Institute of Water Magazine - Autumn Edition 2011 by Institute of Water

AUTUMN2011 ISSUE171

IN THIS ISSUE: Affordability and Customers THE GRAY Review 1 INSTITUTE OF WATER JOURNAL IOW 171.indd 1

25/8/11 09:08:55

Global Expertise, Local Knowledge. Scott Wilson is now part of URS Corporation. Together we provide full multi-disciplinary services across all aspects of the water cycle, including water resources, water supply, wastewater, flood & water management and river & coastal engineering. URS Scott Wilson is a leading consultant in all aspects of dam and reservoir engineering. For further information: Sam Phillips, +44 (0)28 9070 5111, sam.phillips@scottwilson.com

URS-SCOTTWILSON.COM

IOW 171.indd 2

25/8/11 09:09:11

CONTENTS

Introduction When did you last attend an Institute of Water Event? Innovation’ and South East Area’s Weekend School on ‘Unlocking Potential’ in the Area News section. We are privileged to feature articles from two well-respected industry commentators. Barrie Clarke, former Director of Communication at Water UK, reviews the Gray Review of Ofwat and Consumer Representation in the Water Sector; Phill Mills, South West Area President and former Deputy Chief Executive at Water UK, gives his views on Affordability and Customers.

I write this just before heading north to spend two weeks in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and I’m conscious that while I am away there will be two President’s Days, one Family Day and one Technical Visit. The site visit is close to home – Northumbrian Water’s Bran Sands – and is one I would have liked to attend: would I have felt inclined to travel to United Utilities or Yorkshire Water? This week I met representatives from a company interested in Company Membership. They were impressed by the number of events available to members and it occurred to me how suppliers think nothing of travelling to an event since they are used to covering vast distances for work. As a Chartered Environmentalist I am conscious we should be reducing our carbon footprint but don’t make that an excuse for not attending an event which isn’t on your doorstep. Earlier this year I was reminded of just how rewarding and enjoyable our Area Events can be when I was a guest at the Northern Ireland Area Conference. The presentations were delivered with a passion and this, together with a President’s Dinner on a James Bond theme, made for a memorable two days. You can read about this and a variety of events including the Welsh Area’s Summer Forum on ‘Event Management in the Water Industry’, Northern Area’s Spring Seminar on ‘Inspiring

You can also read about the success of some of our members - six new Chartered Environmentalists, one new Incorporated Engineer and one new Engineering Technician congratulations to them all. There is a reminder of some of the benefits of membership in Lyndsey Gilmartin’s update on the Water Futures Programme. I am pleased to report that Roger Harrington, Managing Director of Sembcorp Bournemouth Water and former South West Area President, has agreed to join our Board of Directors to help deliver the next stages of this journey. Roger takes over from Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills, who stood down at the AGM after six years on the Board. Tim became involved in 2001 when he became Chief Exec of GWINTO and served as President in 2007-08. Not only has Tim provided a valued link with EU Skills he has also given me support as a fellow Chief Executive in a similar role. One of my last duties before going on holiday was to present Paul Sexton, Scottish Area President, with his USIT Harvard Award. Based on his experience, Paul has been encouraging a number of colleagues to apply this year: applications close at the end of September so don’t delay. I hope you all find something of interest in the Journal and I challenge you to make the most of your membership.

Lynn Cooper Chief Executive, Institute of Water

Features 08-09 14-15 18-19 24-39 40-49 50-51

Drilling and tapping Water Futures Programme The Gray Review Waste water Pipeline Technology Affordability and Customers

Regulars

4-5 6-7 10 12-13 61-73

News in Brief Members Update Environment News Engineering News Area News

Next Issue Networks The Flood Bill Transfer of Private Sewers

Institute of Water HQ: 4 Carlton Court, Team Valley, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 0AZ Website: www.instituteofwater.org.uk President: Nick Ellins Chairperson: Helen Edwards Chief Executive: Lynn Cooper Editorial, Marketing & Events Manager: Lyndsey Gilmartin Tel: 0191 422 0088 Fax: 0191 422 0087 Email: lyndsey@instituteofwater.org.uk Advertising: Martin Jamieson Tel: 0845 884 2339 Email: martin.jamieson@distinctivepublishing.co.uk Designed and produced by: Distinctive Publishing Tel: 0845 884 2385 Email: production@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 3

