Water Industry Journal 14 by Distinctive Media Group Ltd

MARCH2020

ISSUE14

Trenchless Technology • Wastewater Treatment & Technology • Leak Detection & Repair flood defence • Drinking Water Treatment • chemuk2020 preview

Connecting Global Competence

Environmental technologies for our water. May 4–8, 2020 • Messe München Solutions for the safe handling of water and sewage—at IFAT 2020. Water treatment, sewage disposal and drinking water production—international exhibitors gather on the 270,000 m² of the world‘s largest platform for environmental technologies to present innovative solutions for the future of water.

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Welcome

Innovation at the heart of what we do

It’s a tall order, yes. Within the next five years, most water utilities have to reduce leakage by 15% or 16%. Some have even higher targets. Huge progress has already been made in that leakage is down by about a third from the 1994-95 high and, certainly on the plus side, there is so much more help at hand today thanks to the battery of new technologies designed to be employed on the front line.

Editor Helen Compson

Trenchless technology, for starters, is a burgeoning art. While the industry is looking down the road towards self-healing pipes and micro-robots programmed to do the diagnostic work, ground-breaking advances are already being used, some well before contractors reach the road side. One of our interviewees in this issue, Andy Taylor, chief engineer with Atkins Global, knows that with the phenomenal pace of digital change in recent years, there is real scope to do things differently today. His no-nonsense philosophy is ‘let’s make excavation the last resort - let’s start with nodig solutions!’ Artificial intelligence is increasingly being harnessed to save time and money during the inspection and project planning stages, with the welcome by-product of more accurate,

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thorough data untainted by human error. Read about the sewer RATS in the vanguard of the movement. But the bank of hands-on equipment available now is also a boon. Take the innovative Pipepullers produced by Kobus Services Ltd. Gone are the days of digging up driveways or, horror of horrors, freshly-laid Tarmac. This key-hole surgery for pipes requires just two small holes and a hydraulic winch capable of dragging out the old pipe, while at the same time pulling in its replacement. Innovation will be key to the second annual ChemUK exhibition too. Due to take place in Manchester in September, it is attracting interest from many a water-related enterprise, not least those in the wastewater treatment sector. Described by founder Ian Stone as ‘an intensive two-day supply chain sourcing, business networking, intelligence gathering, best-practice and strategy development experience’, it will boast 250 stands packed with knowledge and experience drawn from the breadth of the industry.

12 54

8 10

34 4

64 WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Contents

4-5

Contents

6-12

News

16-23 ChemUK2020 Preview 34-49 Trenchless Technology 50-51 Flood Defence 54-65 Wastewater Treatment & Technology 68-83 Leak Detection & Repair

84-89 Drinking Water Treatment

88 Editor

Helen Compson helen.compson@distinctivegroup.co.uk

Design

Distinctive Publishing, 3rd Floor, Tru Knit House, 9-11 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

Advertising

David Lancaster Business Development Manager Tel: 0191 580 5476 david.lancaster@distinctivegroup.co.uk

84 www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

Distinctive Publishing or Water Industry Journal cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies that may occur, individual products or services advertised or late entries. No part of this publication may be reproduced or scanned without prior written permission of the publishers and Water Industry Journal.

News

Durleigh Water Treatment Centre £50m rebuild Wessex Water is investing £50 million to improve and rebuild its Durleigh Water Treatment Centre near Bridgwater. The water treatment centre has come to the end of its operational life, and the reconstruction forms an essential part of Wessex Water’s longterm water supply strategy for Somerset.

held at Enmore village hall in November 2019, with another planned this May to provide an update and further information about the scheme.

coordinating the work, said: “We recently took delivery of five of nine carbon filter vessels that will be installed at the site to improve our water treatment processes.

Residents will have seen work being carried out in the fields opposite the water treatment centre, with a compound set up for the on-site team and installation of a footbridge for site personnel crossing Enmore Road.

Work is due to run until spring 2022 and is progressing well, with demolition now complete and major groundworks underway. This will be followed by construction of new buildings and specialist equipment.

“These essential improvements will ensure we continue to deliver high-quality water to our customers.

A drop-in session for the local community was

Wessex Water’s Simon Osborne, who is

DECEMBER2019 ISSUE13

ISSUE12 SEPTEMBER2019

“We’re doing everything we can to minimise disruption to the local community and our impact on the environment.”

If you would like to participate in the June edition of Water Industry Journal we shall be featuring: n Anaerobic Digestion innovation & new technologies n Phosphorus & Nitrogen Removal

Water & wastewater monitoring & analysis • Utility security Wastewater treatmen t & technology • Catchmen & incident management • Biosolids & recycling t management • Deliverin g resilience

Monitoring and Analysis t • Water and Wastewater Technology NEWS • Flow and Level Measuremen • Wastewater Treatment & Biogas and Energy Management

n Sludge Management

n Flow & Level Measurement n Wastewater Treatment & Technology n Improving Drinking Water Quality

Contact David Lancaster on 0191 580 5476 or email david.lancaster@distinctivegroup.co.uk for more information.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Design Build Maintain Hire Your chemical. Our know-how.

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News

Essex & Suffolk Water and MGISS Pioneer 3D Asset Data Technology

Essex & Suffolk Water is working with technology company MGISS to improve the accuracy and currency of asset data while future proofing corporate systems. This is to support investment in augmented virtual reality visualisations and digital twin projects for creating digital replicas of physical infrastructure. Working alongside the design and construction team, MGISS has successfully introduced new satellite positioning equipment together with techniques to enhance the positional accuracy of captured data. Field operatives armed with smartphones running a mobile data collector app can now accurately record the real world location, and depth, of new and existing assets. MGISS is also helping Essex & Suffolk Water process the asset data for onward use in its corporate Geographical Information System (GIS). “One of the key issues we face as both a design and construction team is the limited accuracy of some of our historic asset data,“ commented Jake Day, Designer at Essex & Suffolk Water. “This inaccuracy can translate into lost time, and therefore a significant increase in costs. We believe this advancement will help us

locate buried services more quickly in the future, which will help us to respond faster to customers.” Part of the Northumbrian Water Group, Essex & Suffolk Water is a water only supplier serving around 1.8 million people in the south-east. Following an initial trial period, supported from concept to field testing by MGISS, Essex & Suffolk is now successfully deploying an Arrow Gold GNSS complete with RTK (Real Time Kinematic) subscription. Construction teams record the exact position, to an accuracy of better than 2cm, and depth of assets on their iPhones which are loaded with Esri Collector for ArcGIS. This process has already been used on a variety of projects including large distance strategic pipelines, mains diversions and new build housing developments. “This technology allows us to record the location and depth of new and existing mains

along with any additional apparatus and fittings,” continued Day. “We can also capture the specification and properties of each item which, together with the geospatial data, will prove invaluable to inform future works. This process has allowed us to relay quality information to developers and stakeholders, adding value throughout the design and construction process.” Andrew Hopkins, GIS & Positioning Technical Consultant at Northumbrian Water Group, added, “We are also working, with the support of MGISS, on simplified workflows to create a digital process whereby this high precision data will be presented directly for acceptance into the corporate GIS as validated data. It is hoped that these streamline processes will put us in a leading position when it comes to the visualisation of assets in 3D an integral step for research into virtual and augmented reality experiences and digital twin modelling.”

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

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06.09.2018 10:01:14

Are cobbles key to protecting our coasts? Traditional hard engineering coastal protections have long been trusted to protect land, property and communities from tidal damage – but rising sea levels are now presenting a new challenge. Academics at the University of Bath’s Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC) are exploring how better understanding the make-up of natural composite beaches and new dynamic protection techniques could help keep coastal areas safe. Coastal regions are becoming ever more at risk from damaging storms due to increasing storm magnitudes and rising water levels caused by our changing climate: studies have found that almost a quarter of the world’s beaches are eroding at rates larger than 0.5m per year. At the same time, coastal zones have become heavily populated, with 15 of the world’s 20 megacities located on coasts – so ensuring the sustainability of seaside infrastructure is becoming ever more technically challenging in terms of both policy and investment. In many areas, new coastal protection will be required to either replace existing obsolete defences or to protect new coastal areas. The high cost and aesthetic impact of many traditional hard engineering coastal defences such as seawalls makes them unaffordable or unattractive for many regions where development is minimal, and the highest standards of flood protection are not required - such as on undeveloped beaches. In such locations, soft engineering solutions which

provide protection but minimise impact on natural processes and landscape are desirable. Dr Chris Blenkinsopp, senior lecturer in Bath’s Department of Architecture & Civil Engineering and a member of WIRC, says: “Coastal regions are becoming ever more at risk from damaging storms due to increasing storm magnitudes and rising water levels caused by our changing climate. Protection solutions which are low cost and can be adapted as conditions change are almost nonexistent at present.”

Dynamic revetments

Studying a new sustainable and nature-based technique to face this coastal threat is the aim of the DynaRev project, which has been running at WIRC since 2017. Project researchers aim to investigate the performance of a ‘dynamic cobble berm revetment’, and its capability to protect the coast efficiently. The feature, a ridge of cobbles constructed around the wave runup limit, replicates naturally occurring composite beaches, which are one of

the most stable types of beaches. Composite beaches consist of a lower foreshore of sand and a back-shore ridge of gravel or cobbles which stabilises the upper beach and provides overtopping protection to the hinterland. The overall aim of the project is to investigate the stability of dynamic revetments under storm wave attack by comparing the response of the beach to a rising sea level and storms with and without a dynamic revetment structure in a large-scale lab experiment. The laboratory work has been carried out in Hannover, Germany at the GWK large wave flume, which is over 300 m long and enables testing to be carried out at close to full-scale but in a controlled environment using a wide range of sophisticated measurement techniques. The DynaRev project comprises three main work packages, which will focus on determining the performance of dynamic cobble berm revetments and their resilience in response to a range of wave conditions;

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

understanding wave transformation and the changing state of beaches under rising sea levels; and improving models which predict wave processes and their impact on beaches and coastal structures. Comprehensive measurements of hydro- and morpho-dynamics and sediment transport were collected using a suite of instruments including Lidar arrays and RFID tagging of individual cobbles. The data collected is being used to not only investigate the stability and performance of a cobble revetment in energetic seas with a rising water level, but also undertake detailed studies of nearshore coastal processes including

bar formation, energy dissipation in the surf zone, repeatability of wave-by-wave sediment transport and validation of multiple computational models.

Cobbles could reduce coast damage While the DynaRev project is ongoing, initial results show that although the cobbles in a revetment can move individually, over 95% remained a part of the overall structure throughout testing, maintaining a high level of coastal protection. Combined with observations of existing dynamic revetments in the US, the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

We can help you reimagine your water R&D

results suggest that once the beach/revetment system approaches a state of equilibrium, its stability greatly increases, and the observed recession will slow or stop. Results also show that the presence of the revetment decreases the runup, and the risk of flooding and damage to the hinterlands. With improved understanding of these issues, the testing indicates that dynamic revetments could provide a feasible alternative to traditional hard engineering structures in some coastal locations as they provide low cost, robust overtopping and erosion protection to the hinterland while maintaining some natural character.

Water Innovation & Research Centre

Through the Water Innovation and Research Centre at the University of Bath our experts work with industry, academia, and other stakeholders to tackle the fundamental issues surrounding sustainable water. Through WISE, our Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Informatics: Science and Engineering, we work with collaborative partners to train the next generation of skilled water scientists and engineers. To explore a partnership with water research experts and students at the University of Bath for your organisation, contact water-research@bath.ac.uk.

go.bath.ac.uk/water-research

www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

News

Utility Strikes Awareness Day NI Water hosted its second Utility Strikes Awareness Day, in February, in the Learning & Development Centre in Antrim. The event was attended by approximately 80 people representing both Framework Consultants and Contractors working on NI Water Capital Delivery Projects. The event was hosted by Tracey Mitchell, ICD SHE Compliance Manager with support from the SHE team Speakers / topics included: Hal Steele, NIE Network: the dangers of overhead and underground electricity services Phil Cornforth on behalf of USAG: how to prevent utility damage through better use of data Adrian McNeilly, Phoenix Natural Gas: impacts of damage to the natural gas network Caolin McKee, Openreach NI: damage caused by strikes to the network Brendan Crealey, Industry Training Services: lessons learned from his time in the industry along with an oversight of his own experiences as a trainer Adam Baker and Matt Hull, Leica Geosystems: equipment options available for locating services; and

David Green, NIW Water Quality Manager: impact on water quality and NIW customers from strikes and bursts. The day concluded with a tour of the CALM Network training facility by Conan McIlwrath, Asset Performance.

Feedback from the event has been very positive, and more events are planned throughout the year for NIW framework contractors and staff.

Apprenticeships aren’t just for school leavers 132 water workers prove the point More than 130 employees at Northumbrian Water have developed their skills using apprenticeship programmes.

Last year Northumbrian Water was delighted to welcome 23 new apprentices into its Water Team. It also offers development or retraining opportunities through apprenticeship programmes in many other varying aspects of the business such as Water Network/Distribution, Water Supply, Wastewater, Intelligence Operations and Customer Service, just to name a few.

As well as taking on its largest ever group of apprentices last year, Northumbrian Water is proving that apprenticeship programmes aren’t just for school leavers and young people.

Tracey Greener, Northumbrian Water’s Workforce Development Manager, said: “Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to take a first step into a career, but it’s a myth that they are just for young people getting started.

A total of 132 existing employees, including some who have been in the company for decades, are working towards a qualification and furthering their skills via an apprenticeship programme alongside their day to day role.

“Increasingly, we are using Apprenticeship programmes to help our people make exciting career changes, either updating or enhancing their skills and experience within their existing roles, or changing direction entirely.

“We embrace all of these opportunities at Northumbrian Water and have hundreds of our people taking advantage of what they have to offer, ranging from school leavers to those who have been with us for decades.” In 2019 Northumbrian Water worked with the Energy and Utilities Independent Assessment Service and Water Train to build skills and develop knowledge in its Operational areas. Northumbrian Water had 88 people achieve the Water Process Technician Standard to level 3, with many achieving Distinction grades. The Level 3 Standard is what Northumbrian Water has committed to as a base line qualification for its operators and its commitment for its Licence to Operate through Energy and Utilities Independent Assessment Service.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

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Safety of people and property is a key issue in the water industry

Production operators, subcontractors and maintenance technicians working in the water industry need easy access to various remote sites where Locken has fitted thousands of access control systems.

Stéphane Conreux CTO LOCKEN Group

In complex settings, where a drop of water travels through miles of pipelines, pumping stations, tanks, treatment plants, then sewers and waste water treatment plants to complete the water cycle, controlling the process and securing these highly sensitive sites is challenging. Water industry facilities usually comprise many scattered sites. This means maintaining tens of thousands of facilities across the country in urban and often remote areas (home to the largest clean water production plants). These plants are often far from any power supply, adding further complication to the access control solution. Autonomous access control, the very latest in cable-free technology, offers the perfect solution for access points and doors, as the padlock and lock cylinders are passive. Keys provide the necessary power and hold the access rights data. Electronic cylinders can easily replace existing cylinders and do not require any special maintenance, making it especially suited to remote sites and clean water aqueducts. The complete solution is managed by the Locken Smart Access software. We recently spoke to Stéphane Conreux, CTO of Locken, to find out more about this solution and why it is particularly well-suited to the water industry. Question: Tell us about Locken Smart Access. Answer: Our software solution, Locken Smart Access (LSA) has been developed to design and operate access policy. LSA can be easily connected with other software to become part of the customers’ IT system. Within a water network, the best performance is achieved when all parts are fully connected, LSA offers scalability to integrate the individual specifications of water companies… to talk the language of the customers. Q: What are its main characteristics? A: Each part of Locken Smart Access is focused on the needs of the who and why. For example, the web part of LSA operates the specifications of scalability and manages

access policies - manager centric access policy. MyLocken (Locken’s mobile app) is dedicated to the specific needs of end users. Each part of Locken Smart Access considers both user and manager to deliver added value through global collaboration of access management.

adding complications that may result from introducing new technologies. With expertise in both the hardware and software elements of the solution, Locken is able to offer the most capable and reliable access control solution on the market.

Q: Why choose this solution over others on the market?

Q: Among the new technologies marking the evolution of the water sector, which ones does Locken Smart Access use and how?

A: Choosing Locken Smart Access doesn’t mean choosing a solution among other similar solutions. It means choosing a tool that allows you to create custom-made solutions that meet the specific needs of each water company, while seamlessly integrating into their value chain. Q: What role do innovation and new technologies play in water management and what main challenges does the water industry face? A: Innovations and new technologies only make sense if they reflect the requirements of the water sector. Their major roles are to simplify the expected answer and to address the user’s needs by creating added value without any additional task for the user. Data mining is a key factor of Locken Smart Access, because one of the main values of access control solutions is their capacity to deliver relevant information to the managers. This helps them understand complex situations and provides them with the ability to define and meet the needs of their organisations. The major challenge of innovation is to deliver its promises without

A: More and more, the water sector requests flexibility, enabling people to find solutions which support them in doing their job and ultimately managing the entire water cycle. Locken Smart Access uses the capacity offered by mobile apps to get the user of the electronic keys more involved in the smart access process. This increases the benefits of the access control solution. Q: Finally, look to the future, what business and development expectations does this type of solution have within the water sector? A: We plan to continue to develop and add to the Locken system. Our objective is to make each user an active contributor for the benefit of all; as an example, expanding our ‘MyLocken’ app to key users by adding smart technologies and innovative functionalities that will help to make their job always easier and safer For further information about LOCKEN visit https://www.locken.eu/, find us on LinkedIn or telephone 0203 691 1610.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Reliability and Efficiency as Standard Patterson Pump Ireland is a multi-award-winning complete pump manufacturer, servicing

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ChemUK2020

CHEMUK 2020 preview Visitor registration has now opened for CHEMUK 2020, the UK chemical industries national expo, being held on 16th & 17th September at EventCity in Manchester. Presenting over 270 exhibitors and 100+ expert speakers, CHEMUK 2020 is the only large-scale trade show that brings together the UK’s chemicals, chemical processing and chemical product formulation industries, providing an intensive 2-day supply chain sourcing, business networking, intelligence gathering, innovation showcasing, bestpractice and strategy development experience. Following the show’s successful launch in Harrogate last year, event organiser, UK Industry Events, took the decision to move the show to the largest event space in the North, EventCity, Manchester, to facilitate the huge industry demand.

