of a change for me having worked in the Further Education sector for the past 8 years but thankfully I like a challenge! Learning about the different registrations and Licencing Body requirements, CPD and Annual Reconciliations has meant that I’ve been busy but having the support of my colleagues and the many members I have contact with on a daily basis means it has been enjoyable and fun.

One of the things that impressed me right from the start of my role at the Institute of Water was the focus on professional development for all and I am proud to be part of that inclusive philosophy. It’s clear to me that the benefits of Institute of Water membership are relevant to any individual in any profession or line of work, and at any level in the water sector.

Professional Registration in particular is recognition which proves your competence, ability and integrity and demonstrates your commitment to keeping your skills and knowledge up to date through continuing professional development.

Some members I speak to have never considered Professional Registration before, and others have been meaning to do it for a while but have never quite got round to it. It is a great way of gaining recognition for what you already know and do, demonstrating your commitment and professionalism to your employers, colleagues and clients and may lead to improved career prospects and higher earnings potential. Who can argue with that?

Don’t take my word for it - you can read the

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Features 18-23 The Water Framework Directive 26-48 Retail Separation 50-61 Wastewater Solutions 64-75 Supply Chain Views on AMP Cycle

82-85 Health and Safety 90-92 Pipeline Technology 93 WRC Innovation

Regulars views of some of our latest registrants in this issue of the journal.

If you’re considering becoming registered and need some advice or have any queries, please get in touch and I’d be happy to offer my advice and support. It could be you featuring as a new registrant in a journal soon!

Sarah Dunn

Professional Registration Coordinator Institute of Water sarah@instituteofwater.org.uk

4-6 Members Update 7 WaterAid 8-9 Science News

12-13 Environment News 13 Engineering News

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25 Drilling and Tapping 101-114 Area News

Institute of Water HQ: 4 Carlton Court, Team Valley, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 0AZ Website: www.instituteofwater.org.uk President: Peter Simpson Chairperson: Ian Limb Chief Executive: Lynn Cooper Editorial, Marketing & Communications Manager: Dan Barton Tel: 0191 422 0088 Fax: 0191 422 0087 Email: dan@instituteofwater.org.uk Advertising: David Lancaster Tel: 0845 887 3829 Email: david.lancaster@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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Two new Directors appointed to the Board at 71st AGM We are delighted to welcome Thomas Faulkner (Vice President) and Simon Cyhanko (Vice Chair) to our Board of Directors.

The Board for the year 2016-17 is: Simon - a Treatment Works Manager with Northumbrian Water - is Chair of our Northern Area and a former CPD Champion during a period of service on our Membership & Standards Committee and, as a regular attendee at the Annual Conference, is well-known to many of our members.

Thomas - Executive Vice President at Skanska UK, with responsibility for the company’s utilities, cementation and facilities services operating units – breaks the recent trend of electing Water Company CEOs as President and demonstrates our aim to serve the whole water community.

Natalie Akroyd replaces Ian Limb as Chair while Peter Simpson stays as President for a second year. Martin Baggs, elected as Vice President last year, declined to take on the Presidency after announcing he would be leaving Thames Water some time this year. Martin has agreed to remain on the Board until that time and thankfully honoured his commitment to deliver our Annual Conference.

Standing down to make room for Simon and Thomas are Dermot Devaney and Chris Loughlin.

Dermot represented Northern Ireland Area on the Area Forum since it was set up in 2007 so although he only joined the Board in 2013 as Vice Chair, Dermot has been an active member for some time. Dermot is a member of our Science Panel and a CSci assessor and led the transformation of our paper-based mentoring scheme to an online system. At the end of last year Dermot was made a Fellow Member so there is an expectation that he will remain active and be committed to supporting the activities of the Institute for years to come.

Chris joined the Board as Vice President in 2012 and quickly understood and aligned with our beliefs and aims. Earlier in his career Chris served as a senior diplomat in the British Embassy in Tokyo and his diplomacy and patience were apparent throughout his time on our Board. Chris extended his time on the Board by a year to chair the Audit Committee – a role which now passes to Heidi Mottram as Immediate Past President.

Both Dermot and Chris have made an impact and helped enhance the reputation of IWater and will be missed by all Board members.

Peter Simpson, President Thomas Faulkner, Vice President Ian Barker, Vice President Environment Robin Price, Vice President Science Sam Phillips, Vice President Engineering Natalie Akroyd, Chair Simon Cyhanko, Vice Chair Lynn Cooper, Chief Executive Martin Baggs, Board Member Tim Boldero, Board Member Ian Limb, Past Chair Heidi Mottram, Past President Tim Wagstaff, Board Member Marie Whaley, Board Member

HARVARD AWARD SPONSORSHIP USIT is offering sponsorship to attend the High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

Harvard Business School Executive Education is not for everyone. Those who accept the challenge, however, will find unique rewards with lasting impact for their companies and careers.

Helping companies invest in their most promising and talented executives, the High Potentials Leadership Program readies emerging leaders for managing today’s toughest business challenges while illuminating pathways for long-term success.

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You will learn how to lead under pressure, champion change, build teams, and develop effective leadership throughout the organisation.

How To Apply Complete an Application Form and send it together with a supporting paper explaining in up to 1,000 words how you expect you, your company and the utilities industry to benefit if you win the Award, by email to angela@ futurewaterassociation.com

Closing date is 30 September 2016 A short-list of applicants will be invited to give a brief presentation to a small panel of judges on Friday 11 November 2016, at Camden House in Kenilworth.

About USIT Utilities and Service Industries Training Limited (USIT) is a charity providing grants and bursaries for education and training for the utilities industries. USIT was established in July 2004 after the sale of the assets and business of WTI.

Contact T: 01926 513772 E: info@usit.org.uk www.usit.org.uk

MEMBERSUPDATE

NEW FELLOW MEMBERS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our new Fellow Members in the Northern Ireland Area…Dermot Devaney, Carmel Bradley and Keith Hunt who were awarded their certificates at their local area conference in April.

APP ARE HAPPY TO BE AN INSTITUTE MEMBER APP is a specialist Pipeline, Civils and Drainage material provider operating nationally and internationally supplying materials into a wide range of infrastructure projects.

The company is at the forefront of supplying innovative material and supply solutions; working closely with industry leading Civil contractors at the design, tender and delivery phases of a project.

the PE, Drainage, Sewer, Ductile and Concrete product sectors and covers a comprehensive range of fittings, valves, equipment and ancillary items including manhole covers, pollution control systems and geotextiles.

Our approach of focussing our energies on a project by project basis allows us to specialise on delivering Project specific solutions, technical expertise and product alternatives. Our strength and USP is our ability to coordinate, manage and supply cost effective, on-time delivery of specialist material - often into difficult and hard to access locations.

In business for almost 25 years, delivering project product supply solutions – it’s who APP are.

Our product supply capability extends through

Ronan O’Doherty of APP can be contacted on either 02892 664111 or 07553 368623 and by email ronanodoherty@app-ni.co.uk.

You can find us at www.app-ni.com

Supplying these solutions to our customers, project after project – it’s what APP are good at.

APP are active members of the Institute of Water and value their role in keeping us up to date with water sector innovation, news and market developments.

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MEMBERSUPDATE

Welcome to new members NATUREMETRICS NatureMetrics is a new Surrey-based company founded by leading ecologists and molecular scientists. Our aim is to bring the power of genetics to applied ecology and environmental management such that DNA-based approaches can be incorporated into routine operations to improve data quality and reduce the cost of monitoring at large spatial and temporal scales. We work with environmental DNA and bulk collections of organisms, using a wide variety of techniques (a) to detect species of interest, and (b) to monitor whole communities and their variations across space and time.

Border Archaeology has worked in partnership with the Water Industry since 1997 to build a valued reputation as a trusted supplier of heritage services with a strong tradition of community involvement and environmental stewardship. We have extensive experience in Water, building long-term relationships throughout AMP 3, 4, 5 and currently 6.

Using genetics allows us to overcome the taxonomic bottleneck, obtaining species-resolution data across large numbers of samples and hundreds of taxa simultaneously. These range from fish and other vertebrates to aquatic macrofauna, meiofauna and microorganisms.

We see many potential applications for our work within the water industry and would love to hear from anyone who’s interested in learning more!

Our contracting and consulting service encapsulates the ‘Border ethos’, with no-fee professional advice provided at project inception to ensure timely resolution of archaeological issues and the avoidance of costly delays. Key information provided at an early stage in the project planning process has proved invaluable to ameliorate cost.

LSBUD

RAIN FOR RENT

LinesearchbeforeUdig (LSBUD) is a free to use online search service providing the location of utility assets across the UK. It helps prevent damage and disruption to the UK pipe and cable networks, processing over 1.6 million enquiries during 2015 on behalf of 50+ asset owning Members. The service is proud of protecting over 350,000km of Member assets including electricity, gas, high pressure oil, telecoms and most recently water networks with the inclusion of the Northumbrian Water Group.

Rain for Rent is a leading provider of temporary liquid handling solutions. With more than 80 years of engineering excellence in temporary liquid movement, filtration and storage in the United States, Rain for Rent brings this Liquid Ingenuity® to the United Kingdom.

For the User (third party), we provide information about our members’ assets, helping deliver their plans to you quickly and efficiently so that you can complete your works safely and without delay.

For the Member (asset owner), we help protect your infrastructure by increasing third parties’ knowledge and awareness of your assets, encouraging safer working environments and reducing the risk of utility strikes.

To find out more please contact us via: enquiries@lsbud.co.uk or 0845 4377365. www.lsbud.co.uk

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BORDER ARCHAEOLOGY

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Our no-nonsense approach to fees offers a fixed menu of predictable cost for the duration of AMP.

Products and services include newly designed storage tanks, filtration units and spill containment for use environmental remediation, water storage & transfer, construction and manufacturing; in fact any industry that needs liquid handling solutions. Combining a storage tank with the E-Contain® Spillguards, Spillguard Hose Bridges and SolidGround® Traction Mats, will provide a complete containment system protecting your workforce, project and the environment.

WATERAID

Life-saving toilets We know that our toilets make life comfortable and convenient but do we think of them as life savers?

1 Every year the UK water industry treats billions of litres of waste water and yet many of us don’t give our loos a second thought. It’s easy to ‘flush and forget’ but what would happen if we didn’t have toilets? If there weren’t any services to take our waste away?

WaterAid thinks it’s time the humble loo came out of the shadows and had its moment in the spotlight.

Without toilets, people are forced to go in the open, which spreads deadly diseases. And it’s not just a health issue – a lack of toilets affects nutrition, education, dignity and even livelihoods.

Toilets are at the heart WaterAid’s work; all of their projects focus on clean water, sanitation

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and promoting good hygiene. With your support, WaterAid helped more than 3.1 million people get access to a toilet last year. However, there are still 2.3 billion people – one in three – living without this basic human right.

The good news is that last year world leaders made a commitment to reach everyone everywhere with a toilet by 2030 as part of the Global Goals for sustainable development. By signing WaterAid’s new petition, you can make sure governments keep that promise.

And next time you need the loo, remember that you are spending time with a real life saver! To sign WaterAid’s petition, visit: www.wateraid. org/uk/get-involved/toilets-save-lives

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Fati Koanda and her daughter Safiatou at their home in Zongo, Burkina Faso.

Their toilet was built through a WaterAid supported project. Over the last 18 months, WaterAid has worked with partner organisations to build more than 8,000 toilets in the area.

Rosalie Nana, 8 years old, outside her family’s new toilet in Wapassi, an informal settlement in Burkina Faso’s capital city Ouagadougou. Her father built their toilet with help from a WaterAid-supported subsidy program.

Before they had their own toilet, the family had to go to their neighbours’ house or use the bushes near their home.

Credit: WaterAid/ Nyani Quarmyne/ Panos

Six reasons toilets are brilliant: 1

They save lives: by stopping human waste getting into homes or seeping into water sources, toilets can help prevent the spread of deadly diseases.

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They keep children healthy: without repeated episodes of diarrhoea, children can absorb nutrients properly, which helps prevent malnutrition.

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They keep children in school: when children are healthy they don’t miss vital days at school due to illness.

Toilets also help girls manage their periods so they are more likely to stay in school throughout puberty.

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They mean dignity: having a safe, private place to go to the toilet stops the embarrassment and shame of going in the open.

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They mean safety: women and girls are safer when they don’t have to walk to isolated spots fo­­­­r privacy.

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They mean health and wealth: when everyone has toilets, the health and wealth of whole nations can dramatically improve. For every £1 invested in toilets £4 is returned in economic productivity.

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NEW SCIENCE REGISTRANTS Chartered Scientist David Moffatt

Nafsika Ganidi

Sam Hughes

Northumbrian Water

Anglian Water

Exova

For me, applying for Chartered Scientist registration initially provoked concerns of “I’m not good enough, I don’t have a degree, I’m not sure I want to put myself through this and what do I gain from it?” My ‘light bulb’ moment came during an awareness session with Robin Price, whose talk was inspirational, simplifying the registration and application process, taking away my initial concerns.

I started my career as a scientist in wastewater non-infra and in the last 6 years I have had the opportunity to work on a number of water infra and non-infra projects. My expertise lies in wastewater process and having to manage projects covering a wider specialist area has been a steep learning curve, nevertheless, a valuable experience for my professional development. It felt like the right time to pursue chartership with the Science Council through the IoW, not only for gaining recognition of my scientific knowledge but also for having a platform from which I can further expand on personal knowledge and challenge my ability to evaluate complex scientific information. I would highly recommend attaining chartership should you wish to add value to your professional development.

I graduated with a chemistry degree from Nottingham and my first job was as a chemistry technician, however as part of that job I took the chance to perform some microbiological testing. More by chance than design my next job was in a microbiology laboratory. I loved the energy of microbiology labs and grew my career in that field.

In completing the registration process I’ve demonstrated to myself that I am competent in what I do every day at work and can apply the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the 28 years I’ve been in the water industry.

Finally, if you’re thinking about doing this, do it. I’d thoroughly recommend taking the time and putting in the effort to get registered.

I’ve enjoyed every stage of the process, but particularly the professional review meeting where I got the chance to spend an hour talking to people about what I do and why I do it.

Mark McDermott Northern Ireland Water I have been working in the water industry in various scientific roles for 15 years, currently as a Water Quality Scientist where my main roles include process optimisation and investigation of drinking water quality exceedences. I was initially encouraged to apply for CSci by my former manager who has now retired and I realised that this was a great way to gain professional recognition for the skills and experience I had built up over the years. I found the CPD to be a very useful tool in targeting areas where I wanted to acquire new skills, improving my scientific knowledge and planning for future career development.

I was fortunate to find two great sponsors and the application process through the Institute of Water was straightforward; I even thoroughly enjoyed my Professional Review (via Skype!) with my assessors. Any scientist working in the water industry should definitely consider the benefits that professional registration can bring.

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Registered Scientist

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Samson Abioye Anglian Water Anglian water organised a workshop to help with the process of making professional application last year June. I found the workshop very helpful and that set me up to begin my application process almost immediately.

While writing my report, I identified work, projects, research as well as various methodologies which I have developed, particularly in the regulation of trade effluent in the last three years. I then matched these with various competency requirements for CSci which form the bedrock of my report.

My sponsors were brilliant; they gave me professional guidance and provided a lot of support and reassurance throughout the process. My professional review interview was an opportunity to show my enthusiasm which I got to know was clearly obvious and came across during my interview.

Looking back, I found the process has been rewarding and I am very proud of the recognitions of my achievements and the work I have done.

This has stirred me to wanting to help others achieve the same recognition.

I chose the Institute of Water to progress my application for two reasons. Firstly, my most recent roles have been in water testing, I have really enjoyed learning about the industry and want to continue. Secondly although my experience is mostly in microbiology, I didn’t want to develop only in one discipline.

I was delighted when I received the RSCi award, and am aiming to achieve chartered status in the next 12 to 18 months. My job involves plenty of non-scientific work, and although I enjoy this I am determined to increase my scientific knowledge and experience at the same time.

Andros Wishart Anglian Water I joined the Microbiology team at Anglian Water’s Central Labs in 2006 as a Lab Technician and have since progressed to the role of Assistant Scientist.

By attaining Registered Scientist status with the Institute of Water I have shown that I am committed to continuing my professional development and take pride in my work.

Before I began the process of completing my application I considered my knowledge and skills in relation to my role to be very complete.

Starting the application changed that view quite quickly, allowing me to identify several areas for improvement and set myself goals to work towards in order to reach the level of competency required by a Registered Scientist. By maintaining the Registered Scientist qualification through CPD I set the best example possible to the rest of the team, improve my knowledge and skills base and work towards gaining Chartership status.

SCIENCENEWS

Registered Science Technician Olga Chmielewska Anglian Water After graduating in 2009 with an MSc in analytical chemistry I never had an opportunity to work on something challenging and inspiring. When I was offered the opportunity to apply for Registered Science Technician I thought that after achieving my MSc degree in science combined with 5 years work in a laboratory, working towards becoming an RSciTech couldn’t bring me any new knowledge or experience. I am pleased to say that I was wrong.

The whole process of working towards RsciTech application was very immersive for me and has given me the chance to have a closer look on my professional and personal skills. It helped me to get a wider view of my position as laboratory technician, recognise and be proud of gained experience, achievements and improving on my weaknesses.

I am happy I took that challenge and achieved the nationally recognised professional qualifications which could be a new exciting step in developing my career.

Ash Robertson Anglian Water I see RSciTech as step one on the ladder of career progression toward working within a scientific role and has given me the confidence to move forward with further forms of professional development.

I think anybody can achieve RSciTech if they can collate enough evidence to show the right kind of thought processes and passion. In fact my assessors commented on how although my work does not present a particularly high level of scientific content my passion for water quality was clear.

If you are thinking about applying my advice would be to try to find a suitable mentor who can guide you through the process and then go for it. I would like to dedicate my achievement to my mentor Paul Crawley. Being granted RSciTech is the proudest achievement of my career.

High profile Chartered Scientists

Our Chartered Scientist programme has recently received very high profile endorsement from two key figures in our industry. Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of Drinking Water at the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and Peter Simpson, Chief Executive of Anglian Water and National President of the Institute of Water both recently attained their Chartered Scientist registration.

Marcus is already a Chartered Biologist and Peter is a Chartered Environmentalist, a Chartered Water and Environmental Manager and a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, but both were keen to become Chartered Scientists with the Institute of Water due to the direct relevance with the roles that they undertake.

Both Marcus and Peter submitted detailed competency reports, and their Professional Reviews were carried out by Robin Price, Vice-President Science and Lynn Cooper, Chief Executive. Following formal approval through our Science Panel, Marcus and Peter were presented with their certificates at the Institute’s National Conference in May. Marcus Rink said “I am very pleased and honoured to receive such an important recognition in science as part of the water industry. I believe continuing professional development is a career long commitment, demonstrated through the Chartered Scientist qualification, by all levels for all levels.”

competence through ongoing training and development. I am absolutely delighted that the Institute is now able to offer such a wide range of professional qualifications and I look forward to seeing the next waves of Environmental, Scientific and Engineering Registered Technicians as well as Chartered Environmentalists, Engineers and Scientists.”

In presenting Marcus and Peter with their certificates, Lynn Cooper added “The ability of Marcus and Peter to meet the CSci standards was never in doubt but they have undergone professional review to lead by example and to endorse both the Chartered Scientist qualification and professional recognition in general. Marcus and Peter know the benefits of having a competent and committed workforce and are keen to promote a culture of learning and professional development within their own staff and across the wider water community. The Institute of Water exists to service that appetite for learning and development and to inspire members to reach their potential”.

We are truly delighted that two very senior members of our industry have now joined the ranks of Chartered Scientists with the Institute of Water, joining 50 others from 16 different organisations. They also join our 5 Registered Scientists and our 10 Registered Science Technicians, making scientific registration one of our most significant membership growth areas.

Peter Simpson said “As President I wanted to reinforce in a very visible way my commitment to the importance of professional qualifications within our industry. I see these as ‘warrants of competency’ and this step is a personal commitment to maintaining that

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IWA

PEOPLE, PLANET, PROFIT-THINKING DIFFERENTLY FOR A SUSTAINABLE WATER INDUSTRY In March, over 140 young water professionals gathered together for the 17th International Water Association Young Water Professionals Annual Conference, which was hosted at the University of East Anglia, in the vibrant and historic city of Norwich.

This year, the Inaugural Conference Games were held the night before the conference commenced, providing an ideal opportunity for delegates to network in an informal environment. Following three tense rounds of a water related pub quiz, Welsh Water showed they had their wits about them and was crowned the champions of the 17th IWA Young Water Professionals Annual Conference.

Day One kicked off with a welcome to the University of East Anglia from Morten Hviid, Director of the Centre for Competition Policy and Professor of Law at UEA and an introduction to the IWA from Luke Dennis and Ray Earle. Then it was straight into a bespoke session on career development with Institute of Water Board Members Ian Limb and Robin Price, who both gave an insightful look into their careers to date through different routes. They explained the importance of doing whatever role you are in to the best of your ability, and do not be afraid to take a sideways step as often the greatest opportunities can come from this. The morning session concluded with a personalised Continuing Professional Development discussion which left delegates carrying out their own CPD log for the duration of the conference.

Professor Kevin Hiscock, Head of Environmental Sciences at the UEA, gave a keynote speech into human pressures and climate change for the afternoon session on day one, where he spoke about the global issues facing climate change and that to achieve the future we want we must identify the most appropriate mix of solutions and means of implementation, as it is not a one size fits all approach. This was followed by the

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first session of young professional speakers and finished with an interactive workshop, chaired

by Andy Brown, Head of Sustainability at Anglian Water. This involved delegates getting together in groups to help find solutions to the future challenges of flooding, which they presented back to the group as a newspaper article in 2020.

The day was concluded with delegates heading to The Assembly House for drinks and canapés and an engaging speech on sustainability from Mark Pendlington, Corporate Affairs Director for Anglian Water and a history of Norwich from Councillor Brenda Arthur, Lord Mayor of Norwich.

Day Two of the conference began with a keynote address from Paul Valleley, Anglian Water’s Director of Water Services, as he reflected on the industry’s Generation X and Millennial employees and discussed the impact customers have on us in organisations with us being ‘in the age of the customer’. This was followed by the second session of young professional speakers.

The delegates were then split into four groups where they had the opportunity to hear quick fire presentations from our 18 poster presenters as well as 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.

After lunch, Simon Morris from the engineering company CH2M Hill, discussed the major infrastructure projects he has worked on including the Thames Tideway scheme. The final session of young professional speakers presented their work, before the day concluded with an Innovation Workshop from Fionn Boyle and Nilam Patel from

Anglian Water to design a customer engagement tool which will benefit both the business and the customer. The delegates then headed to the famous St Andrews Hall to sample some fine food, wine and typical Norwich entertainment for the Gala Dinner in support of WaterAid. On the final day of the conference, delegates set off on two highly engaging and interactive site visits which included either a look behind the gates at Heigham Water Treatment Works or a sustainability tour of the UEA campus. Both of these topped off a truly successful and rewarding conference.

If you would like to learn more about the IWA YWP network in the UK then please get in touch via iwaukywp@gmail.com and look out for our new IWA Connect page on the IWA website.

Consider applying for 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.

Lastly, thanks to our supporters; Anglian Water, Mott MacDonald, University of East Anglia, Foundation for Water Research, SSI Services, Claret Civil Engineering and the Institute of Water, without whom we wouldn’t be able to offer such an attractive programme and cost effective delegate fee.

Inclusive of Encore® 700 chemical metering pumps and PolyBlend® polymer dosing systems, the WPS product line and services support treatment within water re-use, potable water, wastewater, pools and leisure, facilities management, food preparation, plus a vast array of industrial processes. We pride ourselves on the quality of our products and of our customer service, if we can offer assistance to you, please do not hesitate to call us.

Email: aran.bray@waterprocesssolutions.com Mobile: +44 (0)755 7363728

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The Civils and Utilities specialists

KEEPING THE COUNTRY CONNECTED

At Burdens our purpose is clear. To keep the country connected.

By using our expert knowledge and national reach we supply the essential infrastructure products and services that keep our communities functioning.

We understand the importance of keeping projects on schedule. And that means getting the right materials, to the right place, at the right time… Every time.

Connect with us to see how we can help you on 0870 600 60 68. www.burdens.co.uk

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New Environment registrants Chartered Environmentalist Paul Valleley

Kevin Fish

Zara O’Neill

Anglian Water

Anglian Water

Northern Ireland Water

I have been a member of the Institute for 25 years. But frankly most of that time in a fairly passive role attending events only occasionally.

I have worked in the Water Industry for 16 years and my knowledge and experience gained during this time has now been officially recognised.

I am currently a Wastewater Process Scientist and previously worked in Environmental Regulation (Waste and Wastewater) for 8 years.

I started working for Anglian Water in 2000 as an Electrical Technician and have progressed into a role within the Leadership Team of Water Supply. Anglian Water are a great employer and have supported me throughout my career, recently encouraging me to go for chartership with the Institute of Water. After a fairly straightforward process of demonstrating my experience and knowledge against a set of competencies, I am now a Chartered Environmentalist.

When I became aware of the Chartered Environmentalist professional registration I was immediately interested in pursuing it. It allowed me to apply for a professional chartership which tied in closely with my job and my personal environmental principles.

The opportunity to achieve the Chartered Environmentalist status really rekindled my interest in both what the Institute was about and what it could offer in terms of development.

The opportunity to evidence and demonstrate the environmental aspects of the roles I have undertaken for Anglian Water was fantastic.

It has reawakened my interest in the Institute and I have now found myself acting as eastern area president and I am having a great time working with a really good committee who are driving forward the institute in the area.

I have worked for Anglian Water now for over 25 years the majority of that work has been in the operational part of the business.

I am really proud of this achievement - it is a wellrecognised accreditation which can only enhance my future career. And I now have letters after my name!!

I joined Anglian Water as I wanted to make a difference to the environment in which we live and saw the water industry as the original recycling organisation.

I working in water recycling for the early part of my career before moving into water supply where the true extent of our integration with the hydrological cycle became even more clear to me.

Since that time I have worked in a wide variety of operational roles culminating today in my role as Water Services Director for Anglian Water.

So if you were like me an inactive member of the institute why not have a look at the environmental chartership option. As it’s a great way to get back into everything the Institute has to offer and environmental chartership is a key area of expertise for us in the water industry.

Get stuck in… as if I can do it… you can to.

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After completing the relevant parts of the process I was delighted to become a Chartered Environmentalist in February 2016. I feel that it has been a very useful part of my continuing professional development and the chartership status signifies my high level of commitment, knowledge and experience. It also raises the importance of the decisions we make and the impact they will have on future generations, which is extremely important considering the environmental challenges faced by us all.

Registered Environmental Technician Tamsyn Kennedy Scottish Water I am proud to have earned this registration; it is recognition for what I have achieved in my eleven years in the water industry, the environmental considerations I make on a daily basis and my professional conduct. I don’t come from an engineering background so this gives me standing in the professional community, aids with my international placements and creates an opportunity for career progression. I aim to build on this experience towards Chartered status when I have completed my MSc. The application was straightforward and the Institute of Water were very helpful with my questions. I already displayed all the competencies I needed in my work; I only had to explain them clearly and concisely to others. I was pleasantly surprised that my studies counted as well. I would urge interested members to look over the criteria as they may find they are suitable now for this registration.

ENVIRONMENTNEWS

Environmental professionals I’m writing this a week before World Environment Day (5th June) which is always a good time to reflect on the contribution of the water sector to looking after our most vital resource. Whatever our role, we all have a part to play, and I’m pleased to see colleagues wanting to demonstrate their professionalism by gaining registration as a Chartered Environmentalist or Registered Environmental Technician. So, well done Zara, Tamsyn, Paul, and Kevin.

There’s a lot happening at the Society for the Environment, as well. Its vision "Sustainability through environmental professionalism" is underpinned by four key aims: 1. Guarding Standards for the Environmental Profession 2. Promoting Environmental Professionals 3. Facilitating Collective Influence of Environmental Professionals 4. Maximising Organisational Impact and Sustainability SocEnv recognises that not everything can be delivered through legislation and regulation – it needs environmental professionals to educate and inform to shape changes in behaviour and understanding. One of SocEnv’s contributions to World Environment Day is a think-piece on the part that tree planting can play in managing water in catchments. Trees can improve infiltration into the ground, slow runoff and reduce flood peaks, and much more besides. However, there isn’t yet sufficient evidence to show where and how they can be most effective, and how afforestation should be considered alongside other measures as part of integrated catchment management. Trees have a part to play in catchment resilience: how important that part can be will depend on a wide range of factors.

What is resilience?

At Utility Week Live in May I chaired a seminar session on ‘What is resilience?’ Ofwat was given a legal duty in the Water Act 2014 to ‘further resilience’ and ever since then people have been trying to work out what it means in practice. To answer the question I put together a panel of the four people who ought to have a good idea. Jacob Tompkins, Chief Executive of Waterwise, chaired the Task Group set up by Ofwat to give a view on what the legal duty means. Jacob took the view that resilience is much broader than just infrastructure, which is how many have been viewing it. He was clear that it’s about the water sector supporting wider economic and social resilience, and that keeping the trust of customers is essential if they are to play their part.

Nicci Russell is the Director at Ofwat who is leading on resilience, and was suggesting that it’s all about the systems and services that customers depend on, including ecosystems. She said that companies need to step up to the challenges they are facing, both natural and regulatory, and that developing new skills would be essential to successful delivery.

Trevor Bishop is Deputy Director Water Resources at the Environment Agency. It’s his job to ensure that companies are planning robustly for secure water supplies, and he reinforced the fact that we cannot rely on a stable climate in the future.

Planning to a 1 in 100 standard of service is meaningless when the historic climate record is no guide to the future. He was concerned that we don’t understand supply networks and systems sufficiently well, or the social and economic costs of failure. It has been estimated that the cost of failure of water supply to London could be of the order of £7-10 billion a week. He acknowledged that there were some difficult decisions ahead and the hard work is just starting.

It’s always good to get a different perspective, and Professor David Butler from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Water Systems, provided just that. He argued that it’s important to understand systems and why they might fail, but also to recognise that every system has the potential to fail. What matters is whether it’s ‘safe to fail’ – what he described as ‘bouncebackability’.

He distinguished between resilience as the property of a system as being different from the performance of the system. David used a case study of rainwater harvesting to illustrate different degrees of resilience through a dispersed network of sources. He explained that risk is different to resilience, and made clear that we can’t build our way out of failure. This echoed a point made by Jacob who described the concept

of putting all one’s eggs in the single basket of a large reservoir as a ‘brave decision’, and advocated the use of distributed assets to achieve supply resilience.