25/8/11 09:09:34

WATERAID CEO RECEIvES CRANFIELD HONORARy DEgREE Barbara Frost, the Chief Executive of WaterAid and Patron of the Institute of Water, has been honoured with the degree of Doctor of Science by Cranfield University in recognition of her outstanding achievements in international development in the provision of safer water to the world’s poorest communities. since barbara was appointed Chief executive in september 2005, waterAid has increased its coverage from 15 countries in Asia and Africa to 23, while retaining a focus on safe drinking water and improved hygiene and sanitation. last year, waterAid delivered safe water to over one million people and improved sanitation to over two million of the world’s poorest people. waterAid works with many partners – communitybased organisations, governments and small private sector providers. A global strategy to link the work of independently governed waterAid in the uK, America, Australia and sweden has been launched, resulting in the formation of waterAid international. Cranfield offers internationally-leading expertise on water and sanitation, water policy and

governance, water and wastewater technology and risk management for the water sector. strong reciprocal links with waterAid take the form of research that Cranfield has carried out on behalf of waterAid, student volunteering programmes and several Cranfield alumni and staff have gone on to work in waterAid organisations throughout the world. there is also representation from waterAid on the industry Advisory Panel that informs Cranfield’s water programme and courses. barbara frost said: “it is gratifying to receive this degree from a university that is recognised for its contribution to the water sector. i am proud of the links we have with universities such as Cranfield because these partnerships assist us in achieving our goal of providing the basic rights of safe drinking water and improved sanitation to as

Barbara Frost

many people as possible as the first big step out of poverty.” Professor tom stephenson, Head of the school of Applied sciences at Cranfield university, said: “every year we select a small number of individuals to receive honorary degrees of the university. we are recognising barbara frost for her outstanding contribution to the water and the charity sectors, and as a living example of how the university brings research into real world situations in addressing challenges facing people in developing nations on a global scale.”

EXPERTS TO ‘REINvENT THE TOILET’ IN gLOBAL PROJECT A multi-disciplinary team at loughborough university led by Professor m.sohail has won a prestigious grant of approximately £250,000 in an international competition to “re-invent the toilet” organised by the bill & melinda Gates foundation. the programme was launched at the Africasan conference in rwanda this week as part of the foundation’s new $40 million water, sanitation, & Hygiene strategy. “to address the needs of the 2.6 billion people who don’t have access to safe sanitation, we not only must reinvent the toilet, we also must find safe, affordable and sustainable ways to capture, treat, and recycle human waste,” said sylvia mathews burwell, president of the Global development Program at the bill & melinda Gates foundation. “most importantly, we must work closely with local communities to develop lasting sanitation solutions that will improve their lives.” in the project’s first phase, loughborough’s experts will work to validate certain key principles to design a toilet which is totally different from our existing one; the loughborough re-invented toilet will recover energy and other valuable resources from human

excreta, but will not dispose of any hazardous waste that could threaten human and environmental health. loughborough is the only british university to receive this award and is among eight prestigious institutions worldwide to receive a grant for the reinvent the toilet Challenge, which calls upon experts to prototype, conceptualize and design innovative ways and means of disposing human waste in the developing world. lack of adequate sanitation facilities affects around 40% of the world’s population, with 1.1 billion people worldwide defecating outdoors. Poor sanitation is the major cause of diarrheal disease - the second largest killer of children under five - which claims around 1.5 million lives each year, and is blamed for certain incidents of violence against women and school dropout rates for girls. the loughborough research team is led by the water engineering and development Centre (wedC) in the school of Civil & building engineering, and includes colleagues from the loughborough design school, department of materials, Chemical engineering and Civil & building engineering. loughborough’s proposed toilet will transform faeces into a highly energetic combustible through a process

combining hydrothermal carbonisation followed by combustion. the process will be powered by heat generated during the combustion phase of faeces processing. the likely results are converting human waste into useful material for energy generation or soil conditioning, including water for hand-washing and other ablutions. the toilet must be able to work in both single-family and community environments and should cost just pennies a day per person to run. “we are extremely delighted to have won this award after a very tough international competition involving colleagues from world-leading universities,” said Principle investigator Professor m sohail. “it is extremely exciting and gratifying that we will be significantly contributing in changing toilets as we have known them for the last hundred years. the loughborough team will deliver the results of this work at meeting in August 2012 where research outcomes will be presented to the foundation to forecast future developments.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 4

25/8/11 09:09:37

NEWSINBRIEF

Energy & Utility Skills wins Growth and Innovation Fund Bid to develop a Talent Bank Following the first round of applications to the £50m Growth and Innovation Fund, innovative proposals to deliver world class training in seven leading industries have been selected for further development. Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) has been successful in winning the bid for a Talent Bank.