“It has almost doubled in size in terms of the number of exhibitors and stands. We had 140 last year and this year we’ve got over 270. What you can draw from that is a massive appetite among suppliers and partners in the chemical industry to be part of ChemUK.” Ian Stone , Founder and Managing Director

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

ChemUK2020

2-DAY CHEMICALS INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN EXPO CHEMUK 2020 will provide visitor groups with a diverse and impressive showcase of 270+ specialist exhibitors showcasing latest plant, equipment, materials and services supporting the chemicals industries, driving product innovation, plant & process performance, futureproofing, supply-chain fulfilment, safety, compliance and more. Key exhibition focus streams, featuring latest industry solutions, technology, innovations, partners and specialist services include: Plant, Process, Flow & Control

Including: Process Plant & Equipment / Process Engineering / Process Control / Process Automation/ Flow Management / Plant & Asset Mgmt / Plant Optimisation / Process Intensification/ Digitalisation & QC

Chemicals, Ingredients, Raw Materials

Including: Industrial & Supply Chain Chemicals / Chemical & Formulation ingredients & additives / Raw Materials – for Chemicals processing & product formulation sectors/Green Chemistry

Heath, Safety, Environment, Regulatory

Including: HSE/ Process Safety / Hazard Management / Environment Compliance & Regulatory Management / Responsible Care/Risk & Asset Mgmt / Security

Logistics, Storage, Handling & Fulfilment

Including: Logistics & Transport / Supply Chain Mgmt / Warehousing & Storage / Loading & Handling / Industrial Packaging /Contract Processing& Fulfilment Services

Laboratory, Research & Development

Including: Laboratory chemicals / Lab Equipment, Apparatus & Instrumentation / Lab Testing/ Research & Development Services, Sector Innovation

Business & Operations Management

Including: Engineering & Technical Services / Business Support Services / Trade & Business Performance / Operational & Asset Mgmt / Brexit & Regulatory Mgmt

Skills, Training, HR & Recruitment

Including: Chemical /Process sector Careers, Skills, Training & recruitment

More than 100 ‘brand new exhibitors’ join the show floor for 2020 Major industry players through to niche solutions & services suppliers, from all sides of the sector, have joined into the packed exhibitor line up for the CHEMUK 2020 Supply Chain Expo, benefitting from new biggest venue of ‘EventCity’ in Trafford Park, Manchester. www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

ChemUK2020

Cosmetics Cluster UK / CATCH6

Lakeland Laboratories

Cod Beck Blenders

Catering - Refreshments

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Guardian Equipment

8.5

SPIROFLEX d.o.o. 6

10.5

2 J3

Verder

Chemical Inspection & Regulation Service

3 E15

E16

3 3 E17 E19 2 Gericke Litre Meter UK 6 Limited 6 E18 E20 Kinetrol

3 F17

W.E.C. (Leeds) Ltd

Zook

G11

5 2

CDR Pumps 12

Nittel

G12

G13

G15

1 3

Protego

G14 Assentech

Pillar 10 2.98

G16

Carbon Activated Europe

1.5 1.5

4 2

G17 3

G20

4 H11 SCI-MED

2 J9

AxFlow Borregaard Ltd 4 9

J11

V-SEAL 3

K10 3

L15 BCMPA

AESSEAL L14 Plc

Process 16 Engineering 8

PH Europe

Elmac Technologies

K14

3 Extenda Line

Novaflex Siemens 4 Ltd Plc 3

of Joint Integrity / Flexitallic 12

3 L8

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Swan

6 Analytical6

Yokogawa UK Ltd 8

4 J15 Watson Marlow

3 2

Systems

12 J16 Pillar 4.48

J20

J22 IKA Method England Process Safety Ltd 12 6

L16

6 3

GEMU Valves

3 3 Haws AG / 24 PNR 7.5 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 K15 K17 K21 British Rema 2 AM Labels Icenta Contract 3 8 Controls Ltd 3 & 4 Processing Process K16 12 Equipment 2 DESMI Ltd K18 1 Moeschle (UK) Ltd 8 12 2.5 3.5 K22 4 4 3 AllValves 3 Online 4 1

J21 3

3 4

3 H21

Polaris RAM Controls 6 Universal 9 H22 Filtration H20 Group Fullbrook

8 ORGANISER

Atlas Copco Rental

J10 Endress + 3 Hauser

Silotank 3

4 K11 The Academy

MCE Group Plc

Plant, Equi

3 H19

UK Flowtechnik

J14

H17

Sierra Instruments

Therm 3 Tech

2M Services

H16

Katronic

VSEAL Fabrications

H15

Total Control & Distribution

VEGA Controls

3 G19

F20

2.5

3 F15

13 4

Inst

Premier Ltd Control / Technologies Powerite 12 6

1.5 1.5

BS&B Safety 10 Systems UK Ltd

D19

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Siris Enviromental

Maelstrom Advanced Process Technologies

(UK) Ltd

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E16a 3 GRUNDFOS BHR Group 2 Pumps Ltd15 Pillar 2.98

H10 H14 LIONOIL / Gerhard Weber Kunststoff - 3 3 Adams Verabeitung Lubetech 12 GmbH 12 4 4

3 J5 Sera ProDos 3 UK 9 J6

Flemings Seals & Polymers 18 9

ProMinent Fluid

Newson Gale

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4 H9 2 JWF Ltd

3 6 Controls K6

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NETWORKING AREA (1)

Kiowa Ltd 6

Chem Resist Group

1.97

1 1.5

C18

D16

E14

3 Lutz Jesco 2

Enterprises

C16

Chemical Industry Journal 4

C17 Endo

The White Sea & Baltic Company 12 12

Lankem

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Falck Fire Consulting Ltd / Falck Fire Services UK

Instruments

2 K1

2.5

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F7 3 Global MSDS

Tapflo H8 Pumps Kobold

W2B Chemicals

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Ltd

VISITORS ENTRANCE

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Hall

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3 OQEMA Ltd

3 C15

Actikem Glassflake

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Anton Paar (UK) Ltd

D11

Berry Global

Tank Storage Promethean Magazine 8 Particles 8

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BTC UK

F5 Monarch 3 Chemicals

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Libra Speciality Distribution Ltd 8 Chemicals Ltd8

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Sikla UK Ltd

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SAMOA Ltd

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NETZSCH 3 Pumps & Bericap 3 Systems UK

Fibre Drums Ltd / FDL Packaging Group / Arran Pipeline Supplies

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Neuberger 6 UK Ltd 6

Marshall Pump Systems Ltd

3 C12

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Addi-Tec / Chemlink Specialities Ltd

3 4

112

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Emerson Automation Solutions 24

Seats = 54

Chemicals, Raw Materials and Ingredients

MAKER / RAKEM

DEFRA / BEIS / HSE

Tarmac Buxton Lime 8

2 G1

VISITORS ENTRANCE

Fibrestar Drums

Group 6

Barrettine Industrial

WIKA Instruments Ltd Demonstration Vehicle

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Azelis

Department for International Trade

BioVale

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4.5

STAGE 1

3.5

Briar Chemicals

Stage

Chemical Industries Asso / Chemicals Northwest 7

2.5

2 B1

A10

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

ChemUK2020

CHEMUK2020

PTFE Flex 9

G22

Rutpen

F25 3 F26

Cepac

Richard Alan Group 24

G25

3 3

Delta Containers 5 (Manchester) 5 Ltd

E28 Kinder-Jane Engineering

2 3

H23 GF Piping Systems

H24

Empire

H26

Flowhire /

INOX MIM 3

J24

HRS Heat Exchangers

J26

2 3

6 4

H28

H30 Flux

2.87 2

2 J27

1.5 J29

Vortex Global

J28 New

Zealand Pump Company

7.5

1.5

J31

Rain for Rent Intnl 6

J32

3 G33

Manrochem 15 6

G34

4 2

3 F39

Grotech Production

F40

G36 HYTORC

Industrial Bolting Systems

3 H37

3 H40

3 2

FUJIFILM Imaging Colorant Ltd 6

Apeiron Synthesis

2 2

G39 Action Sealtite

G40

F44

FT Pipeline Systems Ltd 8

F46

4D Lizard / Advanced 3D Laser Solutions Group

G42

3 H35

SAFI Scully UK Valves 6 Ltd 6

H36 3

KSB Ltd

3 2

J34 Colloide Engineering Systems

NCEC (Part of Ricardo)6

J43 3

KDC

5 J45 Edwards Vacuum

Pillar 3.98 8

J46

D52 2 PRA

6 4

E48 2 BASA E49

Chemical Watch

E50 2 UKLA F50 2 HCB 2

4 4

F51 Solvents

Industry Association

DipHex Ltd

F54 3

F52

PIN/ PIG 6

Speedy Services 9

3 2.5

3 K45 K43 Veeva Systems

STAGE 3

Conductorliner

D51

J44 2 Zoedale

G50

Composites UK

G47 3

Kanon Liquid Handling / Kanon

93.75

H46

BSTSA

Woodford Loading Equipment Plastic Fabrications

Catering outlet Zone 2

3 H43 H44

12.5

J40

2.4 6 K31 ELFAB Ltd 1

3 18

IFC H42 Inflow nVent 3

3 H41 Statiflo

3 G46 Accraply 3 LLC

2 D50

3 Busch (UK) Ltd 3 2

3 2 3 2 G45 G43 2 Dachser Gambica 2

3.98

6 Pillar

Labfacility Limited

Schenck Process

3 F45

Witton Knowledge Chemical Transfer Company Network 9 9

3 F43

2 G41

Flotech / Saferack 6

GPE Scientific 5 / Julabo

Perry Process Equipment 9

3.98

Dr. Knoell 6 Consult Ltd6

3 G37

3 D47

Norkem Limited D49

3 F41

3 G35

2.69

3 3 3 3 2 E39 E41 E43 E45 Zaiput Evides 2 Industriewater 2 Flow Cogent Transvac 3 3 6 B.V. 6 Technologies Skills E44 E46 9 9 Gower E40 REACHLAW 3 3 Chemicals Pillar 2 2 Asynt

4 J33 Lechler Ltd 2

H34

3 Raytec 3

Crest Pumps 6 8

Royal Society of Chemistry

2.5

3 Cardinal

2 5

H33

2.5

5 DURA-ID

Lauda Process Technology Control 9 Equipment

ARI-Armaturen UK

3 E37

NETWORKING AREA (2) / Sponsored by

Exloc

3 G31

OMEX Environmental 12

3 H31

3 E35

2 2

G29

H32

ISS Ltd Pumps Int 4 4

3 2.89

Hibiscus 3

Euro Matic

H27

6 Flowquip 6

3 D45

4.5

93.75

12.5

The Hazchem Network

Stage

J25

Industrial Technology Systems Ltd

Etatron

2 H25

E34

ipment, Technology, Services, & General 4

Seats = 54

Witzenmann 3

Sherman Chemicals / Molekula Group

MHT WES Ltd Technology

Chemstore

1.98

3 E33 Scafell Organics /

F38

Pirtek / ADT Flex

G28

RAS Ltd

F29

3 E31 E32

3 G27

Pillar

3 E29

Carbolite Gero / Retsch UK

G24

E26

YILMAZ UK Ltd

3 3 G23 Roxtec 3 Ltd

The Pump Company 8

Francis 6 Ward

3 G21

LABTEX/ HUBER/ 5 Vacuubrand

E27

Tees Valley Combined Authority9

F22

Tank Storage International / Storage Terminal Magazine

3 BPMA 1

Seats = 42

2 K47

Vacuum Process Solutions

2.5

3 F23

Pulsar Process Measurement Ltd

Carbis Loadtec 3 3 Group Ltd

STAGE 2

E25

E22

3 F21

D32

2.5

AVT Pump

10.5

3 E23

VPG Metalflex Sensors 6 6

KITO GROUP / Barton Firtop Engineering 12

7.5

3 E21

D31

D46

D44

Speciality Chemicals

2.5

12.5

7.5

Catering outlet Zone 1

2.37 5

D24

7.5

D22

D42

Stage

Chemicals, Raw Materials and Ingredients

D40

7.5

1.5

Ashford SIKA Signature Instruments trumentation Tax 6 4 4 Ltd

D30

2.5

16th & 17th September 2020, EventCity, Manchester, UK

Headline Stage Sponsors: Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3: Entrance Sponsor:

www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

ChemUK2020

See us at stand

Excellence in fluid technology As a worldwide leader in dosing technology, sera ProDos is a system provider of high quality products and services for the dosing and feeding of chemicals and fluids. Indeed, with 75 years of experience, sera ProDos is renowned for its excellent customer service and leading German engineering, offering some of the most robust pumps available on the market to customers involved in the chemical industry, food and beverage, pharma, and water and wastewater treatment. www.sera-web.com/en

J24

Providing heat recovery for water treatment At CHEMUK 2020, stand J24, HRS Heat Exchangers will showcase its range of tubular heat exchangers for water treatment in the chemical industry. One of the easiest ways to improve efficiency is by recapturing heat, and heat exchangers, such as the HRS DTR Series, represent the most energy efficient way of doing so with typical wastewater streams and sludges with a high fouling potential. Heat exchangers are also increasing being employed for concentration and zero liquid discharge operations; HRS’ Corrugated Tube Concentration Systems, retain the valuable nutrients in the effluent, while the evaporated water can be condensed and used for other purposes. www.hrs-heatexchangers.com

See us at stand

J15

WMFTG highlights its range of Qdos chemical metering pumps with accurate, linear flows to 2,000ml/min and featuring safe, no tools maintenance. Also on display are Bredel heavy duty hose pumps to transfer viscous and abrasive slurries and sludge. Qdos pumps’ functionality includes manual, contact, 4-20mA, fluid recovery, fault reporting and PROFIBUS control and diagnostics. Bredel heavy duty hose pumps have only one wear part – the hose – which only takes 30 minutes to replace (in-situ) without the need of skilled personnel. Pump capacity is independent of suction and discharge conditions. Technically advanced PTFE lined flexible hoses complete the range at CHEMUK.

E16

Grundfos, the world’s largest dedicated pump company, is focussed on sustainably delivering pumps and pumping solutions with in-built reliability, energy efficiency and intelligence for process industry and chemical applications. Their in-depth knowledge means they can supply a bespoke range of pumps, drives, sensors and controls that deliver energy and process optimisation through system integration. With over 70 years of experience and expertise, the Grundfos Group employ 19,000 people in sales and production roles in 83 companies worldwide. Founded in Denmark in 1945, the Group now has an annual turnover of £3 billion+ and produces 17 million pumps per year. grundfos.co.uk | grundfos-uk@sales.grundfos.com | 01525 850000

See us at stand

www.watson-marlow.com/gb-en

See us at stand

K17

iCenta Controls is an independent flow and level specialist based in Salisbury, UK. But did you know that in addition to manufacturing and distributing a range of industrial flow meters, iCenta offer a calibration service? Why calibrate? Over the course of a meters lifetime its performance can reduce if parts become worn, affecting overall accuracy. To ensure meters perform consistently from day one it is recommended that instrumentation is calibrated annually. We calibrate flow meters using a range of different fluid types including clean or dirty water. Instrumentation can be calibrated to 3, 5 or 10 points as standard with custom calibration points available on request. Contact us today to take advantage of our UKAS traceable calibration service. www.icenta.co.uk +44 (0)1722 439880

See us at stand

F21

Pulsar Process Measurement Ltd manufactures and supplies level, volume, open channel flow, pipe flow, sludge interface measurement and pump control instrumentation. Pulsar are a world leader in non-contacting level measurement with tens of thousands of installations worldwide. The success of the business has been built on reliable, repeatable measurement systems that have made difficult or seemingly impossible measurements a reality. Radar and noncontacting ultrasonic measurement are complementary non-contacting technologies – measuring level by signal analysis but excelling in different situations. Come and see us on stand F21 to see both of our world leading technologies in action. pulsar-pm.com | +44 (0) 1684 891 371 | info@pulsar-pm.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

ChemUK2020

See us at stand

E34

Your chemical. Our know-how With over 25 years of experience, WES has estasblished itself as the leading company specialising in the design, engineering and supply of chemical dosing systems and ancillary products and services. The range of services WES offers varies from a simple component through to the complete design, build and installation of bulk chemical dosing systems, including a wide range of readily available hire systems. The company’s innovative and flexible approach enables them to be highly responsive and reactive to their nationwide customer requirements. www.wes.ltd.uk

Tomlinson Hall, founded in 1919, has vast expertise in the pump industry combined with a proud history of innovation. As a multiaward-winning company and joint-founding member of the Pump Distributors Association, Tomlinson Hall is uniquely positioned as both a distributor and manufacturer, working with clients in the UK and overseas. The company offers a total service including pump selection and supply - ensuring end users have the right solution – combined with site visits, servicing and repairs. It also manufactures its own innovative liquid ring vacuum pump, Liquivac, a durable and reliable pump designed to perform a vast amount of operations.

www.tomlinson-hall.co.uk

See us at stand Water – Keeping It Clean Water through use of innovative Disinfection technology

See us at stand

E43

Electrochlorination: Onsite chlorine generation approved for use in UK drinking water supplies. Salt + Water + Electricity Evides Industriewater are specialists in industrial process water and wastewater treatment. The company provide a complete solution from designing, building, owning and operating dedicated water and wastewater assets, meaning clients can focus on core business with a certainty of water supply, water quality and environmental compliance. Evides Industriewater creates solutions for businesses wanting to minimise waste of vital resources and works with customers in the chemical and petrochemical industries across Europe to reduce water demand, improve efficiency and reuse water where possible. The company prides itself on being a zero carbon business and providing Water Without Waste. www.evidesindustriewater.nl

Vacuum based chlorine dioxide systems for Legionella control and process water disinfection Simple, Safe & Intuitive www.lutz-jesco.com/en

See us at stand

Level & pressure innovations for the Chemical Industry

G20

VEGA are delivering safety, value and reliability to the chemical industry through innovative, high quality level and pressure sensors. They offer a range of technologies for: level, pressure, interface, density and many other measurement solutions. Operating in the demanding environments and operating conditions that prevail in Chemical manufacturing processes, they are certified, tested and approved to meet safety standards, hazardous areas and material specifications. Their field devices are proven and backed with a legacy of experience and a team of engineers that pride themselves in helping customers by understanding process challenges to achieve successful outcomes and optimal performance. VEGA understand that a modular, easy to use design with a 5 day build time, 3 year warranty and the best customer support, are values that are most highly sought by end-users. www.vega.com/uk

www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

SEPTEMBER2019

NEWS • Flow and Level Measurement • Water and Wastewater Monitoring and Analysis Biogas and Energy Management • Wastewater Treatment & Technology

ISSUE12

DECEMBER2019

ISSUE13

Water & wastewater monitoring & analysis • Utility security & incident management • Biosolids & recycling Wastewater treatment & technology • Catchment management • Delivering resilience

If you would like to feature in the next editon of Water Industry Journal contact: David Lancaster on 0191 580 5476 or email david.lancaster@distinctivegroup.co.uk for more information

ChemUK2020

CHEMUK 2020 Speaker Programme The CHEMUK 2020 speaker programme will present over 100 speakers, providing 35 hours of ‘free to attend’ expert intelligence, case studies, best practice and tech-insight ‘snapshots’, to inspire and assist next level investment , as well as guide technical and operational strategies for attending industry groups across the UK chemicals & chemical product sectors. Packed this year with specialist highly topical contributions from 25+ separate trade, technical or professional bodies, three government departments, multiple centres of research/tech transfer, together with an exciting cross-section of leading chemical suppliers, technology partners & specialist service & consultancy groups, CHEMUK 2020 brings together an unrivalled blend of topical content & industry personalities.

Big Picture intelligence Reflecting the sector’s current BREXIT transition status, as well as wider global trends & pressures, CHEMUK 2020 gives a platform for key national chemical association heads to address the most pertinent and current issues, challenges and opportunities facing the UK’s chemical and chemical-user industries. Confirmed keynotes include Chemical Business Association Chief Executive, Peter Newport, Chemical Industries Association Chief Executive, Stephen Elliott. Additional ‘association & federation ‘executive-level’ keynotes can be heard from the likes of UKLA, BCF, EEMUA, TSA, IPA and others. At government level, feature sessions from both Defra and BEIS provide insight and Q&A around latest industrial strategy & sector policy making. The Department for International Trade (DIT) will be returning to discuss their work through the DIT global network in helping businesses to find new export markets and capitalise on trade opportunities in markets such as China and India. Centre stage will be critical themes such as process innovation, improvement & intensification, sustainability & responsible care, digitisation, new technology, plant & supply chain management, process safety & regulatory landscape, global trade, sector skills, Brexit and more…. Digitisation will feature heavily as the sector

be presenting on both days, considering the security challenges of industrial digitisation plus discussing ‘Evolution of a digital twin’. One of the ‘digital’ track highlights is the GAMBICA -hosted ‘panel session’ titled ‘The drive towards digitalisation - The future of digitalisation in UK process industries’. With wider topics including digital asset management, condition monitoring, proactive maintenance and more...

increasingly moves towards digitally based operational models. ABB Energy Industries will be discussing how to implement an effective digital project and why technology alone is not enough. Accenture will be hosting daily feature sessions including ‘The Digital Reinvention of Operational Risk Management’ and, together with Dupont, discuss ‘Connected Industrial Workforce’ (CIW) in a DuPont European manufacturing facility. Siemens will

Process Innovation, Improvement & Intensification will be core to the 2020 programme. Process Intensification Network (PIN) & PI Group at Newcastle University are hosting daily feature sessions exploring ‘Process Intensification’ key themes. Tom Higley of Calgavin, presents ‘Retrofit heat transfer solution improves product retention’. Peter Brown of Maelstrom Advanced Process Technologies talks on ‘Overcoming Inline Mixing Challenges’. Other topics on the 2020 agenda include innovation in catalysis, thermoplastic valves, vacuum system technologies, closed returnable chemical systems, minimising waste in chemical formulation and more...

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

ChemUK2020

Dr Zsuzsanna Gyenes of the IChemE Safety Centre will be contributing to the process safety theme - ‘Maximising your process safety metrics!’. Carolyn Nicholls, Operations Director of RAS Ltd, will be presenting ‘Confusion Over Risk Criteria’. Other notable contributors across the HSE & Regulatory/ Compliance landscape include the National Chemical Emergency Centre (NCEC), Newson Gale, REACHLaw and Method Process Safety. Sustainability and the move towards a circular economy remain a critically important theme. BASF will be leading a dedicated panel entitled ‘The Materials Circularity and Recycling Opportunity’. Dr Sarah Hickingbottom, CEO of BioVale will be hosting a Green Chemistry panel discussion

Innovation Innovation is central to the continued success, growth & competitiveness of the sector. This is reflected in a cross section of featured contributions this year including a feature panel session on ‘Future of Innovation and Collaboration’. Dr Darren Budd of BASF Plc talks on ‘Post Horizon-2020 - The UK Innovation landscape in the post-Brexit world’. Dr Graeme Cruickshank, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) will be discussing the UK Innovation ecosystem. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) will host daily ‘Emerging Technologies scheme’ feature sessions… and more

www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

entitled ‘Tackling the plastic pollution challenge? Dr Peter Clark from The KTN presents on ‘What are the critical technologies we need to deploy in order to make chemicals for a Net Zero World and do we have the capability in the UK to scale them? CHEMUK 2020 welcomes The HazChem Network who will be contributing to the supply-chain management, operational and logistics programme, expected to cover such themes as regulation interpretation, COMAH warehousing and the obligations of the consignor. Executive Director for the Tank Storage Association, Peter Davidson, will be discussing ‘Cyber Security for Senior Managers’. Rodney Steel, Chief Executive at The British Contract Manufacturers

Supply Chain Expo CHEMUK 2020 will provide visitor groups with a diverse and impressive showcase of 270+ specialist exhibitors showcasing latest plant, equipment, materials and services supporting the chemicals industries, driving product innovation, plant & process performance, future-proofing, supply-chain fulfilment, safety, compliance and more. Just some of the major names across the CHEMUK 2020 show floor include: Atlas Copco, Azelis, Brenntag UK, BTC UK, Busch (UK) Ltd, Calgavin, Edwards Vacuum, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, George Fischer Sales, GRUNDFOS Pumps Ltd, HRS Heat Exchangers Ltd, IMCD, Monarch Chemicals, Siemens Plc, VEGA Controls Limited…to name a few.

and Packers Association (BCMPA) will be discussing the business case for contract processing, packing and fulfilment in the chemicals sector. Supporting the Skills, Training and Professional Development theme will be The Royal Society of Chemistry who will be presenting on both days and running their CV checking service. Head of Workforce Development at Cogent Skills, Neil Smith, will be joined by representatives from the HSE and Environment Agency presenting a feature session around process safety management competence. CATCH will be discussing the skills gap in the chemical industry highlighting the importance of school engagement, apprenticeships and upskilling.