What was clear from the discussion is that achieving a more resilient water industry will require some very different thinking, and will challenge many of the traditional approaches to planning and operations.

IWater Environment Conference: ideas please Each of the three main professional streams of the Institute of Water: Science, Environment and Engineering, is planning a conference over the next 12 months. Science is being held on September 21st 2016 and we’re planning the Environment one for early in 2017. The big question is: what should be the theme? If you have ideas we’d be very pleased to hear them – contact Dan at Institute of Water HQ (dan@instituteofwater.org.uk). Thoughts so far include: ‘What would it take to make regulators redundant?’; ‘Climate change and population growth – challenges or opportunities?’ and ‘Environmental skills and professionalism in a 21st century water sector’.

Professor Ian Barker Vice-President Environment

ENGINEERINGNEWS

NEW REGISTRANTS

Incorporated Engineer

Alan Knox RPS As an RPS employee I have worked in the Water and utility industry for over 30 years and I am highly experienced in both construction and design. I have extensive on site management experience which I have transferred to the design side of the business involving managing a design team carrying out Design & Build projects of various infrastructure water schemes on behalf of Clancy Dowra/Scottish Water.

I believe it is of utmost importance to broaden my knowledge further and to assist in the development of talent within the water industry for future generations. Obtaining the IEng status offers the platform to help others, which I hope I can do.

Thanks to all who gave me the opportunity and guided me through the IEng process.

instituteofwater.org.uk

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Price review myopia is preventing the water industry preparing for the challenges that lie beyond With the current focus on PR19, Richard Hawkins, Accounts Director at SEAMS LTD, asks is the water industry neglecting to consider the significant ‘in-AMP’ challenges that lie ahead, and what needs to be considered to meet them?

A number of macro-environmental changes are set to disrupt the water industry, bringing with them both challenges and opportunities for water companies, suppliers and new market entrants alike. Success in this new environment will be determined by an organisation’s ability to meet a number of requirements.

The alignment of organisational objectives to delivery represents an ongoing challenge to water companies. An often disconnected process between strategic business planning and service provider delivery hinders a company’s ability to define a truly ‘best fit’ investment plan. Furthermore, it means that understanding the implications of inevitable in-AMP changes is opaque, preventing organisations from making timely and appropriate decisions, damaging their organisational performance. The introduction of outcome delivery incentives adds further pressure to resolve this issue, but further challenges lie ahead.

Through dynamic efficiency frontiers and potentially rolling price reviews, performance measurement of companies will occur at an increased frequency. This will put additional pressure on water companies to both obtain a reliable picture of projected vs actual performance as well as achieve and demonstrate continuous improvement. The responsibilities for achieving this more mature, agile operating model will not fall on water companies alone; there will be an increased role for suppliers in this new environment, where supporting water companies in achieving these objectives will be critical to their own success.

Further opportunities for increased organisational performance lie in a move towards a circular economy, where historical cost centres can be converted into value and

profit generating areas of the business.

To capitalise on these opportunities, water companies will be keen to ensure that their commercial and procurement models are race fit for this new environment. They will need to be structured to support the realisation of long term returns and benefits, rather than short-term cost saving. Collaborative and foresighted operating models, such as the increased use of innovation partnerships, will support the delivery of significant long term efficiencies.

In an industry which historically, has had a well-publicised CAPEX bias, moving to a truly TOTEX approach is a significant challenge on several levels. Most investment appraisals are entirely CAPEX focused. Few cost benefit assessments fully take into account the long-term implications for OPEX, let alone considering solely OPEX solutions as viable alternatives. Added to this intervention optioneering problem, there is a bias towards addressing the early stages of the risk chain only, through CAPEX intensive solutions.

There are significant opportunities associated with broadening the scope of this optioneering, by considering interventions to target the full range of elements in the risk chain. Again, the role of the supply chain is key here as they’ll need to find increasingly innovative and cost effective solutions to addressing business risks and performance objectives.

The TOTEX challenge is not solely technical though, with cultural change also key. Existing CAPEX working practices are well entrenched, raising the question of whether the real challenge in adopting a TOTEX approach is in changing organisational culture.

Add to this how to manage and meet a diverse range of stakeholder requirements already a significant task for the industry.

Water companies must understand and drive their performance (and by extension, their investment decisions) by the needs and constraints of regulators, customers, shareholders and suppliers. Increased segmentation of the market through the disaggregation of services, will result in better targeted and enhanced service provision, however it will also increase the number and range of stakeholders, presenting an ever greater challenge in aligning objectives and delivery with increasingly diverse needs.

Further challenges result from the need to define appropriate access pricing across the industry, to facilitate efficient market entry of new suppliers. Understanding the allocation of both cost and value is a contentious and complex issue, including but not restricted to the appropriate allocation of RCV. The introduction of separate price controls increases the role of planning and again increases the need for joined-up thinking between strategy and delivery.

In addition, the increased use of markets brings with it great opportunities for a wide range of providers.

Improved interconnectivity and water trading enables the industry to make efficient use of its collective resources.

Organisations with a water surplus clearly have an increased opportunity as demand increases, while those in water stressed areas are faced with an increasingly difficult, but crucial, task of understanding the uncertainty associated with this demand. Using this understanding to define and implement investment options of least regret now becomes a critical element of their business management.

So when facing these challenges, how can water companies look to ensure future success?

USE OF DATA Both systems and processes need to be designed to capture and report the right data at the right time. Near real-time data capture and reporting will provide increased agility to both strategic planners and field engineers.

Timely planned vs actual assessments enable asset management to update plans in an appropriate and accurate fashion.

Data should be treated as an asset and its value to the organisation properly understood. Capturing information on data uncertainty enables the sensitivity of projected performance and expenditure commitments to be assessed. In turn, this also provides guidance on where and how to address data gaps, ensuring that data collection efforts maximise stakeholder returns.

An understanding of uncertainty is also critical if real options valuation is to be carried out; ‘scenarios of least regret’ and ‘scenarios of most resilience’ are defined based on an understanding of the certainty associated with different intervention options and associated cost and performance projections. This exercise is becoming increasingly important for water resource management planning where the suitability of large capital projects are frequently considered.

MANAGING YOUR PEOPLE The rise of digitised data brings with it enormous opportunity for organisations to improve decision making processes. Best practice use-cases will drive working practices as well as the design of systems that underpin them. New staff skill-sets will be required to meet the needs of updated working practices, ensuring that the value of increased data and improved technology can be maximised. As well as staff capability, this presents cultural challenges as historic, embedded processes become obsolete. With a narrow, ageing workforce, these challenges should not be underestimated and work and resource planning become key.

EFFICIENT SYSTEMS Typically, numerous systems are used for different data capture and reporting requirements. The use-cases, defined by the granularity of data, the role of the user, and

frequency of use vary for each of these systems. The systems themselves are often disparately held with limited integration, resulting in data misalignments and reporting inconsistencies. This negatively impacts the value of data and hinders the organisation’s ability to achieve alignment between day-to-day decision making and strategic objectives.

Looking to achieve an integrated approach to data recording and reporting across these systems is paramount to meeting this challenge. Connecting and centralising the key data sources will enable dialogue between finance, strategy and delivery.

Synergies can be realised through the appropriate cross-system sourcing of data for a given use-case. Ultimately, the centralised recording of this information allows changes through time to be tracked and reported, alongside the current overall operational risk/benefit position.

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DEFINED PROCESSES Utilities are challenged by both a lack of formalised, predictable processes as well as a misalignment between the actions undertaken and the strategic goals of the organisation. The introduction of ODIs only increases the need for defined processes, aligned to organisational strategy and risk appetite. Progress against these measures needs to be monitored in near real-time, enabling decision support to be provided at key moments, informing the appropriate update of delivery plans. Many processes can be automated, ensuring consistency and reducing operational overhead.

In conclusion the industry faces a race against time to address these challenges, and at SEAMS we’re finding we’re being involved in all areas of data, people planning, systems and processes more and more to aid our clients in appropriately addressing these areas.

Working towards these requirements will enable the industry to meet challenges across organisational performance, TOTEX, demand uncertainty and an increased use of markets.

Author: Richard Hawkins, SEAMS, Accounts Director 2016

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LOCKEN

LOCKEN leads the way to secure Europe’s water sector The challenge of securing sensitive water sites, where access is required by a variety of authorised personnel, has never been greater than it is today.

The water industry is increasingly recognising the need to improve its infrastructure, moving away from traditional mechanical locking systems and looking to key-centric electronic solutions for robust and traceable access management. The next generation of access control solutions must therefore reach ever-higher standards of system intelligence, flexibility and security, while also delivering value for money.

LOCKEN manages more than 25,000 access points within the European water sector, and has a proven track record as the leading integrator of a secure and traceable access management solution, based on the innovative CyberLock™ technology.

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Software is at the heart of this unique solution, which is applied using a smart digital key and digital cylinders that ensure it is leading the way, in terms of flexibility and reliability. It also means that LOCKEN is able to tailor the solution so that, where necessary, it offers a unique system to businesses within the water sector.

administering the access to sites using old mechanical keys can often be significant.

Nick Dooley, MD at LOCKEN UK Ltd explains the importance of secure access management within such large companies. “Locations will often have high risk of attack as they are isolated, remote with unattended facilities and visited infrequently by personnel performing maintenance tasks.

Vandalism accounts for 95% of all reported incidents, and the cost of the repairs plus

“There is still a long way to go before the water sector can claim it is fully utilising the most robust and reliable access control systems on the market though,” says Nick, “and although there is a clear recognition by the industry that this is the ideal security solution for the future there remains some nervousness about how, when and where to invest in this change.

instituteofwater.org.uk

“We are keen to address this anxiety by educating and informing the industry about our key-centric solution, which can offer not only enhanced security and access management, but can also increase service quality, operational performance and reduce the risk of workplace accidents.”

For further information about LOCKEN UK visit www.locken.eu or telephone 0203 6911610.

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The Water Framework Directive We took a sample of water sector stakeholders and competent authorities and asked them what the Water Framework Directive meant to them.

Angela Halpenny Dr Lu Gilfoyle Catchment and Coastal Strategy Manager Anglian Water Chartered Environmentalist of the Year

Head of Environmental Regulation Northern Ireland Water What does the WFD mean for you?

WFD for me means opportunity. It’s a catalyst to bring people together to deliver water stewardship strategy that is truly integrated and therefore more likely to succeed.

NI Water views the protection of the environment as a major priority for the company. We have invested and will continue to invest significant resources and measures to safeguard it. WFD quality drivers mean investment is targeted to achieve the best environmental outcome for the water environment.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

The partnership that is developing in the Cam & Ely Ouse Management Catchment (CamEO) which is part of Defra’s Catchment Based Approach.

Anglian Water and the Rivers Trust host the partnership which brings together business, communities, the Environment Agency and interest groups to deliver interventions on the ground to improve water quality and quantity. CamEO is unique as it has a independent Business Board. That’s important as it is showing businesses the wider benefits of getting involved and how they can use existing investment plans, skills and information to generate additional funding and resources to deliver WFD priorities in the areas where they operate.

Through the WFD Catchment Stakeholder Groups, we have worked to foster and develop partnership approaches with a range of environmental stakeholders. These partnerships have delivered a number of initiatives to the benefit of the environment. In addition we continue to reduce the number of pollution incidents arising from our assets.

What does the WFD mean for you?

What are your priorities for the future?

To deliver holistic water stewardship strategy. This includes supporting CaBA and other collaborative approaches to deliver the full range of benefits that they can. This type of working - across sector – is key to making sure our water resources meet WFD criteria but also remain resilient to the future challenges of growth, scarcity, climate change, and pollution.

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What are your priorities for the future?

The core of what NI Water’s business does is to protect health, help grow the economy and to protect and enhance the environment. Our strategic priority for the environment states that “we want to protect and enhance the natural environment”. Our Strategic Objective is to work collaboratively with stakeholders and local communities to provide our services in a way that is sustainable for our natural environment.

We will invest to contribute to compliance with Water Framework Directive objectives and compliance with revised Bathing Water Directive.

We will operate and proactively maintain assets to minimise potentially damaging/polluting discharges to the environment. We will deliver Customer Education Campaigns to influence water efficiency and appropriate use of sewerage systems. In addition, NI Water will continue to deliver Customer Education Campaigns to influence water efficiency and appropriate use of sewerage systems.

Dr Rhian Thomas WFD team leader Natural Resources Wales What does the WFD mean for you?

The Water Framework Directive is about the quality and ecological health of Wales’ waters. A clean and healthy water environment is better for wildlife, people and businesses. It sets a target for all waters; good overall status (e.g. insect, plant, fish life and chemistry) and a timeframe to achieve.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

In the first cycle (2009-2015), an increase of 7% of water bodies meeting good or better overall status was achieved in Wales. This was achieved with the help of partners from all sectors to address the issues impacting on the water environment. Natural Resources Wales cannot achieve the objectives alone.

What are your priorities for the future?

Currently, 37% of water bodies are at good or better overall status and the priority is to aim for a minimum increase of 5% by 2021. In Wales, the Directive now sits in a wider context under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. We hope that by continuing to work across a wide range of stakeholders in a more integrated way, Wales can go well beyond its current target and reach our ambition to make significant further improvement to our water environment in Wales.

FEATURE: THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE Caroline Olbert Liz Corbett

Water Resources Team Leader, Scottish Water

Dominic Gogol MSc

Catchment Team Manager, Northumbrian Water Group (operating as Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water)

What does the WFD mean for you?

Water Policy Manager, WWF-UK

What does the WFD mean for you?

As a Drinking Water Catchment Team Manager, Article 7 of the WFD is integral to my team’s work. Northumbrian Water Group provides drinking water to 4.5 million people in Essex, Suffolk and the northeast of England. Preventing deterioration in quality of our water sources is vital, not just to meet the WFD requirements, but it also has real benefits for our customers and the environment.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

We have worked closely with the Environment Agency to designate our drinking water safeguard zones, in which the use of certain substances must be carefully managed to prevent pollution of raw water sources. The way in which land in these zones is used and managed determines the quality in downstream watercourses. Therefore, we work collaboratively, often through formal partnerships, with all relevant stakeholders including landowners, farmers and agronomists, to inform them of their potential impact and then work with them to provide practical guidance and on-farm solutions that help improve the quality of water leaving land, whilst supporting sustainable agriculture.

What are your priorities for the future?

Our engagement to date combined with the successful implementation of abstraction management has enabled us to comply with the strict drinking water quality standards. Our focus for the future is to ensure we have all the tools available to us in place to ensure 100% compliance, even under the most testing conditions.

The Water Framework Directive is a significant piece of legislation for Scottish Water (SW). For our Water Resources Team it means looking at the operation of our existing supply systems and assessing whether we comply with the requirements of the Directive. We also assess whether there would be an impact of becoming compliant on our ability to maintain sustainable supplies to our Customers and have to balance these needs carefully. Any future sources that may be developed also have to be assessed for WFD compliance.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

We have worked closely with SEPA to assess which abstractions could have a negative impact on the environment and where appropriate, to find sustainable and cost effective solutions to reduce or remove those impacts.

Real improvements have been made to improve flows downstream of some of our reservoirs and to stop using sources that were not sustainable. We have worked with SEPA, Local Fisheries and other stakeholders to develop flow regimes that meet both the needs of Scottish Water, our Customers and the Environment.

I am also proud of the fact that we have assessed over 300 out of our nearly 500 raw water sources to determine whether improvements need to be made. We adapted rapidly to the new legislation and the changing Environmental Standards, driving improvements in our data to support evidence based decision-making.

What are your priorities for the future?

Our priorities for the future are to work with SEPA to identify where further improvements need to be made and how we make continual improvements. We are also working to put in place improvements that have been identified during earlier studies.

What does the WFD mean for you?

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a fantastic framework to manage our freshwater environment and the pressures it faces. Its River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) organise the management of water bodies at a natural hydrological scale, identifying the pressures they face and empower government, local communities and businesses to tackle them.

However we are frustrated that this visionary piece of legislation has been squandered in its implementation in England – with measures to tackle pollution and over-abstraction unused, communities disengaged and targets missed – culminating in only 17% of rivers and lakes being healthy.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

Through the WFD WWF-UK has legally challenged the government twice over the past 10 years for its failure to protect and restore our rivers, lakes and wetlands. On both occasions we achieved clear, tangible steps forward for our rivers – with the implementation of the catchment based approach and enhanced measures to tackle agricultural pollution in Protected Areas.

What are your priorities for the future?

We are working to make sure effective basic measures are in place to tackle over abstraction and pollution; and for catchment partnerships to not only continue to deliver real impacts on the ground, but be empowered to influence key decisions that affect catchment health.

Lewis Jones Future Quality Obligations and R&D Manager Operations Asset Management, South West Water What does the WFD mean for you?

It is the driver and the focus for all of us who truly wish to be the first to leave our environment in a better condition for the next generation.

What are you proudest of having achieved so far?

environment here in the South West.

What are your priorities for the future?

To continue the good work done so far; ensure the future of our local Catchment Partnerships; and promote ‘Natural Capital’.

Being part of the ‘Upstream Thinking’ initiative and working with our delivery partners, together with a whole range of other organizations and individuals who are so passionate about the

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AMEC FOSTER WHEELER

Preventing deterioration … preventing change?

Nick Jarritt of Amec Foster Wheeler considers the implications of the WFD ‘no deterioration’ objective with respect to abstractions and water resources The Water Framework Directive ‘no deterioration’ objective The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires all surface water and groundwater bodies to achieve ‘good status’ across a range of chemical and ecological parameters. In addition, the directive also requires us to prevent “deterioration” of our water environment. The directive does not allow for any derogation or exclusion from this requirement to prevent deterioration, making it perhaps the most onerous objective for Member States to achieve. This presents a major challenge for the water industry – climate change and population growth will result in increasing demand for water whilst at the same time placing greater pressure on our water environment through reduced flows and dilution of water quality pressures.

In 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on the interpretation of this objective following a challenge to plans to deepen part of the river Weser in Germany. The German government argued that although the scheme would result in deterioration of some aspects of the water environment, there would not be any deterioration in the overall status of the river. The Court ruled, however, that the ‘no deterioration’ objective should apply to all of the quality element components of status, such that any detrimental impact was a deterioration under the WFD, regardless of whether this resulted in a lower status classification or not.

How is this requirement being applied?

In England and Wales the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales have taken on board the WFD ‘no deterioration’ objective and are taking action to meet the directive’s requirements: new abstractions will not be granted where there is a risk that they might lead to deterioration, and from 2015 time limited abstraction licences are not being renewed on the same terms if there is a risk of deterioration. In the longer term, Defra has set out that the proposed reforms to abstraction licensing will also make changes to reduce the risk of deterioration.

The primary risk to deterioration as a result of abstraction pressure comes from the uptake of currently unused abstraction within the permitted limits of existing abstraction licences.

The Environment Agency has said that it will not be able to support a proposed change to an

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existing abstraction as an option for future water resources planning if it would be likely to lead to a risk of deterioration of water body status. Risk of deterioration is interpreted as any potential increase in actual abstraction rates that could reduce river flows below defined environmental flow thresholds.

What does this mean in practice?

The interpretation of the ‘no deterioration’ objective and its application presents a significant challenge for the management and planning of public water supplies. Resilience and headroom requirements for ‘spare’ resource account for the differences between actual and licensed abstraction for many public water supply sources.

There is also a potential conflict with the objectives of the Abstraction Incentive Mechanism, where under-utilised capacity may be lost unless companies can demonstrate that increased abstraction will not cause deterioration.

At the strictest extreme of application of the ‘no deterioration’ objective, its requirements can be interpreted to require the elimination of any risk of deterioration – in effect, resulting in an objective that seeks to prevent change. Yet it is clear that change, flexible management of our water resources, better conjunctive use of a range of supply sources and more innovative use of storage (both in reservoirs and in groundwater) is essential to delivering resilience to climate change.

Preventing deterioration whilst building resilience The ethos of the WFD is not to prevent change – indeed, another objective of the directive is to improve our resilience to floods and droughts. For us to protect and improve our water environment alongside building greater resilience in our water supply networks, integrated planning approaches are essential in developing 2020 business plans.

Better understanding of environmental flow requirements and the impacts on aquatic ecology from proposed abstraction scenarios or changes in discharges must be incorporated into water resources and business planning, for which innovative modelling approaches can provide a basis. At Amec Foster Wheeler we are supporting water companies with investigations and options appraisal studies, and feeding into Water Resources Management Plans. Using our experience of water policy development with the European Commission, abstraction regulation, groundwater modelling and hydroecology we are identifying the best way forward for the water environment, for regulators and for resilient water supplies.

For further information please contact: Nick Jarritt, Director – Water Management, Amec Foster Wheeler T: +44 (0)7971 337720 E: nick.jarritt@amecfw.com W: www.amecfw.com

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MOTT MACDONALD

Water Framework Directive – time for reflection With the publishing of the second round of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) earlier this year, it’s now an appropriate time to reflect on past progress and future implications of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for the UK water industry.

Improvements in the water environment are in no small part due to the contributions made by water and wastewater utilities, driven to a significant extent by WFD requirements. While the challenges of making those improvements have been significant, investment to date has only really dealt with the easier problems.

As scientific knowledge of the water environment increases, so does our understanding of society’s impact on it. For the water industry, there will be increasingly difficult problems to solve. For example, the creation of the pharmaceuticals watch list in 2013 and associated monitoring requirements will provide the basis of evidence for assessing where action is required to tackle problems. As the last line of defence, wastewater utilities may need to consider what options are available.

Meeting challenges like pharmaceuticals in the environment requires some innovative approaches. In managing raw water quality, many utilities have embraced catchment based approaches. Our experience in the south of England has shown how modelling and mapping

can help to target intervention. A similar approach could prove fruitful for dealing with pharmaceutical residues, with investment targeted at customer education and point source management, rather than treatment works upgrades. These interventions can be more challenging to assess, but existing studies on the typical impacts of source intervention combined with modelling can provide an evidence base.

This is clearly just one of the challenges facing the wastewater industry and for many utilities is unlikely to be the primary concern. Yet, even for more established water industry WFD concerns, such as abstraction, challenges remain. Whilst we are now into the second cycle of planning, it would easy to forget the scale of the challenge ahead.

There is no doubt that WFD data coverage has improved since the first cycle, and second cycle classifications have a much firmer base in evidence.

Despite this, our experience in helping utilities meet Environment Agency requirements has shown that there can be big gaps between what existing regulatory data tells us and perceptions of the impacts on WFD interests. In such cases, targeted monitoring, combined with predictive modelling, can go a long way to help understanding a problem, place it in context and provide either a justification for investment or the basis of a case to regulators that investment is not required. The cost of such interventions is often small compared to the capital costs required for upgrades and more sustainable, with significant savings in energy consumption and carbon footprint.

The latest round of RBMPs highlights the significant contribution that the water industry is likely to

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make to help achieve WFD objectives. One estimate puts the contribution between 2015 and 2020 at approximately £2.3 billion. Spending this money wisely to help meet WFD objectives will require the adoption of novel assessment techniques and intervention options. Options such as real-time adaptive control of wastewater treatment plants are still in their infancy and, while some studies indicate that there are limits to what this option can achieve, it is clear that in certain situations measures like these will help achieve the value for money that is required from investment. This will be particularly beneficial in catchments where traditional options were considered unjustifiable based on economic analysis.

The development of new tools for assessing the costs and benefits of different options will be required in order to deal with approaches which diverge from a traditional capital investment approach. While this might seem daunting there are significant opportunities to realise benefits from integrating new data capture and assessment tools including remote sensing, automated sampling and new predictive models.

The water industry has typically met previous challenges by adopting new technology and developing capital solutions. The use of ‘at source’ interventions, policy influence and targeted customer campaigns are all going to play a significant role in helping to achieve WFD objectives in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner. www.mottmac.com/water

APEM

THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

Red hot and revolutionary The Water Framework Directive is driving water companies to find ever more innovative ways to track down the sources of pollution, improve water quality and restore river function, says the managing director of aquatic scientists APEM. Dr Keith Hendry said: “The water sector has a history of innovation, with water companies having done an incredible job of tackling what were the major causes of pollution, in the sewers and at treatment works.

“Increasingly the challenge is now switching from point source to diffuse pollution, which is harder to find, and from water quality to ecological quality, which is harder to monitor.”

programme of scientific coastal investigation work ever undertaken by the company. The surveys will allow Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to assess the potential impact of its sewerage assets on designated bathing beaches and shellfish production sites.

Amongst the earliest innovations were catchment walkover surveys, which have seen over 15,000km of UK rivers and waterways surveyed on foot since 2001, searching for a range of factors including sources of pollution.

In 2015 Anglian Water took to the air to carry out ultra-high resolution aerial surveys of the entire East Coast from the Humber to the Thames, as part of efforts to improve coastal bathing water quality. It was the largest survey of its kind ever carried out and captured thousands of images that were analysed for the signs of pollution. The technique allows large and hard-to-reach areas to be surveyed quickly and cost-effectively.

Meanwhile Dwr Cymru Welsh Water recently announced a two-year, £8 million project to survey, monitor and model water quality at almost 50 sites around the Welsh coast, the largest

Dr Hendry said: “We expect to see continued innovation around a whole range of new survey techniques, benefiting both water companies and ultimately their customers.”

Increasingly the challenge is now switching from point source to diffuse pollution, which is harder to find, and from water quality to ecological quality, which is harder to monitor.

Dr Keith Hendry

Talk to the experts in river restoration and aquatic ecology.

Field, labs, aerial surveys and consultancy

Over 1300 km2 of coastline surveyed

Eight offices throughout the UK

Pollution incident response

The UK’s biggest, best equipped specialist field teams

Remote sensing for catchment management

Highly experienced labs

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Over 15,000 km of rivers surveyed

Innovative approaches

Contact us on: T: 0161 442 8938 E: enquiries@apemltd.co.uk W: www.apemltd.co.uk

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FEATURE: DRILLING AND TAPPING

Drilling and Tapping 2016 The annual Drilling and Tapping competition took place this year at Utility Week Live in Birmingham on the 17th and 18th May. This year’s competition brought the crowds in once again due to the buzz of cheering and encouragement from spectators and fellow competitors. The camaraderie between the teams is a wonderful sight to see and makes for an electric atmosphere surrounding the competition.

Talis presenting Anglian Water Men’s Team with their trophy

Scottish Water ladies team in action ©Develop Images

Drilling and Tapping is a time trial for teams of two. The aim is to perform the traditional technique used in the water industry to connect a service pipe to a main and install a meter and a stoptap.

This year saw the end of an era as Barrie Light, Bournemouth Water, stepped down as Drilling and Tapping Championship. Barrie has been involved with the competition for almost 20 years and we’d like to thank him for everything he has done for Drilling and Tapping and the Institute of Water.

This year’s winners of the Talis Men’s competition were Anglian Water with a time of 2 minutes 13 seconds. The Anglian team will now compete in the American competition whilst Clancy Docwra took the Mueller ladies competition trophy with a time of 4 minutes 32 seconds. The ladies winners now have the opportunity to compete in Amsterdam. We wish both teams the best of luck.

See below for a full list of winners - run times of the runners up are available on our website www. drillingandtapping.co.uk.

Thank you to all our competitors, sponsors and judges, we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

The UK Drilling and Tapping competition is organised by the Institute of Water. The next competition takes place at Utility Week Live in Birmingham’s NEC, May 2017. Entries and enquiries to Lucy Archer (Institute of Water) at lucy@instituteofwater.org.uk or visit www.drillingandtapping.co.uk

Muller presenting Clancy Docwra Ladies Team with their trophy

Drilling and Tapping Winners 2016 Talis Men’s Trophy

Anglian Water

Men’s Second Place

Bournemouth Water

Mueller Ladies Competition

Clancy Docwra

Ladies Second Place

Scottish Water

Best Men’s Newcomers

Clancy Docwra

Best Ladies Newcomers

Northumbrian Water

Best Contractor

Clancy Docwra Men’s Team

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Water companies must be proactive not reactive‌

The extension of competition in water and sewerage services in the non-household (NHH) retail market is going to bring a period of unprecedented change to the water industry. As a result, companies need to take some critical decisions now if they are to adapt successfully to this new world.

From April 2017, all businesses in England will be able to choose their water supplier. This is a major change, increasing the number of premises that can switch suppliers from 27,000 to approximately 1.5 million.

More significant is the fact that this is just the start, with further competition signalled.

Following the Treasury’s announcement in November 2015 about the possible introduction of household competition, Ofwat is currently undertaking a Cost Benefit Analysis. In addition, the recent consultation on Water 2020 has provided the clearest indicator yet of the general direction of policy and the intention to introduce competition across the industry value chain (abstraction, sludge treatment).

This means that water companies need to begin to respond proactively to these changes and prepare for a market that will look very different. The Severn Trent/United Utilities retail joint-venture, announced at the beginning of March 2016, suggests that some parts of the industry are waking up to the real implications of change and taking proactive steps to prepare their business for the future.

All companies now need to take some clear sighted decisions about their approach to competition and what position they want to take in the new market. Essentially they need to choose whether to respond to the minimum requirements required to comply and then see what happens; actively decide to compete; or to consciously opt out of the NHH market (i.e. to exit).

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Waiting and watching In coming to these decisions, it is important to recognise that the introduction of NHH competition will require a shift in the old ways of doing things. In particular, it will bring a requirement for greater commercial expertise.

In an industry where the customer has been historically bound to a single supplier those skills have traditionally been less important but that will change – and rapidly so.

The new world will also bring along separation of fully integrated companies into different separate businesses. Although this presents real challenges for business leaders, because it is unlikely to have a significant impact on short-term revenue there is a temptation to avoid responding or taking action.

In this context, standing back and seeing how the new world develops can seem an attractive option. Clearly it will take time for the market to develop and there will be initial turbulence; early entrants will face some uncertainty. So there is a credible argument that companies with little experience of competition and concerns about the financial implications should not be plunging straight into the competitive fray. However, there are potentially significant downsides to this passive approach.

The first of these is that, while there may be some short term challenges, those who are involved from the start will have the experience to draw on once the market stabilises. That will strengthen

their position over the medium term. The second drawback of standing on the side-lines is that if regulators do open up more of the sector to competition, both household and upstream, then companies will have to deal with potential changes in revenue streams in any case.

Given the nature of the policy debate and the clear indications of support for further competition, it seems inevitable that there will be further change and so companies will need to secure the skills they need to deal with it. Any delay in acquiring that commercial expertise and outlook caused by standing back now is likely to be a significant disadvantage when more competition arrives.

Deciding to compete So the risks of doing nothing are significant, and underline that companies do need to actively consider their strategies and approach to the changes. In particular, if they do decide to compete they need to choose how they are going to do this.