the sector; a much great need for higher skills demanded by technological change; and a series of investment barriers, all of which limit the pace at which investment occurs. Built on the group training concept, the Talent Bank is a skills investment hub which will overcome barriers to recruitment by:

The Talent Bank for the gas, power, waste management and water industries will bring together employers, to fulfil the latent skills demand of the sector, through new training solutions and the delivery of an increased supply of skilled people into jobs.

n Attracting employer investment through the pooling of known skills demand

Research from the EU Skills Workforce Planning Model clearly shows there will be a serious skills shortage in the sector across all skills levels. This is due to the rapidly changing business demands of our industries; the advancing age profile of

n Creating fully trained employees into jobs in the sector

n Delivering training solutions for known structural change in advance of current demand

that they cannot resolve as individual companies. We have received support from across the energy and utilities sector with major companies such as; E.ON, National Grid, Scottish Power, Severn Trent and Viridor being supporters of this Talent Bank. Tim Balcon Chief Executive of EU Skills states; “Receiving the funding to develop this Talent Bank will have a very positive impact on the energy and utilities sector. Without a resource efficient gas, power, waste management and water sector the economy, and indeed society cannot effectively function. Employers are very clear that the Talent Bank addresses issues that are common to the sector and cannot be solved by individual companies alone.“

Our employers see the Talent Bank as a vehicle to collaboratively overcome future skills demands

Freeze/Thaw Recovery Action Plan - formal commitment

USIT Harvard Award

Following the freeze/thaw incident in Northern Ireland during the December 2010-January 2011 period, which led to water supply disruptions for around 450,000 consumers, the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator completed an investigation into NI Water’s handling of the incident.

Applications are now being invited for the USIT Harvard Award. The Award is for sponsorship to attend a High Potentials Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

In March 2011, the Utility Regulator published the findings from its investigation which produced 56 actions and are included in a detailed report. These actions are assembled into a Recovery Action Plan and will mitigate against the impact of harsher winters in the future. They will also improve the consumer experience of the service provided should such an incident happen again. NI Water has acknowledged all of the conclusions from the investigation without challenge. The Board of the Utility Regulator asked for a formal commitment from NI Water, by an exchange of correspondence, to the delivery of the Actions under the Recovery Action Plan. In addition to the broad commitment to the delivery of the Recovery Action Plan in full, the Utility Regulator also stated that the company must commit to specific, time bounded actions in relation to the following:

n providing monthly update reports to the Utility Regulator, n providing progress reports on specified dates to the Utility Regulator and the wider stakeholder group validating delivery through testing, n validating delivery through independent audit; and n reporting progress on the delivery of the plan publicly. NI Water has formally committed to the delivery of the actions under the Recovery Action Plan in full. Furthermore, NI Water has also committed to the specific, time bounded actions associated with progress reporting on the delivery of the Recovery Action Plan.

Last year four awards were made and staff from Morrison Utility Services, Veolia Water Outsourcing, @one Alliance and Enterprise Managed Services benefited from the experience. USIT is a charity providing grants and bursaries for education and training for the utilities industries. It is committed to providing funds for overseas studies. This is seen as an integral part of increasing skills levels in the utilities industries. This award is open to any individual employed in the utilities sector. The Award will cover travel, accommodation and course fees and it is recognised that employers may need to finance additional costs. To enter candidates will be asked to write a short paper in support of their application based on what the development provided will do for the individual, his/her company and the industry as a whole in the years to follow. The closing date for the Award is 30th September. For full details of how to apply, and to see what other Awards USIT offers please visit:

http://www.usit.org.uk/index.asp

n establishing a baseline for monitoring and reporting progress;

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 5

25/8/11 09:09:39

Roger Harrington Joins Board of Directors the institute is pleased to announce that roger Harrington has joined its board of directors with immediate effect.

speaking about the appointment roger said: “this is a great institute for people connected in any way to the water industry and i am proud

rogeris a Chartered Civil engineer and Chartered environmentalist with a long career in the water industry working for water companies. He started his career designing and building water and waste water assets, moved on to operational management and joined his present company sembcorp bournemouth water in 1993 as Head of engineering. in 1997 he became technical director with responsibility for engineering services and operations and took over as managing director in 2010. roger has been a member of the institute of water for seventeen years and is a former President of south west Area.

to be a member. i feel honoured to be asked to join the board and look forward to making some contribution to the furthering of its aims and objectives.” President nick ellins commented: “the institute of water is the professional body of choice for people who want to achieve the very best from their water industry career. with the addition of roger Harrington’s wide experience and valuable perspective, we will be able to do even more to ensure that institute of water members get targeted, career effective support and value for money.”