Registration: Attendees can register for their free badge, providing access to all presentations and exhibition floor. The speedy team registration is also available through the site. For full and current speaker listing and full exhibitor information, please visit

www.chemicalukexpo.com

Chain reaction leads to bespoke solutions

A specialist hose and tube manufacturer is saving customers time and money. HELEN COMPSON learns more. Colex International is a small company that makes a big impact on the users of its niche services. For rather than try to compete with cheaper eastern imports of mass Martyn Fisher produced hose and tube, this Market Harborough based company has chosen to specialise – to the extent that 80% of its products are bespoke, manufactured to the client’s specific requirements. Colex was established in 1992 to make the flexible thermoplastic hose and tube so often needed in industry. FT Pipeline Systems Ltd is its sole distributor in the UK. Martyn Fisher, director of sales at Colex International, said: “We now work with major distributors such as FT Pipelines Systems who take the minimum order quantities, who stock the product in long lengths. FT Pipeline Systems then cut and supply the customers exact requirements and together we offer a joint technical back-up package for the product.” But thanks to the fact Colex has resisted the draw of high-speed production, it can also produce much smaller batches to niche specifications. “I joined the company 13 years ago and one of my key objectives has been to take Colex from being a manufacturer of stock product to becoming a specialist, bespoke manufacturer,” he said. “We have used the strength of our relationship with our raw material suppliers and our understanding of the specialist grades they can give us to become much more focused in what we do. “We have also looked at the additives market too, not just colourants – which we use to make the red, blue, yellow or green our customers want – but also things such as antifouling additives for deep sea applications and the Biomaster antimicrobial protection that prevents biofilm forming.

Dual containment flexible hose – PF Detect “Because we have retained a standard speed of production, our minimum order quantity is quite low, which means customers can take advantage of those choices and stock a broader range of hose and tube.”

A biodiesel company that was having to replace its hosing every three or four months, for example, approached Colex for help. After studying the effect of biodiesel on different materials, Colex did indeed find a solution.

Colex manufactures two ranges that are of particular interest to the water industry – Protectaflex Dual Containment Hose and then PF-Detect, which has the tremendous added benefit of a built in leak detection system.

“We developed a new hose that is out on longterm testing now,” said Martyn. “The customer has had it in daily use for nine months now and it’s not showing any signs of failure.

Martyn said: “Rather than just designing a hose and trying to create a market for it, I get involved with the water companies directly and find out what they need. “The idea for PF-Detect came out of a Severn Trent Chemical Dousing Panel meeting, where there were 12 or 15 of us around a table. I came away with this weird and wonderful idea I ran past our chief executive, we developed the product and Severn Trent is now using it at many of their sites.” The savings made can have a direct impact on their customers’ bottom line.

“Even if he’d paid twice the price he did, he would still be saving money, just from the fact he’s going to get at least nine months to a year out of the new hose. “We keep moving ahead of the competition, because we can see what the issues that need tackling are. We listen to what contractors are telling us and, as a result, we understand what they are dealing with on the front line. “The chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so the way we look at it is ‘let’s improve that link’.” www.ftpipelinesystems.co.uk

We keep moving ahead of the competition, because we can see what the issues that need tackling are. We listen to what contractors are telling us and, as a result, we understand what they are dealing with on the front line. 24

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Eco pump solution solves problem Eco pumps from Selwood’s market-leading solids handling range kept services flowing for Anglian Water when a blockage developed at a water treatment works.

Background

Anglian Water supplies water and water recycling services to more than six million customers in the East of England and Hartlepool. Because of the size of the region it covers, the company runs a total of 1,257 water and water recycling treatment works – around a quarter of those in operation in England and Wales. Among these sites is a water treatment works at Canwick, Lincolnshire, which developed a problem in March 2019. The station had been pumping against a blockage, and as a result a potential pipework failure had developed within the wet well.

The challenge

To repair the problem, Anglian Water required the station to be overpumped, diverting the flow of water while repair works were carried out. The water needed to be redirected to Canwick inlet works which involved pumping it approximately a kilometre away from the pumping station. The station had a temporary over-pumping point which was only six inches in size, a potentially limiting factor for flow.

The solution

Following a thorough site survey, the team identified that Selwood’s recently-developed S160Eco pumps fitted the bill perfectly. The S160Eco, part of Selwood’s market-leading S range of solids handling pumps, was developed by Selwood engineers to deliver increased performance and near-silent operation from an environmentally-friendly engine. The pump, driven by an Isuzu diesel engine, offers a 26.5% increase in pressure and an extra 5m head when compared to the current Selwood S150 model – meaning it could handle the 1km transfer with ease despite the limitations of the over-pumping point.

The pumps were set up in a duty/ assist configuration and fitted with float switches and Selwood’s in-house developed SelWatch technology. SelWatch is a remote cloud-based telematics tool that makes it easy to monitor pumps off-site, and to troubleshoot any potential issues from a remote device.

The result

Use of the Selwood S160Eco ensured the flow could be diverted to Canwick inlet works reliably and without issues. The use of SelWatch technology saved on the cost of having personnel on site at all times to monitor the overpumping setup. SelWatch also helped reduce fuel consumption, saving Anglian Water money and reducing emissions. Anglian Water reported that they were delighted with the speed of Selwood’s service, from getting on site to conduct the survey to the delivery and installation of the equipment. The Selwood solution ensured that the station was back online without undue delay. www.selwood.co.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

MIM NEW ELECTROMAGNETIC FLOW METER FROM KOBOLD eading instrument manufacturer Kobold continues to design and develop quality measuring and analytical instrument products and have just launched their latest compact flow meter to the market, the MIM. With factories within the Kobold Group experiencing well over one hundred years of trading, Kobold has an enviable and extensive wealth of technical knowledge and experience to draw upon when developing new products.

At the concept stage, Kobold will often draw upon the experience of their international sales offices to establish a framework of practical features and functionality, and thus produce an instrument which is suitable and compliant for an international market place. This indeed was the process for the new MIM instrument. Innovative design and quality have become hallmarks of all Kobold manufactured products but refreshingly, during their concept stage Kobold are clearly applying focus to practical ease of functionality and to some extent, resisting the trend and temptation to incorporate unnecessary features and over complicated software. From the MIM concept Kobold have produced a high quality and versatile compact flow meter for measuring conductive liquids, ensuring suitability for a wide range of industrial applications. Heavy duty construction in stainless steel provides a clean and robust instrument module. The design of the 90° step indexable TFT display screen is clever, yet simple and robust, ensuring suitability for multi directional flow applications, programmable from the touch screen. A nice feature of the TFT display screen is that it can be used by operators wearing gloves. Unlike some of the TFT screens on the market using inclination sensors for

screen position, the MIM screen remains clear and stable in use, a reminder of Kobold’s instinctive preference for simplified practical functionality and reliable service. As you would expect, Kobold’s MIM instrument incorporates all the practical control and display features required in most process applications as standard. This includes bidirectional measuring, combined flow, temperature, and volume measurement, monitoring, and transmitting. Dual configurable outputs can be selected such as analogue, frequency, pulse, and switching, but also switched dosing and controlled start/stop for the dosing function. Typically with an electromagnetic flow meter there are no moving parts in the

measuring device and this can be a key advantage in many industrial applications. In principle the induced voltage is picked up by two sensing electrodes which are in contact with the measuring agent and sent to the measuring amplifier. The flow rate will be calculated based on the cross sectional area of the pipe. A key advantage of this measuring principle is that the measurement is not depending on the process liquid and its material properties such as density, viscosity and temperature, however, be mindful that the flowing media must have a minimum conductivity value. The MIM instruments are now available from Kobold Instruments (UK) Ltd, or from official UK distribution partners; www.kobold-direct.co.uk

Electromagnetic Flowmeter MIM Series All metal design

Stainless steel version

°F °C

Flow and temperature measurement

Monitoring function

∑

Total and partial quantity counter

2 configurable outputs

Display operation also with gloves

90°

Rotating colour display

Space saver

01623 427701 www.kobold.com info.uk@kobold.com

Monitoring for Taste & Odor Algae at Newport News Waterworks FlowCam® allows for better quantification of algae species. It serves as an early warning system for field operators. The client

Newport News Waterworks is a regional water provider, owned and operated by the City of Newport News, Virginia. Serving over 400,000 people, Newport News Waterworks owns and operates 5 reservoirs and more than 12,000 acres of watershed property.

The challenge

Newport News previously used manual microscopic examinations of water in their terminal reservoirs. Increased algal populations, especially in the summer months, reduced filter run times and resulted in the potential for taste and odor episodes. The manual examinations were subjective. Therefore, Newport News sought a method that would provide them with analytical and quantifiable results for their water testing. Additionally, they wanted a way to trend the results of water testing, so that they could be more proactive in remediating potential blooms. In FlowCam®, they found their answer.

Anabaenopsis, one type of cyanobacteria responsible for blooms at the Newport News resevoirs.

With better quality data, operations teams are making process changes within the waterworks treatment plants, and using additional data to support raw water pumping strategies.

Results

Before using a FlowCam, Newport News had an employee who monitored algae with a standard microscope. They tested raw water at the terminal reservoir about 1-2x per week. When this employee retired, they realized that the tribal knowledge of algae classification retired with her and it would be too labor intensive and time consuming to continue with manual analysis. With the FlowCam, they have the capability to test all reservoirs and the water bodies that feed them on a more consistent basis - up to 7 or 8 samples per week during warmer summer months. The FlowCam has made algae analysis more accessible. ”Even ignoring that it’s simpler to run a sample through the FlowCam vs. pulling out the microscope, the FlowCam provides large, high-quality images of the particles I am interested in, which lets me go through some books and try to identify the organism at my own pace,” said Anna Maria Miller, Laboratory Analyst

Lyngbya, the cyanobacteria responsible for the taste and odor episode at Newport News Waterworks. PC: Newport News Waterworks FlowCam also calculates algae concentration (particles/mL). This is the standard number Newport News uses for their routine reporting. “FlowCam changed the monitoring process by creating a quicker turn-around time. I can run a sample within a few minutes of it arriving. Then, if necessary, I can just give someone a quick call and say ‘it doesn’t look great’ before going through the classification process,” said Anna Maria Miller.

Changing how and when to treat for blooms When there is an impending bloom, time is of the essence. Being able to treat a reservoir immediately, versus having to wait a day, can impact the amount of copper sulfate needed to remediate the bloom. By providing quick analysis and trackable metrics of algae

“Being able to track and trend algae species, turbidity and pH has allowed us to track conditions that may precipitate a bloom, providing better insight of what goes on in the reservoir.” - Sherry Williams 30

populations, FlowCam has enabled a more proactive approach to algaecide use.

New FlowCam to Monitor Cyanobacteria

Newport News is currently focusing its water quality tracking efforts on cyanobacteria. They recently traded in their original FlowCam VS for a new FlowCam Cyano which is configured with a red laser and optical filters that allow the instrument to distinguish cyanobacteria from other algae based on pigment detection of chlorophyll and phycocyanin. Relying on image analysis alone is not always feasible when identifying filamentous and colonial cyanobacteria. By seeing the phycocyanin fingerprint of cyanobacteria in their reservoirs, managers have the ability to confidently determine when it is necessary to test for cyanotoxins. “FlowCam provides an easy method to be proactive, and enables more consistent monitoring. As a result, we have more confidence in water quality.” - Sherry Williams, Water Quality Control Supervisor www.planet-ocean.co.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Offering Complete Water & Sewerage Industry Solutions

Thames Water ‘shells’ out less on waste costs More than 35 tonnes of quagga and zebra mussel shells, which are found in huge numbers and cost millions of pounds to remove, were crushed and used to create four new tern rafts during a conservation project at the awardwinning Walthamstow Wetlands in North London. Site manager Dan Brackley enquired about reusing the mussels, which were removed from the nearby Coppermills Stream, to save on the cost of building materials and disposing of the shells. Since 2006, Thames Water has spent almost £4 million clearing the mussels, which latch on to the inside of pipes and tunnels, removing the equivalent of four Olympic swimming pools full of shells. During its latest clean, the 700m Thames U-tunnel, which runs from the High Maynard to the East Warwick reservoir at Walthamstow, contained a staggering 1,374 tonnes of the mollusc. New habitats for the site’s important birds, such as shoveler and gadwall, were made during the conservation project, including the creation of a “beach’” area and the planting of wetland seeds. The new tern rafts made from the mussel shells and floating islands were also installed on the Banbury, Lockwood and East Warwick reservoirs.

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Water solutions for the future

The world might be its oyster, but for one innovative company, the UK is the pearl within, HELEN COMPSON hears. SUEZ - Water Technologies & Solutions has a 10-year plan in place to become the world leader in environmental services by 2030. But, said Ana-Rita Dias, products commercial director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, within that ambition lies a commitment to the UK that is unswerving.

Ana-Rita Dias

The roots run deep here, thanks in no small part to its acquisition of GE Water in 2017. She said: “Besides the depth of knowledge and experience that brought on board, SUEZ itself dates back to 1858. It started in France, but quickly moved to Britain. “There’s no-one here from 1858,” she laughed, “but there is a lot of experience in this country. We have evolved with the UK market in general and grown with the water industry in particular, there’s no doubt about that.” Offering a comprehensive set of chemical and equipment solutions and services, SUEZ has

What is so refreshing is the strength of SUEZ’s commitment to providing sustainable solutions to our customers.

450,000 business and industrial customers and 90,000 staff globally. It also has an annual research and development expenditure currently running at €120m. The company has four divisions, of which SUEZ - Water Technologies & Solutions is one. It has 10,000 members of staff operating across five continents, including Europe. The company’s ambitions are shaped by predictions that there will be three billion more people living on this planet by 2050 and that, as a result, the demand for water will increase by 55%. SUEZ specialises in the innovative technology, predictive analytics and solutions needed to meet the challenges posed in both the water and waste water industries. The accelerating global demand for energy is counterbalanced by stringent regulations on water and solid waste discharge, among other things. SUEZ develops and continually refines cost-efficient and compliant water treatment technologies for its power-producing customers. Another area of expertise is brought to bear helping the water utilities comply with strict regulatory requirements too, its services ranging from the deployment of filtration technology to the electro-dialysis that desalinates brackish water. Besides having the equipment and chemical solutions necessary to deliver clean drinking water, SUEZ’s municipal water treatment solutions not only enable the safe discharge of treated water, but also new possibilities for its reuse. Ana-Rita said: “Specific areas of investment in the UK include having ensured the vast majority of our products and services

can aid water companies in gaining and retaining Drinking Water Inspectorate certification. “We made that investment to make sure we could answer any requests from any company in the UK that wanted a drinking water solution.” The company also employed more than 100 field service representatives who, between them, covered just about every water municipality in the country. “We feel strongly that the UK deserves that level of investment,” she said. SUEZ had also poured €30m into expanding its European manufacturing hub in Hungary by a good third. It was a major facility that covered the whole world and it was based in Europe, she said. “That in itself is a big investment in Europe and it is going to be there supporting UK customers as well.” The UK was actually home to a considerable number of the company’s global managers, and Peterborough, where she herself was based, hosted the headquarters for its European rental business too. She said: “We have equipment inside trailers and containers and we rent those to our customers for between one and 10/15/20 years.” Ana-Rita had long worked for GE Water when it was taken over by SUEZ two years ago. “What is so refreshing is the strength of SUEZ’s commitment to providing sustainable solutions to our customers,” she said. “For me it still feels very new, but for my SUEZ colleagues, it’s in their DNA!” www.suezwatertechnologies.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Water Technologies & Solutions

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Trenchless Technology

ai data power saving time and money The industry is looking forward to the advent of self-healing pipes and the micro-robots that have already been christened Pipebots, HELEN COMPSON writes. Yes, they might be futuristic developments at the earliest of stages, but one thing is certain, trenchless technology in general is racing down the road.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Trenchless Technology

Andy Taylor’s take on the matter is deceptively simple. “Let’s make excavation the last resort,” he says. “Let’s start with nodig solutions!” Chief Engineer at Atkins, a member of SNC-Lavalin group, with a background in wastewater planning and responsible for leading the digital transformation of water and wastewater networks, he knows that, thanks to the phenomenal pace of digital change in recent years, there is real scope to do things differently. Artificial intelligence is being harnessed to save time and money during the inspection and project planning stages, with the welcome by-product of more accurate, thorough data untainted by human error. This in itself represents a huge stride in the right direction for utility companies and contractors tasked with achieving ever higher standards. Andy said: “Ageing infrastructure, doing ‘more for less’, greater public expectations, increased Regulator scrutiny on performance, pressure to embrace new technology – water companies, local authorities and transportation operators face these challenges, and more, every day. “But at its heart, asset management is about understanding what you have, its condition and prioritising the risk of failure to allow proactive planned maintenance.” Nowadays Atkins, one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, is helping clients do just that across a range of industries that includes environment, education, aerospace, defence, transport and … water. “At Atkins we are starting to apply AI technology successfully applied in our transportation and tunnel projects to automatically identify defects in sewers,” said Andy. While a camera still needs to be physically dispatched along a sewer, not having to pause the camera at defects increases the speed at which it can travel and identify problems which certainly helps the client tick one Regulator box, that of reducing disruption for customers and the public at large. “AI technology gets the job done much more efficiently and thereby reduces the amount of time that needs to be spent on site,” he said.

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Recognising the length of time the human brain would then need to process the huge amount of data produced, Atkins has also taken the next step and designed an automated system that is so advanced, it not only identifies the rehabilitation work needed, but costs the resulting programme of work too. “We’d recognised that AI would only solve the problems of data collection and quality,” he said. “After that, the client was still faced with masses of data which, of course, was ripe for automated processing.

past year or so,” he said. “It’s a real example of where we have been able to utilise a digital tool to not only provide significant financial savings for our clients, but also to halve the time needed to analyse 600kms of CCTV survey data, (18,710 surveys), and propose solutions to the worst defects.” In the process, Atkins had also been raising the bar for the industry as a whole.

“And that is where a digital tool developed by Atkins – called RATS for short - comes in.”

“That is something we pride ourselves on,” said Andy. “While driving efficiencies for our clients, we are also helping to set new standards, thanks to the research and development we carry out and the resultant new technologies such as RATS.”

The relatively new Rehabilitation Automation Tool for Sewage automatically reviews the CCTV survey data gathered, coded in accordance with the Manual of Sewer Condition Classification, and recommends appropriate rehabilitation schemes based on critical modes of structural failure.

One of the company’s unique selling points for the past 20 years has been the fact it always has a former CCTV or rehabilitation contractor on its team, giving the client the benefit of real practical site experience. Andy said: “While there is an element of poacher turned gamekeeper, this is something clients really appreciate.”

Andy said: “Instead of people having to sit looking at screens, deliberating on different solutions, if, say, the CCTV found a hole 25m along a 50m pipe, RATS would know immediately that a patch was needed at that point.

It also paid dividends when it came to helping clients comply with rule number one laid down by Regulators – thou shalt give excellent service to customers. Implicit within that is ‘with minimal disruption to them or anyone else’.

“We have automated that whole process to reduce the human input needed, making it so much faster and cheaper for our clients.”

Take the M25 work, there are limited windows of opportunity in which to carry that out. Lane closures are costly in terms of both time and money. RATS has certainly come into its own by allowing all schemes to be grouped by area to maximise the work undertaken during possessions.

With AI diagnosing the defects and RATS prescribing the treatment, together they are streamlining the whole process going forward. “Our business is that of a technical consultancy,” said Andy. “We provide advice and engineering design for public, regulated and private sector clients. “Happily, the multidisciplinary nature of our skills allows us to draw on expertise gained in one quarter and transfer it to another. “In this case, the knowledge and ability gained in transport and infrastructure design has been transferred to water.” Atkins has been developing and refining RATS for a couple of years now and last October it was officially appointed by Connect Plus Services, which manages the operation and maintenance for the M25 motorway, to review its CCTV data. “From a drainage perspective, we have actually been working with them for the

Part and parcel of Andy’s remit is the automation of routine tasks. To that end, he is as likely to be canvassing Atkins’ own staff for ideas as evaluating third party tools. “The idea for RATS came from a member of staff and we’ve now transformed that into a new service for our clients,” he said. “We believe in tapping into the knowledge and experience of our workforce – it is the strength of Atkins. “A lot of IT companies try to break into new markets, markets like this one, and they do have all the technology. “What they don’t have, though, is the industry knowledge, the experience of engineering or working at ground level on a site.” atkinsglobal.com

Trenchless Technology

Pulling a winning solution out of the bag A deceptively simple piece of trenchless technology is making waves over both the Channel and the pond. HELEN COMPSON finds out more. a supply pipe under a block-paved driveway without removing a single stone.