The most straightforward approach may seem to be to focus on current customers. Yet the reality is that those customers will be seen as targets by competitors and some of them will inevitably be lost over the medium term. As water retail businesses have proportionally higher fixed costs, losing customers could have significant financial implications. So companies will need to look beyond their existing base to attract new customers, to maintain an appropriate cost to serve.

In order to do this, they will need to offer an

FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION

attractive proposition. That means there will need to be a careful assessment of the company’s processes and customer service, as well as the prices they charge. It will require a focus on ensuring the highest quality performance and a willingness to develop different services and new relationships with customers, based on the understanding that if they are not satisfied they will be able to go elsewhere.

Developing that offer to customers should reflect decisions about which groups the company is going to target. They do now have the advantage of being able to use the extensive customer group and tariff data that Ofwat published as part of the PR14 process. This should make it easier to take informed decisions about the costs and benefits of targeting and acquiring key customers or specific groups of customers. Deciding to compete is a major step and must be predicated on the likelihood of competing successfully in the nonhousehold retail market, at the necessary scale.

While this is a very new world, there are some lessons to be drawn from others. The experience of the electricity or Scottish water markets offers some insights. Equally, retailers have learned a lot from changes in their own market and that means they have some commercial expertise which they may very well apply to the retail NHH market and look to target incumbent companies’ customers.

In making decisions about their future strategy, companies need to recognise that competing successfully in the non-household retail market will prepare them for the potential competition in

the household market. That will be an even bigger challenge not least because the scale of the market means that the stakes are higher. Being prepared will be a real advantage.

The attractiveness of the household market also means that the competition will be fiercer.

The major utility companies are more likely to be interested in entering the market, in order to provide a ‘one stop shop’ to their customers and take full advantage of economies of scale.

That means that for existing water industry incumbents, it is likely to be a case of getting big or getting out.

The implications of exit Even if companies decide not to participate in the competitive NHH retail market then they still need to make rapid decisions to address its implications. While the volumes of business involved are relatively small, the largely fixed costs companies have to manage mean that any decision to exit the NHH retail market could increase the costs of serving the household market.

decision they take it will have a long term effect on the overall business and so they need to be sure that they have considered all the options carefully, taking into account the full financial, regulatory and operational effects.

It is clear that in the longer term, it could be tough to prosper in the water retail market if the industry develops as predicted. This places a heavy burden on leaders to make the right decisions and these decisions must be based on a clear understanding that it will not be business as usual in the future.

There is a real urgency to these decisions. It is now less than a year until the new framework is in place and options will close off as we get nearer to April 2017. However tempting it might be to wait and see what happens, the challenges of the new world mean that this will not be a successful long term strategy. Action is needed and it is needed now.

Stève Hervouet and Keith Gardner are water experts at PA Consulting Group. Steve Frobisher is business strategy expert at PA Consulting Group For more information, visit www.paconsulting.com/energy

This, in itself, does not mean this is the wrong decision. Coming out of the NHH market could ensure that the company is better focused on their core business and avoid having to divert time and resources to an area that may not be part of their longer term strategy. However, whatever

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SHEPHERD+ WEDDERBURN

How level is your playing field?

In this article, Liz McRobb, Partner at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn discusses how market participants might respond to the competition law conundrums coming their way.

The water industry in England is undergoing changes of a scale unseen since privatisation.

Incumbents in the market will very much be aware of the looming presence of non-household retail competition going live, an event less than a year away. With shadow operation literally around the corner, minds are focussed on delivery for day one, but how much time is being given to the longer term and strategies for competing in the new market?

in the past, are now more determined to flex their regulatory muscles where they find misbehaviour.

The concepts in competition law may be familiar to some, but understandably will be unfamiliar and remote to others in this industry.

Are you confident?

To those unfamiliar, these concepts may not have meant much in the past – but they represent real and material risks in the future for any wholesaler or retailer operating in the competitive market.

The consequences of breaching competition law obligations are significant.

No one wants to be accused of running an anticompetitive cartel, or to have a multi-million pound fine levied on their business. Whilst of significance, these consequences can at least be quantified and have limits. The reputational damage to a business in the eyes of customers, regulators and investors can be even more severe.

Plus, there is the potential for follow-on damage claims by parties affected by anti-competitive behaviour, which could be even more painful for the business.

Cases brought by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in liquid storage tanks and concrete drainage products are recent, real world examples of anti-competitive behaviour affecting the water industry. The UK competition authorities, having suffered some embarrassment

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Those looking for comfort and a regulatory ‘stamp of approval’ from Ofwat will not be rewarded.

Ofwat have set out expectations on market participants, but these are not prescriptive beyond arms-length trading requirements and general reminders on competition law compliance.

Over the coming months, market participants will need to provide assurances to the market operator through interim and final assurance letters. The language used in these requirements sets a high standard – wording that was no doubt deliberate. Company boards must have fully considered the risks of their approach to business separation and competition law risk. They must establish policies that reflect these risks and be confident that these policies will secure a level playing field, with control processes in place to ensure compliance with these policies.

Ultimately, coming up with an effective and proportionate response to competition law risk is very much in the hands of individual companies.

Companies will have to consider exactly how they will demonstrate this compliance and consider what it might take to seriously embed compliance in the long run.

So where to start?

A great place is to look at the existing guidance from the CMA and adopt a risk based approach to competition compliance under their four step

process. A risk based approach can help identify those more likely to engage in competition breaches and allow the most appropriate mitigations to be put in place. This helps avoid implementing an unnecessary and overly complex training programme.

In essence, the most significant challenge will come from people and culture, particularly when interacting with wholesalers. Embedding the necessary behaviours will take time. This will be helped with clear policies and processes – particularly on getting employees to recognise when something is ‘not quite right’ and asking practical questions where they find themselves in ‘red flag’ situations: Would I do what I’m about to do for all retailers equally? Should we really be talking about this topic with my competitors at this trade conference? Does the wholesale tariff scheme I’m about to draft comply with the Competition Act? Follow up and refresh is important. Many major utilities operate ongoing competition compliance programmes involving training, policy review and audit. An appropriately specified programme could make all the difference in the years after market opening, when the risk of complacency can set in.

Fundamentally, a successful compliance culture is instilled through leading by example. Senior management should take competition compliance seriously and be seen to do so very visibly within and outside the business. Establishing a culture of compliance from the top down is critical.

The go-to regulation and markets lawyers

SHORTLISTED Competition Team of the Year

shepwedd.co.uk @shepwedd

PATHFINDER

RETAIL SEPARATION

Retail separation and the segment of one A historic recount Historically many utilities were born out of monopoly and as a result their culture was heavily dominated by an engineering focus and paid little attention to the end customer. In the past, the core function of the utility was to provide water and little beyond, customer satisfaction was somewhat irrelevant, evident in the soundbite: ‘have we not provided running water’ relayed by a utility when describing the way it used to be. This basic rudimentary approach by the sector resulted in an ever deepening chasm between the utility and its customer.

Turning back the clock, we find that as our world developed, disparately funded statebodies fuelled the organic growth of large complex utilities, clunky structures designed in the likeness of the cumbersome bureaucratic governments themselves. The realisation in the mid-eighties of the need to develop self-sustaining models brought a wave of commercialisation and with it a steady process of deregulation. The ultimate goal was to increase efficiency and lower prices through the active creation of competition. Consumers would be given the option to switch suppliers, which would result in an increased focus on efficiency, competitive pricing and customer service.

So, was the noble goal of deregulation, delivering consumers lower prices and better service realised? – Not entirely, we would suggest.

In many industries, full deregulation was not possible due to political, societal or economic constraints. In some cases, this gave an unfair advantage in the early years to incumbents to hold on to market share, while for others, the focus of new entrants on highly populated areas and large consumption customers meant that the incumbents lost large portions of market share within short time frames placing an immediate pressure on their now inflated cost base.

By examining the outcome of the deregulation of various industries, we can see that it has not always addressed the interests of customers. For example, the short time span within which we deregulate markets often results in duplicated cost across multiple providers. Also, in many cases the underlying driver of change was in fact the need for rapid upgrading of ageing infrastructure, requiring heavy investment, which ultimately saw the customer foot the bill.

We may all say that this is necessary for progress, but not all customers would agree.

Take for example the customer sentiment toward the newly created utility, Irish Water, where politicians and customers alike are calling for

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its disbandment even while it is recognised that its infrastructure and services are totally underinvested.

The future is in the design for the segment of one In a report produced in October 2013 for the House of Commons, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland claimed that “the net savings to customers in Scotland over the next 30 years from introducing retail competition is £138 million.” They also estimated that the customers in England could be saving £768 million over a similar payback period. That is good news, is it not?

At Pathfinder we believe one thing to be true, utilities will need to continue to work hard, but more importantly to work differently, to bridge the gap between themselves and their customers if they are to realise these savings in a world where the customer continues to redefine what good looks like. Customers being engaged by new organisations such as Amazon, at the top of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI 2016), are now setting the bar that utilities need to hit as customers cannot and will not put up with anything less than they receive elsewhere.

So how do utilities bridge this gap and resonate in the eyes of their customer? An approach must be developed which seamlessly combines the collaborative nature of the technology movement with honest to goodness old world ways of engagement – the way ‘mom and pop’ shops engaged their customers before the onslaught of supersized organisations.

The answer lies in the ‘segment of one’; peeling back to basics; businesses can attract tracts of

customers in large numbers, but often fail to recognise that customers are effectively lost one at a time. In order for utilities to satisfy the customer of today they must redesign the engagement solution on the basis of designing a solution for an individual customer at any given time. With social media and technology being in the hands of every customer, a poor service experience will be known about by many others, probably before the utility itself knows about it.

For one second, we must forget the complexity in numbers, quieten down and listen to the voice of that single customer, engage directly with them and co-design a journey experience placing their concerns, their needs at the very heart of the solution. Gain a real connection and a real understanding between people which will create the trust upon which solid relationships can grow.

Scaling this is certainly a challenge, however, it is a different challenge which needs to be resolved in a different way.

Our challenge to you The next time a customer calls you and they make a request of you, ask them why? What is motivating that request at that time. Then, you can begin to understand what is going on in their world – get to know them and in turn let them get to know you.

Authors; Brendan Grimley and Gary O’Sullivan, Pathfinder, Consultants in Management, are subject matter experts in utility sector strategy, CX design and delivery. Discuss any of the suggestions or insights directly with Brendan at brendangrimley@pathfinder.co.uk, or Gary at garyosullivan@pathfinder.ie or come through our opendoor@pathfinder.co.uk.

Consultants in success

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Success? Ask our clients in the water industry in Scotland, England and Ireland.

Consultants in Management Pathfinder.co.uk/water

Ofwat ready for business retail market There is now less than one year to go until a competitive business retail market goes live for the water industry in England. The central arrangements to get ready for this market through the Open Water programme have progressed and the focus is moving to how the existing water companies and new suppliers will make the market work for customers.

By Iain McGuffog Director, Strategy & Planning, Stategy and Policy, Ofwat Currently businesses and other non-household customers who use more than five million litres and whose premises are supplied with water using the supply system of a water company based wholly or mainly in England, and those using more than 50Ml of water and whose premises are supplied using the supply system of a water company based wholly or mainly in Wales, are able to choose their supplier of water retail services.

From April 2017 the Water Act 2014 will remove the consumption limit and allow approximately 1.2 million businesses and other non-household customers who use the supply system and/ or sewerage system of an appointed company based mainly or wholly in England to choose their supplier of water and wastewater retail services.

A lot of effort is going into preparations for the market, including testing of the Central Market Operating Systems and companies providing assurance that they will be ready for the market.

Ofwat meanwhile has been busy working in partnership with DEFRA, water companies and other stakeholders to get all of the market arrangements in place, with companies getting their strategies in place for the new market. As well as structural changes to the way companies organise themselves to reflect retail and wholesale functions, such as retail exit where companies want to put retail in a separate legal company, other issues such as licence modifications, customer protection, customer eligibility, applications for retail licences and reviewing default tariffs have also progressed.

There’s a number of changes that all employees within the water industry and the supply chain will need to be aware of. It’s important that customers feel confident in the market. There’s some key messages that need to be communicated and we all have a role in doing that: n customers will have continuity of supply – the physical delivery of water and wastewater services remain unchanged as its only billing and payment that’s involved in the market.

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The market mechanisms automatically will provide everyone with a supplier and you should retain the existing arrangements if the current supplier chooses not to compete and exit the market n there are minimum service standards (based around the current GSS Guaranteed Service Standards) that all retailers have to provide as a minimum n customers should get at least one accurate bill each year, with backbilling of charges more than 16 months previously not allowed n businesses with fewer than 10 employees get extra protections.

There will be an uplift in customer awareness as we head towards market opening and everyone in the sector will need to understand their organisation’s approach to the changes. Companies will need to decide what approach they will need to take in splitting out retail and wholesale activities so they can provide a level playing field for all retailers.

Data that a company has shared internally now needs to be made available through the central market systems, with internal restrictions on access to data that may not have been necessary before. Part of this will be driven by each company’s retail strategy – are they planning to change retail organisation, for instance through an associate company or joint venture that is also competing out of area, perhaps including in Scotland? Or perhaps they plan to exit the business retail market all together?

Whatever an incumbent’s strategy is, the key feature is that they will need to communicate to their customers, staff and contractors, and reflect how they are organising themselves in their Compliance Codes. Companies are required to produce these codes and keep them up to date.

They should provide guidance as to how staff should deal with both customers and transactions between wholesalers and retailers.

Compliance codes should set out how information received from or in relation to retailers (whether associated with the incumbent or otherwise) will be handled and provide details of who is responsible for this information. It is essential that information a company receives from or

relating to a retailer is not misused or used to gain an unfair commercial advantage. Compliance codes should therefore set out the procedures in place to prevent this. In addition, compliance codes should set out procedures for sending information to Retailers.

Compliance codes should include details of the training available to staff in relation to areas of compliance. Each appointed company’s compliance code to include a clear statement of their approach to compliance. Details of the process for monitoring the effectiveness of the compliance code should be included in the compliance code itself. Each appointed company’s compliance code should include details of the disciplinary procedures in place for breaches of licence conditions and market guidance for staff.

In addition to the above, each company should consider how it ensures that it is compliant with its competition law (and any other legal) obligations, and how such obligations relate to matters also covered by their compliance codes.

Compliance is important for all businesses.

The way appointed companies choose to ensure compliance may reflect their size and circumstances. So the content of each compliance code must therefore reflect each appointed company’s particular requirements, structure and operational practices.

Ofwat also expect compliance codes to go through an appropriate level of internal approval, for example Board assurance, given the importance of these documents. As a minimum, we would expect all relevant employees of the company, including Board members, to be aware of the compliance code and its purpose. It’s important that this market works for customers.

Retailers will normally have the relationship with customers, but those working in wholesale services will continue to deal with customers every day. Few of these contacts with customers may change as a result of the market, just the flow of information behind the scenes. In an emergency everyone in the industry will pull together as always to protect customers, and that attitude has been reflected in the market design. If you are new to this, find out what your organisation’s plans for the new market are.

FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION

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ECHO MANAGED SERVICES CAN UNRIVALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE HELP COMPANIES TO STAY AHEAD DURING 2017’S MARKET REFORM? Monica Mackintosh, customer services director at outsourced customer contact specialist, Echo Managed Services, discusses the importance of great customer service in the new competitive marketplace.

market-leading solution contains all the features needed by water retailers, including consolidated and multi-site billing and a central market operator interface. By providing a single customer view, RapidXtra makes responding to the complete customer journey quick and easy, and results in a proactive approach to serving customers.

Early intervention and proactive collections

As we know, next year’s reforms will significantly change the way the industry operates, opening up the non-household sector to competition.

With business customers free to choose their supplier, companies will have to work harder than ever to retain customers and attract new custom, recognising also that the number of retailers within the market could increase.

To remain attractive, it’s a given that companies must offer a safe and reliable water supply that is good value for money. However, a key area for differentiation will be around added value that comes from good service, recognising of course that the perception of value will vary by customer. Companies should put customers at the heart of their retail business; be straightforward and easy to do business with, offer customers choice in how they interact and resolve issues quickly and efficiently. Customer engagement must be personalised depending upon individual preferences and what each customer values.

With unrivalled customer service certain to differentiate, companies must ensure they are consistently excellent - from early contact and proactive communication, right through to billing and collections.

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Putting customers at the heart of the operation Impeccable customer service isn’t just about skilled and helpful advisors answering enquiries effectively and resolving issues. It’s also about the choice customers are given to communicate with businesses. Technology, such as self-serve platforms, can offer both speed and convenience as long as it’s deployed in the right way and at the right time. Contact channel preferences vary by customer and what’s imperative is that customers are given choice and that service is seamless and consistent, no matter which channel the customer chooses.

Prioritising relationship management and robust billing To facilitate great customer service, the ability to generate an accurate picture of each customer and their needs is crucial, as is delivering accurate and reliable billing. A robust billing and customer relationship management solution, such as Echo’s proprietary RapidXtra - deployed by over a third of the industry, must be in place to support service excellence.

Built specifically for the water industry, Echo’s

Debt must be viewed as part of the customer journey, and companies need to find ways to deal with customers in arrears effectively and sensitively. Proactive, multi-channel communications should be used to reduce bill shock and maximise opportunities to resolve issues such as bill queries and protest debt related to bad service before the bill date - early resolution is key, and often the most effective way to reduce customer arrears.

Ultimately, companies that put customers at the heart of operations will be well placed to succeed in the market. Great customer experiences will be crucial for retention and loyalty, which companies will have to work increasingly harder to gain.

And with household market opening possible as early as 2020, partnering with a company such as Echo, that not only has deep experience within the water sector but can also add value through learnings and expertise gathered in competitive sectors, could be a key differentiator.

For more information, visit www.echo-ms.com

FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION

JET AIRE’S JEN HELSTRIP RETIRES AFTER 18 YEARS For 18 years Jen Helstrip was one of the first people into the office and the last to leave, but last month, for the final time, she shutdown her computer and said goodbye to Jet Aire.

During her time with the company, which started in 1998, Jen has seen it grow massively from a team of around 20 people with few office staff, to a thriving and energetic business, with admin teams in Yorkshire and the North East. In total Jet Aire now employees over 70 people and is expanding fast. In addition to the role that Jen performed for Jet Aire, she ably adapted to a hire/accounts administration role with sister company, Pro Shore, who provide shoring and compaction equipment to the construction industry.

Managing Director Charlie Kirk and Commercial Director Keith Ferris were keen to express their thanks to Jen and in a statement said: “Words

cannot explain the gratitude and appreciation Jet Aire have towards Jen and we wish her nothing but the best with her retirement.”

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UNIPART

RETAIL SEPARATION

WATER COMPANIES NEED TO EMBRACE A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO GAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE IN THE NON-HOUSEHOLD MARKET From April 2017, the Open Water programme will create the largest retail water market in the world, worth an estimated £2.5 billion.

This new market will potentially deliver over £200 million of benefits to customers and the UK economy by empowering non-household customers to choose the best service for them.

With this unprecedented change, less than a year away, water organisations face the task of re-establishing their businesses in a new market, which is no longer determined by traditional forces. This scenario provokes the question, what do water organisations need to do to be ready for a new world of water?

Since the announcement, water organisations have taken initial steps to ensure their businesses are ready for the new market. Severn Trent Water and United Utilities announced a joint venture to combine their non-household water and wastewater businesses, some organisations have separated their operations to establish new non-household focused entities, whereas others, such as Portsmouth Water, have opted out of the market altogether. Strategically, these steps are important, but corporate structure alone will not prepare an organisation for what is required to be successful in a competitive market.

For the first time, the end customer will be a powerful voice in the water market. Organisations will need to respond, carving out their own space in the market, in order to survive. Sources of competitive advantage will likely come from the ability to continuously improve customer service levels, as well as the ability to remain competitive in terms of price, whilst protecting the bottom line. This change in focus on the customer, as being more than just a mere stakeholder, will require a change in the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of staff at all levels. It will require cultural change.

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the answer is that organisations do not often consider all of the component parts required for the changes to be successful and enduring.

In order to improve processes and drive performance over the long term, there needs to be a systematic approach in place to support the change initiative, so that the new way of working becomes routine. Without such a system, there is every chance that ‘the grass just grows back’.

A sustainable model for change takes the form of an organisation-wide, systematic approach that continually engages your biggest asset, your people. It provides the tools and environment to drive improvements to cost, quality and the level of service your organisation provides for customers. Taking this approach will increase your competitiveness for the long term, and reduce the need for future investment in new initiatives.

Organisations across all kinds of industries have embarked on transformation programmes in an attempt to achieve significant operational improvement. However, independent research indicates that 70% of transformation programmes never achieve the desired result. In addition, in our experience, many of these programmes deliver early returns, but fail to achieve the long-term competitive advantage they set out to deliver.

The Unipart Group's journey, from part of stateowned British Leyland to a global manufacturing, logistics and consulting company, has great parallels with the impending opening-up of the water market. Upon privatisation, Unipart faced the need to acquire new customers, whilst simultaneously retaining and growing its existing customer base, in a market highly sensitive to cost and levels of service. Over 28 years, of responding to changing customer needs and growing and acquiring new customers, our key source of competitive advantage came from embedding a systematic approach that engages employees, across the organisation, in continuously improving customer service, quality and cost.

Our own approach to continuous improvement is called ‘The Unipart Way’.

So, why is it difficult for so many businesses to sustain long-term results? From our experience,

Creating and maintaining an environment that allows your employees to continually be their best

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every day, results in people freely giving their discretionary effort, for the benefit of customers, your organisation and themselves. Helping to turn customers from being merely satisfied, to being loyal advocates of your business. But it also requires the commitment of effective leaders, who act as coaches and constantly define continuous improvement as ‘the way we do things here’. It requires putting in place a support infrastructure that provides places to inspire and develop your employees, as well as the systems to share best practice. Building capability in continuous improvement, by facilitating deliberate practice every day, is key. Finally, such a programme must deliver measurable and sustainable benefits from the outset in order to prove ROI and win support from all stakeholders. However, the organisation must recognise that this is a longterm commitment; the full advantages will only emerge over time.

Creating a systematic approach is not an easy journey, however, the potential rewards are significant. Our approach has helped increase productivity by 40%, reduce inventory by 25%, reduce waste across an end-to-end value stream by 80% and has saved £450 million for some of our clients. Critically, our contracts have endured and developed over more than 25 years with some of our major customers. April 2017 presents the perfect opportunity for you and your organisation to change perspective and start to build the platforms required to deliver and sustain a competitive edge. The new world of water will fundamentally change the market - ensure you are ready for it. www.unipartconsulting.com

Looking forward to a Water Market

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FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION The non-household water market in England deregulates in less than a year. John Reynolds, CEO of Castle Water considers whether it will be what we expect.

Surprises Markets are chaotic. If they are working, they won’t be predictable. Successful suppliers will have both different business models, and also different approaches. This may or may not be about who has the most door-knockers or telesales callers, or who has the best website, search engineer optimization. Rather, it is a question of captures customer attention. It may also, and as a pureplay water retailer this isn’t necessarily comfortable, be about who has the most synergies with other products.

New entrants at any time do not have to be clones of existing players, with the same structures, marketing and back office cost bases.

For any company to be a “good” company, it has to both have value and competence. For a retailer, part of the competence is in selling.

Challenging behaviour If the market is dynamic, there will be suppliers who push the boundaries of regulation, market codes and legislation.

In the early days of electricity deregulation, some of the most significant mainstream news coverage from the ASA banning an advert.

The most successful suppliers in Scotland, the ones customers choose, are not part of existing utilities, but are pure retailers. They outsell incumbent water companies 10 to 1. And the strategies vary: the two most successful retailers are using completely different routes to market, contracts and pricing strategies, although sales literature is surprisingly similar in terms of the headlines that customers see.

Role of MOSL MOSL, the English market operator, should be largely unnoticed, but with a lot of co-ordinating activity going on directly involving Members.

Wholesalers should not be the focus of ongoing activity after market opening, but retailers should be driving the Code and process changes/

As a comparison, Elexon rarely needs to be discussed at Board level by DNOs in the electricity sector.

Disputes and rectification processes should be easily accessed, rapid and effective. The idea of “accurate” data is a bit like the tooth fairy, and can’t really exist. We all know that with data not having been prepared in the expectation of deregulation, and customers not always providing up to date information anyway, that errors will occur.

The development of the market to date has focused on codes, systems and processes, but customers will judge the market by how it works, not how much effort has gone in. The period following market opening, where improvements can be identified, and there will be inevitable trading disputes and errors, is crucial to the success of the market.

Customers Customers must be able to understand what is being offered and make an informed choice.

The market mechanisms should not act as a constraint, or be an available excuse to prevent customers exercising choice.

The relation of suppliers and wholesalers to customers will take longer to settle down, and the correct inter-play will depend on the success of the retail market – there isn’t a single appropriate structure. There has been a noticeable change in the relation of DNOs and suppliers to customers in the electricity market: a significant increase in the role of DNOs in dealing with end customers – there’s been a shift in expectation, and regulatory incentives for Stakeholder Engagement - customer contact and initiatives, especially with vulnerable groups. This suggests that suppliers aren’t relating sufficiently to customers, but also acknowledges that Wholesalers have a permanent connection to end-users.

Pricing

happens on Amazon, it happens with electricity and gas, it will in the end work in water if the market is functioning properly, given the technology platforms available.

Regulation Ofwat will need to be prepared to make interventions with individual players, or competitor behavior isn’t challenging enough.

Making en masse interventions, which has effectively been seen in energy supply, would be a sign of market failure. A Code of Conduct is required which has teeth, to restrain short term mis-selling and unethical behaviours, but it must not restrain innovation, customer-focused or simply loss-making strategies. The biggest challenge faced in most sectors is mis-selling, and the Code of Conduct must clearly set the rules and provide scope for enforcement.

What will regulators do that influences the market: there are major decisions coming up on credit terms, which could unbalance the market and give options and costs to either incumbents or new entrants. Creating a genuinely level playing field is vital in a low margin market. In 2020, with new price controls, there will be a regulatory decision on retail margins, even if only by default. This could change the market dramatically.

Profit If the market is successful, well run businesses with a scale economy or with well defined niche markets will be able to consistently earn a return, and this will apply to both new entrants and incumbents.

Suppliers change and even fail, and some owners sell out on the back of success or a challenge they can’t respond to. Some retailers must be able to lose money some of the time, but if a large group consistently lose money, it will show something is wrong.

Price changes will happen with much more frequency, driven by comparison sites and technology established in other areas. We will have intra-day automated pricing changes – it

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OXERA

RETAIL SEPARATION

RETAIL SEPARATION HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GIVE COMPANIES GREATER STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY

With non-household retail competition in England less than a year away, water companies are looking carefully at how they are structured. Retail separation has the potential to give companies greater strategic flexibility.

So what is actually meant by retail separation?

Separation can range from basic accounting separation through to full ownership separation, with many steps in between (such as establishing separate business units within an overall structure, with varying degrees of autonomy).

New opportunities in the market could range from forming new partnerships, targeting particular customer segments, through to full divestment.

Furthermore, the greater the degree of separation between a water company’s contestable and non-contestable functions, the easier it will be to avoid falling foul of competition law.

Competition law requires that dominant companies do not abuse their privileged positions. Such abuses could include price and/ or non-price discrimination. With the former, if wholesale prices are set too high and/or retail prices are set too low, such that it is not possible for another company to pay the wholesale price and compete effectively, then competition authorities may deem this to be a ‘margin squeeze’.

One notable example of margin squeeze is where the European Commission ruled that Deutsche Telekom was in breach of the law. In this case, the precedent was set that a company is not exempt from competition law merely because the regulatory body had approved its charges; a point that Ofwat has made repeatedly.

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When undertaking margin squeeze analysis, two approaches are commonly used: the ‘equally efficient competitor’ test and the ‘reasonably efficient competitor’ test. The former considers whether the incumbent would be able to provide the retail service to the customer in question were the incumbent not receiving wholesale revenues.

The latter considers a notional competitor (i.e. a hypothetical ‘efficient’ company according to the regulator’s measures), which is a more stringent cost benchmark.

Ofwat has indicated that it favours the former approach. This is broadly in line with established precedent. As well as the end prices offered, equal consideration needs to be applied to how the underlying costs are treated. Essential for ensuring a level playing field are fair allocation of costs between the services provided by the companies, and making sure that interactions between the retail functions and the parent companies (such as the provision of working capital) are at arm’s length.

Non-price discrimination can refer to the incumbent’s wholesale function offering a competing retailer a different level of service to that provided to the incumbent’s retail function.

This can be one of the most difficult potential abuses for management to guard against.

Staff right across the company may be used to particular ways of working—for example, simply

sharing information with people operating in the same business. The extent of retail separation may help to mitigate this (sitting functions in different locations could help), as could cultural training.

Ofwat has already sought commitments from Bristol Water, which proposed structural separation of its wholesale business from its retail business for the provision of the already contestable developer services. This was intended to help ensure equivalence in both price and nonprice terms for equivalent transactions.

In summary, with the non-household retail market opening in less than a year, water companies in England will be considering how, or whether, they will want to compete in the market, and, if they do, how they should structure their businesses for success. Separation is not a binary concept; different degrees exist. But as long as ownership integration remains, companies will need to think carefully how to stick within competition law.

Focus on Water Since the privatisation of the UK water industry in 1989, Oxera has become the leading source of independent advice in the sector.

In an industry dominated by questions about public and private ownership, regulated and unregulated companies, and strategy, finance and policy that go far beyond the regulatory, economics consultancy has a crucial role to play.

Government agencies, regulators and water companies (both public and private, and increasingly outside the UK) have sought our innovative thinking to help them argue their case convincingly.

We provide independent, rigorous insights in an accessible way.

Our services • Efficiency measurement and performance assessment • Competition strategy and implementation • Incentive design • Transactions advice • Tariff design and pricing decisions • Risk and scenario analysis • Impact assessments of environmental policy and regulation • Strategic and regulatory advice • Cost of capital advice

Oxera's experience, expert insight and analysis, and evidence at the hearings, and staff meetings, was invaluable in helping to steer the case as well as the final outcome. The CC officially cleared the merger unconditionally.

Oxera produced very clear advice which could easily be understood by non-economists. As always with Oxera, we found the balance between clear and useful outputs and a thorough technical approach to be just right.

UK Water Company

UK Water Company

For more information, visit: www.oxera.com/Sectors-Skills/Sectors/Water.aspx

Retail separation: a Scottish perspective With just one year to go until the non-household water market opens for competition in England, Business Stream shares its experience of retail separation in Scotland, where competition began in 2008.

From 1 April 2017 all businesses and public bodies in England will be able to choose their water supplier, an option only currently available to the largest users. Based on the Scottish experience, competition will encourage water suppliers to offer more benefits to customers, including reduced costs, improved service levels and lower management overheads.