CALL FOR yOUNg SPEAkERS the institute is offering young professionals from the water industry a superb CPd opportunity to take centre stage alongside some exceptional speakers at next year’s Annual Conference. the Conference entitled ‘2012 - Changing the industry for a sustainable legacy’ will be held at the royal society in the heart of london from 17 - 18 may. by may 2012 most elements of the water industry will be re-structured, under review or changing. this Conference will bring together key people in the sector to discuss the implications of these changes and give their views on how they will ensure the industry can meet the challenges of today, whilst leaving a sustainable legacy for

Media Partnership with Utility Week those of you who attended the Annual Conference in swansea will recall nick ellins announcing a new media partnership with the main utility magazine, utility week. As part of the agreement, the two partners will work together to develop the ‘rising stars’ table at the utility industry Achievement Awards dinner, to be held this year on thursday 15th december at Grosvenor House Hotel. this will give younger members an opportunity to be at the largest annual utility event accompanied by senior personnel from the water sector. watch out for a feature on this year’s ‘rising stars’ in the next issue of the Journal.

future generations. there is an exceptional line up of speakers, and there are two opportunities for young people to present as part of proceedings. the first session will consider the implications of the recent sector change, review and restructure. delegates will hear the views from the water sector (martin baggs, thames water); ofwat (marian spain); and CCwater (yve buckland) on the many changes taking place and what the implications/ outcomes of those changes are likely to be. the young speaker chosen for this session will talk about their experience of change within the industry or what the changing demands on the industry mean for them and their career/company. the second young speaker will be given the opportunity to speak alongside the lead defra director for water policy in england (sonia Phippard) and the Ceo of Anglian water (Peter simpson). both speakers will be challenging the audience to think about water; and the value of water to society in a new way. they will be talking at a strategic level on how to change hearts and minds inside companies and in communities so that behaviour changes. the young speaker selected for this session will give their opinion on this strategy, highlighting their own experiences or their views on significant water projects. Anybody who would like to be considered should contact lyndsey Gilmartin for further direction and full details on each session in the first instance. A short synopsis of the presentation will then need to be submitted by 30 september. e-mail: lyndsey@ instituteofwater.org.uk or telephone 0191 422 0088. Conference fees; travel and accommodation expenses will be covered.

Roger Harrington

CASH REWARD FOR RECRUITINg MEMBERS To encourage Institute of Water members to sign up friends and colleagues so they too can enjoy the benefits that the Institute offers, cash rewards of £75, £50 and £25 are given out four times each year. winners of the Autumn prizes are: £75 Ashley Moule for introducing Jonathan Houston, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water £50 zelia Lyne for introducing Dave Meecham, Severn Trent plc £25 Tim Boldero for introducing Neil Tytler, Tytler Associates don’t miss your chance to win! each time you recruit a new member they will enter your name onto the membership application form which asks which member introduced them to the institute of water. these contact names are recorded and four times during the year, three names will be chosen at random to receive £75, £50 and £25. the more new members you introduce the more times your name will be entered in the quarterly draw. winners’ names are printed quarterly in this Journal.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 6

25/8/11 09:09:42

MEMBERSuPdAte

MOvERS AND SHAkERS It seems quite a few members have been moving companies this year.

OBITUARIES Maurice John Lynch 1933 - 2011 maurice was an incorporated engineer and Honorary member with the welsh Area. He lived in ellsmere Port and was a Consumer services manager at Chester water. during his career he had also been a waste inspector and a Plumbing inspector.

Catherine fearon has moved from south east water to Anglian water; niall darrant has relocated to england from scotland with black and veatch and shelley williams has moved from Portsmouth water to southern water. Good luck in your new ventures!

Roy Bertram Downing 1925 - 2011 roy was a fellow member with south west Area. roy started with the metropolitan water board in 1940 and retired as a divisional engineer with the essex water Company in 1985. He was a Chartered engineer and lived in bridport.

richard Price, Head of Capital delivery, southern water, was installed as Chairman of the Pipeline industries Guild at their AGm on 21 June. the Pipeline industries Guild caters for people with an interest in pipelines which carry a variety of substances, including hydrocarbon products, chemicals, water and wastewater and not many of the Chairmen in the Guild’s 54-year history have been from the water sector. richard, a member of the institute of water since 2005 and a former vice Chair of our south east Area said:

and the Guild. there is significant opportunity for joint events thus providing members of both organisations greater opportunity for networking and sharing technical innovations and development within our overlapping industries.”