America has seen the light, so much so that innovative pipe-pulling firm Kobus Services Ltd has relocated two members of staff to set up a dedicated production and supply facility over the pond.

Kobus manufactures the machines and sells them into the marketplace, complete with training package in their use, accessories and consumables.

Kobus has begun its expansion into Europe too, with the signing of an ‘exclusive distributor’ agreement for the Netherlands.

Simon said: “In the UK, we have primarily focused on the water industry, where the pipe puller has been well-received.”

While it is the first foothold on the Continent, what a step! For the purveyor of trenchless technology couldn’t be better placed in a country carrying out a radical overhaul of its energy industries. Simon Drain, business unit director of Kobus, said: “We supply our pipe pullers to both the water and gas industry, but in the Netherlands it is predominantly the gas market we’re targeting. “There, they are transitioning away from natural gas supplies to residential properties to low-carbon energy, such as biogas or electricity. “And because they don’t allow gas pipes that have been decommissioned to stay in the ground, over the next 30 years all the old pipes will have to be removed. Bearing in mind that 98% of Dutch homes are on natural gas, that is quite an undertaking.” It is a meaty prospect for Kobus, of course, but one it is regarding as something of an appetiser rather than the main course. “This is just the start on mainland Europe,” he said. “We are actively looking for more partners to help us expand into other countries.” The genius of the Kobus Pipe Puller is its very simplicity.

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There are now two models available. The KPP300 series, which pulls lead, copper and plastic, was designed with the water industry specifically in mind.

Simon Drain Basically, a hydraulic winch drags the old water or gas service pipe out of the ground, while at the same time towing the replacement polyethylene replacement in behind it. Up to 25m can be extracted in a single pull. The risk of striking other utilities – a very real possibility when using moling techniques - is suddenly a thing of the past. And residents are happier too, for gone are the days of digging up driveways. “Kobus was originally set up to overcome the disruption of having to dig up gardens and pathways when replacing service pipes here,” said Simon.

The KPP400 series was subsequently produced following discussions with Cadent Gas, operator of the UK’s largest gas distribution network. It needed something that pulled predominantly galvanised steel service pipes. There were a lot of positives to using the Kobus Pipe Pullers, he reiterated. “It’s a twoman operation that only requires two small excavations. “You are pulling the replacement pipe along the same borehole the old pipe was in, with all the saving grace that offers. “Look at all the activity going on laying broadband fibre optics, look at how congested our ground is with all the utilities already in there.

“Kobus came up with the idea of just digging a small hole at either end of the pipe and using a winch to extract it. A bit like keyhole surgery for water pipes.”

“Not only do these pipe pullers virtually remove the risk of hitting surrounding utilities, but they also take the old lead and steel pipes out of the ground which can be recycled.”

Now the pipe pullers can be used to replace

www.kobuspipepuller.com

Trenchless Technology

TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY FOR WATER SERVICE PIPE REPLACEMENT Innovative trenchless technology from the KOBUS Pipe Puller supports AMP7 business plans in the replacement of water communication and supply pipes. Ideal for lead, copper, steel and poly/PE pipe replacements in mains renewal schemes, lead replacement schemes, and R&M applications. Minimises risk of utility strikes Environmentally friendly by removing decommissioned pipe Reduces disruption to homeowner and local residents Reduces traffic disruption Minimal reinstatement

Contact Kobus today to request a trial

Kobus Services Ltd | Unit 9, Mercian Park, Felspar Road, Tamworth, B77 4DP T: +44 (0) 1827 33 88 55 | www.kobuspipepuller.com | sales@kobusservices.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Trenchless Technology

A brief but exciting history of trenchless techniques in the UK (or the launch of Earth Rockets!) By now pretty much everyone in the water industry knows all about horizontal directional drilling (HDD), or at least thinks they do. According to David Furlong though, there is still a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings, and he should know - he was one of the first engineers to introduce trenchless techniques to the UK. That was in the mid-1980’s, and nearly 35 years later David is still actively pushing the benefits of no-dig techniques through his company Mole Utilities, and still disappointed when he finds himself having to explain the basics of HDD and moling to smart, experienced engineers and main contractors. As a teenager working for a UK energy company, David spent a lot of time digging up roads to install gas pipes. This was hard, heavy work, and when he heard about a ‘new’ method of pipe installation called moling he immediately saw the potential. Of course, these techniques weren’t really new, they were already widely in use across Europe and the US, but the UK utilities sector in the early 1980’s wasn’t known for being at the forefront of innovative thinking! Having seen the light, David decided to go it alone and set up his first business, Mole Machine in 1989. The leading provider of moling technology at the time was Essig, who had developed the idea in 1966, and that’s who provided David with his first equipment. David thinks that he was

David Furlong Mole Machine 80s

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the first person to use moling commercially for water pipe replacements in the UK, and it coincided with a rapid increase in interest in the technology. At the time, the realistic capabilities of impact moles (or “earth rockets”, as they were sometimes called at the time, which we think sounds much cooler) was limited and for bigger jobs engineers turned to the HDD equipment and techniques that had been developed by the oil and gas industry. As far as we know, the first utilities installation using HDD was in 1971 in California, to install 600ft (182m) of 4” (1016mm) steel pipe. The industry rapidly expanded, particularly in the US, with the number of operational rigs manufactured and sold increasing from 12 in 1984 to 2,000 in 1995. By 2011 it was estimated that there were more than 32,000 HDD rigs in operation worldwide, since when the huge increase in interest in the technique from China will only have driven the number upwards. Once again, adoption in the UK remained behind the curve - Mole were amongst the first to use HDD rigs, in 1990, but the relentless technological improvements in the equipment did slowly drive uptake. Tracto-Technik being a longstanding Mole supplier who continuously develop their equipment and innovate. By 2000, impact moles were stronger, faster and more reliable, whilst HDD became increasingly automated, more powerful and much more compact without compromising performance. It is in this latter area of compact HDD that Mole have focussed, as it better fits their expertise and customer base, and they now specialise in small footprint-rigs that are perfect for minimal-impact utilities installations in any area, even those with limited access.

Looking back over the past three decades of trenchless installations, David reflected that “it’s not unusual for new techniques to take time to be adopted, but that seems to have been extreme for HDD. We’ve always been behind other countries in using trenchless to minimise disruption, scarring and environmental impact, and it really is time that we not only caught up, but start to take the lead”. David is clearly still passionate about changing this thinking. “Every time I see a road being trenched for utilities, it makes me furious! I know there’s always an economic consideration, but we should be thinking about costs more broadly. Sure, it might be cheaper per metre to trench than drill, although even that’s not always true, but when you take into account the additional costs of road closures, reinstatement and waste disposal, those numbers change quickly. And as for the other ‘hidden costs’ to society caused by the chaos of digging up roads and the misery it causes...it’s frustrating.” The bright side of this history of slow adoption is that those who ‘see the light’, like David, seem to become passionate advocates of the technology. Experts think that demand in the UK is likely to increase, driven by environmental pressures, creaking infrastructure and increasing population density, and point to anecdotal evidence that a ‘tipping point’ may have been reached in awareness of the options, with many contracts now specifying trenchless techniques from the start. We can’t wait to see what direction the industry takes over the next thirty-five years.

Trenchless Technology

VIP-Weco has power to seal hydro-electricity pipe VIP-Weco pipe seals prevent need for excavation at hydro-electric power scheme Pipe sealed at eight locations where it failed hydrostatic pressure tests Fast installation kept hydro power commissioning plans on track VIP-Weco gives operators assurance of a long-term pipe repair solution

A hydro-electric water pipe that carries water from a river to a power generator has been sealed at multiple points using the no-dig VIPWeco pipe rehabilitation system. Joints at eight locations along the 1.5-kilometer pipe near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands had not been water tight to the pressure standard demanded for the 1.35MW power project. Global seal and gasket manufacturer VIPPolymers Ltd was commissioned to supply its VIP-Weco internal seals to repair the leaks without the need for time-consuming and costly excavation. VIP Business Development Manager Jim Shaw said: “Our VIP-Weco seals achieved the desired results with complete success, and with minimum disruption to the operation of the hydro power scheme. “The defective joints were located along a 100 metre stretch of the pipe, which began 80 metres from the entry point. The partners involved in the hydro project urgently wanted a solution that was quick and cost effective to deploy, and they certainly got that with VIP-Weco.” VIP-Weco seals are used worldwide for trenchless rehabilitation of pipes for water, fuel, and gas. They use WRAS-approved material, comply fully with BS6920, and have a typical life expectancy of 50+ years.

Rubber sleeves made from EPDM or NBR compounds are applied to the inner wall of the pipe, then held in place by stainless steel retaining bands to create a safe, durable and low-cost mechanical sealing solution. The hydro-electric pipe, which was designed to have a working pressure of 1.5 bar, was found to be unable to hold its hydrostatic test pressure of 12 bar at the eight joints. VIP-Weco seals were installed at five locations where the pipe was 1600 millimetres in diameter, and made from GRP, and two points where it was 1400 millimetres in diameter, and made from polyethylene. A final seal was installed where the pipe stepped down from 1600 to 1400 millimetres, with a section of 1600mm ductile iron between the two. A bespoke seal was manufactured, with an extra retention band, to accommodate the 200mm variance in pipe diameters. Minimising downtime was essential to the success of the pipe rehabilitation project. The metal retaining bands for each seal were supplied in two sections, making them easier to transport into and along the pipe. Five VIP-Weco seals were installed in one day, with the quickest installation time being just 16 minutes. Two more seals were installed the following day. The final seal was installed two weeks later, in line with the client’s operational requirements.

VIP, based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was commissioned to supply the seals by Fusion Pipe Products. The installation was carried out by authorised VIP-Weco installers. Commenting on the project the installers said: “The joint failures had been caused by settlement of the six-metre pipe sections within the trench infill, which resulted in pipe deformation. “The flexibility of the VIP-Weco system could accommodate this deformation and still achieve the desired pressure standard with ease. “The VIP-Weco design, based on split retaining bands, allowed us to quickly traverse the pipe and install the seals, keeping operational downtime to a minimum.” Seven of the VIP-Weco seals selected for the pipe rehabilitation project were 280 millimetres wide. The reducer seal was 480mm wide, to accommodate the difference in pipe diameter. These wider seals can be supplied with other configurations, for example to accommodate extreme longitudinal cracking. Both widths can be used on circular, elliptical, and egg-shaped profiles. The quantity of retention bands supplied is dependent on the infiltration pressure rating requirement, ensuring the most cost-effective solution for each project.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

VIP GLOBALLY APPROVED SEALING GASKETS

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VIP-Weco Configurations - available in 280mm or 480mm wide External pressure option 1

Internal pressure: 20bar External Pressure: 0.4bar

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For use when the affected area is wider than 480mm.

VIP-Polymers Ltd +44 (0)1480 411333 sales@vip-polymers.com www.vip-polymers.com www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

Trenchless Technology

Mobile systems designed for simplicity of use Vac-Ex Limited is a UK company. We design and manufacture compact, towable vacuum excavators and safe dig equipment. Today, especially in inner city locations the ground is congested with buried cables and pipes, some carrying high voltage electricity, vital information or explosive gases. The location of many services is inaccurately mapped or simply not known. This makes excavation extremely hazardous. Striking a service can lead to a disruption to supply, injury or even fatalities. A loss of supply for businesses, hospitals military or emergency services can be catastrophic. Costs incurred to the excavating company from a strike, can amount to financially crippling six figure sums. Everything we do at Vac-Ex is to provide a method of excavation that will allow the exposure of buried services and utilities without damage. The use of vacuum excavation is not only safer than hand or mechanical dig but quicker and easier. Also, in many applications, less material needs to be removed from the ground. Our Air-Ex air lance when connected to an air compressor will agitate the ground by injecting a blast of air to break up and loosen compacted ground, it can then easily be removed with the high level of vacuum from one of our compact vacuum excavators. When working in an area full of existing services it is often the only way the ground can be removed. At present we manufacture three models, the T-Vac trailer mounted, T-Vac tracked and our most compact machine the Air-Vac tracked. Each machine has been designed to be compact, easily towed and can be operated by your own staff. Compact Vacuum Excavators offer the advantage that they are cost effective to mobilise and less disruptive by reducing traffic management or inconvenience to the public. Vac-Ex units are very simple to operate and training for up to six operators is provided at our Doncaster head office. Training covers the safe use of the Air-Ex lance and the Vacuum Excavator. We impart a high level of training to ensure all our machines are operated effectively and above all in a safe manner. Vac-Ex has sold compact units in the UK and overseas for many applications such as general utilities, house building, electrical substation work, fencing contracts, petro-chemical and military applications. Current users have been surprised at how the operators have adapted to the use of vacuum excavation and have

immediately appreciated the advantage over hand or machine dig. We regularly hear that the use of vacuum excavation has eliminated service strikes and increased production.

The AIR-VAC vacuum excavator

The AIR-VAC is a unique innovative compact vacuum excavator. VAC-EX has drawn on its years of experience with the larger vacuum excavators to provide the industry with the first ever machine that solves the problem of safe digging, in restricted access areas. Making this safe digging technique available to more companies and operatives. Despite the compact nature, the innovative turbine and filtration design ensure there is still a high level of vacuum. The AIR-VAC complete with trailer weighs 2300kg, light enough to be towed to the work area behind an industry standard transit van or pick up. Where it can be quickly removed from its trailer. The tracks and remote control, with five speed options allow it to be safely moved to the dig area. The AIR-VAC can be tracked through the tightest of locations. Once at the dig site the ground is agitated with compressed air through the VAC-EX, AIR-EX air lance, from a vehicle mounted compressor. The loosened ground can now be safely vacuumed into the AIR-VAC, where the debris is stored in the 0.2m cubed integrated skip. Both the air lance and dig pipe are manufactured from HDPE Plastic which will insulate the user if they are to contact a live unground cable. This has been tested and certified to 75,000 volts. Once the skip is full the AIR-VAC can be tracked to a convenient tipping point where using the

remote control, the skip can be raised to allow the debris to be tipped into a dumpy bag, machine bucket or a low trailer. The AIR-VAC can now continue with the excavation, if required. The design of the filtration system allows the removal of water or sludge from the excavation and a drain valve on the skip door means water can be drained away during the digging process, without tipping the skip. This improves the way repair and maintenance works are conducted. All operations of the AIR-VAC can be done from the hand-held remote control, so operators can be at a safe distance while the AIR-VAC is moving. The addition of a flashing beacon and white noise alarm warns anyone in the area that the unit is mobile. The hydrostatic track drive ensures that when the remote control is released or dropped the AIRVAC will stop instantly. The hydraulic power take-off allows hydraulic power to be used for a breaker or saw to cut away a hard surface prior to digging. Everything is powered from a 3 cylinder 18.5KW Tier 5 diesel engine keeping emissions and fuel consumption to a minimum. The five-inch dig tube is easily manipulated around congested services to clear the ground allowing access for repair operations. This pipe can be reduced in size for more precise digging and for the removal of less ground, to reduce impact on the ground and reinstatement costs. When the work is complete the AIR-VAC is tracked back on to the trailer, secured at the front with a single pin and at the rear with two ratchets straps. It is now ready to be towed to the next job. www.vac-ex.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Designers, Contractors, and operatives endure a daily struggle in both locating and safely exposing Buried utilities. Whilst traditional shovel & excavator excavation techniques are still used daily to expose utilities we believe a healthy mix of Vac-Ex equipment can be introduced to minimise and eradicate the potential for strikes. We at Vac-Ex Ltd are committed to the development of a full range of Safe Excavation Equipment. There are many advantages of utilising the Vac-Ex technique over hand dig, but many are dependent on the type of work undertaking.

OUR MACHINES ARE USED WITHIN • Industrial

• Arboriculture

• Pipe Laying

• Military

• Rail Works

• Power

• Cable Laying

• Airports

• Nuclear

• Municipal

• Gas

• Building

• Road Works

• Environmental

• Water

• Hydro-Demolition

• Tunneling

• Petro-Chemical

Telephone: +44 (0)1302 235099 | www.vac-ex.com

Trenchless Technology

Choosing the right CIPP Liner Applied Felts’ has been at the forefront of research and development in the world of CIPP liners, revolutionizing a wide spectrum of new solutions, all created to meet unique requirements and address the proven acceptance of CIPP as a viable way to extend the life of a pipe without digging or causing significant disruption to communities. We understand that choosing the right lining material for a cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation project is never an “off the shelf” decision. Applied Felts’ has an unparalleled commitment to understanding the unique field application requirements of CIPP installers, exploring and developing innovations to meet those needs. Since rehabilitation projects are so diverse, each job must be evaluated individually before deciding which lining solution will best suit a particular project.

Key elements to consider to determine the best CIPP solution for your project 1. What are the unique characteristics of the job? What are the variables, e.g., geographic location, time of year (outside temperature).

2. Which system and raw materials are being used to install the liner?

Take into consideration availability and location of a wet-out facility, capabilities of the

installation equipment, quality of resin and other materials, which are equally important to evaluate prior to selection. 3. Know your options.

Based on your unique needs, steps and materials used in the manufacturing process can be varied. For example, choosing the right polymer coating, which is crucial for the resin system as well as installation and curing methods. How will the liner be closed. Flamebonded, sewn or perhaps a High Frequency welded Cal hose might need to be used in open-end (or blind shot) liners as well as pullin-place applications. 4. Does the liner manufacturer have a quality QA/QC program?

During the manufacturing process it is imperative that liners are stress-tested every step of the way. Characteristics such as density, thickness, fiber distribution/evenness, strength and weld-ability should all be continually evaluated. No pinholes should be present, which is ensured by monitoring coating uniformity, mass and weight distribution. Liners should be destructively tested for

density at various pressures, tensile strength, coating distribution and more. Samples of the final product should be taken and tested once again for accuracy in circumference, density, length, coating integrity, weld strengths, and other properties that you specify. 5. Does the liner manufacturer stand behind its product? Applied Felts’ does! We provide direct and ongoing support from determining the best raw materials, managing the manufacturing of the product, coordinating timely delivery, training your team and standing by to help you – day or night.

Bottom Line Applied Felts’ continues the tradition of innovation with the development of fiberglassreinforced liners for gravity sewer lines, as well as advancements in liners designed specifically for highly-demanding pressure pipe and potable water applications. One example is Applied Felts’’ Sewn, PUcoated felt liners, that allow for more extreme

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Trenchless Technology

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3 1

Known globally for mainline CIPP solutions, Applied Felts’ has developed a suite of Innovative products for Lateral relining applications Applied Felts’ Testing Lab

environmental and procedure requirements while providing greater flexibility in the field. The benefits of Applied Felts’ fiberglassreinforced hybrid liners include a matrix that reduces the thickness of liners, delivering significant resin savings and, therefore, overall lower material costs. These liners typically weigh less, making transportation, handling and installation faster and easier. Our liners stretch up to 10 percent to the existing pipe wall, ensuring a close fit with faster impregnation rates and reduced installation times.

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Applied Felts’ 100% vertically integrated liner manufacture guarantees that every phase of manufacturing is done in one location for impeccable precision and control over the quality products made Preparing for the shipment of custom made Applied Felts’ CIPP liners

In addition, they provide excellent chemical resistance against sewer effluent elements and superior physical and mechanical properties when tested. Purchasing lining materials is a huge responsibility, and one you should not take lightly. At Applied Felts’ we always encourage users to visit our manufacturing facility to see first-hand the intricacies involved in producing quality liners to deliver a custom solution that will stand the test of time, every time.

For more information: Castle Bank Mills, Portobello Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF1 5PS + 44 (0)1924 200535 www.appliedfelts.com

Trenchless Technology

Suction excavation the way forward for water

The gas industry has seen the benefits of suction excavation for over 10 years, but the water industry is just touching the surface, as HELEN COMPSON discovers. Husband and wife team Lloyd and Charlie Gardener nailed their colours to the mast four years ago, when they founded RSP UK Suction Excavators Ltd.

training and testing centre that acts as a hub for customers and operators to learn and qualify in using their suction excavator in the correct and safe way.

Lloyd, an electro-mechanical engineer by trade, certainly recognised a good thing when he saw it. The argument for this particular form of trenchless technology is a no-brainer, he said.

Charlie says: “This is a family business and as such, we pride ourselves on the personal service and the close attention to detail we offer.