However, before that process gets underway a wide variety of processes need to take place along with checks and balances to ensure that there is a level playing field for providers and protection for customers.

The Scottish context Scottish Water, created in 2002 from three regional predecessor bodies, is the sole water wholesaler in Scotland. A publicly-owned company, it operates the national infrastructure of treatment works, drinking water supply and sewerage system, serving 2.4 million households north of the border.

Following the introduction of legislation to create a competitive non-domestic market, Scottish Water began the process of splitting off its non-household retail function in 2005, allowing Business Stream to emerge as legally separate entity.

The non-domestic market then opened in 2008, and since then Scottish Water has provided wholesale services to 22 new entrant nondomestic retailers as well as Business Stream.

The market size is currently around 130,000 non-domestic customers, ranging from nursing homes, petrochemical plants and dairy farms, accounting for a third of the overall revenue of Scotland's water market Overseeing the arrangements is Scotland's industry regulator, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS), which was established by legislation in 2005. WICS has a statutory duty to set prices for water and sewerage services and facilitate competition in the Scottish water industry.

How separation worked in Scotland Formal separation between wholesale and retail

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is still optional in England. Despite this, it is effectively impossible to meet competition law without some degree of functional separation.

Inevitably, though, functional separation cannot happen overnight: in the case of Business Stream, although complete separation was always the goal, the process was phased and happened over a number of years, principally to mitigate any impact it could have on customers and to maintain high service standards.

Aside from the legalities involved in creating a new organisation with its own licence arrangements, there were many practical facets of the change programme to implement smoothly, including staffing and procedures. Initially Business Stream and Scottish Water shared the same building in Edinburgh but were required to keep staff, processes and even the canteen area separate in order to demonstrate a proper distinction between wholesaler and incumbent retailer. This physical and organisational separation took a significant step forward when Business Stream moved to its own offices at a separate site, where 260 staff are now employed.

However, it still took until 2012 for the final elements of the IT systems of the two companies to become completely separated out, marking the point where formal separation was complete.

Although Business Stream still shared a number of services with Scottish Water at the time of market opening, it is important to note that WICS took care to ensure that new entrants would have confidence that a level playing field existed. In order to gain our license, we had to pass three tests, requiring that we demonstrated: n Separation of business processes n Independence of decision making n The ability to finance ourselves independently To facilitate this further, the Water Industry Commission for Scotland required a clear governance code between Scottish Water and Business Stream to be created. This ensures that transactions are carried out at arm’s length and on a normal commercial basis, and remains crucial to how Business Stream operates and defines itself within a competitive market.

As well as providing clear evidence of a level playing field to our competitors, this separation also benefitted Business Stream by encouraging us to develop a distinct corporate culture and identity, and by allowing us to concentrate entirely on being a successful retailer focused on the customer.

How will England be different?

In the absence of any set requirement on how separation should be applied or for governance codes to be published, English companies will need to consider very carefully what operating model they should choose, how they will go about implementing and – crucially – what information they will need to publish in order to avoid any risk of challenge. In a market environment, the perception of an anti-competitive arrangement can be just as damaging to competition as the actual existence of one.

An important aspect of this for them relates to how they will manage ongoing arrangements between their appointed business and their associate retailer. At the heart of the measures put in place to ensure a level playing field are the twin obligations for all transactions between those businesses to be carried on at an arm’s length basis, and also for all retailers to be treated equally. This means that if the associate retailer wishes to obtain meter reads, or any other service, from their parent company, these must be paid for at commercial rates, and they must be available on the same terms to any other retailer that requests them.

Can everyone compete?

Incumbents will inevitably possess substantial inbuilt advantages at the outset of the competitive market. Each individual water region in England will start off as a local near-monopoly, with the incumbent retail business automatically serving all non-domestic customers who have not chosen to make an immediate switch to a new provider. In addition, they will be familiar with all the associated wholesaler’s people and processes. Given that new entrants to a region will have to overcome these factors, it becomes all the more important for separation arrangements

FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION

to be clear and robust, so that entrants can have confidence that the framework does not allow for any unfair advantage for the incumbent.

This is particularly true because of the tightness of the retail margins, which leave retailers no room for error. This means that if they perceive there are issues around the way competition will work that could increase the costs of acquiring or serving a customer, then this could lead them to decide that the risk of entering a particular region or serving a particular customer group is unacceptably high. Since Ofwat have confirmed that they are not minded to review the size of the gross retail margin in advance of market opening, it is essential that they carefully scrutinise the arrangements that are put in place.

Competition factors By its very nature, any competitive market brings with it risks and rewards. For investors in the UK's water market, used to regulated returns and clear forecasts, the switch to a competitive environment will bring some initial scepticism, but is very unlikely to dampen investor confidence. With non-domestic market (both wholesale and retail) roughly only 20% of the overall water market, price control regulation and infrastructure will shore up any initial knocks to long-term confidence.

In order to stand out from the crowd in a competitive market, retailers must be able to offer existing and prospective customers an excellent core level of service and that will save businesses

time and money and generate energy efficiencies.

Being able to offer additional services including waste management, trade effluent solutions and bore holing all open up the potential to win business, particularly within geographically distinct areas such as the South West which has historically suffered from flooding, or the East where farming and agriculture is a significant economic sector.

Potential hurdles While the template for retail separation has already been executed in Scotland, there will potentially be stumbling blocks in England where the environment is much different. With 15 regions with 15 different wholesalers, retailers will essentially need to work according to 15 different sets of rules and policies, if they wish to compete across the UK's entire market.

Wholesalers naturally want to work according to practices which work for them, meaning each region works slightly differently, with distinctive rules and policies. Retailers on the other hand want to provide a consistent level of service to customers across multiple regions, and therefore would prefer a uniform framework. In Scotland, having only one wholesaler - Scottish Water – has always meant there exists one status quo which all retailers adhere and work to.

in each individual region. This is a potential friction point which should be monitored by the regulator closely in the months following April 2017.

Looking ahead Retail separation is a gradual process, not without its teething problems. Nevertheless the rewards available to retailers and customers alike in a competitive market with a level playing field and sensible margins, is undeniable. Indeed, since 2008, Business Stream has saved its customers more than £133 million, including £72.6 million savings in discounts and almost £54 million in water efficiency savings. Our customers have saved over 24 billion litres of water and 42,000 tonnes of carbon.

With April 2017 less than a year away, the process of separation should already be well underway for all wholesalers across England. As we discovered with our own experience, the challenges involved are considerable, but those who rise to those challenges will discover that it can benefit themselves as well as the market as a whole.

Duncan Innes is senior regulation & market analyst at Business Stream

With differing sets of rules and policies across England, retailers looking to win business in neighbouring regions will need to learn and adapt to the procedures of the wholesaler that operates

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GENTRACK

RETAIL SEPARATION

Retail separation for Open Water Introducing new CRM and billing software is one of the bigger challenges faced by water utility companies today and it’s likely to get more challenging as we edge closer to the new Open Water market. The move to a competitive market means more detailed bills, more customer information and the need for better systems to support these requirements. A survey1 conducted

by Utility Week and Tata Consultancy Services found that 52 percent intended to upgrade their billing systems as a result. To achieve this, many companies will put together a wish list of system requirements and try to fulfil them via an expensive tender process — the window for which has now closed. But it remains open for water utilities to reassess their roles in the Open Water market and how they can deliver value to customers and shareholders. And let’s not forget the pressures and expectations of obtaining strong customer satisfaction (SIM) scores.

Operate — a realistic approach to requirements While it’s essential to know what systems requirements are needed to support a company’s strategy, it is equally important to have a clear understanding of their priorities and to maintain reasonable expectations. Determining what capabilities will be essential from the outset to operate effectively as a water retail business is vital. This approach enables the company and its software partner to establish a phased approach to the delivery of the system that incorporates ‘essential’ capabilities for implementation and configuration from day one.

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Learn Once the essential CRM and billing capabilities are in place, it’s time to start gathering information, interacting and learning. Many water utilities are well equipped to deliver new capital and infrastructure projects but some lack the necessary experience to operate in a competitive market. Water businesses need to learn and do it quickly. Competition will undoubtedly increase churn rates and slow movers will quickly be left behind, potentially leading to the loss of non-household customers. Learning on the hop is an option but there are deregulated utility markets globally, the electricity sector in the UK and Australia for instance, which can provide lessons for water businesses in the UK. There is also a lot of support available from suppliers to such markets — they’ve experienced it before and will be best positioned to guide a utility through the reforms. In order to begin competing, water utilities will need to learn how to effectively interpret and leverage the information it gathers through its CRM practices.

Compete — evolving the business model As it stands water utility customers have few interactions with their service providers. For the most part water retailers currently do little more than take calls and react accordingly when issues with billing and service are raised. In a new competitive retail market, this model will be entirely inappropriate and needs to evolve rapidly. New technologies and communication platforms combined with deregulation, an

evolving smart grid and increasingly tech-savvy consumers are shifting the dynamics of the utility-customer relationship. We are witnessing the digitalization of the water retail business.

Unfortunately for the sector it is already on the back foot and for the most part has a poor reputation when it comes to consumer relations, as highlighted by a regular position in the bottom rungs of consumer satisfaction surveys conducted by the likes of Which?. Empowered customers are receiving higher standards of service and engagement from businesses in other sectors, such as mobile network providers, and are now demanding the same from utility retailers. The advent of the Water Act should be seen as a crucible in which to forge new, more collaborative relationships that put customers at the heart of a business’ strategy

A no-nonsense approach ‘operate – learn – compete’ The next 12-18 months will prove to be make or break for non-household water retail businesses as they search for innovative strategies to enable them to gain an advantage in the Open Water market. They must act now to ensure they are ready. It’s only through engaging vendors that have innovative delivery and project approaches such as ‘Operate – Learn – Compete’ that water retailers will be able to rest assured they will be well equipped to perform admirably in the new Open Water market.

1 http://info.tcs.com/WaterReport2013.html

CROSS8

RETAIL SEPARATION

Getting the customer journey right With the retail market set to open in 2017, customers are, naturally, getting anxious.

The Consumer Council for Water recently published phase 2 of its research called ‘Unchartered Waters’, and this was consistent with phase 1 findings.

What are customers’ principle concerns?

These are the key findings about what UK-based business customers of various sizes told the Consumer Council for Water: n All were aware of the forthcoming market reform, but their information had come from peers/colleagues rather than the government or water industry; n Lessons must be learnt from the energy and telecoms sectors, where small companies struggle to negotiate the best deals and larger businesses require specialist procurement teams; n There is opposition of automatic rollovers of contracts and hidden charges. Customers do not want to see either of these, but they do want clear exit clauses, notice periods and transparent costs; n Contracts for smaller companies should be simple to understand, and easy to compare; n There is scepticism that businesses will actually want to switch water suppliers.

How will companies be pressured to enhance their service offering?

Changes being put in place, through retail separation, aim to deliver improved levels of service for customers – therefore, easing pressures resulting from the growing population and effect of climate change.

By opening up the market, allowing new players to obtain licenses, customer journeys will be at the forefront of their mind as they look to compete for customers. The new players have a key advantage of starting from scratch, developing innovative and radical new approaches to servicing customers which are not so easily available to current suppliers.

This customer journey will be a key decision factor in how suppliers win trust and loyalty by delivering a reliable, high quality and efficient service which offers excellent value for money.

Steps for companies to take and safeguard reputation The customer journey is all about knowing what happens to customers when they engage with you. It is about how they react and how it makes them feel at every touch point.

Customer journeys are all about continuous improvement and, as a supplier, you should: n Understand the journeys your customers go on; n Know what your customers expect; n Be aware of the gaps and the pain points;

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Track the moments of truth….and learn from them!

There are clear benefits from customer journey mapping, for both the business and its customers. n Identifies data and hand off points to better understand the role that each department plays in the overall customer-focused strategy; n Reveals opportunities to create customer satisfaction and improve the end-to-end experience; n Understands which touch points are most important and critical to your business success; n Provides insights into where your company should be investing, to improve the customer experience; n Helps determine which touch points require less, or more, focus; n To really have meaningful impact on customer experience, customer journey maps have to be firmly integrated into the decision-making processes.

For further information please contact, Ben Sturt, Cross8 T: 01926 940520 or M: 07469 768990 E: bensturt@cross8.co.uk W: www.cross8.co.uk

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FEATURE: RETAIL SEPARATION

WHY DID “LITTLE OLD” PORTSMOUTH WATER CHOOSE TO EXIT THE RETAIL MARKET FOR NON-HOUSEHOLDS

By Paul Barfoot Head of Retail, Portsmouth Water Many of you will be aware that from 1st April 2017 our plan is to exit from the retail non-household market. This may come as a surprise given we can reasonably argue that we are an industry leader when it comes to service and price. This article explains the reasons why we chose this route and how it is being implemented.

A legitimate question would be what customer benefit is created by our decision to exit the market? The short answer is that the decision was based on practical and economic reasons for the benefit of the business. However, in making this decision, we ensured that the chosen retail provider has a similar ethos to us in delivering excellent customer service.

What is Retail Competition and why is it happening?

In 2014, the Government passed legislation to allow non-household (business) customers to choose their water retailer, and it is intended that this becomes effective from 1st April 2017. The creation of this new market will allow businesses to switch from their local monopoly water company (the “incumbent water company”) to another water supplier for account management activities. Currently most water services are provided by “incumbent water companies” who are responsible for all aspects of the water to a customer’s premises. Abstraction and distribution forms the “Wholesale” service, and the customer facing services including billing and handling customer queries etc., are known as the “Retail” service.

As a result of this new legislation water and sewerage services to business customers premises will be split, as mentioned above, into Wholesale services and Retail services. The Retailer will be responsible for providing the customer facing service; they will issue bills and deal with customer contacts, queries and complaints. This retail activity will be open to competition, so

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successful retailers will need to have skills in sales and marketing. Customers can choose who will provide their retail services. The legislation also allowed incumbent water companies to “Exit the Market” which means that they would transfer the retail activities to another party, but this would have to be approved by the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs. The Wholesaler who provides the clean drinking water, and/or sewerage services, will not change.

Why did we make this decision?

Like all water companies, we considered a number of options including setting up a separate business to compete in this national market, joint ventures with other companies or to pass our customers to a specialist provider. We decided that working with a specialist provider was the most sensible and cost effective solution for a company of Portsmouth Water’s size and for our customers. This will enable us to focus on our core activity of the reliable supply of high quality water to all customers and retail services to our household customers. To put this decision into context, our 16,500 non-households only represent 5% of our customer base (the retail element is 1.5% of total revenue), which we assessed was too small a number to manage via a new retail operation that would have to be separate enough from the rest of our business to prove that it did not have an unfair advantage, via its links to the wholesale business.

As well as critical mass, retailers, when the market for business retail services opens in April 2017, will need sales and marketing skills and resources.

We did not believe we had the systems, skills and experience to compete on a national scale in this market without a large initial investment.

So in pure economic terms the costs that we would need to outlay in readiness for the market opening would take a number of years to recover even if none of our customers chose to switch to other retailers. Therefore the decision to exit the market was taken. The challenge now was to choose the best retail provider for our customers.

So why Castle Water?

We had a number of interested parties but Castle Water stood out as a company that, like Portsmouth Water, prides itself on offering high levels of service at a low price and is therefore ideally placed to satisfy the retail needs of our business customers.

In the words of their CEO John Reynolds, Castle Water was founded to participate in both the English and Scottish markets for business water supplies. They had experience as a suppliers to business water customers in Scotland, where they are based, and were genuinely excited about the opportunity to work with us going forwards. It seemed a good fit both for our customers and us as a business.

So what is happening now?

Since April 2016 Castle Water have handled all billing, calls and undertake other retail activities for business customers, initially on behalf of Portsmouth Water. They will operate in their own right from April 2017 when the competitive market is expected to open. As I mentioned earlier, at this point Portsmouth Water intends to exit the business customer retail market.

How has the transition worked so far?

Between January and April we worked hard with Castle Water to migrate all the business and other non-household customers onto their new billing system, Edge, which is being developed by Ascendancy, the system provider, specifically for the English market.

We have had staff working at Castle’s Head Office to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. We will continue to work with Castle until the market opens to ensure as seamless a transfer as is possible for our customers.

FEATURE: INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES NIVUS

NIVUS framework 3 Flow wins measurement sites with Thames Water one transmitter The manufacturer gets the 3+3 year contract for NIVUS GmbH their the first time with theirexpand flow range products NivuFlow familywithfor use The Leamington750 based company its German headquarters will be supplying ultrasonic as well with up to 9 sensors as radar flow measurement systems to Thames Water´s sewage treatment channel networks.

The manufacturer presents and a transmitter The multi-million value framework offers many capable of simultaneously measuring up to possibilities to measurement co-op and to gain synergies three different places with 9 on bothvelocity sides. sensors in total. This means less flow installation expenses, low space requirements for “We are both proud and pleased to win this installation in control cabinets and simultaneous framework for the first time“ says Marcus Fischer, access to 3 measurement sites using merely one Managing Director of NIVUS GmbH & NIVUS communication interface.

Ltd. It underscores the ambition of the flow measurement supplier foroperators their stateare offree the to art By using the new version system solutions.

For example there are high distribute the number of flow velocity sensors accurate flow systems real-time flow per measurement placedetecting as desired.

Moreover it is profiles even under hydraulic conditions. possible to use up todifficult 9 sensors for a measurement place featuring a very large measurement cross David Miles, Thames Business Manager and section. This allows highly accurate flow rate Environmental Manager with NIVUS UK “I look measurement even in very wide canals and flumes forward to the cooperation. The NIVUS flow featuring poor hydraulic conditions. measurement products bring a complement and The transmitter furthermore provides the option

consequent addition for Thames Water to their to mathematically previous flow measuring summarise a total value systems in use.” NIVUS adds new flow measurement systems with easy based on readings from and quickmeasurement assembly for pipe systems and also for different open The channel measurement. sites.

NivuFlow 750 M9 completes the Especially for bigger pipes their pipe sensor manufacturer’s family of solutions offer additional advantages in terms of cross correlation devices cost and sustainability. Listening to market needs for open channels and NIVUS identified the potential for a greener, more flumes as well as for cost effective and removable flow measurement part filled and full pipes. device for full and partially full pipes that can match the accuracy and applications of conventional flow Thanks to latest measurement systems but at a fraction of the cost. numeric discharge models integrated, “NIVUS is especially characterized by the widethe NivuFlow 750 ranging product portfolio of flow measurement units provide even sensors. With a quick assembly and low material more accurate and more reliable flow rate needs NIVUS products are a cost-effective and determination even under difficult measurement eco-friendly alternative to other measurement conditions. Based on the ultrasonic cross methods“, says Alison Southwood, Innovation correlation method, individual velocities are Manager. “On the basis of our large product detected in different levels within the flow cross portfolio NIVUS is able offer optimum flow section. This allows the calculation and indication solution for almost every application.” of real 3D flow profiles in real time. Influencing

Smart systems complement the NIVUS flow parameters such as canal shape, discharge measurement range needed especially in times behaviour and are considered to where IoT is notwall onlyroughness a buzz-word.

The smart data calculate the flow rate. are able to provide data logger and transmitter even without mains power supply. To enhance the Comprehensive diagnostic functions facilitate flow solutions the manufacturer offers web based commissioning and maintenance of the transmitters data portals as well as a scalable SCADA system and help operators to save time and costs. for automated multi-site control and overview.

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UNIVERSITY OF BATH

Sewer heat – the forgotten heat loss Energy is everywhere in the urban water cycle. Water utilities use energy to produce and pump drinking water. And after use the water is discharged into the sewer and purified at the sewage treatment works, again using energy.

Water companies strive to reduce their energy demand and climate foot print as much as possible. Nevertheless, the energy demand of the water cycle is still increasing, due to population growth and the need for more advanced treatment systems. For a sustainable water cycle radical changes are required. The water cycle should be changed into a net energy factory.

Energy for producing hot tap water is however much larger than for pumping and treating drinking and waste water. In fact the energy used to produce hot tap water is five to ten times higher than the operational energy of the water utilities. And at your home it is responsible for about 15-30 % of your energy bill.

After use, all the hot tap water goes down the drain, still containing most of the thermal energy.

Recovering this heat can improve the overall energy efficiency of the water cycle and reduce the carbon footprint significantly. The important question is then of course: How much and where can this energy effectively be recovered?

Measurements in sewers are very difficult, because of the very fouling environment and rapid changes in flow and temperature occurring. To overcome the difficulties of these measurements we have developed a modelling framework that can predict the heat availability in the sewer network.

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The model framework consist of two basic models.

The first one - Simdeum® 1 - is a model that describes water use patterns in homes. Figure 1 shows a typical result of this model. By assuming that all water use in the house will go into the sewer, Simdeum® can be used to estimate the water flow and temperature of the discharges into the sewer.

The second model, Sobek™ 2, is used to describe the water flow and temperature in the sewer.

In a recent study we used this modelling framework to predict the water and heat recovery potential on the University of Bath campus. In this study we focussed on five relatively new students’ accommodations, called The Quads.

Simdeum was very accurate in predicting the water use by the students. Figure 2 shows the average weekly flow pattern for the water flow in the sewer of one of the blocks of The Quads. The data follow a clear diurnal pattern, typical for domestic water use.

Using these data, a very accurate prediction of the sewage temperature can be achieved as well.

Again the predicted data in the manholes near The Quads coincide very well with the measured temperatures. The temperatures and flows were used to calculate the available heat potential.

Figure 3 shows the available heat power. Although there are strong variations, significant thermal

power is available. Nevertheless, heat recovery at such a relatively small scale is technically not yet feasible, because the heat exchangers for these small systems are not available.

A modelling case study on a larger scale residential area in the city Almere in The Netherlands showed that heat recovery from sewers becomes attractive if applied at larger sewers, collecting waste water form 5,000 Person Equivalents (PE) or more. It was estimated that a total energy recovery potential of 8.3 GJ is possible there 3.

Professor Jan Hofman Director of the Water Innovation & Research Centre at the University of Bath Laura Piccinini Visiting Researcher & MSc student in the Department of Chemical Engineering

FEATURE: WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

Figure 2. Average and Simulated water consumption at The Quads

Figure 1. Typical water demand pattern in a house on a working day.

1 Simdeum®: http://www.kwrwater.nl/Simdeum/ 2 SOBEK™: https://www.deltares.nl/en/software/ sobek/ 3 Hofman, J., Bloemendal, M., Wols, B., AgudeloVera, C., Maxil, J.E., Boderie, P., Nijman, M. and Hoek, J.P.v.d. (2014) Modeling of thermal energy balance in sewer systems, Proc. 11th international conference on hydro informatics, New York City.

Figure 3. Potential heating power from waste water from The Quads

International Water Science & Engineering Conference 13 – 14 July 2016 To celebrate the launch of its new Water Innovation & Research Centre (WIRC), the University of Bath invites industry professionals to join leading academics on campus for the first ever Water Science and Engineering Conference this July.

Speakers to include: • • • • •

Professor Jan Hofman, WIRC Director, University of Bath (UK) Professor Eugene Cloete, Vice-Rector, Stellenbosch University (South Africa) Professor Alfred Wüest, Eawag and EPFL (Switzerland) Professor Paul Sherlock OBE, Trustee, RedR UK (UK) Dr Colin Skellett, Chief Executive, Wessex Water (UK)

To register to attend see

go.bath.ac.uk/wirc-conference

Water Innovation & Research Centre

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SELWOOD GROUP LIMITED

SELWOOD INTRODUCES S150M AS A KEY ADDITION TO THE SOLIDS HANDLING PUMP RANGE Selwood has announced the launch of a new addition to its world-leading range of high-performance solids handling pumps.

The S150M is a brand new medium head pump suitable for multiple uses including sewage and sewer bypass and over pumping, waste and wastewater applications, long distance water transfer and dewatering for sites and quarries.

Featuring Selwood’s trademark reliability and proven Selprime automatic self-priming technology, it complements Selwood’s existing S range of solids handling pumps.

“Our teams are in constant conversation with our customers and distributors, and from their feedback it was clear to us that there was a need for a versatile medium head pump to complement our existing range.

solids handlings of 76mm. It has excellent suction performance (NPSHr) and a best efficiency point of 68% at 200rpm (437 m3/h at 51m head), as well as class-leading fuel consumption from the latest CAT C4.4 diesel engine. Internal wear parts are supplied in stainless steel 316 as standard, providing superb abrasion and corrosion resistance.

“With the addition of the S150M, customers who prefer Selwood for the quality, reliability and durability of our products and unrivalled customer service now have a full range of options for virtually any application.”

This new pump has been showcased at a number of trade shows including:

The S150M is a new design that incorporates many features and components which are proven through Selwood’s existing S range.

n Texas Water at Fort Worth, Texas USA 19 – 22 April

Like all Selwood units, it will be manufactured at the company’s Hampshire headquarters in accordance with ISO standards and will carry the CE mark.

It will be available housed in Selwood’s worldleading super silent canopies, as open set skid or as pump end only, and service support will come from the company’s extensive branch network in the UK and its strategic partners worldwide.

n IFAT Water, Sewage and Waste Management in Munich Germany 30 May – 3 June

Chris Garrett, CEO of Selwood, said: “The addition of the S150M to our line-up brings greater depth to our range, building on our strengths and those

The S150M is ideal for both contractors and rental companies. It can achieve flow rates of up to 720m3/h and total heads of 70 metres with

Selwood will work with its global network of distributors to feature the S150M in its line-up of products for sale and rental around the world.

The S150M was introduced by Selwood in response to demand from customers and distributors for a versatile medium head pump to strengthen its comprehensive range.

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of our distributor network in solids handling technology.

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n Bauma exhibition in Munich, Germany 11 – 17 April

You can also see the S150M when it makes its UK exhibition debut at Hillhead in Buxton from 28th – 30th June.

For more information about Selwood, including its 70th anniversary year and full range of products and services, visit www.selwoodpumps.com

FEATURE: WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

IChemE Forms of Contract For over 45 years IChemE have partnered with experienced industry professionals to publish their acclaimed UK and international Forms of Contract.

The Red Book – Lump Sum Contract The Green Book – Reimbursable Contract The Burgundy Book – Target Cost Contract The Yellow Book – Subcontract The Brown Book – Subcontract for Civil Engineering Works The Orange Book – Minor Works The Silver Book – Professional Services Agreement The contracts are available to purchase in hard copy, printable PDF, view only PDF and editable word document formats.

For more information or to make a purchase please contact our sales team on: +44(0)1788 534470 or sales@icheme.org

www.icheme.org/foc

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When you need an innovative partner, You can trust Wilo.

Water Management by Wilo Wilo make your life easier by concentrating on innovative technology, extensive support and clear focus on customer service.

16/02/2016 17:02

Our experts give you personal support in every phase of commissioning.

So when it comes to Water Management, you really can trust Wilo.

For more information visit www.wilo.co.uk or call +44 (0)1283 523000

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EXSEL PUMPS

Exsel Pumps specialist pump hire solution provider Exsel Pumps is able to offer solutions on a national basis for the more arduous pumping applications.

Emergency Raw Rag-laden Sewage Over-pump with High Suction Lift Exsel Pumps was called upon in an emergency to supply a system that covered the failure of an inlet screw to a remote sewage treatment works.

The set up required an emergency response due to forecasted inclement weather. During the installation however, a second of the three screws was also causing concern changing the scope of the supply at a late stage to cover a higher flow condition. The flexibility of Exsel and it’s capabilities resulted in some quick decision-making and an alternative solution was put in place.

The suction lift was about 7 metres of raw rag laden sewage. But a submersible pump of the size required to handle the duty would not fit in the wet well area designated. Access for surface mounted pumps was limited such that they could not be placed close to the wet well to be pumped.

The final solution involved the supply of two Betsy 8” (200mm) automatic diesel self-priming pumps on ultrasonic level controls for automatic duty/ standby operation.

Exsel’s Betsy pumps also provide excellent fuel economy Each of Exsel’s Betsy 200 pumps supplied is capable of over 700 m3/h (194 l/s) and a

generated head of over 40 metres. The Betsy pump range incorporates the Hidrostal pump end for the unrivalled rag handling and excellent fuel economy providing a low whole life cost of hire without loss of performance.

What was impressive on this application was the suction lift of nearly 7 metres and a suction length thereafter to the nearest possible pump location of about 20 metres. The full installation was carried out by the Exsel Team utilising flanged steel and wire armoured pipework.

Whole life cost of hire The cost of fuel on diesel pumps should not be underestimated and will be the highest portion of most hire contracts. Exsel utilise the Betsy range of pumps that provide an unrivalled fuel economy in some cases a saving of over £600 per running week on a 6” pump versus the nearest competitor offering rag handling capability. Exsel also adopt automatic control as standard which provides even more fuel saving capability.

Cost-effective emergency raw rag-l Exsel Pumps was called upon in another emergency to supply a system that could over pump a large collapsed sewer main in a remote wooded area.

Initially, the contractor was looking at a submersible pump option, but Exsel proposed a more cost-effective option utilising electric driven surface mounted immersible pumps with stand-alone vacuum priming systems. This negated the need to build a suction sump for the submersible units which would have cost more money and time— considering also the urgent nature of the project where houses nearby

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would have been in danger of a sewage overspill. Instead the selected option was to cut two saddles in the top of the existing pipe where Exsel would position suction pipework directly into the line. This also reduced the environmental impact due to odour compared to a large suction sump.

Two 16” (400mm) pumps with 18” (450mm) discharge pipe were utilised each capable of 3,000 m3/h (833 l/s) with unrivalled rag handling capability. With a suction lift of about 6 metres the pumps were controlled by a PLC container on variable speed drives with level control probes providing mm accuracy. Each pump was capable of the predicted maximum flow but it was decided due to the critical nature of the project that both pumps should be running and the level sensing would ramp up the speed of the pumps as the flow

FEATURE: WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

SPECIALIST PUMP RENTAL & SPECIAL PROJECTS • Specialist sewage pump experts • Total pumping solution including installation • Significant fuel savings up to 80% lower • Unrivalled rag-handling capability • Pumps up to 32” (800mm) discharge • Diesel and immersible electric pumps

Exsel Pumps Limited Unit G5 For t Wallington Industrial Estate Militar y Road, Fareham PO16 8TT Tel: Fax:

+44(0)1329 229 800 +44(0)1329 232 443

www.exselpumps.co.uk A

Group Company

Fareham Depot Unit G5, Fort Wallington Ind Est Military Road, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 8TT 01329 229800

Kent Depot Unit 4, Vicarage Lane Ind Est Vicarage Lane, Hoo, Rochester, Kent ME3 9LB 01634 253635

Leeds Depot Lotherton Way, Garforth Leeds, West Yorkshire LS25 2JY 0113 385 4579

laden sewage over-pump conditions increased. This provided a better safety factor considering the wide variance of flows and the proximity of the nearby residential area. Utilising two units of this size reduced the need to operate a higher quantity of smaller pumps offered by competitors, which would have required more room on site with more pipe runs and more power requirement.