“Lane closures and the working time needed on site are big considerations for utility companies and contractors. But imagine if all you need to cut is a 650mm diameter surface hole, use the suction excavator to remove the material around the services with no damage or strikes. Well, that is what suction excavators offer.” The advantages of suction excavation are undeniable. The controversial method of digging up freshly-laid road surfaces is averted. The effects on traffic are minimised. The excavated material is used for reinstatement and the size of the excavation site is such that the supporting capabilities of the soil and road surface are not compromised. The key message the Gardeners want to get across is just how much these tailor-made, cutting edge excavators save companies in terms of time, money and safety considerations. “A job that used to take five days now takes just half-a-day,” said Lloyd. “There are huge cost reductions to be had.” A testimonial from one purchaser of RSP UK’s German-made machines, contractor Clancy Docwra, which works for Anglian Water, reads: ‘As well as saving time, the non-destructive

suction excavation process enhances safety by minimising the risk of accidental strikes on buried utilities and service infrastructure. ‘The use of the machines enables Clancy Docwra and Anglian Water to dispatch eight fewer team members to each job site, freeing up operatives to carry out other valuable work elsewhere.’ Lloyd cites the example of Cadent too. The operator of the largest natural gas distribution network in the UK, it has its own fleet of more than 60 suction excavators. “They have heavily invested in the technology in the past 10 years and are continuing to do so,” he said. “Water companies and contractors are beginning to see the benefits. There has been huge progress over the past three years within the water industry, but there is certainly more work to be done on building awareness of suction excavation technology.” The Gardeners are doing their part. Having launched RSP UK as a direct subsidiary of RSP Germany in 2016, they have since established a

“Our vehicles are tailor-made, designed to an individual customer’s specifications, and we collaborate with them closely. They will have the same point of contact throughout – speaking to the same member of our team each time.” But the note Lloyd ends on addresses the most important aspect of all. Safety. The training and testing centre, established in 2019, provides training and live testing not only for those doing the purchasing but also for those destined to actually use the equipment. Lloyd said: “We are very serious about raising the industry standard and encourage all owners to invest in training and testing, to ensure the best use of the excavators and to establish the correct safety standards for their teams. “We were delighted when NOCN approved us a Construction Part Competence Scheme Test Centre and we believe in CPCS and EUSR becoming the construction & utilities industry’s preferred accreditation. “I am also proud to be a member of the Suction and Vacuum Excavation board, which is laying strong foundations for the future of our industry.” www.rsp-uk.co.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

The UK's leading Suction Excavator manufacturer Suction Excavation is 16x more effective than traditional methods. Utility strikes can be both costly and potentially fatal. Our Suction Excavators are the perfect preventative solution. Our excavators make for safe and efficient trenchless technology saving time and money over the lifetime of the truck. We work with you to design a bespoke unit that benefits and compliments your business.

Contact our team today 0844 543 4575

www.rsp-uk.co.uk

Trenchless Technology

CIPP solutions for pressure& industrial pipe rehabilitation

NORDIFLOW / NORDIPIPE - The fully structural and independent class A pressure liner

NordiTube has successfully developed a strong and independent liner that can be used especially for the rehabilitation of the following application areas: Potable water Industrial pressure pipes Sewer pressure / rising mains The cured NORDIFLOW / NORDIPIPE liner is considered as a fully structural CIPP system which can be designed to resists not only the internal pressure but also external loads and negative pressure. This means the system is classified as “Class A” according to ISO 11295.

TUBETEX – The seamless fabric class C pressure liner TUBETEX has established itself worldwide as the cost-effective solution when it comes to corrosion protection. The TUBETEX system is an interactive system relying on adhesion with the host pipe and is classified as “Class C” according to ISO 11295. Due to this fact,

an easy and safe connection to the existing pipe network can be ensured. This is also an important advantage especially for repair and service works. TUBETEX is the perfect solution for relining pressure pipes of the following application areas: Potable water Industrial pressure pipes Oil and gas

NORDIWALL HT – The hightemperature liner for industrial applications

NORDIWALL HT allows system operators to rehabilitate pipes exposed to higher temperatures. Thanks to its modified PP coating and its specially developed resin system, the NORDIWALL HT liner will resist temperatures of up to 140°C. NORDIWALL HT is applicable for fully deteriorated sewer pipes and interactive classified as class D according to ISO 11295 for pressure pipes. NORDIWALL HT system is especially interesting for the following application fields: High Temperature Pipes District Heating Pipes Industrial gravity- and pressure pipes - f.e. breweries, dairies, etc…

The advantages at a glance

In addition to the general advantages of trenchless pipe rehabilitation, like

short turnaround times, preservation of infrastructure, minimal traffic disruption, low noise- and dust pollution as well as active environmental protection due to CO2 emission reduction, the mentioned NordiTube products offer further benefits and outstanding product features: Increase lifetime of pipes Improve flow performance Prevent internal corrosion Seals leaking joints and pinholes

Fully structural pressure liner in use NordiTube has already implemented the fully structural pressure liner in the UK in different fields and the customers are more than satisfied with the installations: UK, EDF, West Burton, Cooling Mains, DN 500 mm, Length 710 m UK, OnSite, Christchurch, Wessex Water, DN 400 mm, Length 140 m UK, OnSite, Loddon, Anglian Water, DN 300 mm, Length 713 m For more information visit www.norditube.com NordiTube Technologies SE Thomas Samanns thomas.samanns@norditube.com +49 (0) 172 5219 199

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

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Flood Defence

Controlling the flow

The impact of climate change is such that five million homes in the UK are now at risk of flooding, whether by sea, river or overflowing drains, warns the Environment Agency. HELEN COMPSON meets one company that wholeheartedly believes prevention is better than cure. Andel might be a global market leader in environmental protection systems, but for confirmation that floods destroy it need look no further than its own doorstep in West Yorkshire. It was local, home-grown expertise that was employed in the design and production of the three strongest weapons in its arsenal too. The Andel FloodWall grew out of a product it first made 28 years ago for what was then Yorkshire Electricity. Then, the ReBund was designed to retain oil, to prevent it seeping into the environment should a transformer leak. Commercial director Mark Harris said: “Because we were working with the electricity industry, we came up with the idea of a modular bund which could be swiftly and easily installed around a transformer.

of the time it would to put up a concrete equivalent. The fact it doesn’t require planning permission either is a big plus. “The advantages of using recycled plastic are threefold,” said Mark. “One, the material is very robust, which has been proven practically and theoretically. It is also relatively easy to work, so it can be shaped to fit requirements. “Two, aesthetically it looks absolutely like wood, so it has a very reasonable appearance. “And three, we can calculate the amount of CO2 that has not been put into the atmosphere by using this rather than concrete, so it meets certain CO2 targets as a result.” Faced with the threat of flooding, any detached building - residential as well as commercial - can be given the wrap-around protection of FloodWall.

that is engineered the fit the dimensions of the overflow pipes, storm water drains, watercourses and sewers concerned. It has no moving parts or energy consumption, requires minimal maintenance and is simple to install. Mark said: “These devices are about trying to control the flow of water rather than just pumping it out – they grew out of the whole ‘slow the flow’ idea the water industry is embracing.” Now an international company, Andel is determined to plough some of its resources back into the home territory from whence it sprang. So whenever Andel FloodWall is used to protect against river flooding in Yorkshire, it will donate the profit to charitable organisations tackling flooding. “If you can slow the flow in the upland areas, when it is in rivulets rather than big rivers, that will reduce the problems downstream,” he said.

“We were then asked the question, if the ReBund could keep oil in, could it also keep water out?

The two other flood defence technologies the company has in its armoury are the Andel FloodPump and the Vortex Flow Control.

“So now we have the corollary, the inverse - the FloodWall was designed to be erected quickly to keep water out of installations.”

The former is an industry-unique piece of kit that both triggers automatically and sounds the alarm, texting notifications and updates to mobile devices and building management systems.

“All this type of work is being done by charitable organisations and they need resources, so we are doing our bit and, in the process, putting something back into our local communities – some of them, such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, have been badly affected.

It can be deployed inside or out and employed in the control of flood gates, flood doors, drain flaps and the like. Oh, and it works around the clock, 24/7.

To find out more about our seminar on the 21st April, please visit www.emwllp.com/latest or email enquiries@emwllp.com, we’d be delighted to hear from you.

The Vortex Flow Control is a flow-limiter

www.andel.co.uk

Assembled in a similar way to conventional fencing, with special reinforced posts concreted into the ground, the FloodWall is manufactured from non-porous, durable, recycled plastic waste. It provides a watertight and weight-bearing defence against floodwater and takes a quarter

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Industry-unique solutions for effective flood defence

Andel FloodWall and Andel FloodPump, the ultimate protection for homes, businesses and protected areas at risk from flooding. Andel FloodWall – Cost-effective perimeter flood defence, constructed from nonporous, durable, 100% post-industrial recycled plastic waste, modular design, easy to transport and easy to install on site. Andel FloodPump – Automatic flood pump with option for second pump, sends text alarm notifications, controls other flood defence closure equipment – operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. PLUS Vortex Flow Control – An innovative, durable and low maintenance stainless steel flow limiter for overflow systems, storm water systems, storage systems, combined systems and rainwater systems – no moving parts, no energy consumption, corrosion-free, simple and quick to install. Andel provides consultation, design, manufacturing, installation and support services for four key specialist areas:

LEAK DETECTION

OIL STORAGE MAINTENANCE AND COMPLIANCE

INTERCEPTOR AND DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE

For more information call +44 (0)1484 845 000 help@andel.co.uk www.andel.co.uk Head Office: Andel Ltd, New Mills, Brougham Road, Marsden, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD7 6AZ

Protecting your assets. Protecting the environment.

FLOOD DEFENCE

Be careful what you ask for!

In holding the environmental sector itself to account, one analytical services company is forcing change. Sustainability can begin with simply breaking old habits, HELEN COMPSON learns. A multi-billion dollar global business is breaking the mould in the very quarter you’d think would least need it.

every single year and they are most often collected in plastic or glass containers, depending on the type of analysis required.

steps to hugely boost its level of recycling, ensuring those sampling pots don’t end up in rubbish dumps.

“Yes,” the sales and marketing director for ALS Environmental, Wendy Martindale, concedes, “ quite ironically, the environmental industry still has a lot of work to do around sustainability, we necessarily use a lot of consumables … “

“The issue we have is that a lot of our customers over-order containers and a significant portion come back empty, and we can’t use them after that because effectively they have been contaminated.”

And, in a truly innovative development, it has introduced a new, biodegradable ‘ecobox’ that is suitable for collecting samples when testing soil.

So ALS Environmental, which has 350 testing labs around the world, is taking the lead in a sector that must use – and discard – millions of plastic and glass sample containers every year. As one of the UK and Ireland’s leading providers of analytical services, it helps water, land and waste management companies comply with stringent regulatory standards via accurate testing and the legally defensible data produced. Its extensive range of environmental testing solutions includes laboratory analysis, field testing and site sampling which, in relation to water, support the maintenance of chemical and microbiological parameters for accredited drinking water and wastewater treatment. It has built up a network of laboratories and service centres on these shores over the past 20 or so years, during which time it has also learned a lot about how the operators operate. Wendy said: “In the UK alone, we handle thousands and thousands of samples

ALS supports environmental testing for a number large of infrastructure projects across the UK. It is not unusual for these for these projects to see many samples taken but not subsequently tested. This inevitably creates a huge demand for plastic and glass sample containers which would all go to waste without ALS’s commitment to recycling, but it really is a shame to use them unnecessarily in the first place. As these sample containers are typically moved around by road there is an environmental implication, not just related to the glass or plastic consumables themselves, but also the emissions of vehicles used to transport them. ALS Environmental is now ramping up its own drive towards sustainability, beginning with discussions around the ordering of excessive containers. “There will be no getting away from it,” said Wendy. “We are saying across our network ‘we will challenge you when you order hundreds of containers or offer alternatives where appropriate’.” For its part, ALS Environmental is taking

The eco-box itself has undergone a battery of tests to ensure the material used won’t affect samples. “The boxes have gone down an absolute storm with customers, not least because we have been brave enough as an industry to take the step,” she said. “We have promoted the alternative to plastic and we think we are unique in this field – we haven’t found any other laboratories doing this.” The company was working hard to get its message out there, across the environmental sector. First, it wanted customers to think carefully before ordering containers. How many did they really need? Secondly, it wanted them to be more responsible and to consider the alternatives, said Wendy. “Join us, come with us, on this journey! “Rather than sampling in the habitual way, let’s investigate whether we can do things differently and that bit more sustainably.” www.alsenvironmental.co.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

The never-ending battle against emerging contaminants: a focus on PFAS What are emerging contaminants?

Emerging contaminants are likely to be a never-ending nightmare. Why? As we develop, advance and expand our pharmaceutical prowess, create new industrial chemicals, new pesticides and herbicides, surfactants and personal care products, it becomes increasingly clear that we’re always going to be dealing with so called emerging contaminants. So, what exactly are they? Broadly speaking, they’re any synthetic (man-made) or naturally occurring chemicals that we’re not routinely monitoring in the environment but either already exist in the environment or are very likely to migrate into the environment at some point in the future. Moreover, we must think not only about the source chemicals but also the degradation and transformation products that emerge during the unintentional treatment and natural breakdown of the source chemicals. Specifically, those chemicals labelled as emerging contaminants are thought to have some detrimental effect on either the environment at large, or specific animal populations (including but not limited to humans). It is very likely that we have been releasing emerging contaminants into the environment for a long time but, up until recently, we have not had the technology required to detect such a diverse range of chemicals at such low concentrations. With an ever-expanding range of chemicals to monitor it has been, and will continue to be, difficult for industry to keep up with. Very few emerging contaminants are routinely monitored, and our minimal knowledge of ecological and toxicological effects is only supplanted by our current lack of remediation solutions.

PFAS (poly-fluorinated alkyl substances) – sticking around where they’re not wanted PFAS comprise a huge range of different organic compounds. They’re generally used in applications such as non-stick coatings, stain resistant and water resistant textiles, cleaning products and even food packaging, to name just a few. It does not need to be pointed out, given the extensive and widely valued list of applications, how widespread the use of PFAS is.

While PFAS have been widely designated as emerging contaminants, which the US, Europe, Australia and the UK have been loosely monitoring for some time, the focus has been on a very narrow subset of the PFAS family. Specifically, the focus up to now has largely been on PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) – their potential impact on human health is already widely recognised due to their resistance to

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biodegradation, tendency to bioaccumulate, and toxic properties. The UK’s Drinking Water Inspectorate offers guidance on the restriction of PFAS and PFOA concentrations in drinking water, although these are relatively high when compared with restrictions in place in other parts of the world. Perhaps more concerning than current regulatory levels is the complete lack of regulation of the multitude of other PFAS, especially in our drinking waters. It has only recently been acknowledged that the thousands of perfluorinated variants and precursor compounds are likely to be equally impactful on the environment and human health. Focusing on only PFOS and PFOA potentially obfuscates a much larger and more widespread problem than initially anticipated. A primary challenge in dealing with emerging contaminants in general, and specifically PFAS, is the development of laboratory techniques that are both sensitive enough to detect contaminants at the levels required but broad enough in their application to detect wideranging variants of said contaminants. One example of this approach that was recently commercialised by ALS laboratories is the TOP assay. Previous techniques used to detect PFAS were limited in their application in that they could detect just a handful of PFAS and their precursors - only calibrated compounds could be reliably reported. To truly assess the impact of PFAS it is largely accepted that the total mass of PFAS would be far more apposite.

The TOP assay works by converting precursors into detectable known compounds, allowing the routine analysis to be applied yet yield a truer picture of the total PFAS contamination. Application of the TOP assay saw a 75% increase in detected concentration of PFAS in water and a truly astronomical 240% increase in detected concentration of PFAS in soil composite materials. What this really demonstrates is the extent to which ‘hidden’ precursors and related compounds are being ignored by conventional analytical methods and, more importantly, the extent to which we may therefore be underestimating their presence in areas of primary concern to human health, like our water supply, as well as their detrimental impact on our environment. With the world’s population growing, chemical engineering and pharmaceutical industries advancing at an ever-increasing pace, and environmental awareness at an all-time high, we need to double down on the development of preventative strategies and, for where that may fail, the development of more sophisticated and informative monitoring technologies. www.alsenvironmental.co.uk

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

all systems flow Siltbuster has designed and mobilised one of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest ever temporary modular water treatment solutions, in just two weeks, to assist JN Bentley during essential maintenance work on the Castell Nos Reservoir infrastructure in South Wales, as part of a resilience project for Welsh Water.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

During the maintenance work, JN Bentley needed to carry out a drain down of the reservoir. This meant that an alternative raw water supply was required from a neighbouring reservoir in order to ensure an undisrupted supply of water was provided to Welsh Water customers. In addition, work had to be completed in a tight time frame due to strict constraints set by Natural Resources Wales due to the imminent return of migratory salmon to spawn in the river in which the treated waters were to be discharged into. However, the water main, which connected the potable water treatment works with the alternative source, had been dormant for over 10 years and itself needed rehabilitation. Before it could be used, the main needed

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a high velocity pipe flush to ensure the removal of any residual sediments, which had accumulated during its inactivity. JN Bentley engineers specified that the pipeline needed to be flushed at a flow rate of 750m3/ hr for a minimum of six hours, to ensure the sediments were removed and the raw water treatment process at the works was protected. Siltbuster was selected for the project because it was the only company that could have provided a water treatment solution to remove the suspended solids from such a large volume of flush water before it was discharged to the watercourse, and handle such an exceptionally high flow rate. Prior to choosing Siltbuster, the design teams at JN Bentley considered other plans of action.

The primary factors dictating the decisionmaking were, the remote rural location, restricted access which included public rights of way, neighbouring rural villages and towns, and sensitive environmental constraints. Tankering was considered socially and environmentally unsustainable, primarily due to the implications of running more than 280 tankers into this remote area of Wales. On top of this, the cost of this type of off-site disposal was prohibitive, with each tanker costing around ÂŁ1,000. Temporary settlement lagoons were ruled out as they would need to be extremely large if they were to provide a sufficient and effective settlement area to successfully remove the anticipated slow settling solids from the

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

volume of water. Open lagoons were also considered a potential risk given the public right of way which went right through the site. Following a site consultation, Siltbuster’s team of experienced technical engineers designed a solution, selecting from the company’s hire fleet, which is the largest in the UK. This solution comprised of three containerised dosing units, three 30m3 multistage reaction tanks, 18 HB50 Clarifiers and a 30m3 sludge storage tank with associated pipework. It took only 22 lorry movements to get this enormous treatment chain to site - a stark contrast to the 280 lorry movements which tankering would have required. Furthermore the Siltbuster system was on site and operating within two weeks, meeting the tight deadline set by Natural Resources Wales. Siltbuster’s unique system was fitted with inlet monitoring telemetry which enabled the control of chemical dosing. The addition of chemicals could be automatically suspended when infeed waters were recorded below the target discharge levels; preventing any unnecessary dosing of chemicals and bringing

cost savings to the scheme. Monitoring systems were also fitted at the end of the treatment chain so the performance could be reviewed, giving major stakeholders the proof and reassurance that the discharge criteria were being met. The data being recorded by both the infeed and discharge monitoring was easily accessible 24/7 using Siltbuster’s newly launched Clarity reporting system, which gives clients real time data at their fingertips via a web portal. Tristan Hughes, Construction Sales Manager at Siltbuster, said: “Where other companies would struggle, the range and size of readily deployable hire equipment and technical expertise we have within the company, combined with the proven history of completing similar projects for Severn Trent, enabled us to tackle this huge undertaking with confidence and within the tight window outlined by Natural Resources Wales. I am confident the pedigree that is associated with Siltbuster was one of the main reasons JN Bentley sought our professional input into this Welsh Water resilience project”.

James Stanley Ball, Works Manager at JN Bentley, concludes: “This was a challenging project, but Siltbuster was professional from the initial delivery of its documents through to the actual implementation of the system on site. As far as we are concerned, finding an organisation that was not only able to work to extremely tight deadlines and create a bespoke system to fit our exact needs, but also cope with such unusually high flow rates, was a dream come true. Everything it introduced worked better than expected, making our lives easier on site.” www.siltbuster.com

Where other companies would struggle, the range and size of readily deployable hire equipment and technical expertise we have within the company, combined with the proven history of completing similar projects for Severn Trent, enabled us to tackle this huge undertaking with confidence and within the tight window outlined by Natural Resources Wales.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

SCREENING SOLUTIONS Tailored screening design and manufacturing using our well proven wedge wire screening technology; for installations of reliable, cost effective and low maintenance screening solutions.

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Reduces ‘on-site’ health & safety risk

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Wastewater Treatment & Technology

Conveyors play an important role within the water industry The water treatment industry has taken advantage of belt conveyor system efficiencies for many years and with the global water and wastewater treatment market expecting to reach $211.3 billion by 2025, there is an increasing opportunity for conveyors to play an even bigger role in an industry that is seeing rapid growth from an increase in population that wants to take advantage of better water quality.

Even within the UK, the population is projected to rise to 69.2 million by 2026 and so the water industry will need to respond to this increased demand especially with sewage treatment. With an estimated £40 billion pounds* being spent to improve and maintain existing assets, its an exciting time to be part of an industry that is heading for improvement and growth however, with a requirement to reduce customer’s bills, now is the time to look at existing assets, making the most of whole life, cost effective treatment systems that will maintain the existing treatment service and support the future of water processing. Alongside new treatment wastewater and sewage treatment sites, water treatment providers need to make better use of existing wastewater facilities and by investing now in flexible, robust and efficient treatment solutions like conveyors, providers can make sure they are continuing to deliver the best level of care and service cost-effectively. To manage this increase in demand, there should be a renewed focus on infrastructure so that we can recycle more water efficiently,

reducing energy and cost. It’s achievable using today’s conveyors which are designed to have a longer life span, mitigating downtime, and reducing both operational and capital costs. They also offer space savings and reduce health and safety risk by putting operational safety at the heart of system design and implementation throughout all stages of water waste processing; from water waste, sewage, dewatered sludge, dried biosolids to cake to, from and across site. To respond to current and future needs, the water treatment industry needs to future proof the equipment they use to offer something that is fit for purpose in the future, making the most of innovation and good design that provides the water industry with a solution that achieves efficiencies and flexibility. The conveyor of today ticks the boxes for tomorrow. Our own range of conveyors are tried and tested across a range of applications and with modular design at their very core, they offer an energy efficient, space saving, cost-effective solution to help treat wastewater for the masses. With our conveyors being maintained and supported by an expert team,

they also offer the longevity and value the water industry is looking for alongside the flexibility of having either modular or bespoke conveyor systems that provide materials handling for specific specifications. Conveyors are just one small part of the water treatment process but its important to understand the critical role the right conveyor solutions play in water waste processing across locations that have very specific requirements. Conveyors have a part to play in supporting the wider water industry to reach demand, save money and stay safe, enabling high service levels and the flexibility operators need to deliver the best water service. *Globalwaterintel report 2020

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Robust. Reliable. Powerful. Flexible. Specialist conveyor systems for sewage and water treatment plants, dewatered sludge, dried biosolids, cake, wastewater and other water treatment processes.

TALK TO THE COVEYA TEAM TO FIND OUT MORE Call 0800 915 9195 | Sales@coveya.co.uk www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

Teamwork vital to provide optimum solutions for customers’ needs Wastewater is typically treated in three stages: primary, secondary and tertiary. The first two stages are mostly concerned with removing grit, gravel and solids from the water, whilst the third stage is more complex dealing with the removal of chemicals from the wastewater. Preventing chemicals leaching into the environment and keeping water safe, means the tertiary stage tends to prove the most challenging, technically and economically. Water Industry Journal (WIJ) met with Steve Parsons and Helen Green of Brenntag Water Treatment at their water treatment facility in West Yorkshire. Adjacent to the Brenntag Bradford distribution site (one of the 26 Brenntag locations across the UK & Ireland), the water treatment facility is managed by Helen, Waste Water Treatment Laboratory technical specialist, and provides technical backup to the teams of business development and account managers operating in the field. Steve is the product manager for the speciality chemicals used in the treatment of waste water, working alongside the team of specialists across the UK and Ireland. Editor Reports: As I arrive, Helen and Steve are conducting a test on sludge generated by a dairy company. It is fascinating to watch the teamwork between Helen and Steve: Helen is methodical and research-focused, whilst Steve guides the tests with clear requirements originating from detailed knowledge of many customers’ applications. The variety of applications, aspects and forces within each drive product selection. Detailed analysis is required, and Helen and Steve clearly have the passion for their area of expertise. I start the conversation by asking Helen and Steve about their experience in the industry

There is a clear requirement in our industry for specific advice on the precise selection of products and specific applications. No one size fits all; by utilising the laboratory and screening products we can provide optimum solutions for customers’ specific applications.

Steve Parsons and Helen Green of Brenntag UK & Ireland Water Treatment which I’m told spans three decades. Having started at Allied Colloids in the late 1980s, they worked together through the laboratory graduate programme developing flocculants and process technologies. Both subsequently joined Ciba, Steve into a technical sales position for mines and quarries, and Helen into a laboratory manager position for waste water treatment. Following Ciba’s acquisition by BASF Steve moved to EMEA technical sales management whilst Helen became water treatment technical service laboratory’s manager at the company. Steve joined Brenntag in 2013 as a water treatment specialist as Brenntag continued to grow their technical and commercial teams with specialty industry focus, underpinned by major investments in specialist application laboratories and development centres. Following the relocation of the BASF water treatment laboratory facility to Brenntag Bradford site, Helen joined Brenntag to set up the new water treatment laboratory which has continued to offer significant additional synergies to both municipal and industrial waste water treatment companies ever since. Q: What projects do you regularly undertake? SP: As a product manager, my main responsibility is to support the sales of water treatment products into the waste water treatment industry. Brenntag offers a vast

range of inorganic chemical treatments, and our specialties portfolio compliments the product offering to the customer. My area of expertise covers speciality chemicals such as coagulants, flocculants, antifoams and activated carbon. There is a clear requirement in our industry for specific advice on the precise selection of products and specific applications. No one size fits all; by utilising the laboratory and screening products we can provide optimum solutions for customers’ specific applications. Engineers or plant managers at water treatment sites would be aware of the need for this process to run a cost effective treatment system. Sometimes it may take a number of tests to find the most suitable and the most effective product for an application. We are effectively reducing the cost of the process to bring forward efficiencies in the waste water treatment process. HG: My task is to assess the unique needs and challenges a customer may have and match them with the right technology and the right product. Typical projects we run would be cleaning of waste water prior to discharge into a local water course, treatment of industrial waters that may be reused in a close circuit water system and identification of cost effective chemical treatments for a variety of applications. With regard to antifoams, for instance, we have a range of products that are fully certified for the food industry market.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

We also have a range of silicone oil, vegetable oil and poly glycol based products branded under our Freefoam range, used in a number of applications. We can carry out necessary product selection tests to add efficiencies to the process, and produce a detailed comprehensive technical report for all test procedures that are carried out. Our service gives our customers the assurance that we have fully investigated the range of products and developed an advisory proposal on the optimum dosage for an application. We can also provide onsite screening of products using our business development team who all carry a wealth of experience in the water treatment industry. EDITOR: As we speak, Steve takes a call from Iain McDougall, Brenntag Technical Business Development Manager, and they have a brief discussion regarding the selection of flocculant for a waste water effluent generated from processing leather. I ask Helen which industries she undertook tests for this week. Helen explains that she has performed flocculant product screening on a sludge generated from a water utility, to assess whether the optimum product is being applied to the application. Helen has also carried out Antifoam testing on a plastic recycling effluent, with the challenge being to provide a food compliant product that operates under high temperature conditions.

Sludge thickening

Q: How do you see the industry developing over the next few years? SP: I am seeing a trend towards an automation of processes and applications. Brenntag supplies chemicals and ingredients to all the key chemical industries, including food, pharma, anaerobic digestion, waste recycling, power plant, mineral processing, biogas and energy, industrial cleaning, coatings & construction and many others. As much as these industries apply diverse manufacturing and processing practices, one thing is common: water is a vital asset to businesses. The regulations are becoming tighter in terms of cleaning water, calling for the water treatment industry to be more innovative in the ways the water is used, whether in terms of equipment, products or processing technologies. Quite often we help customers to urgently adapt the product selection following a change in effluent characteristics, allowing the process on site to run smoothly and efficiently. HG: Within the regulated water industry, I see an ongoing centralisation of laboratory facilities. Our ability to undertake tests quickly and efficiently offers the potential to speed up our customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; processes, while using our expertise and testing capabilities for a number of applications simultaneously. We help the customer to ensure they have the correct product for the process, taking into consideration aspects such as changes in sludge feed quality and product dosing, for instance. Techniques for analysis of waste water will continue to advance, allowing us to gain a better than ever understanding of the trace elements and pollutants within it. The fact that we know more about the makeup of our wastewater means that as an industry we

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Sludge dewatering

Metal Iron analysis

are striving to remove more pollutants than ever before, making the wider environment both cleaner and safer.

programme. For instance, once a year we would take a sample of an effluent, perform product re-evaluations and advise whether the facility is operating on the optimum product.

Q: What are the main challenges regarding treating waste water? SP: Treating industrial wastewater is a complex process. For the wastewater companies, the key drivers continue to be compliance, efficiency and the most effective use of their current infrastructure. The UK water industry experiences a need to produce better effluent quality, with an expectation of lower customer prices, all at a time of significant challenge associated with growing population and an increased public interest in minimising environmental and health impacts. We often perform test work for major water utilities, for instance screening tests to provide optimum product solutions for the applications, to establish the right products. We essentially offer what I would describe as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a yearly MOTâ&#x20AC;? product optimisation

HG: A range of solutions include testing processes which allows operators to achieve new discharge compliance limits. For example, trials on mixing effectiveness help to evaluate efficiency of an existing dosing system against optimum performance targets, thereby identifying if there is scope for improved dosing. We can provide every chemical for every application which in my previous roles I often experienced as a challenge. We also are able to call on the industry specific expertise of our colleagues from other areas of the business, in paper, food processors, metal plating, waste to energy, AD plants, for instance, where a customer would get as comprehensive and reliable recommendation as possible. www.brenntag.co.uk

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

New low cost Compact 8 GHz level sensors Extended family for water and wastewater industries VEGA has extended its proven VEGAPULS family for continuous level measurement. The new radar instrument series is based on the latest FMCW 80-GHz technology and, thanks to a specially developed radar level microchip and low price, it represents a real alternative to ultrasonic technology. It makes it highly economical for those applications found in the water/wastewater sector, or auxiliary applications in process automation. The compact loop powered radar is available in two versions: as compact model with a cable connection housing and as standard model with fixed cable connection (IP68) .

Strong focusing ensures measurement without the jumps

With 80-GHz technology, the radar beam is much more focussed and can be aimed at the measured medium with pinpoint accuracy. As a result, narrow shafts or deposits on vessel walls or internals such as pipes or pumps cannot create false signals and jumping outputs. So in contrast to ultrasonic technology, radars very rarely require false signal suppression in busy wet well shafts.

No dead zones for measurement in confined spaces

One special advantage of these new sensors is they have no dead/blanking zone, thus enabling them to measure right up to the top of the vessel. Typical areas of application are areas where space is limited with measurement or head-space, like underground assets; like CSO’s and sewers, in culverts,

underside of bridges, pipes, as well as small tanks or hoppers when capacity is at a premium .

Handles Build Up

Sensors constantly struggle with the problem of build up, maintenance call outs to ultrasonic devices ‘needing a wipe’ are widely reported in the sector. This is because contamination or condensation on the ultrasonic sensor face can greatly affect the reliability of the measurement signal and enlarge the dead zone. Using radar technology, the situation is different, a combination of the measuring principle and optimized signal processing enables these radar sensors to ignore interference caused by build up on their antenna system, which means they are immune to the effects of condensation and highly resistant to dirt and normal build up levels, reducing nuisance outages and cleaning.

Chemicals and EX approval

Storage and buffer tanks supply the chemicals for waste water treatment processes. The new radar sensors can exploit their strengths here, as they can be installed in very confined spaces and small process fittings. Or they can look through plastic tanks and safely measure the chemicals inside. Even if the medium generates gases, the sensors remain unaffected and deliver reliable measuring results. In addition, they have an Ex approval for flammable media. So it makes them highly versatile for use in a wide range of applications.

Reliable level values independent of process and environmental influences

Due to their physical measuring principle, ultrasonic sensors are easily affected by ambient conditions: for example, the transit time of sound changes with temperature, like warming by the sun or varying vapour and gas composition, these can all affect measurement accuracy. Strong winds, rain, or even fog, can damp the emitted sound waves and restrict their measuring range. Radar sensors, however, are not affected by these conditions - or even pressure, vapours, gases or vacuums - they continue with accurate readings. Open channel flow measurement needs the highest possible accuracy and stability due to the root calculation of the flow formula. In outdoor applications, whether in rain or intense sunlight, the new radar sensors perform accurately without any temperature effects. One example is flow rate measurement in the main inlets of the sewage treatment plant. The focused, high performance of the new radar sensors, enables

precise measurement and therefore a reliable calculation of wastewater flows.

Low power for remote sites and telemetry

Because of these immunities, the new compact radar sensor is ideal for monitoring of river and flood levels. Its measured values are crucial for being able to react quickly and correctly in the event of flooding. Radar sensors can monitor river levels without being affected by temperature stratification/fluctuations, high winds, rain or heavy mist. Even at a distance of 30 meters from the water surface, a radar transmitter delivers level readings with millimetre resolution. They also offer SDI12 and Modbus outputs, and all devices have a sub 10 second start up cycle, making them highly suitable for use with battery powered telemetry outstations and loggers.

Bulk solids level monitoring too

Another example, is lime silo level measurement, which is used to stabilize the effluent pH value, this is an ideal application for the new instrument series. Bulk solids can be measured reliably with no effect from dust generated during the filling process. Thanks to strong signal focusing, build up and deposits on the container wall or on the sensor face itself are no problem.

Optional controllers and Bluetooth built in

The radars also have an optional controller for local display, extra outputs and level alarms. Both sensors and controllers can be easily and safely adjusted via Bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet – ideal for harsh environments, operational safety or Ex areas. www.vega.com/uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

RADAR IS THE BETTER

ULTRASONIC 80 GHz level sensor with fixed cable connection (IP68)

Â£405 VEGAPULS C 11

All advantages of the radar technology:

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Wastewater Treatment & Technology

Waste away: action against phosphorus removal

Eutrophication can impact a water company’s bottom line as well as having a significant effect on the environment. In AMP 7 there will be heightened pressure to tackle this growing problem. Kevin Wheeler, managing director at chemical dosing specialist, WES Ltd, explains how to tackle P removal. Phosphorus, combined within various mineral phosphates and organic materials, is a key cause of eutrophication in rivers, lakes and other surface waters. Eutrophication is the over-enrichment of water by mineral and organic nutrients, which stimulate the excessive growth, or blooming, of algae. Algal blooms are a problem as they deprive submerged plants and creatures of sunlight and, ultimately, suffocate them. Decomposition of the dead algal mass by bacteria, then strips even more oxygen from the water and leads to the mass killing of fish, invertebrates and planktonic animal life. The key sources of phosphorus reaching our waters include the run-off of agricultural fertilisers and animal waste from fields, human waste from sewage systems, detergents from household drains and waste discharged into waterways from various industrial processes. Environmentalists, legislators and the public are putting increasing pressure on water companies to tackle eutrophication. In the water industry’s Asset Management Period covering the years 2020 to 2025 (AMP 7), more stringent requirements for the removal of phosphorus are expected. This will not only increase demands relating to larger sites but will create a need for treatment on smaller sites where chemical dosing was not previously required. Many of the smaller sites have limited historical data on which to base dosing specifications, so testing will be required. A further challenge will be how to install dosing systems in the confined space of those small sites. At the same time, these improvements must be achieved without impacting too heavily on profits.

Options for phosphorus removal

Sand filtration and solid settlement are initial treatments which involve simple processes such as the removal of large particles of material containing phosphate. Often the next step is biological treatment using anaerobic and/or aerobic digestion. These processes provide conditions favourable to the growth

of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, respectively, which remove soluble phosphates from the water by feeding on them. The bacteria, along with the phosphorus they have consumed, are then separated into the resulting sludge. Digestion tends to be applied ahead of chemical treatment, which then reduces phosphorus to lower levels (below 1.0 mg/L). Chemical treatments are an economical means of removing phosphates from wastewater. They typically involve the dosing of water with metallic salts, which react with dissolved phosphates to produce solid precipitates. These materials can then be removed using a solids separation process, such as clarification or filtration. After these treatments, some companies may wish to reduce phosphorus levels even further by passing the water through a membrane filtration system.

Dosing test packages

If the chemical dosing needs of a site are unknown, as is the case for many smaller sites, there is a need for testing. Jar tests are of limited value as they only provide a snapshot of the conditions. To gain a full picture of the upper and lower dosing limits, economically, operators can hire a dosing rig on a short-term basis and still get value for money. The smallest and simplest packaged systems available from WES for this purpose comprise a WES DosingCube™ and an IBC (intermediate bulk container) of chemical, sitting on a double IBC bund. Larger options include a self-contained system within a waterproof

enclosure with a DosingCube™ and a 1,000-litre storage tank. There is the option of a containerised system with storage tank, duty and standby pumps and a local control panel for further capacity. Using a package like this, tests can be run in real time over a typical hire period of between four and 12 weeks. Dosing flow requirements established by testing in these situations tend to be very low– often as little as 0.1 L/hr. This has important implications and potential pitfalls for system design, but with the benefit of extensive experience in this field WES has engineered any problems out of its temporary and permanent dosing packages.

Long-term or permanent packaged solutions

WES can supply a long-term packaged solution appropriate to the site, once dosing needs are known. Specifications typically start with a 1,500-litre storage tank, which gives enough capacity to refill from an IBC without having to interrupt the dosing. However, storage tanks of up to 5,000 or even 10,000 litres can be used for larger sites. Eutrophication is a significant issue and one that is only going to get worse. Industry regulator Ofwat has challenged water companies to deliver more cost-effective and efficient solutions than their current framework designs allow. Chemical treatments offer an economical means of removing phosphates from wastewater and a positive result for the environment. www.wes.ltd.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Wastewater Treatment & Technology

FlowCam for Drinking Water Monitoring DECEMBER2019 ISSUE13

ISSUE12 SEPTEMBER2019

Water & wastewater monitoring & analysis • Utility security Wastewater treatmen t & technology • Catchmen & incident management • Biosolids & recycling t management • Deliverin g resilience

Monitoring and Analysis t • Water and Wastewater Technology NEWS • Flow and Level Measuremen • Wastewater Treatment & Biogas and Energy Management

Taste and Odour, HAB Assessment Quantifiable Monitoring at Scale Rapid and Quantifiable Analysis To advertise contact David Lancaster on 0191 580 5476 or email david.lancaster@distinctivegroup.co.uk for more information

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The surest measure of a changing world

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Why two become one: clarity, service and growth

Glenfield and Invicta, two of the most respected and longest-established brands in the water sector, have announced they are merging their operations from 6th January 2020. The new organisation will carry the name, Glenfield Invicta.

Both Glenfield and Invicta are subsidiaries of the AVK Group, which has more than 100 production and sales companies worldwide. Paul Boyden, currently Managing Director of Glenfield, becomes Managing Director – Commercial and Andrew Izod, currently Managing Director of Invicta, becomes Managing Director – Operations: Boyden and Izod are clear on why the merger will deliver significant benefits for the collective Glenfield Invicta customer base: ‘We believe there are significant growth opportunities in the core markets serviced by Glenfield and Invicta: clean and waste water, environmental and flood defence, dams and reservoirs, hydro-power and

non-utility infrastructure. In order to unlock that potential, we need a clear message that customers and prospects value and engage with. The message is that, as Glenfield Invicta we can harness our collective engineering and project delivery resources to deliver truly outstanding service for our customers. The Glenfield Invicta offer is simple: we will engineer a range of solutions for all of your valve and penstock applications and projects. This is true whether your challenge is simply product manufacture and supply, or whether you require total project delivery from inception to completion. We can also refurbish or replace any valve or penstock regardless of the original manufacturer, offering our customers unrivalled versatility in what is a very specialist field.

We believe there are significant growth opportunities in the core markets serviced by Glenfield and Invicta: clean and waste water, environmental and flood defence, dams and reservoirs, hydro-power and nonutility infrastructure. 66

From our sales engineers, through to our design engineers and project delivery teams, there is a collective knowledge and experience that gives customers the confidence that we can deliver on time and to budget anywhere in the UK and Ireland. The announcement of the Glenfield Invicta merger may be news to the market, but it is the culmination of almost two years of planning, investment and reorganisation. Over that period the Glenfield and Invicta project teams have been working together , sharing skills and expertise; this ‘cross-fertilisation’ means we can offer a broader range of services. The merger also creates a national network of engineering facilities and project teams that enable us to deliver comprehensive services at a local level across the UK and Ireland. It is a really exciting time to be working at Glenfield Invicta, and the energy and enthusiasm generated by the merger is evident. Our mission over the coming months is to ensure customers and prospects are as excited about what the future holds as we are!’

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Glenfield Invicta Delivering Project Solutions

ENVIRONMENTAL & FLOOD DEFENCE

‘Providing market leading valve and penstock engineering excellence across water and non-utility infrastructure projects’

DAMS AND RESERVOIRS

WATER AND WASTE WATER

@glenfieldinvicta www.glenfieldinvicta.co.uk

HYDROPOWER

NON-UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

Maidstone: T: 01622 754613 Kilmarnock: T: 01563 521150

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WIMES Compliant REG 31

Leak Detection & Repair

innovation the driving force on journey to reduce leakage Leakage is one of the major challenges facing water companies today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a challenge that is about to get even tougher as we head into the next AMP.

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Leak Detection & Repair

continuous line of acoustic sensors, listening out for leaks inside the pipe, that can be fitted without the need to disrupt supply.