So critical was the nature of the project that Exsel also installed an SMS system that contacted it’s engineers in the event of any alarms. Exsel therefore also providing 24/7 back-up to the application.

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Driving Innovation in Municipal Wastewater

As you work to bring water full circle, Sulzer is the one to take you forward. Sulzer offers the most advanced equipment for wastewater collection and treatment, including submersible pumps, mixers, flow boosters, aeration systems and turbocompressors, along with easy-to-use systems for monitoring and control.

Our solutions provide many ways to boost reliability and curb your energy costs. With our extensive knowledge and experience, we can identify the networks and systems where they will benefit you most. And we secure those benefits not only through our equipment, but also through our long-term service and support.

Sulzer Pumps Wastewater UK Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1293 558140 www.sulzer.com

HYDROK

WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

A SOLUTION FOR WASTEWATER PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL The Hydrok-Mecana pile cloth tertiary treatment solution is currently under FFT-scale trials at several of the UK water companies to achieve ultra-low phosphorus consents.

A trial took place at the Severn Trent Water multi solution test at Packington STW - the water company is evaluating six technologies trialed at its Packington sewage treatment works in Leicestershire, this has been followed by current trials taking place with South West Water, United Utilities, Thames Water and Yorkshire Water as part of the national series of trials.

TSS reduction downstream of humus or secondary settlement tanks (<5mg/l TSS achievable) and for Micro-pollutant ‘Priority Substance’ removal. It is an alternative to fixed film biological treatment humus tanks for removal of TSS and pre-filtration for fixed bed nitrification stages

The Hydrok-Mecana system is a muti purpose treatment that is able to be used for tertiary phosphorus removal in combination with precipitation/flocculation as a bespoke design for Ptot consent from 1mg/l to less than 0.1mg/l. This The Hydrok-Mecana systems can be installed is in addition to the use for; Tertiary Filtration for within concrete chambers or supplied as bespoke Hydrok Mecana IoW Vol 190:IoW half pg 13/05/2016 12:36 Page 1

off-site manufactured stainlesss steel units to help speed up installation and reduce distruption at the plant during the process.

For further information on the Hydrok wastewater phosphorus removal solutions contact Lewis O'Brien, lewis.obrien@hydrok.co.uk 01726 861900.

Meeting the Wastewater Phosphorus Removal Challenge Hydrok-Mecana Pile Cloth Media Tertiary Filtration • • • • • • •

Phosphorus and Tertiary Solids removal Less than 0.5 mg/l Ptot - Standard Cloth Less than 0.1mg/l Ptot - Microfibre Cloth Micro-Pollutant ‘Priority Substance’ Removal Filters full flow even during backwashing Zero power use during filtration process Complete package including mixing, flocculation tanks & access walkways 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

sales@hydrok.co.uk

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TOTAL ACCESS

SAFETY SERVICES ABOVE AND BELOW GROUND Total Access now part of the Arco family, offer an all-encompassing height safety and confined space specialist access service, our team of experts are dedicated to providing safe, quality solutions to challenging access problems remaining at the forefront of our industry for 25 years.

Our safety services include inspections and surveys of bridges, culverts, CCTV inspections, scour and topographical surveys, we can also carry out building maintenance and cleaning solutions to those difficult access areas.

Our inspection service aims to keep disruption to the customer and third parties to a minimum.

We pride ourselves on our specialist access techniques including Rope Access and Confined Space. Inspection of bridges and culverts can vary from simple surveys to full in-depth tactile examination, detailing corrosion effects, dimensional analysis and condition, through to full Non-Destructive Testing of metallic and reinforced concrete structures.

We can now also provide scour and topographical Surveys. Total Access can provide assessment of scour and other hydraulic actions at highway and railway structures crossing or adjacent to waterways. Our highly trained and competent engineers are capable of accessing the most difficult to access structures both above and below ground utilising multi-faceted techniques including rope access, confined spaces and safety boats access. Our topographical survey team can carry out in-depth surveys to client specifications and can assist surveyors in obtaining survey data from difficult access situations such as spans over water or high level structures.

Our safety boat service means we can provide a fully comprehensive inspection and maintenance service solution. Our team of safety boat operatives are highly trained and qualified and are able to provide a wide range of services from the complete support of rope access teams to works that are carried out over or in close vicinity of water where rescue capability is required. We can provide rapid safety boat cover whilst bridge maintenance and construction works are being undertaken.

We can provide safety boat services for a wide range of applications: n Rescue Cover n Inland waterway access n Environmental Surveys n Bridge Inspections n Scour Surveys

To find out more about any of the services we offer please contact Total Access on : 01785 850333

n Difficult Access

Or email us at Sales@totalaccess.co.uk

n Media and Filming n Marine Services n Work Vessels n Pontoons

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We also offer our clients a Fall Protection service right through from consultation to design and installation. Our highly experienced department is approved to provide a wide range of high level access systems and fall protection systems from the leading manufacturers in the field.

HUBER TECHNOLOGY

Huber Technology: Sludge solutions Backed up by extensive experience over the past 25 years in the UK wastewater treatment industry, HUBER Technology is highlighting the importance of matching the correct sludge product to the specific application.

As the leading sludge treatment specialist we will present a paper at the upcoming Sludgetech 2016 conference in June which will showcase the latest research and innovation in the sector.

Sewage Sludge is now regarded by the wastewater sector as a major opportunity for significant value recovery in terms of significant revenues from both renewable energy and fertilisers for the agriculture sector.

Albert Heindl, Head of Research and Development at HUBER, will discuss further advancements in dewatering and thermal processes for sludge

aimed at maximising resource recovery and optimising process operations. HUBER Technology have the proven technology with a successful track record at 900 + UK wastewater treatment works.

HUBERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s large and innovative product range is already in use at over 977 wastewater treatment works across the UK at every stage of the sludge treatment process, including: n Sludge Screening n Sludge Thickening

n Sludge Dewatering n Sludge Drying HUBER also has a range of sludge dewatering trial plants available for customers to trial on their process streams. This includes a containerised unit with a HUBER Screw Press Q-PRESSÂŽ, polymer preparation equipment, feed pump, dosing pump and controls to enable full scale trials to take place.

For more information please view our website www.huber.co.uk

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GA Valves are manufacturers and distributors of valves to the water and sewage industries UK Distributors and Technical Support of Dorot Flow Control Valves

Suppliers and Manufacturers of: • Air Valves • Gate Valves • Check Valves • Control Valves • Butterfly Valves • Flap Valves • Float Valves

• Plug Valves • Penstocks • Ball Valves • Fire Hydrant • Marker Post & Plate Systems • Blakeborough & Wolstenholmes - Valves & Spares • Other Products t: 01484 711 983 f: 01484 719 848 e: sales@gavalves.co.uk www.gavalves.co.uk

FEATURE: WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

READY SUMP

Pumping Stations with Confidence

• A precast concrete sump that incorporates the key features required for sewage, drainage and effluent pumping stations to meet the adoptable standards demanded by the water companies.

• The Ready Sump is rapid, economic and safe to install and reduces health and safety risks on site.

• Available in sizes 1500mm, 1800mm and 2400mm.

PACKAGE PUMPING STATIONS • Economical and efficient pumping stations manufactured to your requirements.

• Full support from initial design concept through to adoption and commissioning of your pumping station.

UNIQA PUMPS • A full range of Uniqa pumps with a choice of 2,4,6 or 8 pole motors from 4 to 355kW, 50 and 60Hz, and discharge ports from DN65 to DN500.

• Constructed with innovative materials and equipped with cutting edge technology the Uniqa range are the choice of pump for reliability and efficiency in waste water applications.

www.ttpumps.com Tel: +44(0)1630 647200 Institute of Water.indd 1

27/05/2016 16:30:57

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Current Service Reservoir flood testing methods are misrepresenting reality Realistic flood testing must be completed with the normal operating loads on the structure.

Over the past 20 years Panton McLeod have supported various initiatives in the UK water industry to develop the best practice methodology for Service Reservoir (SR) flood testing. Significant emphasis on the subject has emerged over the last 24 months as regulatory pressure on finding and preventing ingress has intensified for all water providers in the UK. We propose that the vast majority of current SR flood testing methodology, on tanks that are empty, are misrepresentative of the day to day situation for one significant reason. The enormous loads placed on a full tank will open (and perhaps even close) cracks, joints and other structural flaws in the structure. Removing that heavy load from the tank by draining it before flood testing will change the integrity of the tank.

Flood testing while in that empty state does not properly represent the state of the structure when it is full of water.

Some of the current methodologies for emulating heaving rainfall or melting snow include: n Brief flooding using the small diameter hosing associated with jetting equipment without any consideration for construction type. n Engulfment using fire hoses with a manifold to disperse the flow across the whole roof. n The use of sprinkler systems for extended periods. n CESWI type procedures (designed for new build assets) where 100mm of water is held on the roof.

There are numerous pros and cons to all of these as the search for a truly representative replication of natural flooding situations moves forward and it is important that this work is continued. However, even with that achieved, the second important element – the true state of the structure when nature floods it is currently overlooked. Achieving a 100% representative flooding state is good but it is not enough. The question of the impact of that flooding on ingress (or leakage) will not be effectively answered as long as the structure is tested while outside its true operating situation.

Add to that the structure’s type, age, location, elevation and environment (such as local water table levels) and it is very difficult to predict how each structure is behaving when subjected to this load.

We believe the only truly representative SR flood test is one where the flooding is emulated around an asset that is under normal operating loading and full to its normal operating level.

Does this mean flood testing a “live asset” and what are the implications of that? n Yes, and we understand that water companies struggle with the idea of a “live” flood test, even though this is simply representing what is already happening to the asset. Regular heavy rainfall is a reality in most parts of the UK and ingress of that water when it happens is already going into a “live” asset. Our view is that it is better to find that out quickly rather than delay that by setting up a drained test with false loadings on the tank. n However - if a tank can be drained, then by default, it can also be isolated. We therefore propose isolating the asset from supply and then flood testing it while it has the normal operating level of water still inside it. If it passes, it can then be put back into supply very quickly. n Another major advantage of testing with water in place is the saving on time and other complications. After 20 years of confined space entry inspection and cleaning we are very aware of the complications associated with taking an asset out of supply and then draining it. Time, environmental challenges (eg. de-chlorination to waste), pressure on other parts of the system and other complications can all be reduced by removing the need to remove the water at the test stage.

We believe that there is a lot to be gained from this quicker and more realistic testing of assets.

It provides faster reassurances when an asset passes and more chance for work to prioritised and planned better and more effectively on those assets that do not.

But how can this be done?

Panton McLeod now have years of experience of operating small robotic inspection vehicles within live drinking water assets. This includes experience already at carrying out “live” flood testing as described above.

What about below the water line testing? n The vast majority of ingress identified is from the roof, hatches, wall head and ceiling joints, which are all generally above the operating water line and are all subject to movement under pressure. n By nature of the pressure exerted by the stored water, water passing through wall and floor joints is more likely to be outwards – leakage rather than ingress. Methods exist where very small levels of fully approved die can easily be injected robotically onto suspicious wall and floor joints to visually test for a flow of water in either direction. n If ingress is unusually happening below the water line, against the internal pressure, then that would perhaps suggest a “floating tank” situation on a high water table. Again an empty tank in that situation is going to behave very differently from a full tank when it comes to flood testing.

So is it time to look at the impact of pressures placed on a structure by water loads when testing the integrity of water storage structures?

Get involved in the debate at go.pantonmcleod.co.uk/flood, or by emailing info@pantonmcleod.co.uk

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

New Case Study

65% THM REMOVAL ACHIEVED WITH MINIMUM COST & ENERGY USE

Asset Inspection

Reservoir Cleaning

Exciting developments from the USA is pointing towards even more efficient methods of removing THMs from treated water storage points.

Pipeline Commissioning

Read the latest case study detailing how Placer County Water Agency in California were able to use a combination of PAX Water Technologies active mixing and ventilation systems (without additional aeration) to remove THMs by between 45% and 65%.

The results so far suggest it is by far the most energy efficient solution to achieve THM removal.

Mixing and THM Removal

To talk to us about Panton McLeodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mixing and THM services contact paul.henderson@pantonmcleod.co.uk Read the case study in full visit at go.pantonmcleod.co.uk/thm

Client spotlight

SEVERN TRENT WATER

Water Quality Support

Panton McLeod have supported the UK water industry since 1994, today they hold 6 major framework agreements, complete around 1000 separate projects each year, operate from four regional bases and have supported nearly every water company on an adhoc basis.

Emergency Response

But back in 2000 Panton McLeod took a huge step forward when they were appointed as the sole service reservoir cleaning & inspection contractor for Severn Trent.

The Severn Trent contract has therefore always been very special for the business and many of the lessons learnt in the roll out of the framework have become part of the standard business model as growth has continued.

17 years on Panton McLeod are very proud to still support Severn Trent Water, see the key facts and figures at go.pantonmcleod.co.uk/stw It is estimated that Panton McLeod crews have completed well over 2000 reservoir cleans, including twice being involved in the critical Ambergate Service Reservoir S10 inspection projects. In addition, numerous emergency situations have been supported at short notice, robotic technology has been brought to the market along with raising the standards of environmental protection through the use of mobile treatment plants to settled, filter and de-chlorinate waste waters.

Water Quality Engineering www.pantonmcleod.co.uk Tel : 01896 663 330

The team at Panton McLeod look forward to many more years as an integral part of the supply chain.

To contact Panton McLeod call the head office on 01896 663330

www.pantonmcleod.co.uk â&#x20AC;˘

@pantonmcleod

AMP6 - the story so far Jonathan Chambers,left, and Ben Clark of the Esh-MWH JV supporting Northumbrian Water Group in AMP6, discuss the challenges of delivery within the new regulatory environment.

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FEATURE: SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE We’ve been encouraged by the willingness of all partners to embrace the need for change in approach. It is already bringing the opportunity for greater efficiency through challenge to current standards, streamlining of designs and sharing of best practice across the delivery programme.

We are now into the second year of the AMP6 investment period which has marked the changing priorities within the industry, and the challenges this presents for contractors and consultants working in the water sector.

In this AMP period, water regulator Ofwat expects water companies to move away from ticking regulatory boxes and will instead be judged on the service they deliver to customers. Cost efficiency is high on Ofwat’s agenda, and water companies are being encouraged to consider the total cost (“totex”) of a solution, rather than separating the capital and operating costs. As a result, there is much more emphasis on looking holistically at the way an entire network operates, and finding the most appropriate place in that network to make an intervention that will bring benefits – be they financial, environmental or the reliability of customer service. These are significant changes for the supply chain as the water companies look to those best equipped to support delivery under this new regime.

Customer engagement better defines customer needs The customer is top of the priority list in AMP6 and whilst our water company clients have wellestablished customer protocols, there is a real drive for continuous improvement and for the supply chain to be fully committed to this. For example through our work with Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) on its AMP6 delivery programme we have been actively involved in developing a new Customer Engagement Tool (CET). The tool allows NWG and its delivery teams to collaboratively manage, measure and improve customer service and relationships and meet customer needs by considering how we can continue to minimise the impact of our actions from planning to construction and beyond.

The CET connects together the range of existing customer engagement activities into a structured process and puts the customer at the heart of the project lifecycle. It focuses project teams to understand and include; specific customer’s needs; the wider community needs; and stakeholder needs at the very start of project definition. Presenting the earliest opportunity to avoid or mitigate issues and engineer the scheme toward the best all-round economic, environmental and social solution. This might be achieved through targeted door knocks during the planning stages, and timely customer

events, to understand customer requirements.

Customer expectations are then managed by the implementation of the Communication Plan throughout the design and construction period.

Efficiency requires greater collaboration The change from a Capex focused approach, from previous AMP periods, has been significant for both Esh-MWH and other supply chain partners.

Our first year of delivering the AMP6 programme has seen us develop and embed TOTEX, efficiency driven processes and systems into our everyday activities. For example, we have developed and implemented a TOTEX Solution Hierarchy ‘filter’ (Eliminate, Collaborate, Operate, Invigorate, Fabricate) which we have applied to any identified and verified need. We use the filter to test and identify if operational or educational solutions could be applied to eliminate the root cause thus reducing or completely negating the need for a build solution. This hierarchy approach has revolutionised the way we think about the development of solutions. It allows engineers to think beyond the traditional boundary constraints and engage with a wider set of stakeholders to create “win-win” solutions for all parties.

An example of what can be achieved by this approach is the Fellgate flood alleviation project undertaken by Esh-MWH for a partnership of Northumbrian Water Group and South Tyneside Council (STC). Both share responsibility for surface water management in the area. Using a sustainable Totex approach to surface water management, the project team was able to provide the most suitable solution for NWG, STC and residents and wider benefits for the community by: n Developing a common understanding of the problem by sharing knowledge and using the latest modelling techniques to understand risk n Identifying Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) where feasible over conventional drainage n Identifying added value opportunities including biodiversity enhancement, amenity and education

to manage surface water which included swales, bunds and detention basins. The partnership successfully delivered a scheme that provided a greater level of flood protection to properties, wider benefits to the community and lower overall cost than could be achieved by the individual organisations.

The SuDS for schools element of this scheme has won a Water Industry Achievement Award in the ‘sustainable drainage and flood management initiative of the year’ category. It has also won the Institute of Water ‘Innovation Award’ for the Northern Region and was high commended by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

A continuous drive for efficiency Water companies are expecting something different from consultants and contractors from the AMP6 asset management programme.

They want us to deliver their programmes at 20-25% below cost base, so we need to do things differently – and that requires different thinking and a different approach.

For example Esh-MWH is working closely with Northumbrian Water Group and its other delivery partners to implement a range of actions aimed at driving greater efficiency. The new ‘on boarding’ process for AMP6 brings together suppliers to establish a common delivery process and share best practice. An efficiency register has also been established to track good ideas and ensure sharing across all programme delivery partners.

Better integration of tier 2 and 3 suppliers has also been a key activity during year one of AMP6.

Supplier days have been held to ensure full alignment with NWG vision and values and to explore how suppliers can contribute to meeting the efficiency challenge.

“We’ve been encouraged by the willingness of all partners to embrace the need for change in approach. It is already bringing the opportunity for greater efficiency through challenge to current standards, streamlining of designs and sharing of best practice across the delivery programme.” said Jonathan Chambers.

n Engaging with the community throughout the project and in a meaningful way The new solution combined conventional sewer network enhancements and sustainable measures

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Border Archaeology, founded in 1997, has worked in partnership with the Water Industry to build our reputation as a trusted supplier of heritage services with a strong tradition of community involvement & environmental stewardship, all this starting way back at the beginning of AMP 3 and continuing to the present day.

We believe our proven commitment to constructive dialogue, cost control and consumer engagement remains key to meeting the needs of the sector in its drive to develop innovative solutions to 21st -century challenges. To date, over 4400 members of the general public have attended our Open Events which champion our clients’ commitment to archaeology within their area.

As the industry moves towards an outcomes driven culture within a framework of Total Expenditure (Totex) and beyond, we believe our unrivalled combination of experience & expertise underpins the Company’s continued

“Our contracting and consulting service encapsulates the ‘Border ethos’: sensible professional advice ... timely resolution”

provision of appropriate archaeological & heritage mitigation that meets the industry’s statutory obligations.

Our contracting and consulting service encapsulates the ‘Border ethos’: sensible professional advice provided at project inception to ensure timely resolution of archaeological issues and the amelioration of cost.

Heritage in whatever form is important to all of us engaged with the Water industry - Border provides a realistic context in which to place it.

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We have extensive experience in water, building long-term relationships throughout AMP 3, 4, 5 and currently 6 bristol | leeds | leominster | london | milton keynes | newport | winchester

COSTAIN

SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE

ONE YEAR INTO AMP6, EFFICIENCY GAINS ARE ALREADY BEING MADE AMP6 began just over a year ago, and for us as a partner on three AMP6 frameworks, it has been a good yet challenging year. The move towards “totex” and the 20% efficiency challenge means many of the water companies have got new outcome delivery models. Every company has a different strategy to drive efficiencies: some have been out of the blocks quickly and are delivering early; while others have used the first year to develop the best way to work together.

By Ross MacKenzie, Costain's Water Sector Director One thing that is consistent is the intent for us to stand shoulder to shoulder with our customers to drive the efficiencies that will help them meet the outcomes they need. Our involvement with customers is closer than it has ever been before, and we now have a greater understanding of their priorities and the targets they must meet.

The questions being asked of us are different; more focused on the outcomes that need to be achieved for our customers’ customers, rather than on how we intend to deliver them. And because we’re talking about total expenditure, we also understand the operational impact of what we’re building.

The move to totex has changed how we do things on site. There is much greater input from operational teams, so we can understand their needs and develop the best solution for a totex approach, rather than just a great capital solution.

The emphasis on partnering in AMP6 should not only happen at the strategic level; it should make everyone’s approach more collaborative.

Each water company is addressing the affordability challenge differently. At the beginning of the AMP period, our customers set the direction for us to achieve. Now we’re more engaged with them, and talking about how we’re going to achieve that together.

And we are doing the same with our supply chain. We need to get them involved earlier, so that we can realise the benefits from top to bottom. We will only be successful if we create a single drive towards efficiency; and in order to do that we must bring our suppliers closer to our business. That is how you get improved business performance, share ideas, minimise risk and drive the right behaviours.

And, by adopting a “whole programme approach”, and getting suppliers and whole life project managers involved at the needs identification stage, you have the best chance of gaining efficiencies right across the value chain.

As we move further into the AMP period, innovation is likely to become more important.

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Much of what we’ve done to date has been about addressing the 20% challenge, but we know we will need to stretch beyond that. In order to get there we will have to find new ways to innovate.

Focusing not only on innovation through new assets, and asset optimisation but also with how we help change the operational approaches and create optimal ‘habits’ for teams to ensure future operation of new and existing plants remain optimised. New ways of measuring performance data and delivering information in real time to the teams is going to be fundamental to safeguarding compliance, removing waste through lean interventions and optimising energy balance.

Costain has introduced “Factory Thinking” to our water projects. This approach is based on production line thinking: more standardisation, off-site assembly and production control to

minimise waste and maximise the programme benefits. That way we will get the 20% efficiency improvement over the line and deliver better results for our customers.

Now that we have more of an understanding of our customers’ challenges, we can use our skills to help manage their programmes. And because we’re involved at that highest level, we can be efficient in our approach to the AMP delivery, focused on the operational benefits and improved service to our customers’ customers.

That connection of everything from top to bottom will drive efficiencies for our customers and allow the bedrock to be formed that will enable us to go on to be more innovative as the relationships evolve. We’ve made a very positive start to AMP6, we now need to crack on.

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HYDRO INTERNATIONAL

How grit and determination could bridge the totex gap An industry survey conducted by WaterBriefing, and supported by Hydro International, has raised fundamental questions about the development of whole life costing in water asset management, operation and maintenance.

Is the UK water industry making sufficient progress towards embedding Whole Life Costing (WLC) into its procurement, contracting and operating practices?

To achieve this goal, the industry must take on board the principles of totex (total expenditure) asset management and close the gap between capital and operational expenditure (capex and opex) cost evaluations. However, according to a survey conducted by the WaterBriefing website, most people in the industry believe there is still some way to go before totex is embraced.

Yet, the survey also revealed widespread support of the approach and its ability to encourage innovation and, in turn, drive lower operating and energy costs – benefits that can be passed on to water consumers.

WaterBriefing AMP6 and totex Survey Timed to coincide with the early stages of AMP6, the survey respondents represented a broad cross-section of water company personnel, contractors and equipment suppliers. There was a good spread of responses, both in terms of role and level of seniority, says WaterBriefing editor Elaine Coles: “We wanted to investigate to what extent a totex approach is creating a different mindset and prompting water companies to re-examine current practice,” she explains. “To begin with, almost 90% agreed that there was actually a lack of consensus on what totex really means.

“The survey clearly showed that people believe levels of acceptance of totex in water companies are low, and particularly so among Operations and Maintenance personnel, as well as among middle management who one respondent described as a ‘treacle layer’. People also felt that a lack of discussion between budget holders within organisations could be holding back the totex agenda.”

A gritty issue The survey focused on the specific example of grit removal as a treatment process that could potentially benefit from a totex-based investment assessment. WaterBriefing sought advice of grit removal specialists Hydro International, who supported the survey. Keith Hayward, European sales and Marketing Manager for Hydro International explains:

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“Grit removal turned out to be a good example to focus on. The results support a picture of the ‘disconnect’ between the opportunities of a totex model and the reality of everyday practice. Nearly all relevant respondents agreed that inadequate grit removal could be reducing the overall efficiency of their plant; they knew how much grit abrasion and deposition impacts on wear, parts replacement, treatment capacity and on the effectiveness of biological treatment.

“Yet at the same time most agreed that settling for a compromise in grit removal is the norm.”

Key Results Out of all the respondents, only 14.5% believed the UK water industry is already changing to meet totex objectives.

1

(Fig 1)

There was a strong correlation between responses to suggested key barriers to progress. The following results show what percentage of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with suggested barriers to totex acceptance: n Resistance to change (80.3%) n Lack of consensus on what totex really means (89.4%) n Mindset split between capex and opex (95.2%) n Lack of discussion between budget holders within organisations (83.7%) n Failure to embrace Whole Life Cost approach (78.8%) The survey also demonstrated views about the levels of acceptance within water companies, with a high number of people believing totex is much better accepted at senior management level, but yet to be accepted by middle management: 2

(Fig 2)

Two thirds of the respondents believed a totex approach would encourage more innovation in AMP6: 3

(Fig 3)

Grit Removal In the section of the survey relating to grit removal, respondents were asked whether

they believed inadequate grit removal could be reducing the overall efficiency of the operating plants they were concerned with. Most people agreed that it was.

4

(Fig 4)

The majority of respondents agreed with a number of statements about the adverse impact of downstream grit on wear and replacement of equipment, treatment capacity, biological processes and energy usage.

Yet, at the same time, most people also viewed grit removal as an area of wastewater treatment operation where settling for a compromise in the level of protection is accepted. There was a strong indication that water professionals believed upgrading grit removal systems would help to meet totex objectives in AMP6 and beyond.

5

(Fig 5)

Conclusions The WaterBriefing survey was conducted at the end of last year, with results published in Spring 2016. A total of 90 people responded, with the results revealing clear patterns of agreement on key issues.

“We were particularly encouraged by the number of people who responded with detailed comments to the survey, which helped to provide depth and context to the statistical results,” says Elaine Coles.

“There was a particularly strong sense of frustration with relation to procurement practices in water companies that was acutely experienced right across the supply chain, both from contractors and equipment suppliers. There were strong indications that a lowest-price-up-front procurement model perpetuates a capex bias, through what one commenter described as a ‘race the price to the bottom’ tendering process.”

Opportunity for Change Keith Hayward added: “The survey results are not completely surprising, but I was struck by the strong sense of consensus and by the similarity of frustrations felt by other equipment suppliers, and also by contractors across the water sector supply chain.

“The perspective from the supply chain has a lot to offer in terms of highlighting solutions to

FEATURE: SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE Do you believe the UK water industry is ready to change to meet totex objectives?

Do you believe a move to totex will encourage more innovation in AMP6?

Strongly disagree

Don’t know

Already changing

Strongly agree

Disagree

the totex challenge. The opportunity presented by grit removal is a case in point, and it is encouraging to see such strong agreement of its potential to contribute to a totex evaluation of operating efficiency and cost savings.”

Ready but not changed yet

Not ready Agree

Not Ready Ready but not changed yet Already changing Don’t know

According to Hayward, totex is as much a journey as it is a distant prize; and incremental progress can be made. In particular, greater availability of operating data will be a key factor in justifying totex decisions in future, he says: “In grit removal, for example, we have developed an online tool, the Cost of Grit Calculator, based on real operating data which can help water companies to explore the savings that could be made by removing more, and finer grit, at the inlet works.

“Other important areas are a greater openness to innovation and for the industry to review outdated industry design standards for technology to avoid barriers to progress. There are encouraging ‘green shoots’ in these areas.

1

Hydro International recently introduced its HeadCell® advanced grit separation system to the UK and is collaborating with UK water companies to undertake pilot trials and sampling at wastewater treatment plants. If you are interested in taking part please contact Keith Hayward: khayward@hydro-int.com

Amongst senior management Amongst middle management Amongst operational staff

Well accepted Not yet fully accepted Not accepted at all

Do you believe inadequate grit removal in your treatment processes could be reducing the overall efficiency of the operating plants you are concerned with?

2

Do you believe upgrading grit removal systems would help water companies to meet totex objectives in AMP6 and beyond?

(Answer if applicable to your role).

Disagree No

Further Information

Don't know

Advanced Grit Management is Hydro International’s website devoted to best practice discussion on grit removal, with operating experience gathered from all over the world. Visit the site and try the Cost of Grit Calculator.

Not applicableto me

A copy of the survey report is available from the WaterBriefing website and also via www.advancedgritmanagement.com

3

How well do you believe totex is being accepted within water company organisations?

“In addition, the survey strongly revealed there are significant opportunities to be gained through more integrated procurement practices. Greater cooperation and communication, not only within water companies, but across the supply chain is essential.

“The supply chain can play an important role in supporting more collaborative working practices, such as BIM (Building Information Management) and can benefit from the experience and best practice of other areas of infrastructure development in both the public and private sector.”

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree

Don't know Agree

Yes Not applicableto me Don’t know No

Yes

4

StronglyAgree

Strongly agree Agree Don't know Disagree Strongly disagree

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JACOPA

Amp 6 – a supply chain view The drive for ever more competitive solutions has caused a seismic shift in strategy for the water sector, one that has put the onus of responsibility on suppliers to demonstrate that their products and services deliver focused outcomes at a time when the life cycle cost impact of procurement decisions are under scrutiny.

Alex Lloyd Managing Director, Jacopa

Utilities must therefore secure robust and effective assets designed and specified to be easy to refurbish, repair, retrofit and upgrade. This emphasis on ‘outcomes’ rather than ‘outputs’ is fuelling interest in equipment like our Bosker trashrakes and new Straight Through Screen that help meet this aim.

Cutting operational expenditure (Opex) is also vital and it is imperative that utilities keep existing assets operating at optimum performance through planned and minimal maintenance. At Jacopa we’ve worked hard to provide the best possible after sales care, and when emergencies do arise we’re able to provide support and hire equipment to keep sites at full working capacity.