By Jo Claronino Technical Project Lead from Severn Trent

Ofwat has set all of us the task of reducing leakage by 15% over the next five years and at Severn Trent, we’re not wasting any time working out how we’re going to achieve that ambitious target. We see innovation as one of the driving forces that will help us on that journey, starting with a pioneering fibre optics trial on a live section of our network. We’re using this technology to trial how effective it is at identifying leaks, especially in cast iron pipes, so we can carry out the repair before it escalates into a burst. We believe this proactive approach can be critical in minimising any negative impact on a customer’s water supply. Working in partnership with Craley Group and API, this ‘lift and shift’ fibre optic cable is a brand new, innovative system that acts as a

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The first phase of the trial got underway in February, when we installed a 750-metre-long fibre optic cable along a live section of our network, recording noises in real time over a four-hour period. The trial involved simulating several leaks which were all pinpointed by the system. Fitting the cable inside the pipe under pressure, is carried out in a similar way to a CCTV or hydrophone cable – using a winching system, a specially designed pressure chamber and an integrated disinfection system. A drogue, or parachute, is attached to the end of the cable, using the flow of water to feed it through the pipe. A clever part of this technology is its ability to filter out background noise, using specially adapted software, allowing our engineers to pinpoint any leaks with tremendous accuracy. It’s also able to store the data, which can be reviewed and analysed at a later stage, so comparisons can be made against other surveys of the same stretch of network, to check for any changes or deterioration in the pipe. The trial, which is a first for the UK, isn’t limited to leaks and bursts either. This fibre optic technology can also tell us when and where people are accessing our network illegally.

The next phase of the trial will involve the use of a longer lift and shift cable, fitted with an integrated CCTV camera. Combining a camera with acoustic sensors will take away the need to carry out a separate CCTV investigation, helping to reduce time on-site and reducing the risk of deploying the cable ‘blind’. If the next phase of the trial is successful, it could potentially replace some of the existing technologies that we currently use to help us identify where issues are on our network. The options available to us now range from listening sticks, acoustic ground microphones, hydrophone sensors and drone or satellite imagery. These approaches are effective, but each have their limitations. Hydrophone sensors for example, only have one sensor at the tip of the cable, in contrast to a continuous line of them. The trial forms part of Severn Trent’s contribution to the World Water Innovation Fund – a global initiative launched last year, designed to encourage water companies to work together by sharing new technologies and best practice. The fund recently welcomed two new members in February, as PUB – Singapore’s national water agency and Aqualia from Spain joined like-minded water companies who are dedicated to change and protecting the future of water for everyone.

Leak Detection & Repair

Giving customers confidence in their water networks

To add to the challenges of water scarcity and aging infrastructure, the water industry is now tasked with achieving a 16% reduction in leakage by 2025. HELEN COMPSON speaks to one company who are challenging conventional approaches and are already helping utilities meet the target. Inflowmatix is that rare beast, a company capable of developing, manufacturing and effectively integrating advanced monitoring technologies, with modelling and optimisation applications as a core part of their offering. Thanks to the supreme quality of the data collected by its InflowSys™ Edge system – and indeed the size of the resultant databank - Inflowmatix has a unique advantage in being able to apply its patented algorithms and analyses to tackling leakage, supply interruptions, asset management and water quality.

management, leakage and water quality in the process. By mapping where the customer’s network is most at risk and exposing dynamic pressure variability, it can present a detailed picture of pressure surges, unusual usage patterns, negative pressures and asset misbehaviours.

Dr. Mike Williams

Robin Bell

Now, hot off the presses, the company has a new, expanded package that builds on the strengths of its already established InflowSys™ Edge product line, which incorporates the InflowSense™ pressure devices that do the legwork.

The story begins when Inflowmatix was founded as a company by Dr. Ivan Stoianov in 2015 to make good use of a decade or more of research carried out at Imperial College London. CEO Dr. Mike Williams and COO Robin Bell were in at the beginning.

But before we talk about arboricity™ and its boundary-busting ability to integrate with other systems, let’s set the context. Where did Inflowmatix come from?

If Inflowmatix can be described as having a mission, it is to help water network operators control pressures and optimise their services, embracing the subjects of resilience, asset

The company has harvested the expertise of water industry specialists, engineering experts and world-class academics to bring cutting edge solutions to water utilities around the world According to Robin “When we set up the business, we started out with the aspiration to provide analytical solutions to our customers, so it is all about solutions based on numerical, mathematical and computational approaches.” “The company has been founded on the dynamics of pressure variations in water networks building on the innovative work carried out at Imperial College London by Ivan

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Leak Detection & Repair

and his postgraduate team over many years working hands on with industry partners.” The hardware needed to come first as there was nothing currently in the market that was capable of the spatial and temporal accuracy and resolution required. The result: InflowSense™, the pressure sensors that are part and parcel of the InflowSys™ product portfolio. The brand has since been extended to InflowSys™ Edge, reflecting the advent of devices that can sense anomalous behaviour at the edge of the communications network as well as across the entirety of the water network. As a standalone system, it typically comprises an optimised number of InflowSense™ devices that are deployed to provide insights into the behaviour of the network on a zonal basis. In contrast, to address a gap in the market, arboricity™️ takes a top down agnostic approach. Mike clarified: “arboricity™ builds on the solid foundation of InflowSys™, but integrates other data sets to provide a more insightful input for the water utilities.” A prime example of this ability to integrate is the SERENE™ ‘DMA Health Index’ product Inflowmatix has built in partnership with Black & Veatch, one of the water industry’s tier one suppliers. “Black & Veatch supply consultancy services in management, logistics and delivery to companies around the world, but principally in Britain.” “Combine what they do with arboricity™ and you can see where we’re going with this – together we are driving towards healthier and more resilient water networks.” DMA insights from the sharp end are crucial if the industry is going to meet what is the most ambitious leakage control programme set in

decades. “Success will require just this type of digitally-enabled network management,” Mike said. The starting point is the integration of multiple in-house and customer systems to collect the data required. The sensor and network data is then brought together in one, seamless platform. Using 12 key network parameters, lagging/ leading and supporting features are brought together in concert to create a DMA Health Index score through our SERENE™ product. This provides a unique network view on how a DMA is performing towards key regulatory targets, based on a narrative of real-time measured network behaviour. The resulting DMA Health Index – offering multiple, scenario based assessments – provides the mechanism by which water companies better understand how and where investment can be targeted most effectively to reduce leakage. Mike said: “SERENE™, and the relationship with Black & Veatch, is just one example of what arboricity™ can do - it can and will go much further.” “We are actively integrating with other platforms such as hydraulic modelling systems and thereby building on its versatility.” Mike acknowledges there are many software packages for hydraulic modelling in existence, but they all require data to be provided by the utilities to be of true value. This is governed by the accuracy, resolution and timeliness of such data, as well as the standard of the calibration process used.

results of minimal value to network operators, despite having significant associated costs. Furthermore, hydraulic models tend to be deprived of regular maintenance and as such, their operational value depreciates rapidly. Inflowmatix has solved these critical constraints with a proprietary ‘model calibrate and maintain’ process that involves making the initial model calibration a low-cost deterministic process. It does this by combining the high spatial and temporal resolution data acquired by InflowSense™ with robust mathematical optimisation methods and analytics delivered by arboricity™, and then both automatically and recurrently maintaining the model’s performance and accuracy. All of the Inflowmatix technologies are tailored to one end, said Robin. “Ever greater pressure is being placed on the water industry. Ofwat as a regulator has been very incisive in its approach to improving the customer experience not only in terms of reducing leakage by at least 16% through the Asset Management Plan (AMP period 7 - 2020 to 2025), but additionally demanding resilience of supply whilst reducing customer bills. Mike summarises: “The Ofwat drive is in many ways leading the world – a good example of the regulator taking a focused and proactive approach to improving our use of water.” “Our role here is to help operators build confidence in their network and support the industry in meeting its challenging targets.” www.inflowmatix.com

The calibration of hydraulic models is typically something of a ‘dark art’, carried out by consultants with little reference to external validation. As a consequence, it often delivers

arboricity™ builds on the solid foundation of InflowSys™, but integrates other data sets to provide a more insightful input for the water utilities. www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

Leak Detection & Repair

What happens to our water supply if the world warms up?

When President Trump and Greta Thunberg took verbal shots at each other at this year’s Davos Economic Forum, climate change was again pushed to the front of the news cycle. But while high-profile protestors and politicians argue, an ever-growing body of research confirms that world is getting warmer and weather patterns are becoming more severe as a result.

The world is getting warmer

2019 was the second-hottest year on record globally, according to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), topped only by temperatures in 2016. “The decade that just ended is clearly the warmest decade on record” explained GISS Director Gavin Schmidt when announcing the 2019 figures. “Every decade since the 1960s clearly has been warmer than the one before”. Scientists are in agreement that the world is warming and the 2015 Paris Agreement suggests that politicians concur. So, if the world is warming, what does this mean for our water supplies?

How does a warmer earth affect our water? Should temperatures continue to rise, the world would inevitably become drier, which would impact on fresh water supplies.

Warmer air holds more moisture than colder air (up to 7% per degree of warming according to the Clausius-Clapeyron equation), meaning as temperatures rise, more water is taken from the earth’s surface by evaporation. Greater evaporation rates would negatively affect water stocks in reservoirs, leading to more

PermaNET SU

incidences like Day Zero in Cape Town, where the city was at real risk of completely running out of water. As well as from bodies of water, moisture is also taken from the ground, so greater evaporation would contribute to drier, more arid ground conditions. In turn, this would likely increase the demand for water from industries that rely on the ground to operate, specifically agriculture.

What goes up must come down

Additional moisture in the atmosphere will increase the volume and consistency of rainfall events, which already pose a challenge to water networks. In the UK, increased rainfall is already being recorded. The 2018 UK State of the Climate Report found that the last decade (2009-2018) was on average 1% wetter than 1991-2010 and 5% wetter than 1961-1990. Furthermore, the amount of rain recorded on extremely wet days has increased by 17% over the same time period.

The challenges posed by wetter weather

The most obvious risk of consistently wetter weather is that of flooding, and in 2018 the Environment Agency warned that intense bouts of flooding are set to become more frequent. In fact, Met Office records show that since 1910 there has been 17 record-breaking rainfall months – with 9 of the 17 being post 2000.

SonicSens 3

In 2015, storms Desmond, Eva and Frank, and the resulting flooding, caused approximately £1.6bn worth of damage in the UK. And more recently, Yorkshire experienced what was described as ‘biblical’ flooding after parts of the UK were

bombarded with a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. Flood water is quickly contaminated with pesticides and a variety of other pollutants, bringing additional challenges to an already stretched water network.

Can we be at risk of water shortages and flooding at the same time? While this seems counterintuitive, global warming and inconsistent rainfall patterns increase the risk of both clean water supply deficits and flooding in the future.

As rainfall gets heavier, larger quantities of water are pushed downstream more quickly, avoiding capture. Additional issues such as less prolonged periods of rain and warmer, drier summers affects the consistency of water flow also. Water companies in the UK, and internationally, understand the threats to their networks and are investing heavily in infrastructure to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Effective leak detection, provided by advanced products such as PermaNET SU, is helping to dramatically reduce water loss, supporting ambitious leak reduction targets and ensuring a consistent supply to customers. To combat flooding, products like SonicSens 3 are helping to ensure the efficiency of sewer networks, identifying signs of blockages and ensuring a consistent flow, especially during high demand. By increasing investment in network monitoring solutions, water companies are taking important steps to ensure their networks are robust in the face of the challenges and demand increases brought by global warming. www.hwmglobal.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Whether detecting leaks or monitoring sewer effectiveness, our advanced technology is constantly working to make your network as efficient as possible www.hwmglobal.com www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

Leak Detection & Repair

Family business finds niche in detection market Leak detection is big business, writes HELEN COMPSON. Literally billions of pounds are draining out of the economy each year as a result of undetected leaks and the unnecessary replacement of pipelines, roof membranes and geosynthetics. But when it comes to leak detection, one particular technology is so niche only a handful of companies in the world have mastered it.

“However, we have also specialised in corrosion protection and detection, with a range of underwater and underground electrodes, and the associated electrical and electronic products to support these activities, and advanced, low voltage leak detection equipment and techniques as well.”

Simon B Dobson CEng MIMechE MSc, managing director of one of them, Buckleys (UVRAL) Ltd, said: “In our experience, corrosion of steel or ductile iron pipes, caused by coating failure, is a key issue”. According to NACE International, pipeline corrosion costs represent 3.1% of GDP for an industrial economy, and for the UK that figure is in excess of £70 billion, which, as Simon says, is “a staggering sum and a dreadful waste!” Pit corrosion, often caused by nothing more than a pinhole in a coating, typically costs a disproportionate amount to repair, and if it isn’t done in time the result can be the catastrophic failure of a pipeline or other valuable asset. Buckleys’ niche market is the detection of the tiniest of failings in pipe coatings, flat roofs, geosynthetics and geomembranes. “Our instruments can detect and locate the tiniest of pinholes in the factory, on site at assembly, and crucially prior to burial,” he stated, exclaiming “Prevention is better than cure! “But, yes, the area in which the use of Buckleys instruments and technology is growing most rapidly is in the field of geomembrane testing – our portable, high-voltage test equipment can test large areas effectively and efficiently to ensure that potential leak paths are located quickly and easily.” Although originally focusing on flat-roof leak detection, Buckleys have developed electronic leak detection kits, not just for geo-membranes and reservoir linings, but for a myriad of other construction processes, including

The day Simon spoke to the Water Industry Journal, he had just signed a six-figure sum purchase order for a brand-new CNC lathe to allow Buckleys to produce bespoke machined components in-house to meet their exacting standards. Simon B Dobson waterproofing systems used in car park construction, and even swimming pools. Buckleys is a family business, founded in 1926 by the Buckley brothers to sell ultra-violet ray arc lamps, hence the UVRAL part of the company’s name. Fifteen years later, the Hoveman family took over, and remain at the helm today. They moved the business base from Putney to Hythe, and then in 2010, to the Shearwater Business Park in Folkestone, Kent. Simon said: “From those early days of producing ultra-violet equipment for water purification and photographic purposes, the business has evolved to produce a range of products based on our expertise in highvoltage equipment, such as non-destructive testing equipment for the plastics welding industry, and the high-voltage pinhole and leak detectors which are the core of our business today. “Our range still includes high-voltage power supplies for ozone generation, so there is still some synergy with our roots.

Ongoing investment in the best production technology available has enabled Buckleys, in turn, to provide the very best in detection capability to its customers. Needless to say, research and development are key to meeting the market’s needs and maintaining a competitive edge. “We make world-class products, beginning with a high-end CAD system in our state-ofthe-art machine shop, and some very skilled, long-serving staff,” he disclosed. Buckleys first gained BS5750 accreditation, the precursor to the ISO 9000 quality standard, way back in 1991, long before it was de rigueur, and remains committed to the quality management system today. “It is fundamental to the way we work to maintain our world-class standards,” Simon said. “We are also members of the British Standards Institute, and we recently joined the ASTM (American Society for the Testing of Materials). “We are currently working with customers and industry colleagues towards creating a new standard for the electronic leak detection industry in the United States.” www.buckleysinternational.com

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

MANUFACTURERS OF SPECIALIST TEST EQUIPMENT

Pipeline and geomembrane leak detection and location

PHD Pro’ pinhole detector standard/pipeline kit

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the naked eye

Give our sales team a call for more information tel: 01303 278888 email: sales@buckleys.co.uk

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Leak Detection & Repair

Delivering non-intrusive leak detection to the water industry

Increasing legislation and penalties within the water industry has seen an increased effort to mitigate the impact of leaks within operators’ networks.

Investment programs have seen improvements to the wider and often aging infrastructure including pipeline replacement and new technologies to monitor the performance of the network. There is still significant work to meet the Ofwat targets set in the five-year planning cycles of AMP 6 and AMP 7 for 2020-25. The target for 2025 is a 15 percent reduction in leaks and an ambition of 50 percent by 2050. Often when a leak is seen it has already caused significant problems such as damage to highways and property, environmental contamination and loss of product. Similarities exist in other liquid pipeline operations such as the oil, gas and chemical industries. Atmos International’s experience over 25 years has led to in-depth knowledge and experience of delivering leak detection, simulation and rupture technologies that provide its customers with early insights of a leak and its location. Using combinations of pressure, flow and acoustic correlations Atmos International’s technologies are used to provide sensitive, fast and accurate leak detection at all times. Proven

on pipelines from 2” to 72” in diameter, Atmos has delivered leak detection on short length pipes to networks thousands of kilometers long. The challenges faced by operators looking to implement effective leak detection is often that pipelines have limited or no instrumentation. This is compounded by a lack of communication and power. While the oil and gas industries have developed technologies, their knowledge and experience has not always been shared. are not often shared. In recent years, development and improvements have been made and lowcost solutions have provided significant benefits. Following extensive research and development, the Atmos Eclipse unit offers a fully enclosed non-intrusive compact unit – combining flow, pressure and acoustic technology with a variety of power and communications options. Adding to this has been a continued improvement in the accuracy and sensitivity of flow balance and pressure systems (also known as negative pressure wave). This has enabled Atmos to identify leaks at 1% and lower while providing more accurate location

estimates. The robustness of data and the hardware mean that a greater number of pipelines can be retrofitted with high-quality leak detection. The approach has also been used for theft detection and location with great success in the oil sector. Systems are now operational in high consequence areas (HCAs), challenging climates such as deserts and arctic conditions. Leak detection projects including the use of the Atmos Eclipse solution have been delivered in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Belgium. This cross-over technology has significant advantages for rising main pipelines and trunk mains. To discover more about Atmos International visit www.atmosi.com or call + 44 161 445 8080 to speak to one of our leak detection experts.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Pipeline leak detection specialists Non-intrusive technology delivering sensitivity, leak location, reliability and responsiveness. Atmos International has 25 years’ experience helping pipeline owners and operators with the latest software and hardware to monitor their pipelines. • Atmos Eclipse – non-intrusive flow, pressure and temperature technology • Atmos Leak Detection Suite • Atmos Rupture Detector

Discover how Atmos can help you +44 (0) 161 445 8080 atmosi.com

Leak Detection & Repair

ePulse® acoustic technology provides definitive non-invasive pipe condition assessment, improving & saving costs on pipe replacement programmes. When making pipeline replacement decisions, asset managers face a dilemma – they need to gather accurate information about the condition of existing pipelines so they can make the right replacement decisions to minimise pipe bursts and maximise the life of existing infrastructure. Gathering pipe condition data can be expensive and disruptive and the old modelling of probabilities based on age, materials, installation and local knowledge, do not provide an accurate picture because pipes deteriorate in very different ways. Water pressure, the frequency of pressure transients, surrounding soil conditions, the layout of the network and local patterns of water usage, are all factors in the speed of pipe degradation. Today more utilities are turning to acoustic technology as it is non-invasive and accurate in assessing a pipe’s condition and simultaneously detecting leaks. It analyses information about the pipe material, the time frame in which it was installed, the diameter of the pipe and the original wall thickness to estimate the condition and the remaining service life of the pipe. This real data allows for a more targeted replacement of pipes that are genuinely at the end of their life, and also provides insight of the overall network that can help with extending the life of assets. Echologics, a Mueller brand developed ePulse®, a technology to determine the condition of close to 200 km of SES Water’s ageing metallic mains without disrupting any service to customers. SES Water serves 300,000 properties and businesses, so gathering the data without impacting service is extremely valuable. This window into the condition of SES assets will assist them in replacing mains that have reached end of life, and will increase SES Water’s efficiency and ability to deliver OFWAT’s regulatory challenges around resilience and reduced losses, in a sustainable and efficient way. Joe Finn, Echologics Sales Manager for the United Kingdom & Ireland, says, “SES Water is trailblazing in proactive asset management to ensure they make informed decisions about where to focus resources and spending to improve their water distribution network”. Many water utilities are taking a proof-ofconcept trial approach and selecting a few District Metered Areas (DMA) or identifying areas of greatest concern for trial that typically takes a matter of weeks to implement and the

results are close to immediate. This approach helps water utilities to develop a business case for a wider-scale condition assessment programme, as it shows real cost savings when it comes to decision making for repair. Invariably the data will show that some planned pipe replacement still has many more good years, or that a newer pipe, is degrading much faster than expected which typically leads to unravelling the root cause for this so that it can be fixed to extend the remaining years of operation. A bonus of the ePulse technology, is that it will also identify leaks in the test zone which has enabled customers to repair pipes before they cause further damage and water loss. ePulse has uncovered on average one leak for every 3 km surveyed during the project so far. Repairing these previously unidentified leaks is helping SES Water to provide a better service to their customers and reach their goal of a 15% leakage reduction over the next 5 years. Knowing the actual condition of unseen assets, as in below ground pipes, improves a water

“We maintain a fundamental belief that correctly targeted mains renewal is the only truly sustainable way to ensure that our network does not deteriorate over time.” 78

utilities’ ability to maintain a healthy water distribution system by addressing concerns before they become an issue and prioritise and plan the replacement of aging infrastructure. Daniel Woodworth of SES Water, says, “We maintain a fundamental belief that correctly targeted mains renewal is the only truly sustainable way to ensure that our network does not deteriorate over time, and we favour tackling the issue of ageing mains today, rather than leaving it for future generations.”

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Your Pipelines Are Speaking.

Are You Listening? Today more utilities are turning to our acoustic technology for non-invasive and accurate assessing of pipe conditions while simultaneously detecting leaks. Echologics’ ePulse® technology determines the condition of ageing pipeline mains and pinpoints leaks — all without disrupting any service to customers. With substantial repair costs and man-hours on the line, ePulse delivers pipeline data worth listening to. To learn more about Echologics ePulse technology from Mueller® visit www.muellerwp.com/NRW or call +44 1438 487410.