The increased emphasis on extending asset life and maintaining performance in AMP 6 is also reflected in our business relationships. Here it’s important to look beyond equipment to assist customers and project management teams in both long-term decision-making and short-term judgements on individual assets.

As the business environment demands more competitive outturns for projects and the regulated water companies strive to deliver more effectively and efficiently it is imperative that the supply chain align to this challenge with a focus on solutions that are less bespoke, innovation to give cost-reduction, and extended asset life through planned maintenance and refurbishment. www.jacopa.com

The drive for cost efficiency in AMP 6 is also increasing demand for our standardised solutions

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and packaged plant design. And increasingly water utilities are making use of offsite construction to deliver savings in capital and operating costs.

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Advertise your business in the Institute of Water Journal Contact David Lancaster on t: 0845 887 3829 e: david.lancaster@distinctivegroup.co.uk

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FEATURE: SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE

AMP6 one year in

Stuart Rothery, director for water at J. Murphy & Sons Limited (Murphy), shares his views on the challenges and successes of AMP6

AMP6 has seen many changes following the successful delivery of capital investment programmes across the water industry in AMP5.

The majority of water companies have extensively refreshed their Tier 1 supply chains, introducing new entrants into the market while bringing a number of long-term relationships to an end.

The nature of the capital and operational investment programmes in AMP6 has changed.

The number of large scale asset creation schemes has reduced and has been replaced with a greater number of smaller scale maintenance oriented projects. On top of this, the economic regulator for the water industry, Ofwat, has changed its regulatory regime from output to outcome based delivery in a drive to encourage water companies to become more independently minded and customer focused. Tighter capital efficiencies have also been introduced, all with the intention of keeping water bills low and customer satisfaction high.

Murphy has adapted well to these changes. True, the transition from AMP5 to AMP6 has seen a

significant change in the contracts that we had with a number of water companies, but this has been more than offset by the introduction of major contracts with Thames Water and Affinity Water, among others, predominantly in the area of clean water networks and trunk mains.

Murphy is among relatively few like-minded companies that directly employ and train its own workforce. This allows us to equip our teams with the skills needed to be innovative and to engage effectively with customers directly. This has worked well for us in AMP6 so far, as in most of our contracts we have an extensive role to play in speaking to and engaging with local residents, businesses and multiple stakeholders in the community who are also, of course, our client’s customers.

The success of the Outcome Delivery Incentive (ODI) performance commitments agreed between our clients and Ofwat is dependent on establishing excellent customer relationships, and the evidence from the first year of AMP6 is that we are performing particularly well in this respect. We have also formed strong collaborative

relationships with other major utility construction companies, the most significant of these being our ‘Agility’ joint venture with Morrison Utility Services, which forms a key part of Thames Water’s Infrastructure Alliance.

Our clients have chosen us to deliver their work programmes because we understand how their businesses work, we care about their customers and the communities in which they work and, perhaps most importantly, we keep our promises to deliver. We demonstrate our ability to innovate, to be resourceful and to build a responsive workforce that really understands customer engagement and commitment.

We are confident that our operating model will meet the challenges ahead and we are looking forward to playing our part in carrying out the remainder of the AMP6 programme for our clients.

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MWH

Getting the balance right through effective decision-making Ken Gedman, Director at MWH, now part of Stantec, says the industry is at a tipping-point. He says it’s never been more important to get the balance right between delivering outcomes, efficient delivery, maintaining a stable asset base and meeting ever increasing customer expectations. These often competing factors are adding increasing complexity to effective decision-making.

Water companies have a number of competing priorities as businesses and with the services they deliver. They have to deliver what customers value across a broad customer base in their regions and have to do this in the most costefficient and affordable way for their customers.

At the same time they have to demonstrate to other stakeholders like regulators, consumer organisations and investors that how they do this, and the decisions they take, are the right ones across a broad spectrum of competing priorities.

Getting this right engenders trust and confidence in the industry and demonstrates the value of these services to customers.

It’s fair to say water companies have been doing this for a long-time now and we are in pretty good shape as an industry. Regulation and the changes that companies have had to adapt to since privatisation have been considerable. However, we are reaching some tipping-points that we need to consider: n Decision-making is becoming more complex with competing priorities from differing stakeholder perspectives – often with diverse perspectives; n The intent of idealised and complex decisionmaking is often compromised by the data and information available. This isn’t an excuse – it’s a fact; and n There is always a trade-off between shortterm pressures and long-terms needs, with differing stakeholder priorities falling into each of these categories.

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Here are some examples illustrating these points:

What if targets aren’t what customers want to pay for?

Performance should be a commitment to customers not the regulator - Ofwat’s own words – which, arguably, should be one and the same.

However, if companies build their plans and their commitments around specific, communitybased, customer needs, how does this fit with the regulator’s drive for comparative measures to challenge companies towards upper-quartile

performance? What if the targets set for upperquartile performance aren’t what customers want to pay for?

How can companies justify longer payback periods across multiple AMPs? Cost effective and efficient decision-making should consider forward-looking, long-term needs. But regulatory approval tends to be dictated by analysis of historical expenditure (based on historical decisions) and comparison to the previous planning period. Does that mean

FEATURE: SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE

GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT

A ew sse ar t ds hi

EFFECTIVE DECISION MAKING

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So how can we get the balance right?

With so many needs and competing priorities, how do we move to make the complex simple? With many in the industry looking ahead and starting to plan for a successful transition to AMP7, the regulator, water companies and the supply chain are refreshing their approaches and offerings across many fronts. Three emerging areas of focus to support better decision-making appear to be:

To t

SIS Y L AN A

N

HT

LI

Stability in the levels of asset investment has been the result of balancing serviceability needs across a broad asset base, hedging on the long-run of asset lives. Balancing expenditure by spending less on asset renewal and more operational solutions is where the regulator has focused companies. Without effective decisionmaking, this could have the effect of simply deferring capital investment now and ‘kicking the can’ of asset investment needs into the future.

If this happens, this will only create a financing and affordability challenge for companies and customers further down the line.

O E-

IG F-S

AT A

poorer, previous decision-making reduces the potential positive impact of companies investing in better data and investment decision-making for the future? How will companies justify the business case with longer payback periods for investment in new systems, tools and better data that span multiple AMPs?

D

LS

n Greater visibility or line-of-sight between decision-making and outcomes (to support risk management); n Improved systems or tools to support complex decision-making; and n Enhancing the capability to capture, allocate and analyse data at a more granular level.

Line-of-sight – between decisionmaking and outcomes An area of complexity that the industry is adapting to in AMP6 is the move to delivering outcomes and not just outputs. Planned and programmed activities are driven to achieve the performance commitment and outcomes agreed with customers. A narrative that describes the link between interventions and how they will contribute to the delivery of outcomes works at a high-level, but being able refine decisions or take others to optimise the delivery of outcomes is critical at the delivery level. Decision-making needs to link investment priorities through to delivery programmes, with a feedback loop from lead and lag indicators that measure the impact from these actions. Without this line-ofsight, companies run the risk of compromising

returns from outperformance or commercial arrangements incentivising the supply chain.

Support systems for complex decision-making With so many competing priorities that need to be considered in decision-making, companies are looking to enhance their capability to arrive at a consistent, auditable and robust approach to support their long-term asset investment planning. Decision support tools or frameworks have to consider in concert a wide range of variables including asset deterioration predictions, whole-life cost / benefit components, affordability and strategic financial constraints and a world that is turning around them.

Capturing data at a meaningful level The success of any decision-making is based on having the right data available to support it. A gap that appears consistent across the industry is the Opex element to support effective Totex decision-

making. Data exists – just not at the granularity required for complex decision-making. Companies and their supply chains need to support a more detailed understanding activity based Opex. A move to activity based cost capture is happening, but will take some time. In the short-term, robust systems and approaches for cost allocation will be required to fill this gap and build greater confidence in Totex-based decision-making.

As an industry we are in the midst of a tippingpoint. Never has it been more important to get the balance right between delivering outcomes, managing cost-effective operations, maintaining a long-term stable asset base and meeting ever increasing customer expectations. Getting this right will ensure companies see a smooth and successful transition to AMP7, with greater confidence that some of the other challenges ahead – e.g. retail market opening, upstream wholesale separation – can be met with optimism and opportunity.

Getting this right engenders trust and confidence in the industry and demonstrates the value of these services to customers.

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MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC

AMP6 – the effects on the supply chain Glen Henderson, Mitsubishi Electric’s Water Industry Sales Manager discusses the implications to the supply chain of the “rollercoaster” ride that is the AMP6 investment period. As always at the start of any AMP period, the supply chain expectations are for the often promised “early start.” This feeling was further enhanced by the predicted industry spend, in excess of £44b.

However, reality indicates that the norm is for a drive to reduce costs and this in itself raises many challenges. Of course cost savings can be achieved in many ways, for example by utilising new ideas such as BIM (Building Information Modelling) and Off Site Manufacturing and the potential exists for large savings to be achieved around main construction and large plant activities.

Despite the supply chain’s expectations, what we have seen is that the start of AMP6 has been the slowest of all the AMP periods with early engagement plans drifting. The knock on effect of these delays can and often does cause issues and effects to all those in the supply chain, from the Tier 1 Main Contractors, through to the Tier 3 Component Suppliers.

As would be expected for such an important period of investment for the UK Water Industry, the supply chain have built their short to medium term plans around the requirements of AMP6 and in order to deliver the planned works have invested in many areas of their businesses, including recruitment and development of new working methods and solutions, all for the reduction of TOTEX costs.

In recent meetings with Tier 2 suppliers the conversation has very much been around the typical delay at the start of AMP periods but more so about the extremely late pick up of the current AMP period and how it has affected not only their ability to accurately forecast the number of personnel required but more importantly to manage the workload through the various departments, especially within the manufacturing process and where there is a requirement for built to order items such as MCC steelwork, Sewage Screens etc .

This inability to forecast has a knock on effect throughout the supply chain of the Tier 2s and

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into the Tier 3s, as these companies also need to manage and co-ordinate their manufacturing processes or their stock holding profiles.

Delays of course are not uncommon and have been seen in previous AMP periods. There has been much debate about whether there is uncertainty around the possibility of “Brexit” and whether there might be a change in the regulatory requirements of the UK Water & Waste Water Companies. More likely is that it is just an extended delay in the start of projects as it was also very clear that there are many tenders being submitted for the works that are being undertaken in AMP6.

However this doesn’t detract from the issues that are currently affecting the entire supply chain. What is clear is that as the early start has not materialised and with the amount of orders being placed with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers being very low, the investment that has been undertaken by the supply chain appears to be a little premature.

Many of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers are now considering the implications of the very late start

to AMP6 and what it means to their businesses and more worryingly, if indeed the uncertainty in the investment schedule of the AMP periods makes the industry a viable one to continue to operate in. Is it time after five previous AMP periods to look at the possibility of changing the whole process?

Is there a case for staggering the AMP periods across the various water companies so that the AMP periods do not all start and stop at the same time?

Perhaps a system could be introduced where, for example, two Water and Waste companies and two Water companies could begin an AMP period and then continue this from the following year across the other companies on a one year rolling basis.

There might be many reasons why this may not work but revisiting the current situation with an open mind may deliver the benefits of taking the pressure away from OFWAT to deliver all required determinations in a very short period of time and more importantly, take the uncertainty out of the supply chain and remove the rollercoaster ride that is currently in place.

Fan & Pump Control Redefined

You asked, we listened

The new F800 Variable Frequency Drive from Mitsubishi Electric has arrived, taking energy saving and motor control to the next level. Building on the unrivalled Mitsubishi Electric quality and reliability we have added several functions that will give huge benefits to the user. For maximum flexibility and adaptability the F800 features an advanced PID controller and a powerful built-in PLC. With the all new Advanced Optimum Excitation Control we have bridged the gap between dynamic motor control and maximum energy saving. The F800 is designed for fan and pump applications and the unique load curve detection feature allows early detection of leakages and blockages.

For the full facts on our new Fr-F800 Inverter visit gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com

Z-TECH

IOD EAST OF ENGLAND DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2016 Z-Tech are delighted to announce Michael Swinhoe, Z-Tech’s Managing Director, as winner of the Institute of Directors £10m - £99m East of England Business Director of The Year.

These awards recognise excellence and leadership, in a range of categories. The judges were extremely impressed with all short-listed candidates.

Michael will now be put forward to the IoD Director of the Year Awards UK National Final later in the year, competing with other winners across the UK, culminating in a prestigious event in London .The results were announced at a celebratory lunch at the Jockey Club in Newmarket.

Michael Swinhoe said: “What a great event by the IoD, I’m so pleased to be recognised as Z-Tech continues to grow and develop – it’s really an award for the continued commitment of some 230 ‘Z-Techers’, who help to make Z-Tech what it is.”

(Pictured left to right – David Sales (Chairman of the IoD in the East of England), Michael Swinhoe (MD, Z-Tech Control Systems), Jane Galvin (Managing Director, Eastern Region Corporate and Business Banking at Barclays), Taus Nöhrlind (IoD Cambridgeshire). Photo by Matt Widgery)

Electric evolution Following our win of the Energy Saving Trust – Fleet Heroes Awards for Best Private Sector Fleet under 250 vehicles, back at the end of 2015, we’ve got some exciting new fleet initiatives this year. The first of which is the introduction of our first all-electric motorbike!

The BMW C-Evolution was the first of the major manufacturervs to release an all-electric motorbike, with 60mile range on a full charge. Working on behalf of Thames Water, the trial will help our commercial logging teams reduce both Nitrogen dioxide and C02 emissions in the capital - not to mention the time and parking savings.

Working in partnership with Thames Water on this environmentallyfriendly initiative, we hope to improve efficiency of our teams while contributing to the wellbeing of local residents.

Michael Swinhoe, Z-Tech’s Managing Director said: “We’ve been running two Nissan all-electric vans for over a year now and they are proving to be perfect for inner-city driving, we’re also estimating a saving of around £10K/year based on congestion charges and fuel alone. This new initiative should be ideal for deploying logging equipme nt, the teams don’t require the full space of a van and it should both beat the traffic jams and save on congestion charges – win-win!”

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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

Doing things right when nobody is looking CSC Services are a specialist contractor providing high performance cleaning, concrete repair, specialist coatings and leak sealing solutions. CSC Services have significant experience working in the UK power industry, primarily at nuclear power stations across the country. In this article Mark looks at nuclear safety culture from the supply chain perspective. CSC Services are sponsoring the Northern Area of the Institute of Water and will be presenting at this year’s Autumn Seminar on nuclear safety. (Information source: Nuclear Industry Association) 8. Nuclear safety undergoes constant examination

By Mark Lemon, Managing Director of CSC Services

Information cards are assigned to contractors alongside security passes which list these eight principles, supplemented with a clear listing of nuclear professionalism expectations: 1. Come to work fit for duty – free from the influence of drugs or alcohol

The term ‘Nuclear Safety culture’ describes the overarching health, safety and behavioural culture that is expected of companies delivering contracts associated with a nuclear plant. Most companies operating in the UK are aware of the necessity for robust health and safety cultures but the nuclear industry seem to have succeeded where others have been less successful in establishing a consistent and respected approach across all levels of operation.

2. Follow procedures with a questioning attitude if incorrect or unavailable stop and discuss with your supervisor

Suppliers and contractors to the nuclear industry are introduced to this ‘culture’ at contract prequalification stage where accreditations, Health and Safety Management systems, the reporting route of Health and Safety issues and Health and Safety statistics are all audited and vetted. On awarding of contract and through induction on site the ‘nuclear safety culture’ permeates all activity.

d. Report all incident, unsafe actions and circumstances

Eight defining principles of safety have been established and these are adhered to and promoted across the industry on all nuclear sites.

1. Everyone is personally responsible for nuclear safety 2. Leaders demonstrate commitment to safety 3. Trust permeates the organisation 4. Decision-making reflects safety first 5. Nuclear technology is recognised as special and unique 6. A questioning attitude is cultivated 7. Organisational learning is embraced

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3. Do not take unacceptable risks: a. Insist on quality pre and post job briefs b. Use the correct human performance tools, PPE and equipment c. Use your training, skills, experience and knowledge

e. Never assume if unsure, stop and ask

Doing things right when nobody is looking There is significant emphasis placed on individual responsiveness and attitudes in maintaining nuclear safety. The industry recognises that an improvement in human performance can enhance safety and minimise potential for errors.

Compliance with procedures and processes is advocated.

The five principles of human performance are: 1. People are fallible, and even the best people make mistakes Human fallibility is a permanent feature of human nature and we have a natural tendency to make mistakes. Human performance should not be the sole control to manage activities critical to plan or equipment safety. Other additional defences should be in a place to back up an individual’s performance such as Quality Systems, Peer Review and Checking

Process as well as physical back-up systems.

2. Error-likely situations are predicable, manageable and preventable Experience has shown that errors associated with particular tasks are preventable. Recognising error traps and actively communicating hazards to others, permits us to permit us to manage situations proactively and prevent errors and events. Work arrangements can be changed to prevent, remove or lease minimise, the chance for error to occur.

3. Individual behaviour is influenced by organisation processes and values Organisations are characterised by goal-directed behaviour and managers develop processes to direct the behaviour of the individuals in the organisation to achieve these goals. Poor management and control systems are often the root causes of poor human performance problems by applying time pressures and having poorly written control processes.

4. People achieve high levels of performance largely because of the encouragement and reinforcement received from leaders The level of safety and reliability of performance within the organisation is directly dependent on the behaviour of people. Management has a key role in enforcing good behaviour and discouraging poor behaviour.

5. Events can be avoided through an understanding of the reasons mistakes occur and application of the lessons learned from past events (or errors) Improvement in Human Performance has historically been the outcome of corrective actions derived from an analysis of past events and mistakes. Learning from our mistakes is reactive – it’s after the fact and is important for continuous improvement. Events from other industries can provide an insight into attitudes, behaviours and actions of people which have caused serious incident.

FEATURE: HEALTH AND SAFETY

Error Reduction Techniques Error reduction tools are employed across the nuclear industry to complement Human Performance. These are aids to help people carry out tasks to the correct processes and standards: n Pre-job briefs n Review of operating experience n Procedure use and adherence n Self-checking – the STAR (Stop Think Act Review) Principal

to enhance an individual’s attention to detail in the moment just before performing the task. STAR is always used for component identification for each and every plant manipulation. Again covered in supplier induction and reinforced visually across sites.

STOP This is the most important step. Pause to focus on the task about to be performed.

THINK

n Peer checking of work

Think about and visualise what you are going to do and how. Consider what actions will be required if the unexpected occurs. If in doubt, seek advice.

n Independent verification

ACT

n Clarity of communication techniques

Read – Read aloud the instruction that directs the manipulation of the component.

n Maintaining a questioning attitude

n Post Job Brief n Task observation /coaching Most of these are familiar to the utility industry but a couple are worth a mention.

Self-checking – the STAR (Stop Think Act Review) Principal helps to focus attention on the task in hand. The individual consciously and deliberately reviews the intended action and expected response before performing the task. This includes distinct thoughts and actions designed

Touch – Identify the correct item by physically touching / pointing to the component label before taking any action.

Read – Read aloud the component label.

PAUSE for two seconds.

Peer-checking is a technique that involves a second person checking the correctness of another person’s actions prior to that action. It provides a check that an individual is about to do the right think before they do it. Peer checking is performed for irreversible actions identified during the pre-job brief and /or identified per site specific guidance. It is commonly used during difficult procedures with large amounts of embedded information which may cause somebody to lose their place or skip a step.

Communication As contractors to the nuclear industry the commitment to health and safety is evident through the shared perception of its importance by all staff we come into contact with across all sites. Good management and robust control systems help to improve human performance.

Communication of the health and safety principles that all employees work to is consistent and communicated well. For us to be able to comment and write about it, the nuclear industry is clearly doing something well that works. www.csc-services.co.uk

REVIEW Did the right thing happen? Was the outcome what you expected to happen? If not, make the job safe and notify your supervisor.

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RPS

DRIVING SAFETY THROUGH EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND INNOVATION Continually improving safety is an imperative goal for all organisations. Most accidents happen because no steps have been taken to prevent them. In the UK, there are still over 611,000 workplace injuries every year1 with 27.3 million working days lost due to work-related illness and workplace injury.2 Employee engagement and monitoring employee behaviours plays an important role in achieving better Health and Safety practices.

The aim of the Be the BEST process is to better understand both the ‘safe’ and ‘at-risk’ behaviours of our staff. Focus on the ‘at-risk’ behaviours will lead to change in the way we do things in order to do them more safely.

RPS has found that employee involvement is key to the successful development and implementation of our systems and processes including the BEST process. By working together and listening to our staff, we have systems in place that have been developed ‘by the staff, for the staff’.

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In the last year, RPS has achieved a reduction of 46% in injury incidents on our contract with Welsh Water. This is a direct result of our behavioural based safety process and campaign, ‘Be the BEST’ (Behavioural Excellence Starts Today).

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RPS utilised innovative software that operates on 4G enabled mobile tablets to deliver the Be the Best campaign, this allows instant submission of observations and robust analysis of the results.

This software has enabled RPS to monitor the behaviours of field staff more effectively, with a total of 1974 observations with 3490 behaviours being identified from Apr 2015 to Feb 2016. This is an increase of 77% in observations compared to the previous year.

RPS has also seen a steady increase in ‘safe’ behaviours and a decline in ‘at-risk’ behaviours.

During this same period, RPS has achieved a 46% reduction in injury incidents and had no RIDDOR reportable accidents for over 450 days.

In addition to the statistical improvements, RPS has observed greater empowerment of staff to take action where they encounter ‘at-risk’ behaviours, as well as changes in behaviour which ultimately protects the health and safety of all

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our staff and others who may be affected by our activities.

"BEST demonstrates how effective engagement with our colleagues can effect a step change in safety performance. Our achievement of over 450 days without a RIDDOR is testament to the effort of all team members."

Mark Smith, Business Development Director, RPS. For more information, please contact Mark Smith, smithm@rpsgroup.com www.rpsgroup.com/water

HSEis- Health and Safety statistics for Great and Britain RPS a recognised training provider operates both CAB 2014/15 licensed(http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/) centres; providing training and assessment for our ow qualifications throughout the UK.

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This service has now been extended and is readily available to new and existing number of qualified QCF (formally NVQ) assessors and practising Operational in the Water Industry.

“Health & Safety excellence is a fundamental priority in relationships with our employees, employers and clients.”

RPS offers the following courses: • Level 2 Certificate in Leakage Detection • Level 3 Diploma in Leakage Control

All qualifications are arranged at a time and location to suit Mark Smith, Development Director, the needs of theBusiness customer (including weekend and nightRPS. working) and can be combined with other qualifications where appropriate.

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For further information please contact: Fergus Black MCMI, CILT(UK), Training Support Manager Email: blackf@rpsgroup.com Mobile: 07810 508958

CSC SERVICES

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Time to think again about Polyurea CSC Services were selected to attend the WRc Innovation Day in April to showcase recent advances in Polyurea technology. Polyurea technology is a type of elastomer that is being used worldwide as a superior coating system for waterproofing and corrosion protection.

Originally launched in the early 1990’s, some of the very first product formulations were associated with high profile coating failures, resulting in scepticism about the product.

clear; it is time to think again about Polyurea.

Mark Lemon, Chief Executive of CSC Services has over twenty years of experience in installing coatings. He believes the benefits of Polyurea technology are significant:

With significant advances in the technology and product formula, together with improvements to the application equipment, the latest formulas of the product are now WRAS approved and pending DWI approval which will significantly open up the potential for the coating across the clean water sector.

It is now recognised that many of the initial failures were linked to inadequate surface preparation.

Since then the Polyurea Development Association (PDA) has set guidelines for surface preparation for effective Polyurea systems. Polyurea manufacturers are now taking a more proactive role in training and approving specialist contractors to install products correctly in order to offer substantial guaranties and warranties.

Confidence is now growing in Polyurea and it is being specified across the world as a high-value solution for many corrosion and waterproofing applications. With significant interest in the product from innovation professionals, the message from the WRc Innovation Day was very

SPECIALIST ADVICE ON COATINGS

“Polyurea is an extremely versatile coating that can be used on any structure for waterproofing and corrosion protection. It has a rapid curing time with full return to service enabled in minutes. It can be applied in sub-zero temperatures enabling repair and relining work to take place all year round. Polyurea is abrasion resistant and highly chemical resistant. When applied by an approved specialist contractor it can be guaranteed for much longer than traditional coatings.”

CSC Services are an approved installer of Polyurea.

CELEBRATING INNOVATION

CSC Services had a busy two days at Utility Week Live talking to industry professionals about Polyurea and the range of other coatings the company is approved to install. Advice was offered on the specialist application process required for effective coatings. This includes the need for substrate preparation, correct product selection, primer specification, specialist application, quality control and after-care.

LATEST PRODUCT INFORMATION CSC Services are proud to work with a range of coatings manufacturers, with operatives regularly attending training sessions to learn about the full technical specification and correct application of products. To enable CSC Services to offer clients the best advice a Product and Coatings portfolio has been produced. This has been independently compiled to offer a clear guide to the many specialist coating products available. It outlines the relevant merits of each product and describes recent projects in which the product has been used. To order a copy please contact enquiries@csc-services.co.uk

CSC Services were delighted to be invited to the WRc Innovation Awards held at the Steam Museum in Swindon to celebrate outstanding success in innovation across the water, waste and gas sectors.

CSC Services are a specialist contractor to the water and power industry providing high performance cleaning, repairs, specialist coatings and leak sealing solutions. For more information visit: www.csc-services.co.uk

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PAX

SCOTTISH WATER LOWERS THM LEVELS DESPITE CHALLENGING WINTER CONDITIONS Scotland is blessed with a wealth of resources, including spectacular natural landscapes, a rich history and abundant fresh water. Because of the strategic and economic importance of its water resources, the “Hydro Nation” considers drinking water quality to be a national priority and Scottish Water invests in innovative technologies to ensure that drinking water quality remains at the required standards for its customers.

The town of Oban, on the western coast of Scotland, epitomizes the challenges and opportunities Scottish Water faces in delivering high-quality drinking water to its many customers.

The town’s water treatment works primarily uses ozone and GAC filtration and was state of the art when it was designed and built in 1976. But due to increasing demanding water quality standards, Scottish Water wanted to explore new technologies to lower levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) that are produced during water treatment.

THM levels are typically well below recommended limits, but stormy weather, increased land use and climate change contributed to increases in organic matter – leaving Scottish Water to treat more challenging water to higher levels of purity.

In 2012, Scottish Water learned about an innovative approach for lowering THM levels in drinking water using post-treatment aeration.

THMs are chemically volatile and will preferentially evaporate out of water when they are exposed to and mixed with air inside a reservoir.

Initially, Scottish Water experimented with diffuse bubble aeration – a well-established method for efficiently introducing oxygen into water that is common in wastewater treatment.

Racks of diffuse bubble aerators were installed on the floors of both the clear water and service reservoir tanks at Tullich Water Treatment Works (WTW) and air was pumped through the water.

“Initially, we were quite hopeful,” explained Harry Cook, Scottish Water’s Capital Liaison Team Manager. “And to be fair we did see reductions, but not quite what we were hoping for.” Unfortunately,

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Figure 2. While seasonal TOC levels increased in the Tullich reservoir, THM levels fell by 47% and remained low with TRS.

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Figure 1. Tullich reservoir with PAX THM Removal System (TRS). while bubble aeration is highly effective in getting oxygen into water, it is less efficient in extracting THMs out of water. Scottish Water needed significant THM reductions to positively impact their overall water quality for the year.

Once the system was installed, Scottish Water observed a 47% reduction in THM levels based on results from an online THM analyzer. “The results were instant and in line with predicted design parameters,” recalls Harry.

A chance meeting at a water conference introduced Scottish Water to PAX Water Technologies of Richmond, California. PAX Water had developed a THM Removal System (TRS) that used spray aeration to remove THMs from drinking water reservoirs. “For wastewater treatment, spray aeration is typically thought to be less efficient than bubble aeration,” explained Ethan Brooke, PAX Water Senior Product Manager.

“But when it comes to the extraction of volatile organics like THMs, spray aeration is more efficient than bubble aeration.”

The initial results were very encouraging, but Scottish Water operators knew that the toughest test was ahead of them. Winter brings stormy weather and higher natural organic loading, measured as Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in the source water used at the Tullich plant. Higher organic levels typically correspond with higher THM formation. But, while TOC levels rose substantially during the winter, the TRS kept THM levels under control (Figure 2).

To test the spray aeration concept, Scottish Water installed the TRS in one of the two water reservoirs at the Tullich WTW that serves Oban (Figure 1). Installation of the TRS took place from May to August 2015 under a very tight schedule (in advance of peak THM season in summer) and Scottish Water created an integrated team with engineering, project management and installation to oversee the project.

“In terms of water quality, it kept us compliant in an unusually difficult winter where we were seeing elevated THM levels in other systems,” said Harry.

“Instead of large changes in THM levels we now see steady results.” With the TRS now validated at Tullich, Scottish Water is considering other sites to deploy the technology.

TargeTed THM reMoval aT Half THe energy CosT The PAX THM Removal System combines energy-efficient aeration with powerful active mixing to maximize THM removal and minimize energy costs.

To learn more, contact Panton McLeod: Phone: +01896 663330 Email: info@pantonmcleod.co.uk www.pantonmcleod.co.uk

Industry first as Yorkshire Water trials innovative technologies

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Serline pipe lining technology used to restore lead supply pipes Overland Supply Vehicle and Manifold keeps customers supplied throughout Combined technologies mean minimal disruption to customers and lower cost

In a first for the water industry, Aquam’s Overland Supply Vehicle and Manifold has been used to supply water to customers while the company carries out lead lining work. The specialist water supply vehicle was used to create a temporary network for Yorkshire Water customers in Malton while lead-lining work was carried out in May 2016.

The Overland Supply Vehicle and Manifold, developed by Manchester-based Aquam, but originally pioneered in Yorkshire, helped maintain water supplies to customers by creating a temporary network. Once the temporary supply was established Aquam engineers used its advanced Serline pipelining system to coat lead supply pipes.

Scheduled repairs The Overland Supply Vehicle was originally developed to provide cover during emergency bursts, but can also be used to cover scheduled repair and maintenance work. Any loss of supply of more than three hours can affect water company Outcome Delivery Incentives, a key component of customer Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) scores.

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Previously, lead lining work could lead to a fourto-five hour interruption of supply, but using the Overland Supply Vehicle meant Yorkshire Water customers could continue to use water supplies as usual while work was carried out.

Alternative to replacement Another innovation from Aquam is the HTC Serline pipelining system, which provides an alternative to ripping out and replacing existing lead pipes and has already been adopted by several UK utilities, including Yorkshire Water. The work in Malton took place as part of Yorkshire Water’s £13m programme to replace lead supply pipes which will benefit 200,000 homes across the region.

Like other utilities in the UK Yorkshire Water has a rolling programme of replacing lead service pipes in order to reduce the levels of lead found in drinking water in accordance with European water quality legislation.

Technologies together Aquam technical consultant Roman Boryslawskyi said: “This is the first time the Aquam Overland Supply Vehicle has been used to supply cover while Aquam is also carrying out lead lining work

using the Serline system. It’s fair to say this was a tricky operation, but the technology worked well and allowed disruption to customers to be kept to a minimum.”

The work took place on a main thoroughfare on the south bank of the River Derwent between Malton, Beverley, Driffield and the A64 east to Scarborough. On one side of the road is a row of shops, while the other side is mostly populated with older domestic properties – many over 150 years old.

Two mains - one 6-inch (152mm) and one 3-inch (76mm) diameter - run parallel along the length of the street. The majority of properties are supplied by the 3-inch main and there are numerous shared supply lines to properties not fronting the road itself and to flats above shops.

Roman Boryslawski said: “Because of the age and complexity of the network in Malton this was a challenging job. However by using the Overland Supply Vehicle, Aquam engineers were able to carry out the lead lining work without any loss of service to Yorkshire Water customers.

“As the work progressed it was clear that the two systems were operating smoothly together.”

AQUAM Temporary network The Aquam Overland Supply Vehicle contains everything needed to set up a temporary water supply, including hoses, adaptors and pressure reducing valves. A water meter can be fitted to measure the amount of water diverted to households from the main to ensure it is not classed as ‘unaccounted for’ usage.

At the heart of the service is an innovative new technology. The Overland Supply Manifold (OSM) is a solid machine-cut nylon device developed by Aquam trade partner Aquacheck Engineering.

Each OSM becomes the hub of a temporary but stable potable water network, allowing up to 24 houses that have lost mains water supply to be reconnected swiftly and easily.

Roman Boryslawskyi says: “Although the idea of a temporary manifold has been around for a few years, the difference is the new manifold is made from a single piece of nylon - it is much more adaptable and robust. Once the temporary network is in place it creates a very stable supply, which means householders will be able to use taps and toilets just as they would normally.”

Lead lining After establishing the emergency supply Aquam engineers fitted injection adapters to the lengths of lead pipe to be lined. The engineers working in Malton covered the work in sections, creating temporary networks as the lead lining work was carried out.

The Serline pipe lining system uses a flexible polyurethane lining to coat the inside of existing pipes, creating an impermeable barrier between the lead pipe and the water and preventing the lead from leaching into the water system. The lining, which is shot through the pipe using special adapters can be applied in 15 minutes and is quick drying, meaning the pipe can be returned to service after four hours. It has an expected lifespan of at least 80 years.

Robust and secure Boryslawkyi said: “It is always challenging when you use two technologies for the first time, but these two systems, both from Aquam, worked exceptionally well together. The temporary water provided by the Overland Supply Vehicle is so robust and secure that it is perfect for creating cover during scheduled operations such as lead lining.”

4 Steve Taylor Innovation Technician of Yorkshire Water said: “Like many utilities in the UK Yorkshire Water still has a substantial number of lead supply pipes in its network and has a rolling programme to replace them. In the work recently carried out at Malton Yorkshire Water opted to use pipelining technology rather than ripping out and replacing existing pipes.

“By combining this advanced technology with the service provided by the Overland Supply Vehicle it was possible to carry out this major work without disrupting normal service to customers.

The Overland Supply Vehicle, which provides a temporary mobile network is a simple but very effective idea which works very well in practice.”

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A 25mm hose adaption coupling at the water supply abstraction point on south side of Commercial Street, Malton. The 50mm layflat hose continues for a further 50m before reducing to 25mm and supplying all the properties in the shut-off zone Eight connections from the Overland Supply Manifold are fed by 50mm layflat hose from supply in an adjacent street on north side of Commercial Street, Malton

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The hose was laid without hindering pedestrians to ensure compliance with streetworks legislation and contractor safety policies

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A lead communication pipe undergoes the Serline lining process whilst water supply into the property is maintained

Because of the age and complexity of the network in Malton this was a challenging job. However by using the Overland Supply Vehicle, Aquam engineers were able to carry out the lead lining work without any loss of service to Yorkshire Water customers.

Roman Boryslawski

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AQUAM

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY

AQUAM ADVANCED CLEANING DEPLOYED BY SEVERN TRENT The Whirlwind forced vortex pipe cleaning system from Aquam, which uses aggregate to restore heavily corroded pipelines, has been shown to deliver multiple benefits and wholelife cost savings over traditional techniques.

A trial with Severn Trent Water has also demonstrated that it can be delivered with minimal disruption to customers.

A pipe cleaning system which uses granite aggregate to blast away corrosion could save millions for utilities in the UK. The Whirlwind system developed

by HTC, which is part of Manchester-based Aquam, can restore pipes at lower cost than existing systems and with less disruption to customers.

Whirlwind can be used in combination with HTC LeanClean, which flushes and chlorinates the restored pipe, leaving it ready for use. The two systems have already been used on 90km of pipeline for one major UK utility while successful trials have been carried out elsewhere. Corroded pipework can lead to issues with water quality and colour, while heavy corrosion can reduce flow and lead to significantly increased pumping costs.

In comparison with traditional pipe cleaning systems, Aquam’s HTC Whirlwind and LeanClean are quicker, lower cost, use a minimal amount of chemicals and are less likely to cause accidental damage to the pipework.

Restoring corroded pipes can be an alternative to pipe replacement, cutting civils costs and disruption to both customer and the public. Access to the main can be through a single point of access, such as a fire hydrant, reducing the need to excavate large sections of the pipe to be treated.

Beating corrosion The Whirlwind system targets tubercules, growths caused by corrosion, which can build up on the interior of cast iron pipes, significantly reducing the diameter. In a single operation one kilometre of pipe can be cleared.

Two diesel engines mounted on the rig power blowers use a vortex to create a turbulent airflow. The two blowers can be used together or separately to produce a pressurised airflow in different diameter pipes.

Dry granite aggregate of 10mm diameter is blown along the pipe length, hitting the walls and sweeping away tubercles as it travels - restoring the pipe to its original diameter.

Both Whirlwind and the LeanClean are carried on the same vehicle-mounted rig, with different models and sizes available depending on the nature and scale of the job. LeanClean is used to flush and chlorinate the pipe after the abrasive treatment process.

The system uses water droplets carried by an air vortex. It uses a much higher level of chlorine at a much lower volume, with typical contact time of 30 minutes. This reduces the amount of air and water required compared with traditional techniques.

The Leanclean system can also be used to remove soft deposits such as manganese and biofilm from pipes.

Minimal waste The Whirlwind system has a number of advantages over existing pipe cleaning technology. Flushing out pipes using large quantities of pressurised water

can cause damage to the existing infrastructure. It also generates vast quantities of heavily polluted wastewater, which under existing UK legislation has to be transported off site by tanker.

Rotating flails can often damage existing pipework, meaning additional repairs have to be carried out. Flushing out pipes using large quantities of pressurised water can also cause damage to the existing infrastructure.

Using water also generates vast quantities of heavily polluted wastewater, which under existing UK legislation has to be transported off site by tanker. By contrast the Whirlwind system generates a small quantity of waste aggregate, which can be used as backfill.

The Whirlwind system is completely enclosed, with no exposed rotating parts, which minimises health and safety risks on site. The system also operates at relatively low pressures, well below the pressure of the main.

Relatively large sections of the main can be cleared with only a small number of personnel.

Typically two engineers can clear a section of a main from a single access point within one hour.

Unlike mechanical systems such as drag scrapers, the Whirlwind system can easily be used for lengths of main with variable diameter or which have ninety-degree bends. The portable equipment can be easily manoeuvred into hardto-access locations and onto rural sites.

For further information, please contact: Marc Hough, Head of Sales and Marketing, Aquam T: +44 (0)7990 006935 E: mhough@aquamcorp.co.uk

Case study: Severn Trent trial A village in Shropshire where discoloured water was a persistent issue has become one of the first in the UK to benefit from an innovative pipe cleaning technology. Utility Severn Trent Water worked with Aquam to trial its technology by clearing and chlorinating sections of 30-year-old unlined cast iron pipe in Church Preen.

The trial was carried out using its HTC Whirlwind system, which blasts a fine granite dust to remove corrosion and restore the pipe to its original diameter, together with the Leanclean system, which flushes and chlorinates the pipe.

Ian Tindell, Business Development Manager, Aquam UK said: “Church Preen is a rural location served by narrow country lanes, which are used by cows and horses as well as motorists. The 3-inch mains pipe ran under a road with heavy rock ground make up.

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Pipe sections showing condition before and after HTC Whirlwind cleaning process “The advantage of using the Whirlwind and Leanclean system is that it can be used from a single access point, which means there is a minimum amount of digging and disruption.”

The team from Aquam used Tornado, a vehiclemounted mobile unit to blast the dried 10mm granite aggregate using the Whirlwind forced vortex.

The Tornado unit was sited at a central point, in order to blast clean the pipe in both directions.

A spokesman for Severn Trent Water said: “The work at Church Preen was carried out in just two days, with minimum disruption to customers.

A temporary supply was fitted while work was carried out.

“The trial shows the Whirlwind and Leanclean system is a cost effective way to clean pipes, particularly in hard-to-reach locations.”

GPS PE PIPE SYSTEMS

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY

Networks need protection from negative pressure Bob Warren, technical support engineer for GPS PE Pipe Systems, discusses the very real skills gap in the water industry and why new standards for training are needed As with many sectors across the construction industry, the water sector is suffering from a widely acknowledged skills gap, with proficiently qualified pipe fitters in short supply. With expenditure being scrutinised in every area, the cost to upskill installers is one that is often seen as an additional overhead, but this is something that, as an industry, we need to address.

Each pipeline project is different and requires specific pipe fitting and jointing techniques for that individual installation so the cost of upskilling staff needs to be considered, yet it seems all too often this is neglected.

In all pipeline construction, the integrity of the joint between pipe lengths, service and ancillaries is vital to ensuring that a new pipeline remains leak free. High quality engineering principles through clear installation standards, training and on-site application are central to minimising the potential weak point, which joints can introduce to a pipeline if not installed correctly.

If fittings are to leak, they do so because of poor quality workmanship or incorrect installation of the fitting. A lack of training, knowledge or expertise can lead to poor joint preparation, contamination of the joint caused during the jointing process or misalignment of the pipe within the fitting – all major causes of joint failures.

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. Water utilities in countries across Europe take far greater responsibility for the jointing of pipelines, compared with those in the UK, with many requiring welders to be trained and third party certified before they are allowed to undertake such work.

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 embraced 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. However, the progression is slow, and, in order to deliver

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real benefit, the industry needs to consider mandating these, rather than adopting it as an advisory approach as soon as possible.

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 audited’. Making these standards, along with the existing WIS guidance, mandatory in the UK would improve the quality of joints within pipe systems.

This is not an easy task and it requires a culture change across the entire supply chain. The cost

of upskilling in a pipeline construction project is seen as prohibitive, but the utility companies need to be looking at the long term benefits of this investment, particularly as the industry is now working towards adopting a totex model.

The current skills gap 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 ensure it happens.

Bob Warren, technical support engineer for GPS PE Pipe Systems

FEATURE: WRC INNOVATION

WRC 5TH INNOVATION EVENT – SHARING KNOWLEDGE FOR A CHANGING WORLD

On the 26th April, WRc kicked off their 5th Innovation Event in the exciting surroundings of STEAM Museum in Swindon with an invitation only evening Innovation Awards Ceremony.

Nestled alongside the Caerphilly Castle Steam Engine, the evening commenced with a presentation from Neil Kermode, EMEC’s Managing Director who talked about Innovation: I wish it was rocket science … This was then followed by the formal launch of the WRc and Arup Partnership - Venturi, the global innovation platform that brings innovative products and services, together with real sector needs, to resolve a wide range of global water issues.

Finally, there was a series of eight five-minute pitches, against the clock, for the coveted WRc Innovation Award 2016. Guests interactively voted for the innovation that impressed them most. The winners were Weeding Technologies for their Foamstream technology closely followed by 2 highly commended winners – Strathkelvin Instruments with ASP-Con and Hächler Umwelttechnik with their presentation on Modern Sewer Rehabilitation Robots. The awards were presented by WRc’s CEO, Mark Smith and guests then took a tour of the museum.

The following morning over 300 guests arrived at the newly wrapped WRc office. The theme for the 2016 Innovation Day was “Sharing Knowledge for a Changing World”. Mark Smith opened the

sold-out event with a welcome speech followed by 4 great talks from the day’s Keynote Speakers – Simon Walker of Candover Consulting on Future Proofing Your Organisation, Ian McAulay of Viridor presented on The Circular Economy as a Driving Force for Change, Jon Brigg, Yorkshire Water presented on An Integrated Approach to Innovation and finally Eileen Linklater from EMEC spoke about A pathway to Commercialisation for New Technologies. WRc guests then had time to network and visit the exhibition halls which housed over 55 innovative technologies and processes showcasing “Innovation in Action”.

The afternoon saw 3 parallel workshops take place on topical themes. The “Circular Economy” workshop looked at the complexities of true circularity and discussed new emerging business models during a hands-on activity to ‘build’ a town. The Maximising Digital and Real-World Interactions workshop covered how we prefer to give and receive communication in different styles and how this relates to our digital interactions and networking. Finally, there was the New Platforms for Innovation and Knowledge Sharing workshop which gave attendees the opportunity

to learn about some options for knowledge sharing and collaboration and how to select the right platform to achieve their goals.

The day came to a close with a short reporting back from these workshops as well as the video and photo montage from the day’s artists, photographers and film crew from Isambard Community School. This was the student’s own take on the event and was a huge success – it captured the feel of the day perfectly.

For further information about the event, please visit www.wrcplc.co.uk or email pr@wrcplc.co.uk

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KSB

KSB SUPPLY PUMPS TO THE RENFREW FLOOD PREVENTION SCHEME ON THE RIVER CLYDE KSB and Ferrier Pumps Ltd recently continued their long standing partnership working on a flood prevention scheme for Renfrewshire Council. This involved planning and collaboration on the front end design, pump testing, supply, installation and commissioning of all the pumps and ancillary equipment. The project involved KSB supplying four variable speed submersible pumps from their axial flow Amacan pump range and one variable speed sump pump of type Amarex KRT, to the North Renfrew Flood Prevention Scheme.

The flood prevention scheme will protect homes and businesses in North Renfrew and comprises a 3m high embankment and a new underground pumping station at the Mill Burn at Fingal Road. The embankment, which runs westward for 1km from Ferry Road, provides a barrier against direct flooding from the Clyde. The pumping station containing KSB pumps will ensure that tidal surges on the Clyde do not cause the Mill Burn to overflow and flood local properties.

The pumping station provides a capacity of 5.5m3/s to provide standard protection against tidal flooding from the River Clyde and fluvial flooding from Mill Burn. The pumping station’s maximum flow rate has been specified to cover a 1 in 200 year flood event.

KSB Amacan pumps were chosen for this station as their characteristics ideally suit the transfer of very high flows of water at low heads and are typically used in land drainage applications. The Amacan’s slim design makes the submersible pump ideal for installation into narrow discharge canisters. Ferrier Pumps Ltd carried out the mechanical installation at the Renfrew project site and found the pumps were easy to install as the Amacan pump’s own weight ensures selfcentering seating of the O-ring seals in the discharge canisters, a simple but effective design feature.

The maximum design flow for the station has been defined as 5500l/s, which is based on four pumps working simultaneously and delivering 1375l/s each.

The number and speed of operational pumps is controlled by PLC system, based on the water level in the pump well. Well level is continuously monitored by an ultrasonic sensor and pump operation is determined by optimisation of efficiency. When the River Clyde levels begins to rise and the water level reaches the lower limit of the modulating band the first KSB Amacan pump will be initiated at minimum speed. If the inflow is less than the pumped outflow at minimum speed, the level in the pumping station will fall and the pump will be stopped at the defined “cut out” level.

If the inflow is greater than the minimum pump discharge rate, the level in the wet well will continue to rise after the Amacan pump starts. The sump water level will now be within the modulating band and the pump controller will modulate the speed of the pump in proportion to the level until the pump can stabilise the level at, or around the set-point level. If the duty Amacan pump operates at full speed and the level continues to rise, a second Amacan pump will be initiated ramping up from base speed until the inflow can be matched with a level within the modulating band. When there is a heavy rainfall, all four Amacan pumps can be called to run depending on the water levels in the main sump tank.

Ferrier Pumps also installed in the main sump chamber a KSB Amarex KRT submersible solids-handling centrifugal pump, specifically manufactured in abrasion resistant materials to remove storm water as well as handling a relatively high concentration of solids in the pump station. This variable speed pump is used for sump drain down following cessation of a storm event.

KSB have also supplied the pump discharge canisters, which were designed by KSB at their UK Head Office in Leicestershire. The canisters were manufactured

by Powerrun Project Management Ltd of Keighley and each 800mm diameter canister was supplied to site in 3 off individual double flanged sections with

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a combined weight in excess of 3000 Kgs and an overall assembled length of nearly 10 metres. The top section of each canister incorporates a DN800mm x 180-degree open ended discharge that feeds into the discharge chamber of the pump station from where the flow gravitates away from the Clyde. After fabrication the canisters were coated with a fusion bonded epoxy coating.

Ferrier Pumps Ltd, a KSB distributor in Scotland, carried out the mechanical and electrical installation for George Leslie Ltd who was the main contractor for the £3.6m project. The work was commissioned by Renfrewshire Council as part of the overall £10m flood prevention scheme for the town.

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"The platform has been profoundly important to Stonbury in so many aspects of our business" "The benefits are limitless. Those endless site visits are immediately reduced overnight and with it the unnecessary expense – not to mention that inprogress has now become our biggest sales tool!"

Stonbury are established water industry specialists.

They combine repair, refurbishment and maintenance with civil engineering expertise and offer a unique project management communication tool to clients.

The Background This ability to seamlessly deliver totex-efficient combinations of both ongoing and “construct new” projects saves our clients significant cost over time, and is at the heart of our framework contracts with eleven UK water companies, including the eight largest.

Stonbury are considered market leaders within this very specialised area of contracting and strive for continuous improvement, embracing innovation and pushing sustainability to new levels.

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In summary • Provides an interactive platform for the discussion of the works and their consequences • Allowed project progress to be measured against project programmes • Regular and live updates for all the project team, on site or off site • Shortened and simlified communication cycles • Significant reduction in project costs

Stonbury found that keeping their clients and colleagues regularly updated on the progress of works was becoming a challenge. The traditional update method of client visits to site, apart from being expensive in terms of time, organisational effort and bringing an increasingly mobile workforce and client base together in one place at one time was becoming less and less feasible logistically.

They needed a solution which would allow updates of project progress at any site at any one time.

The Solution inprogress was developed by Its Stonbury, which was spun out of Stonbury themselves, to give clear and remote access on project progress to all parties involved on the Stonbury sites.

This solution enabled job progress to be clearly explained, with update posts, photos and completion timeline, plus users’ comments and questions, a client forum base. Suddenly project progress could be measured against programmes. inprogress solved the entire problem in one rapidly deployable client portal. It enabled

clients to follow the progress of works (including estimated completion dates and percentage of completeness), comment on them and ask questions, and receive responses and updates remotely – wherever they were.

Intuitive maps were developed to give easy access to site location information, driving directions, weather data, and clients’ comments/questions.

The Results inprogress powered this process through intuitive, easy-to-use functions that delivered enormous benefit for Stonbury, namely regular and live updates, shortened communication cycles which reduced project costs considerably.

Site visits were reduced – this saved Stonbury on time, effort, money, inconvenience, and site insurance premiums!

Rapid deployment, rapid ROI, affordable pricing – inprogress was deployed in just 1 to 2 days – covering virtually unlimited use. Instant reporting – Stonbury could instantly create PDF reports of all their jobs (including photos), providing a clear, comprehensive history of all updates. inprogress is unique because of the industry knowledge behind it. Initially developed specifically for Stonbury, it has proved to be so successful that it is now being adopted by industries such as construction and engineering.

“The benefits are limitless. The platform has been profoundly important to Stonbury in so many aspects of our business but mainly for our presentations to regulatory bodies, for producing post contract Health & Safety files and for the incredible cost saving. Those endless site visits are immediately reduced overnight and with it the unnecessary expense – not to mention that inprogress has now become our biggest sales tool!” James Stonor, Managing Director, Stonbury.

Learn more at www.itsstonbury.co.uk or request a demonstration: info@itsstonbury.co.uk

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PO BOX 5, Birds Royd Lane, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 3UD www.gavalves.co.uk

GA Valves are manufacturers and distributors of valves to the water & sewage industries. Including gates, checks, air valves & miscellaneous valves.

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UK distributors and Technical Support of Dorot Flowcontrol valves.

www.quantumeng.co.uk Tel: 01522 577888 Sales@quantumeng.co.uk Surge Control Specialists for: • Surge Vessels • Spares • Valves • Level Indicators • Gaskets • Vessel Refurbishment

• Specific extra cover for Legionella disease • Very competitive commercial rates • Secure fixed rates for up to 2 years • Interest Free payment scheme available • Professional advisers with technical expertise Insurance and Risk Management advice for all businesses involved with water, waste water and environmental risks

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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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Kingsbridge Insurance Brokers 9 Miller Court, Tewkesbury Gloucestershire, GL20 8DN Email: john.collins@kibl.co.uk Telephone: 01242 808 745 Web: www.kibl.co.uk

EK Business Centre, 14 Stroud Road, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 0YA T: 01355 246235 E: info@mccraetraining.co.uk www.mccraetraining.co.uk

T: +44 (0) 151 802 2910 F: +44 (0) 151 802 2999 M: +44 (0) 7760 174973

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.

John Collins Account Broker

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We would welcome the opportunity to visit you for an initial consultation to discuss your aims and needs. We would endeavour to incorporate our design and engineering solutions to match your business requirements.

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IN THIS ISSUE DRILLING AND TAPPING THE WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE RETAIL SEPARATION SUPPLY CHAIN VIEWS ON AMP CYCLE

INSTITUTE OF WATER JOURNAL

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DRAINSAID

DRAINSAID HELPS TO FLY THE BLUE FLAG! DrainsAid, the specialist drainage division of Peter Duffy Ltd, has recently completed the installation of a large diameter CIPP installation on behalf of Yorkshire Water, providing long term protection for one of the region’s most popular seaside resorts.

Scarborough’s North Bay Beach is one of 71 beaches in the UK to hold a prestigious Blue Flag, so when the DrainsAid team got a call from Yorkshire Water to undertake essential maintenance works, the team were quick to respond.

The CCTV survey and report, identified that the brick sewer running through the town was in need of essential maintenance and revealed the sewer was ‘U’ shape, with a flat top, arched shaped bottom and almost vertical sides, with a perimeter measurement of around four metres. The sewer was also 3.2 metres deep, therefore presenting a range of logistical, design, organisational and installation challenges. These led DrainsAid to contact the technical team at RSM Lining Supplies Global Ltd, who specialise in a host of CIPP Solutions, particularly in large diameter, Pre Impregnated Liners, with a facility to impregnate liners up to 2000mm in diameter.

Following consideration of the stresses involved, the abnormal shape of the drain, site difficulties and with a focus on providing the most cost effective solution for Yorkshire Water, the decision

Liner was chosen as the carrier material, and impregnated at RSM’s Doncaster facility over a 36 hour window, delivered in temperature controlled transport to site promptly for installation.

In accordance with the project plan, the DrainsAid team acted promptly to complete the installation during the Town’s low season. The project was completed over a three week window which was agreed and approved with the local council, residents & highways department. was taken to use a glass reinforced needle felt liner, coupled with a specially formulated resin system. Such a solution was guaranteed to provide high elongation, maximising the effect of the additional glass layers by increasing the strength of the cured composite and improving flexural modulus and flexural strength.

This led to the design thickness of 25mm, less than alternative options and therefore improving cost effectiveness, fulfilling all design considerations and assisting in the logistical side of the operation. The Applied Felts AquaCure RP

One particular challenge presented by the project, was the management of the existing flows which were known to be variable and increase significantly during periods of heavy rain. A robust over pumping system to deal with flows during the span of the project was designed around the site difficulties.

Despite this being one of the most complex and demanding projects delivered by DrainsAid, the project ran smoothly and successfully.

For more information on our range of lining solutions, give DrainsAid a call on 0800 0180 123

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NORTHERN IRELANDAREANEWS

A New Dawn for the Water Industry?Departmental Reform This year’s annual two day Northern Ireland Area conference was held at the City Hotel in Londonderry. An historic city with the conference reflecting the area in some of its content and an excellent walking tour of the “Walls of Derry” which had an integral part to play in the history of this area and Northern Ireland as a whole – Derry is the only remaining intact walled city in Ireland.

The conference began with the NI Area President Bill Gowdy welcoming everyone and outlining the benefits of conference attendance and IW membership. Bill detailed the conference theme and explained that, with local government restructuring, the water industry in NI was about to face some major changes and the conference would detail as it progressed.

Bill welcomed the keynote speaker – Peter May, Permanent Secretary Designate for the new Department of Infrastructure in NI. Peter looked back at the transformation of the public body Water Service to Northern Ireland Water (NIW) and the progress made by the company.

He considered the anticipated Programme for Government 2016-2021, placing this into a context of a new NI government being elected imminently and the potential for policy change.

He noted past spending and the processes that the new government will have to follow, with two weeks to agree the new programme after the election, a high level plan in place by the end of May 2016 and action plans set out to deliver it accordingly. Peter detailed the new Department of Infrastructure, incorporating NIW amongst others. He advised there were big decisions to be made regarding finance as budgets are tight with

some savings expected from the restructuring.

Peter remarked that in spite of imminent changes, government departments must continue to provide a high level service, delivering continuous improvement and reducing costs.

First Session was chaired by Keith Hunt, NI Area Chair, who welcomed the NIW CEO, Sara Venning to the stand. Sara focussed on customer service and ‘How Customer Outcomes are Driving Our Decision Making’. She praised the talented staff at NIW for their capabilities and work ethics and showed a presentational video of what NIW’s role is within NI society and just how much it is at the heart of the community. Sara showed that NIW has improved annually on external ratings, including customer service, wastewater compliance and how, in only eight years, NIW has considerably decreased what was a 75% gap between where it stood in the utility league tables with the notional best performing company.

However she stressed that with a £65m per annum cut in budget, the changes made have been all the more remarkable.

Sara explained that NIW are investing in new call centre technology, mobile working equipment for field staff (effectively providing mobile offices) and the implementation of end to end processes.

These and other innovations have helped NIW improve customer service dramatically however they cost money and Sara revealed her concerns around the lack of funding, well below the Regulator’s recommendations, which will impact on the ability to introduce any further improvements. Finally Sara stated that she was very proud of NIW, the journey it has come on recently and was hopeful of great progress in the future.

Jo Aston, the Director of Wholesale Energy at the NI Utility Regulator, focussed initially on cost versus requirement to function, detailing how the Regulator was informed by Government Policy (eg Renewable Energy Targets 2020) and

by European Directives when determining the recommended budgets for utilities such as NIW. She explained the Energy Trilemma – Cost versus Sustainability versus Security of Supply. These considerations impact upon energy trading agreements, supply delivery and energy capacity.

Putting the £2bn per annum single energy market into context and the impact this has on the consumer, Jo demonstrated the hidden costs that make up the final bill each customer receives.

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Jo looked at the implications and opportunities for the water industry, showing a current breakdown of electricity usage within the industry and how NIW could utilise their extensive land banks (for wind farms) and assets (sewage sludge) to produce cheap renewable energy, focussing on sites that can integrate with the existing network. She praised NIW for achieving better energy consumption figures than had been expected and used experiences in Scotland as a case study showing how the retail competition environment there had reduced CO2 emissions and improved services which had in turn reduced other costs. Jo finished her talk by showing how NIW amongst others can play a vital part in shaping the energy networks of the future.

Next was Patrick McMeekin, Economic Advisor to the Strategic Investment Board Ltd, who looked at the challenges ahead, talking about the incredible rate of technological and social change. With demographics changing everywhere and an increasing population comprising fewer people by ratio in the under 16 age group, even larger numbers of 16-64 year olds and 65+ on the planet. Add to this the increasing number of extreme weather events and lifestyle changes, coupled with aging utilities infrastructures such as sewers and you have a recipe for disaster.

Patrick outlined the advantages that new technology brings to data collection and interpretation, identifying areas which require attention and providing modelling to ensure that the right infrastructure is upgraded in the right place. He showed that there is an economic balance between replacing and renovating existing assets and how existing structures in some instances can be sufficient for many more years. Where public money is being used to improve infrastructures the business cases need to be watertight for funding to be approved.

Stephen Gillespie, the Director of Business and Culture for Derry City & Strabane District Council, then detailed the history, geography, population, roles, budget and proposed future

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of the host council area. Stephen elaborated on community planning and the council’s commitment to improve the lives of its population and of visiting tourists, aided by the Local Government Act 2014.

He showed some very colourful slides on the community planning development process within the council and proved the efficacy of this by noting that Derry had been voted the world’s best venue for Halloween, beating off stiff US competition, as well as having the fastest broadband speeds in the UK, amongst other accolades.

sustaining the increasing populations.

Professor Ian Baxter, the Vice-President Environment of the Institute of Water then talked about managing water in a changing world. Ian showed the challenges faced now from climate change, population growth, stricter legislative requirements, ageing assets, energy costs, financing and people. Regarding water he showed that there are problems if there is too much of it (flooding), too little of it (drought) or pollution of it. Add to this the old Victorian sewer and water networks and you see immediately the ongoing problems that this presents – a network designed over a century ago for a different age. The current water resources are also stretched and straining to provide the capacity requirements at present – in the future we will have to ensure that these resources are also capable of

Bill Gowdy chaired the next session introducing John Mills, DETI’s Head of Energy. John spoke on the constraints on the environment and the future of energy in NI. John also displayed the energy trilemma, showing energy usage by sector and its effect on costs, emissions and security of supply.

Ian detailed the OECD Principles of Water Governance as a model to mitigate these problems arising, citing collaboration between multiple bodies to develop a joint action plan and resilient systems. Ian finished by stating that managing water is a long-term business and we need to be clear where we want to be in fifty years, how we get there and how we finance and manage the pressures along the way.