BELOW THE GROUND

ON THE STREET

IN THE CLOUD

Leak Detection & Repair

Regulation driving change in leak detection

Pressure on water companies to cut leakage over the next five years has accelerated new ways of thinking, with the sector increasingly turning to innovation and embracing the digital revolution, writes Barbara Hathaway, Vice President, Engineering, Servelec Technologies. An engineer installs the Enigma3hyQ logger.

The need for water companies to drive down leakage has never been greater, with unprecedented challenges and increasing customer expectation making a rapid change in approach essential. Around 21% of water put into the public supply in England and Wales is lost. With climate change and an increasing population leading to widespread water stress, Ofwat expects urgent action - reflected in the regulator’s stretching 2020-2025 AMP7 targets, which challenge water companies to reduce leakage by 16% without increasing customer bills. Ageing distribution networks becoming evermore prone to leaks and bursts, pose additional challenges to utilities, increasing the pressure to find innovative and cost-effective solutions faster. This makes the role of new detection technologies and a move towards creating smart networks more vital than ever. Acoustic loggers, such as Primayer’s Enigma3hyQ, that can pinpoint leaks by measuring the sound generated by water escaping the network are front-of-field. With this in mind Servelec Technologies, which provides market leading technology solutions for the water and wastewater industry, recently acquired Primayer, a leading light in pinpoint leak detection. The two companies have had a mutually respectful relationship over many years. Recognition that the high level of regulation in the UK is challenging the industry to improve performance which is driving faster adoption of innovation, made the acquisition of a mature leak technology company like Primayer highly attractive.

The Enigma3hyQ logger in situ.

Servelec Technologies’ managing director David Frost sought to capture and enhance the synergy between the two companies, presenting an end-to-end offer to water companies to monitor and control their assets remotely. Servelec Technologies has developed a sophisticated artificial intelligence technology - Datective Flowsure - to detect burst water mains and reduce leakage. The industrial internet of things (IIoT) is reshaping automation, engineering and infrastructure globally and for the water industry, the installation of multiple low-cost leak detection devices makes capturing real-time operational data much easier. By harnessing and transmitting this wealth of newly available data, companies can carry out strategic operational analysis to drive efficiencies and reduce cost.

Enigma3hyQ comprises immersed acoustic hydrophone sensors that listen to sound waves inside a pipe to pinpoint leaks. The sensors are placed into the pipe permanently, providing greater sensitivity to leak events, resulting in more leaks being found more quickly. The devices relay the data from underground transmitters via 3G or GPRS cellular communication networks. Users can also listen to the recorded noise, helping confirm that correlation results are due to leak noise. The data is available at any location and can be accessed from a desktop or mobile device via cloud-based data collection software. The sensors are effective in accurately finding leaks over long distances up to 4.6km, and from pipes made of a wide range of materials, including plastic.

Water companies are looking for greater analytics capability and Servelec Technologies and Primayer have the hardware and software to provide just that – along with the capability to make better decisions remotely using real-time data. This gives us the perfect tailwind as we take forward the synergies born from bringing these exciting businesses and technology portfolios together.

Datective Flowsure is an innovative smart alarm system that continually monitors the water supply network until it detects abnormal behaviour. It then alerts the appropriate operational and maintenance teams that a burst or other event is occurring. The configurable user interface provides guidance on the size of the event and maps the affected area. The system is initially trained using existing data. As supply network behaviour changes over time, it keeps itself up to date using the latest telemetry data to learn about these changes automatically. The software can be hosted within company servers, using existing flow and pressure data and can be integrated with existing telemetry systems.

Servelec Technologies’ and Primayer’s joint portfolio includes the following data-led leak detection tools:

For more information visit www.servelectechnologies.com and www.primayer.com

Market intelligence carried out by Servelec Technologies’ in-house team reveals that utility budgets will increase significantly for this kind of technology in many regions globally.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Web

Leak Detection & Repair

Accurate Leak Detection from inside and outside the pipe

HMG Water Solutions are a specialist supplier of products for pipe location, pipe survey and pipe leak detection. With a wealth of experience HMG Water Solutions are a distributor in the traditional leak detection market, supplying both above ground and in-pipe leak detection and survey tools to the utility companies and contractors large and small. Traditional above ground leak detection has always been limited by background noise, depth of main and ground conditions and in-pipe pressure. HMG Water Solutions have successfully proven that a combination of both in-pipe and above ground techniques can deliver pinpoint accuracy on leaking water services and mains. HMG Water Solutions mantra is Locate, Survey, Detect. And by working with the best manufacturers in the world including C-Scope, Vivax, Radiodetection as well as being the sole UK suppliers to FAST, SebaKMT and SynthoCamH2O, three of the world’s leading potable water leak detection brands, HMG Water Solutions leads the innovation application of leak detection technologies. In 2019 the FAST PipeMic was shown on the ITV Sewermen program, where Severn Trent Water were successfully using the acoustic in-pipe leak detection system. Designed for live access into potable water mains up to 10bar pressure from end on insertion, hydrant insertion and / or Elster type Boundary Boxes, the PipeMic system accurately locates leaks in services and mains from inside the pipe. This can be located via the in-built Sonde and meterage inserted read out. The accuracy of the in-pipe system allows low level leaks to be detected accurately, particularly where joints are loose or stiffeners from couplings have been missed. The combination of the accuracy of the PipeMic and its simplicity to use has seen this leak detection tool for use on both private and

distribution side of the boundary box grow in popularity as a simple, low cost addition to the leak detection armoury on a van across the UK water networks. The PipeMic comes in two keys sizes for use in Services and Mains, with WRAS material and non-WRAS material versions for potable water and pressurised water system systems. The insertion lengths are from 50 to 80meters for use with the service pipe version and from 150 to 300meters for the mains insertion. Safe insertion under 10bar pressure with the patented pressure balanced tube means that it can be a single person operation. Where more detailed mains surveys are required, HMG Water Solutions are able to provide the SynthoCamH2O. This intuitive potable water CCTV system uses WRAS compliant materials for insertion in potable water systems up to 10Bar for 4” / 100mm diameter pipes and above from through bore hydrants. The system comes with recording, on-screen text, and screen grab as well as the option of an integrated PipeMic acoustic leak detection system so that you can not only hear the leak, but also see where the leak is, and locate it with the on-screen meterage and its in-built Sonde. For use in all material types, SynthoCamH2O has proven invaluable to identifying leaks, assessing the state of the main, and the flexibility to negotiate tight radius bends in both 4”/100mm and 6”/150mm diameter pipes. The FAST Aqua M300 is an intelligent geophone for leak detection. The system has a triple function capability for acoustic

leak detection above ground, for in-pipe gas leak detection and pipe detection. This kit is the ultimate refinement in leak detection with 256 filters that allow an engineer to filter out background noise so that it can accurately pinpoint leaks. Each Aqua M300 kit can be refined to each customers requirement with the wind protected ground microphone, gas probes, test rods, or universal accelerometer. The SebaKMT Hydrolux HL 7000 is a Bluetooth enabled electro-acoustic leak detection system. The system also has a triple function capability for acoustic leak detection above ground with a ground microphone, for in-pipe tracer gas leak detection and sensor rod leak detection. This kit is simple to use with automated background noise reduction and an amazing 10-hour operational use. The simplicity of Bluetooth connectivity removes the issues and hazards of cables making this system very ergonomic to use. HMG Water Solutions also supply a range leak detection equipment from traditional listening sticks and the latest digital versions to correlators and data and noise logging systems. When trying to find that difficult leak, combining above ground and in-pipe technologies delivers the fastest and most accurate leak detection available. HMG Water Solutions is based in North Yorkshire with service centres in Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire and North Yorkshire. www.hmglocation.co.uk

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

above groundâ&#x20AC;Ś

Locate

Sur vey

Detect

and below ground

HMG Water Solutions Limited Milner Court, Hornbeam, Square South, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate, HG2 8NB t: 01249 816181

e: info@hmglocation.co.uk

w: hmglocation.co.uk

Drinking Water Treatment

WAT-ER JOB FOR NORWICH!

Anglian Water completes largest water filtration system in Europe following a multi-million-pound investment for Norwich’s drinking water. By David Hartley Anglian Water – the country’s largest water company by geographical area – recently marked the official opening of its new state-ofthe-art filtration system at its Water Treatment Works in Norwich. The £36million project is the largest of its kind in Europe and has been specifically designed to keep customers’ taps running for decades to come, while protecting the local environment around the River Wensum, which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. Work on the project began in 2017 and has

taken just over two years to complete, with the new system put into service at the end of 2019. The site was officially opened by Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, and children from the local primary school, Wensum Junior.

Super filtration

Every single day Anglian Water supplies millions of litres of water from the River Wensum to over a quarter of million customers and businesses that rely on it in and around Norwich. The new works can treat up to 57 million litres of water a day – that’s 668 litres per second. The new filtration system contains over seven and a half million fibres, covering a total surface area of 92,000m2 – the equivalent

of nine football pitches. The fibres work by removing excess sediment in the water before further treatment and ultimately ending up at customer taps.

Environmental Protection

Historically, the Costessey Pits, a bankside storage area next to the River Wensum approximately 7km away from the water treatment works, have long played an important part of the water treatment process for Norwich, providing natural storage prior to treatment. The pits allow for solids and sediment naturally occurring in the river to settle out from the water before it’s pumped to the company’s water treatment works at Heigham

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

Drinking Water Treatment

for further treatment. This provides a more favourable water quality as well as providing a buffering capacity to manage sudden water quality changes in the river, before it is even treated and put into the network. The Costessey Pits area has a rich and diverse environment that needs protecting. In the future, Anglian will not be able take enough water from Taverham alone to support the needs of the growing population without risking a detrimental impact on the environment. To protect the environment against this, water will need to be taken further downstream of the Wensum - at the Heigham water treatment works itself. At Heigham, river flows are higher as the River Tud joins the River Wensum upstream. These higher levels mean that at time of lower river flows Anglian can take the water needed from the river without damaging the delicate upstream ecosystem. Paul Naylor, Regional Supply Manager for Anglian Water, said: “Norwich is a rapidly growing, thriving city and a regional economic powerhouse. Water helps power that economy, so it’s essential there’s enough to go around but we also care for the environment and ensure we’re protecting it.

www.waterindustryjournal.co.uk

“We are always working to ensure that we deliver a high quality and consistent supply to our customers, but we must not neglect our duty to the environment as well. Through investments like this, we want to provide as much benefit as we do to our customers to the local ecosystems too.” Abstraction at this location was not previously been possible due to the high levels of sediment in the water but the installation of the new filtration system will solve this problem and treat the water to the exceptional standards required.

to live and work in Norwich. Significant investment into schemes like this is needed to ensure we keep taps running and continue to power the local economy. As importantly, this scheme will make sure the environment does not suffer because of future growth and is ready to cope with any increased demand on local water resources too.”

Looking Ahead

Anglian, however, is not averse to the challenges that the business faces within the region. Not only does it operate in the driest region in the country – receiving a third less rainfall on average than the rest of the UK – but it continues to ensure that supplies are maintained across the East of England amid population growth and a rapidly-changing climate. Paul continued: “We’re planning decades into the future with this investment. This technology is vital to keep pace with the growing city’s needs. Norfolk is expected to be home to more than one million people by 2034 and many of those people will be coming

Norwich is a rapidly growing, thriving city and a regional economic powerhouse. Water helps power that economy, so it’s essential there’s enough to go around but we also care for the environment and ensure we’re protecting it.

Drinking Water Treatment

Sustainable source to tap solutions safeguarding water quality

Pioneering technological innovations, along with collaborative partnerships, are leading the way in addressing the current global water crisis. ATi UK’s Director, Garry Tabor, discusses the most creative approaches that are proactively safeguarding water quality for customer use. Managing the quality of water from Source to Tap is the core responsibility of the water industry. Public health and regulatory compliance are of paramount concern, with customer complaints and emerging quality issues informing new key performance indicators. Water companies are not only trusted to deliver water that is consistently safe for drinking, aesthetically acceptable and of high quality, they also need to manage complex interactions between chemistry and energy consumption.

Guardianship

The entire water industry has been entrusted with the responsibility of supplying vital water and wastewater services to communities, safeguarding water at all points on its journey from Source to Tap. We are also responsible for continually developing innovative solutions, with increased pressure from government regulators and stakeholders to manage these systems efficiently, effectively and in a transparent manner. Until recently, utilities lacked the tools to manage our ageing water system and proactively manage water quality from source to the end user. However, advances in digital technologies are now enabling better knowledge, system hygiene, more efficient monitoring, diagnostics and more targeted investments, along with intelligent system management.

Source To Tap Water Quality Solutions

Through ATi UK’s ongoing Source to Tap philosophy, we are more committed than ever to continue developing new and innovative solutions to ensure the guardianship and protection of water. This commitment has led to us to being the only company able to provide an intelligent and sustainable Source to Tap journey, thanks to our industryleading range of water quality monitors, including the pioneering MetriNet - the first smart, modular multi-parameter monitor for distribution networks. These solutions provide no-compromise water quality monitoring in service reservoirs, pipes, valves, meter chambers and hydrants, along with measuring right through to the end user. Intelligent solutions create real-time awareness of water quality throughout the cycle and suggest optimal control mechanisms to ensure the efficient delivery of high-

quality water, reducing the risk of compliance violations and customer complaints.

Surveying Networks with ‘Lift & Shift’ Technology

Utilising this technology, a pioneering new project is currently underway, which has seen a major water company investing in ATi’s surveying ‘Lift and Shift’ tools, NephNet, ChlorNet and SiteBox. This equipment is deployed in various controlled problem areas, with the data helping to identify problems and pinch-point locations. Following data analytics, the ‘Lift and Shift’ equipment can then be moved to the next priority area, while permanent solutions using MetriNet, in partnership with close technology providers, are then installed. The permanently installed MetriNet and collaborative technology solutions then use dedicated apps to pull the data from each area together to deliver real insight and value. Embracing these new technologies and employing them in legacy infrastructures will help water companies extract deeper insights on their pipeline networks and enhance operational efficiencies. Collaborative, intelligent, networked systems will not only help identify issues such as leaks, but will also improve operational tactics, promote conservation and help minimise consumption.

water control, with long running framework agreements in place. This strategic approach is providing water companies with highpowered, smart tools to ensure the energyefficient delivery of high-quality water to the community. This joined-up solution is designed to offer customers simplicity, range, low risk and sustainable water quality from Source to Tap, continuing to make a lasting difference in the lives of the communities that water companies serve. These solutions also help utilities make progress on the problems that matter most: water accessibility, environmental sustainability, resilience and affordability. It gives decision-makers a structure for environmental issues, collaboration and sharing information for setting priorities. Moving forwards, the industry needs solutions that allow water suppliers to effectively monitor pipelines in real time. ATi UK has developed and identified how data from these smart sensors can give water companies a much-needed boost in their efforts to move towards a truly smart water quality network.

Strategic Approach

Due to this pioneering approach, ATi is trusted by UK water companies to deliver reliable, accurate and low maintenance process

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

ATi UK. Providing you with an intelligent and sustainable â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Source to Tapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; network journey. Our innovative range of smart water quality Network Monitors, SiteBox bespoke water quality monitoring and control system and our Q Series water quality monitors, provide a complete, engineered solution to the utilities industry. We offer a reagent-free range of water quality solutions, with a no-compromise approach to measurement and the environment. From rivers, water treatment, potable water distribution and waste water treatment, our range of sustainable water quality products will help drive down complaints, improve compliance ratings and reduce TOTEX costs, providing you with cost-effective solutions for a smarter future.

sales@atiuk.com / +44 (0) 1457 873 318 / atiuk.com ATi UK is a leading provider of engineered, analytical sensor monitoring solutions to the water and gas industry. Our pioneering and industry leading range of Network Monitors, Water Quality Monitors and Gas Detectors provide innovative solutions for the most demanding of applications.

Solutions for a Smarter Future

Drinking Water Treatment

A pair of Hyprolyser® 2200 systems installed at Australia’s first solar-powered water treatment plant, at Round Mountain Reservoir, Queensland.

The hidden benefits of electrochlorination

Drinking water providers around the world are under constant pressure to employ equipment and technologies which comply with increasingly stringent legal and legislative requirements. Perhaps less obvious though, are the ‘hidden’ benefits which this strategy can bring for the water provider, so it’s worth looking at these in a little more detail. A good case in point is the Hyprolyser® 2802200 system from Gaffey Technical Services. This innovative electrochlorination system is now approved under Regulation 31 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2000, for use on UK public water supplies. It uses market-leading technology to generate sodium hypochlorite by applying an electrical current to a water and salt solution, and with Regulation 31 approved models offering output capacities from 280 - 2200g/h of chlorine, the Hyprolyser® is well-suited to a wide variety of requirements. This technology has already been thoroughly proven in use on many different applications around the world. While this adherence to the required regulations make the Hyprolyser® an obvious choice for potable water treatment applications, it has many more advantages to offer the operator. Key among these advantages is safety. The Hyprolyser® generates sodium hypochlorite solution on-site, using no more than salt, water and electrical energy. It produces a solution containing less than 1% chlorine, falling below the hazardous classification threshold. By eliminating the need to store and handle potentially dangerous chlorine-based chemicals on site, the Hyprolyser® also has simple operational requirements which can easily be handled by non-technical staff.

The low caustic content of the hypochlorite solution which the Hyprolyser® produces also delivers other benefits which are beyond the remit of Regulation 31 requirements, particularly when it comes to maintenance and operational safety. Chemical injection points remain scale-free, and this significantly reduces both the need for regular chlorine injector inspections, and the frequency of higher risk maintenance tasks for operating personnel. Naturally, this also has a very beneficial impact on maintenance costs, as well the reliability of the entire disinfection system. In addition, all models in the Hyprolyser® 280-2200 range have been independently assessed for Hazardous Area Classification, confirming that they create no external hazardous zones. Even environmental benefits can be created when using an appropriately-approved electrochlorination system like the Hyprolyser®. Unlike commercial hypochlorite products, the salt which the Hyprolyser® uses does not degrade over time, which allows it to be delivered in bulk and stored safely on-site. This reduces the frequency of the deliveries that are required and the vehicle journeys involved, and this can be a particular benefit where a water treatment facility is located in a geographically remote area.

Any chlorination system which carries Regulation 31 approval can be expected to be the product of considerable industry and manufacturing experience, and the Hyprolyser® is no exception. Gaffey Technical Services Ltd is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of industrial and commercial water disinfection solutions, and the company is internationally recognised for its technical expertise and innovative product development. Not surprisingly, this has already helped the Hyprolyser® system find considerable international success on drinking, wastewater treatment, commercial swimming pools and various general processing duties. Hyprolyser® systems are manufactured in the UK, and there are now over 400 units in use in over 17 countries, including Canada, Australia and the UAE. Recent projects have seen Hyprolyser® systems installed at the UK’s Anglian Water Ardleigh Reservoir in Colchester, at the Logan City Round Mountain solar powered drinking water treatment project in Queensland, Australia, and on a public drinking water treatment plant on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena. For more details visit www.gaffey.co.uk, email info@gaffey.co.uk or call +44(0)1254 467132

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

EXPERT I SE I NNOVAT I V E SO LU T IONS SA FET Y BY D ESI GN Delivering safe and cost saving water treatment solutions around the world through on-site hypochlorite or chlorine dioxide generation. Find out how on our website www.gaffey.co.uk

On-site hypochlorite generation On-site chlorine dioxide generation

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Anglian Water completes inspection of 100-year-old underground reservoir Engineers at Anglian Water have recently emptied one of the UK’s oldest underground reservoirs to complete a routine inspection, and it looks stunning. The reservoir at Bracebridge Heath near Lincoln normally holds 27 million litres of treated water, but for the first time in three years it has been drawn down to be fully cleaned and inspected. Jon Pawson, Water Supply Manager for Anglian Water said: “The reservoir was built

in 1912 to provide clean, healthy water to the city of Lincoln following one of the worst typhoid outbreaks in the country’s history. In 1904 contaminated water was responsible for 113 deaths in the city, leading to a public outcry as the city residents called for a modern water network to be built. Work started soon afterwards on Westgate water tower, new boreholes providing fresh, clean water were dug, pipelines were laid and in 1912 the new storage reservoir at Bracebridge Heath was completed and put into service.

a network first started by engineering pioneers more than a century ago.”

“The network in Lincoln has been modernised and upgraded over the years but this reservoir and the iconic Westgate Tower still serve the city today. We’re hugely proud to be guardians of Lincoln’s water today, and to operate and maintain

As part of a routine maintenance programme engineers undertake work to inspect these structures to ensure they’re kept in tip top condition and can continue to supply safe, clean drinking water to its customers for years to come.

Over 500 underground treated water reservoirs are used by Anglian across the East of England. Unlike the large surface water reservoirs like Alton and Rutland, which store river water before treatment, underground storage reservoirs hold safe, clean drinking water and provide resilient storage at points across Anglian’s 38,000km network of water pipeline.

WATER INDUSTRY JOURNAL MARCH 2020

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