Focussing on security of supply, John showed where our current energy supplies originate from and how they are transported, showing electricity and gas networks throughout Europe and into the British Isles. He showed how this impacted on energy costs and gave detailed comparisons of energy prices throughout the EU. With the increase in electricity interconnectors, power stations regularly being decommissioned and gas coming from a destabilised Eastern Europe, stability

NORTHERN IRELANDAREANEWS is often uncertain. John noted that NIW is the biggest user of electricity in NI and that by utilising more renewable energy supplies and becoming more energy efficient, NIW can reduce their long term costs in this area. With the cost versus improvement impasse we also have EU targets for renewable energy to meet requiring an integrated energy strategy, which has been recognised and developed by the Government. Additionally EnergyWise has been set up to provide advice and support for energy efficiency options throughout the commercial, community and private sectors.

Dave Foster, Director of Regulatory and Natural Resources Policy Division in the NI Department of the Environment, presented on ‘Environmental Constraints’.

Dave showed some amusing slides which demonstrated that creativity comes from constraints. When the environmental constraints that affect the water industry are analysed he questioned if these actually provide opportunities and if so, what these might be?

He outlined some of these constraints including financial, quality, planning and risk of infraction and how they currently determine the state of the water environment. He also showed that various bodies have mutual interests and that their policy areas can overlap – example the Food Waste Regulations and Sewer Blockages Reduction Targets are both dependent to some extent on how and where foodstuffs are disposed.

Opportunities from this example include better public awareness and education to improve disposal behaviours. Dave talked about the NI Civil Service Restructuring Programme where twelve government departments are being redistributed into nine. He showcased the new Department for infrastructure, its remits and targets for renewable energy, better public education and the need to ensure that natural capital (resources) are maintained and financed to a level where sustainability is achieved.

Keith Trimble, a Senior Civil Engineer with SSE delivered a talk on wind aspirations highlighting the issues with sustainability associated with wind (or the lack of it) power and the benefits it brings in reduced long term costs. With NIW spending in excess of £32m on electricity in 2014/15, wind turbines could help reduce this figure considerably. Keith revisited the energy trilemma, showing the strengths and weaknesses of wind power. Sustainability can also be increased by technological innovations where we can store electricity and use smart meters to control devices and ensure supply meets demand.

Keith reviewed the factors to be considered when choosing and siting wind turbines including a lengthy list of environmental requirements as well as access to the existing electricity network to facilitate power exports. He went on to discuss the pros and cons of various storage options for energy including Mechanical, Electrical, Biological, Electrochemical, Thermal & Chemical.

Finally a presentational video showed the issues around social acceptance of wind farms and how PR campaigns were helping to overcome some of these issues.

Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive of Manufacturing NI, advised that manufacturing is the 3rd largest sub-section of employment in Northern Ireland growing to 85.2k in 2015. MNI’s roadmap to manufacturing success is built on creating the most competitive region in Europe in which to start, sustain and grow a manufacturing business, thus creating wealth and work. With regards to water, Stephen states that business is the only consumer group which pays twice for their water system and proposed specific actions that need to be taken to close the efficiency gap with benchmarked comparators.

Irish Water’s Environmental Strategy Lead, Trudy Higgins, outlined the transition from 34 local water authorities in January 2014 via a Public Capital Programme and the company overseeing the adoption of over 60,000km of water mains and 25,000km of sewer mains not to mention above ground assets. Judy highlighted the vision of Irish Water with a 25 year Strategic Plan to run from 2015-2040. Priorities such as Asset Information capture, leakage reduction, catering for future expansion and growth (both as a company and population demand) and develop a sound Environmental Strategy.

A joint presentation from Richard Johnstone, Senior Project Manager of Belfast Hub at Translink and Pete Gray from Arup, gave a summary of the challenges faced by Surface Runoff during continuing urban growth and development in Belfast City Centre.

Richard highlighted that Transport is an ‘Enabler for Growth’ and so a successful transport hub is a must for Belfast to allow future development.

He pointed out that two subterranean rivers, Pound Burn and Blackstaff, are the main causes for concern with regards to flooding events and surface drainage. Pete spoke in terms of Joint-Up Thinking and co-operation between different bodies as they work to assess flood risk and set

up Storm Water Management, this would include Belfast City Council, Rivers Agency and NIW as well as other utility companies.

Matthew Lundy of NI Water, one of this year’s IW’s Rising Stars presented his work on a Flood Alleviation pilot project at Roddens Crescent in Belfast. Matthew demonstrated how steel reinforced polyethylene pipework was chosen out of three DG5 proposals to include the best action plan for the scheme. These pipes proved to have minimal to no negative impact on the surrounding area. In another scheme at Conlig, a Sewer Extension and Geo-cellular Storage tank project was undertaken here where five proposals were drawn up to help with an overall goal of having successful and manageable water storage attenuation in a heavy rain or flooding event. Matthew also conveyed the opportunities afforded him on the Rising Star programme.

The final speaker of the conference was Paddy Brow, Living with Water Programme Manager, DRD, who began by recollecting the vision of Sir Joseph William Bazalgette who was at the forefront of the Victorian Sewer system constructed in London with the foresight to design and implement a system that was quadruple what London needed at the time.

This is the sort of vision put into practice with the completion of the Belfast Sewer project and investment in Belfast WwTW which caters for 75% of the Belfast City region. He spoke of three threats to flooding in the area including Surface flooding, River overflow due to inadequate capacity, and Sea flooding from high tides and storm surge. With regard to Sea flooding Paddy detailed how the Belfast Lough is divided into three zones (Outer, Inner and Harbour) and that each area must be treated differently and all conducted within Integrated Investment Planning along with sustainable shared solutions for it and the city as a whole.

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RETAIL COMPETITION: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE WATER INDUSTRY? The market framework is set out in the Water Act 2014; the deadline for retail market opening for non-household customers is April 2017 and companies are busy preparing for the changes but what does market reform really mean for the water industry and what are companies preparing for?

This was the question posed to 4 senior industry figures at a recent south east area event which saw speakers from two wholesalers and two retail businesses providing an insight in to the market structure, their preparation plus their views on how the market may operate. This allowed the audience to not only understand the principles of the water retail market but also leave with an appreciation of the different strategies businesses

are developing; the different requirements businesses have in order to be operationally ready and how those businesses operating in Scotland may be utilising this experience in preparing for the English market opening.

The speakers, listed below, generated lively debate and the committee would like to thank them for their time and input.

Neville Smith Managing Director -Portsmouth Water Wholesale - water only company Mark Holloway Head of Wholesale Market Services - Thames Water Wholesale - water and sewerage company

Graham Southall Head of Commercial Services Thames Water Commercial Services Retail - incumbent John Reynolds Chief Executive Officer - Castle Water Retail - new entrant This was the first in a 3 part series of market reform events aimed at increasing knowledge within the industry in the run up to, and in the months after, market opening. The next will be held in January 2017 and will focus on lessons learned during shadow operation.

INSTITUTE OF WATER - 2016 AGM This year the South East Area AGM was held at RHS Garden Wisley and was attended by a record number of members. The AGM comprised a review of the past year, updates from committee members and the proposal and acceptance of the committee for the coming year.

A change to proceedings saw the award of two Fellowships to David Port and Richard Price for their significant contributions to the South East area and the IoW as a whole. The committee are extremely grateful for the support provided

by Richard and David and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future.

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The AGM concluded with the handing over of the chain of office for the South East Area Presidency from Neville Smith, Managing Director of Portsmouth Water, to Kevin Brook, Sales Director for Primayer. Kevin outlined his vision for the coming year and the committee are looking forward to working closely with

him. The committee would like to thank Neville for his time, guidance and involvement.

Following the AGM, members and their families were able to enjoy a picnic lunch in the glorious gardens.

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THE BALANCE OF THE ENERGY CHALLENGE We all know that water companies are under an obligation to deliver outcomes for its customers.

However one of the biggest challenges to a company is to deliver these outcomes whilst minimising energy usage and the associated cost to the business. South East area members came together in April to discuss this topic and the possible solutions to overcome this challenge.

The eventâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first speaker, Robert Groves (CEO, SmartestEnergy) summarised the current state of play in the UK energy market and, using Germany as an example, predicted how the market may behave in the future with lower wholesale prices but higher volatility and higher end consumer bills.

Manager, Thames Water). Matt outlined the targets included in Thames Waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Energy Plan and the operational challenges involved in making the plan a reality. However, Matt also explained that this gave rise to valuable learning lessons and, in some cases, an opportunity to make further improvements.

Following the presentations the panel were questioned on their views around the current and future state of the energy market and the impact it may have on the water sector. One interesting point to come out of this discussion was the view that water companies may, in the future, make more money from selling energy than water!

A reduction in energy consumption, an increase in energy generation and minimisation in purchase price were the 3 key areas Southern Water focused on during the AMP6 submission, said Martin Ross (Energy Manager, Southern Water). Martin went on to give further details of the initiatives the company considered during the planning stages and explained the reasoning on why some of these initiatives did not make it into the final AMP6 submission.

Fittingly the events final speaker, Richard Boud (Black & Veatch), gave an insight into how the energy market is changing and how energy consumers will be active participants in this change. Richard continued to say that renewable energy will become even more of a mainstream source however care would be required to ensure these new technologies are not without their knock-on challenges. Lastly Richard spoke around the need for energy storage and how we can maximise the value of monitored data.

This event was also the first South East event to be made available via Webex; feedback to this was positive from members and we have taken this on board and will look to use this approach where possible at future events.

Another water company perspective was delivered

by Matt Gee (Energy Reporting and Regulation

The South East area would like to extend a big thank you to the 4 speakers and to Southern Water for hosting the event. For those members who were unable to attend the event, the presentations are available on the Institutes website.

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LUNCH BYTES – COMING TO A DESK NEAR YOU! The Institute of Water Scottish Area is excited to announce its’ newly formatted Lunch & Learn sessions now rebranded as “Lunch Bytes”.

Outgoing president, Ian Mathieson with Belinda Oldfield - New area president

SCOTTISH AREA 61ST AGM The 61st AGM of the Scottish Area was held on 27th Feb 2016 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Glasgow. A wine reception was held prior to business starting and 21 people attended.

The Business of the day was swiftly dealt with, chaired by Paul Maxwell. Jennifer Lawson, Honorary Secretary reported a decrease in numbers, but that the committee would be looking at this in the coming year.

Paul reported on the successful events from the year, highlighting the Presidents Dinner and the Autumn Seminar of 2015. Vivienne Dell, Honorary Treasurer reported a healthy profit for the year, indicating that the committee supported the study tour to Northern Ireland , 1 full place at the annual conference including travel and accommodation and 1 place at the Autumn Seminar for the Rising Star.

Vivienne noted that the committee plan to retain some of this profit to support similar activities throughout the new year.

After delivery of the national report, Rob Bradley was installed as Vice Chair and the mantle of President was passed from Ian Mathieson to Belinda Oldfield – the Scottish area’s first female President.

Ian moved to Past President and gave his final address thanking the committee members leaving

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and welcoming the new members on-board. He also thanked the committee for their commitment and support to deliver a successful year. Ian made a special mention that he was successful in his aim of having a bigger Presidents Dinner than the Past President, and managed not to gloat too much (not!)

Our incoming President, Belinda Oldfield is General Manager Revenue and Risk with Scottish Water and in her address said that she was looking forward to the year ahead and committed to looking at the membership retainment levels and events we offer. This includes the new webinar Lunch Bytes, a monthly presentation that can be accessed by computer, laptop or tablet.

Jim Panton, CEO Panton McLeod accepted the role of Vice President. Jim’s first duty is to organise the ever well received area Family Day. We all look forward to that, keep an eye out on the events for the date and venue.

All business was concluded within the 1 hour target for the 2nd year running and we all eagerly left for the festivities of the Presidents Dinner.

By Kathy Auld, committee member

Building on feedback received from our members that Lunch & Learn sessions were not always accessible in time or geographical location, the Scottish Area committee has taken the approach of broadcasting forthcoming sessions via webinar.

By running these sessions in person as well as via web broadcast, it is aimed that the highly valued sessions will more accessible to more people, more of the time.

The first of these sessions was run on the 24/2/16 with a presentation on the importance of catchment management from Scottish Water’s Sustainable Land Management team. Feedback from members was positive and it was great to see an increase in participant numbers through the medium of web broadcasting with around 50% of attendees choosing to access the presentation from the comfort of their own desk.

The success of this first event was followed up by a web broadcast presentation from PAX Water Technologies on the subject of THM removal without energy compromise, direct from their base location of California, USA! Whether you are an existing member of the Institute of Water and have participated in Lunch & Learn sessions in the past or are a new member who would like to experience one of our exciting and engaging sessions, why not take the opportunity to further your CPD and become involved in YOUR Institute and pop along or dial in to a Lunch Byte soon!

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SCOTTISH AREA 61ST PRESIDENT’S DINNER The Radisson Blu Glasgow was the fantastic setting for this year’s 61st President’s Dinner and AGM on the 27th February 2016. The night kicked off with a pre-dinner drinks reception, before over 400 guests were seated in the beautiful function suite and served with a fantastic 3 course dinner.

Comedian Andy Cameron was the guest host for the dinner and he welcomed the record crowd along in his usual style and before long he had everyone laughing. Ian Mathieson then gave the out-going Presidents welcome and again thanked everyone for coming, recognizing the record attendance and the dinner sponsors Ross-shire Engineering, McKenzie Construction, Veolia and WGM. Ian then went onto show a short video made by Past President Rob Mustard about his trip to Lusaka in Zambia with Wateraid. The video certainly captured everyone’s attention and we had the hope this would manifest itself in support of Wateraid later in the evening.

Ian thanked Kathy Auld for continued support over the year and for organising a fantastic event whilst presenting her with a magnum of champagne.

Ian then carried out the formalities of passing

over the chains of office to our new Area President Belinda Oldfield. Belinda thanked Ian for a successful year and went on to set out some strong ambitions to make the coming year a great success - building on some great work of the committee and offering some unique and modern events such as Lunch Byte sessions. Belinda also confirmed she would continue in the forthcoming year the theme, “money can’t buy”. She also took the opportunity to introduce Jim Panton as the incoming Vice President and her plans to work closely with Jim over the coming months.

For the Scottish Area Strictly Innovation Awards Matt Bower, Scottish committee member introduced and thanked all the entries. Matt invited Ross-shire Managing Director Allan Dallas to the floor to announce the winner, which was Veolia. They now go forward to the National Innovations Awards at the National Presidents Dinner after the National Conference in Birmingham in June. Congratulations and good luck. Thank you to the judges and the Award Sponsors, RBS and the Scottish Government.

Thanks to all those who donated auction and raffle prizes in particular Panton McLeod WGM,

Presenting the cheque to Wateraid Dustacco and IDS who put up some wonderful auction prizes. As always this is appreciated as are the donations that people make in their envelopes. We raised the amazing sum of just shy of £9,000.00 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.

The hotel informed us that the bar was still 3 deep at 3:00am so all the signs of a good night enjoyed by all.

LAND MATTERS!: THE IMPORTANCE OF CATCHMENT LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE WATER INDUSTRY turn increases the energy and chemical use for water treatment. One of the challenges facing the SLM team is preparing for the unknown risks presented by climate change. However, by seeking new and alternative approaches, it offers the opportunity to enhance and maintain a high quality supply of drinking water, provide greater value for money for customers and deliver significant environmental improvements.

Strictly Innovation Awards Winners - Veolia Operations Team from Allanfeam WwTW (Inverness) The Scottish Area Events Calendar for 2016 / 2017 began with a newly formed Lunch Byte session entitled “Land Matters!: The importance of catchment land management in the water industry”. Hosted from the Scottish Water Fairmilehead office on Wednesday 24th February, this was the first time that Webex facilities had been used to ensure these lunchtime sessions are accessible to all those who wish to be involved.

With just as many people choosing to dial in as there were attending in person, this proved to be a very successful start to the events year!

Attendees were given the opportunity to hear from Scottish Water employees Jack Bloodworth

(Regulatory Analyst) and David Anderson (Catchment Liaison Officer) from the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) team.

Working in collaboration with land owners and developers, the aim of the SLM team is to protect drinking water sources throughout Scotland; the key to achieving this lies in considering catchments as assets. On the day, we heard about the varying land-uses including farming practices, large and small scale construction, forest activities and pesticide applications that can greatly impact source water quality.

If risks are not properly assessed, the quality of the source water can be affected, which in

The SLM team carry out catchment investigations in order to identify pressures; namely cryptosporidium, colour, algae, manganese and THMs. Furthermore, their work involves the Incentive Scheme which finances measures for the protection of 9 source water catchments as well as responding to a wide variety of consultations on activities occurring within close proximity to drinking water catchments.

The Lunch Byte concluded with a number of questions taken from the floor and via Webex.

This prompted some interesting discussions, which largely focussed on the potential additional benefits of this approach in reducing flood risk; unsurprising given recent events within Scotland.

The overall feedback from attendees regarding both the presentation and new format was very positive. I’m sure I speak on behalf of all attendees when I say I am looking forward to the next Lunch Byte already!

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Welsh Area sludge trilemma Business Modelling Associates (BMA) presented how they have delivered holistic sludge optimisation support in the water industry. The event was hosted at Welsh Water offices and organised by the Institute of Water Wales.

The session started with an explanation of analytics and how Gartner quoted it was the “New Science of Winning” (Davenport / Harris).

The first case study covered how they designed an optimisation tool which answered the question of “How do we optimise our sludge assets to perform like a single plant?”.

The project delivered visibility of the end to end sludge process, which linked waste water treatment works, sludge transport, treatment and disposal and included the costs at each stage of the process. The model then allowed constraints-based optimisation, including financial constraints, site availability constraints or transport constraints. The model looked at the unit rate for transport, maintenance, power etc… with detailed costs for each asset.

The model is run on a weekly basis to review the previous performance, plan the current week to take account of outages and identify the next best optimum option if a site is not available. It also enables planning of performance as it reviews projections for the following 10 weeks.

This ability to review performance and plan has encouraged discussions and helped with operational responses. It required some work to gather data as it needed a top down/bottom up approach. It was an iterative process and encourages discussions about what data is needed to enable best decisions.

Capacity/ Future Growth ost al C rgin eat Ma to Tr

Two case studies highlighted how BMA’s approach, using a prescriptive analytics tool has been used for operational and strategic sludge decision-support and considered the role of data and optimisation to help with the introduction of a separate price control and sludge markets.

The "Sludge Trilemma"

The second case study was about how to use the model to answer the question: What is the optimal sludge investment – TOTEX approach?

BMA presented a TOTEX model looking at the optimal view of sludge investment over a 25 year period. Financial data was combined with activity data and the model was validated with a confidence of 99.75% against actual data.

In addition to sludge investment, the model was designed to look at new competitive sludge market in 2017. The model defined the relationship between asset capacity, the

Ga te Fee

BMA explained how making sense of the data collected across sludge treatment processes and using that data to inform key decisions can be challenging and presented their work with water companies to help them better understand the dependencies in their sludge processes; delivering value and supporting compliance.

Leading the session from BMA were Niki Roach, Craig Mauelshagen and Mark Penny.

marginal cost to treat and the gate fee that could be charged – or paid – to ensure the site delivered best value. This tool enabled the client understand affordability and opportunities in their sludge processes and be prepared for market reform.

The BMA approach helped both clients to identify data gaps and understand the value of having that data. It also encouraged optimisation of operations and delivered a better understanding of sludge processes. The event ended with interesting discussions around data, optimisation and energy management.

The model was used to support investment decisions, additionally it provided the client with end to end sludge budget visibility.

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LLANPUMSAINT WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS 3D MODELLING ON A SMALLER SCALE Pieter Vanderpoel, Engineer MMB On 25th May, Pieter Vanderpoel (MMB) presented on recently completed wastewater treatment works (WwTW) scheme in Llanpumpsaint, Carmarthenshire. Although a relatively small WwTW, a 3D modelling approach was used to design the complicated construction phases which kept treatment processes operating throughout the entire delivery programme.

The model also served as an interactive tool for operators to assess site safety and visualise the design much easier than traditional 2D drawings, among many other benefits. Subsequently, lessons learned at Llanpumsaint will help inform MMB and the larger DCWW alliance on the benefits and appropriateness of 3D modelling for similar projects going forward.

INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Institute of Directors (IoD) 8th annual Women in Leadership Conference was held in Belfast on March 11th 2016 with the theme Leading the Future. The conference aimed to encourage and inspire women business owners and women in industry to be as successful as they can be, by holding a series of workshops aimed at 4 main topics.

1. Incubating Crisis –how behaviours impact on your life both personally and professionally.

2. Growing your talent- this workshop provided an insight into growing the talent and maintaining loyalty within your own organisation 3. Improving Performance - looking at the key influences on how well you and your team are performing and how to make sure no parts of the performance pie are below par.

4. Leading in the Digital Age – examples of some rapidly growing businesses in the digital world.

There were several well-known very successful Women Leaders in Industry giving speeches

and interviews throughout the day. Each one of them had an inspirational quote to offer as advice to all the delegates in the room. The most influential quotes being from:-

leading Charity in the UK supporting, developing and promoting the art forms of the moving image. . Her motivational quotes were:-

Susan Hayes Culleton, the conference host for the day, herself being an author, Economist and successful business woman of #SavvyTeenAcademy a summer camp for year 5&6th year students with a focus on careers, communication and confidence. Her own journey to success was fraught with a sense of inadequacy until she realised that all she had to do was to be the best version of herself she could be. Her motivational quote was:-

“Be Bold, Be Brave”, “Be Pushy with Charm (more than feels comfortable) and never put yourself down”, “Favour the yes answer when in doubt” and “Act it until you are it”

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect”.

Whilst this Conference was not of a technical nature it certainly did reach to the very heart of inspiration and networking. The event was thoroughly inspirational and enjoyable, I would like to thank Dwr Cymru and the Institute of Water for supporting my attendance at the conference.

Anne Morisson – The Chair of BAFTA the

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Why all the fuss about THMs? Kathryn Buist, Water Quality Scientist, Northumbrian Water The Northern Area team organised and hosted an evening event at the Boldon House office of Northumbrian Water on 7 March 2016. The session was around water quality and disinfection by-products (DBPs) with a particular focus on trihalomethanes (THMs).

The event was opened by Victoria Ross who introduced John Coulson, a Technical Advisor within Scientific Services, to the attendees. John gave an overview of the Water Quality department and what the Water Quality team are involved with including the source to tap approach, the different activities the team are involved in and both the internal and external customers that the team communicate with. A brief overview of the outcomes and measures of success was also covered and the hot topics in water quality including discolouration, taste and odour, metaldehyde and THMs.

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Following this, there was another very detailed presentation by Ethan Brooke. Ethan is a Senior Product Manager at PAX Water Technologies in the US, which was founded in 2006, and he is involved in the Trihalomethane Removal System (TRS).

based on Trihalomethane Removal System (TRS).

This is a system of custom designed mixers, aerators and ventilation which are installed within treated water storage tanks and can be used within different sizes of tanks.

Ethan talked about the chemistry of disinfection by-products, mainly trihalomethanes and explained the precursors involved in THM formation and how DBP react in the distribution network.

Ethanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation also included some examples of case studies where this technology has been successful in reducing the levels of THMs in the distribution network. More information about the technology and the case studies can be found at www.paxwater.com.

THMs are formed when natural organic matter present in the water, reacts with chlorine based disinfectants that are applied during the disinfection process. THMs levels increase in the network based on residence time and are carcinogenic and therefore closely regulated and monitored.

Ethan also covered some of the PAX technology which reduces the formation potential of THMs

This kind of event hosted by the IoW gives an interesting insight into different departments within the business that you might not have contact with on a day to day basis and also the opportunity to meet people from other areas and companies. It was a great chance to find out about technologies that can make a real difference to improving water quality to customers.

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Technological Advances, Catchment Team DCWW, winner presented by David Rosser, Director of Innovation, Welsh Government

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Sarah Harris picking up her CPD Award and Env Tech certificate from Ian Barker, Vice President Environment, Institute of Water

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Host Roy Noble

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Environment Winners, Energy & Capita

Sewage treatment back to basics Ken Dennis, Water Ranger - Northumbrian Water I've lived on the coast near Teesside for over 33 years yet never realised that a huge facility dedicated to the processing of my sewage, that of my family, and fellow 2.7 million citizens, as well as coping with toxic industrial effluents, existed less than eight miles away. It’s located down a road that I must have passed many thousands of times by car and, now I know it's there, I can actually see from the train as it rattles along from my home town to Middlesbrough.

I didn't have to be asked twice to make a visit to Bran Sands sewage treatment works on Teesport for a seminar about what happens there after I flush my Armitage Shanks. Quite a lot as it happens! David Mitchell, Iain Wilson and Frank Errington from Northumbrian Water explained in presentations that even a technically challenged volunteer Water Ranger could grasp with fascination. Over twenty attendees from

professional positions across the water industry seemed similarly engrossed.

The star of the show was the stunning industrial facility itself with its huge structures, treatment tanks, gantries, buzzing pumps, swirling liquids and anaerobic digesters. All producing water fit to feed into the Tees to support the salmon and seals and to maintain a source of good drinking water, as well as producing clean solids containing energy to help grow food. As we walked around the site with the recently abandoned Redcar steelworks in close proximity, goldfinches twittered around us in the cold evening sunshine.

Thanks to Hubert Desgranges, Victoria Ross and Paul Henderson from the Institute of Water Northern Area for organising this special opportunity.

UPCOMING EVENTS Northern Area President’s Day – 2 July 2016, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Doncaster Join Richard Sears, the Northern Area President for a grand day out at the fantastic location of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. The event is exclusively available to Northern Area members and their guests. £10 for groups of up to four people with any additional guests at £15 each, this includes entrance fee for the day, welcome refreshments and barbeque lunch. To book, please contact Lucy Archer on 0191 422 0088.

Northern Area President’s Dinner – 17 September 2016, Whitby Join the Northern Area team and Richard Sears for an evening to remember. Further details about this event will be shared very soon.

Northern Area Autumn Seminar – 9 – 11 November 2016, Harrogate Our two day seminar this year focuses on Health, Safety and Wellbeing with a range of speakers confirmed and some exciting sessions planned. Further details about this event will be shared very soon.

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Midlands Area Development Day 26th April 2016 The Midlands Area held a successful Development Day on 26th April. Drawing over 27 attendees (members and future members) from across the country, the day focussed on building skills in both Project Management and Leadership.

Attendees ranged from suppliers, specialist equipment manufacturers as well as Water Companies from the North, Wales, South and Midlands.

The day was highly interactive, giving opportunities for members to network with each other and share real life experiences, as well as learning about new tools and techniques to use back in the workplace. The development day covered a huge range of topics including; n The essentials of good project management n Leadership skills - understanding how to get the most out of your team n Interactive discussions with others across the industry n Personal development - practical advice to apply to support career development Huge thanks go to Cogent Skills, an external training organisation who led the course, Nick Skinner from Severn Trent Water for his assistance in faciliating on the day and Noela Fitton who organised the setting up of the development day.

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SOUTHWESTAREANEWS

Energy from waste from different perspectives An overview of energy from waste strategies in the South West On Friday 11th December, the South West area hosted an afternoon event on Energy from Waste strategy, at Viridor’s Marsh Barton Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Exeter.

Chaired by Ray Arrell (South West Water’s Renewable Energy Engineer), this event looked into a range of approaches to recovering energy from waste sources both within and external to the water industry. Viridor also took attendees around the Marsh Barton ERF control room and witnessed the site operators loading waste feedstock into the onsite delivery area.

Viridor’s Business Development Director Chris Jonas welcomed the attendees to the ERF and talked through Viridor’s energy recovery strategy and active operations around the UK, as well as a more detailed look at the process and contractual arrangements of the Marsh Barton plant.

The next speaker was Ian Law, Technical Manager at Wessex Water, who talked about the existing advanced anaerobic digestion (AAD) assets being operated at Wessex Water, their subsidiary company GENeco and the areas of activity under this business. Ian talked about their activity in food and liquid waste treatment, renewable energy production and biogas generation. Ian then covered some features of GENeco in the news, referencing the biogas powered vehicles they have, the ‘Bio Bug’, a methane powered VW Beetle and the ‘Bio Bus’, a methane powered 41 seat Scania Enviro300 bus. Ian lastly covered other areas of research being pioneered at Wessex Water alongside, working alongside Universities and research specialists on optimising their gas production and generation processes.

The final speaker was Helen Richard, the Waste Water Planning Manager at South West Water

(SWW). Helen talked through the background to sludge management and related energy generation within SWW and the company’s aspiration to align with the move to advanced digestion/AAD across the industry. Helen talked though SWW’s current mix of digestion and liming within SWW and how sludge quality can play a huge part in output. Helen then went on to talk about SWW’s sludge TOTEX model that they have been developing with consultants Business Modelling Associates, developing a decision making tool through adopting analytical methods around multiple data feeds. The end result

of which was to identify a longer term sludge strategy for the business to focus investment decisions and prepare the business for the impending sludge market for PR19 and more of a commercial focus around sludge as a resource.

The event concluded with a tour around the ERF control room, where operators manage the delivery of incoming waste feedstock into the plant.

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EASTERNAREANEWS

IOW Eastern Area visit to Cambridge Museum of Technology The Cambridge Museum of Technology is an industrial heritage museum but it was originally Cheddars Lane sewage pumping station opened in 1894. The site was built as part of the creation of Cambridge Sewage Farm which still sits on the same site at Milton but re-developed by Anglian Water as Cambridge Water Recycling Centre. The visit took place on 28th April.

Nick Humphreys (Eastern Area Secretary) kindly arranged a private tour of the museum as part of our ongoing program of events. It was a great opportunity to look back at engineering achievements and how these have developed through times.

The museum boasts many attractions and preserves a wide range of engineering exhibits rescued from in and around the Cambridge area, not least the original 1894 Hathorn Davey steam driven sewage pumping engines.

In addition to the many and varied exhibits it was a great opportunity to see how the site has developed through its life as a sewage pumping

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station and the progression of power technology through steam, internal combustion and electricity. Built in 1894 the site was upgraded, adding 2 National gas engine pumps in 1909 to meet the demands of a growing population and in 1923 it had an 18inch diameter Gwynnes electric pump installed as its last upgrade.

drive the filter arms on “A works” at Cambridge Water Recycling Centre but recently became redundant. Rather than dispose of the unit the volunteer staff at Cambridge Museum have preserved and refurbished it for use as a winch, hauling side tipping skip wagons along narrow gauge incline railway (see pictures).

Unfortunately the museum isn’t able to raise steam until funding has been secured to refurbish the boiler but it was a pleasure to witness the gas engine in full swing.

It was great to see how this unit had been conserved and reused along with the many other exhibits and I was particularly impressed by the skills and commitment of the volunteers.

This was also an ideal opportunity to look at a recently refurbished cable winch donated by Anglian Water. This winch was originally used to

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