“it is a great honour to become the national Chairman of the Pipeline industries Guild and i look forward to promoting an even closer relationship between the institute of water

Richard Price (above left) being congratulated by outgoing Chairman Tam Bream

Lewis James Burling 1917-2011 lewis was a retired life member of the south east Area. lewis joined the institute in 1971 when he worked for thames valley water board as a Chief Administrative Assistant, Chief engineers department. He was Assistant Chief Clerk prior to this position. lewis left the institute a legacy of £1000.

60 SECOND INTERvIEW Each issue we feature a 60 second interview with a well known figure from the Water Industry. In this issue, Nick Ellins, the Institute of Water President takes the hot seat. Nick has 25 years experience working in the water industry, covering EU and UK regulation, utility and public health policy, corporate affairs, consumer representation, contracting, manufacturing, sales and marketing. Nick is also a Freeman of the City of London and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. My failsafe way to de-stress is wheezing round the lanes and hills on my super-light carbon fibre bike. My favourite holiday destinations are the unspoilt mountains of mallorca’s west coast and the stunning maldives. The best advice I have ever been given is to never insult the alligator until after you have crossed the river, and not to try to teach a pig to sing… it wastes your time and it annoys the pig. I’ve learnt the hard way that you can write plans for the future, but it's best to do it in pencil. I am the National President because it was a great honour to be asked to lead this inspiring organisation and to work with so many dedicated people who willingly give their time to nurture careers and promote professional excellence.

My favourite part of this year’s Conference was standing back quietly at the end of the whole event, watching the interaction and friendship between people who had only met each other one day before. it’s what makes the institute of water so unique and such a valuable place to invest your time. I will be encouraging members to attend next year’s Conference because we are in the heart of london just before the olympics start and the institute board, Head office team and south east area are already working hard to make sure it will be something very, very special. Join us for the Conference (17 - 18 may) at the royal society, and at the Presidents dinner and Awards Ceremony close to the olympic site, and we will give you the very best insight in to industry issues, from the people who run the industry, with a career networking opportunity that is second to none.

NICK ELLINS

I believe the biggest challenge for the water industry is that the road to success is always under construction. I believe the biggest opportunities for the Institute of Water are all of us remembering to play our part in pro-actively persuading others of the huge value the organisation offers the sector and stopping ourselves from being ‘the industry’s best kept secret’ – a much used phrase that disappoints me. If I could be anyone for a day I would be the lawyer for the scottish comedian frankie boyle. what an interesting, fulfilling and busy life that would be and i would get to meet great stars like susan boyle and Jordan on a regular basis.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 7

25/8/11 09:09:50

National Championships 2011 Team ‘Sembcorp Bournemouth Water’ were crowned winners of this year’s Institute of Water Drilling and Tapping Competition. Contestants Peter Haslock and Danny Hunt beat off stiff competition to win the Talis Trophy with a time of 2mins 32secs. Pete Halsock (left) and Danny Hunt (right) being presented with the Talis Trophy by Saul Godfrey (centre). The competition was held as part of Sustainabilitylive! 2011 at the NEC in Birmingham from 24 – 26 May. Fourteen teams took part in the Annual contest hosted by the Institute of Water which sees contestants drill and tap a 150mm diameter ductile iron main under pressure and connect a service tap.

Martin Topps (left) presents Pipetech Ladies Trophy to Fiona Duff (centre) and Orla McGivern (right).

The winners will go on to represent the UK in June 2012 at the American Water Works Association Exhibition, Dallas Texas, thanks to our main sponsors Saint Gobain PAM UK.

Championship organiser Barrie Light from Sembcorp Bournemouth Water was delighted with the competition and the level of skill and team work demonstrated. Speaking about the event he said: ‘This was a very close and exciting competition this year, as a new fitting really challenged the teams. Once again the event demonstrated the high quality of teamwork, skill and camaraderie within the UK water industry. We need more teams to enter in to this competition to ensure it continues. Please do spread the word and encourage more water companies and contractors to get involved.’

Congratulations also go to ‘Waternet Amsterdam’ on winning the International Competition. Arie Van Bladeren and Marco Borhem secured the win against the English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh teams with a time of 2mins 49secs. ‘Northern Ireland Ladies B’ team took the Ladies title with a winning time of 3mins 27secs. Competitors Fiona Duff and Orla McGivern were awarded the Pipetech Ladies Trophy.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 8

25/8/11 09:10:19

FEATURE:DRILLING AND TAPPING 2011 "I have been a competitor in the competition for 13 years now and been fortunate to be in a winning team 4 times. After many years of thinking that we would never win, it all came together one year and we have been successful since. The competition is a good place to meet new people and discuss other aspects of the Industry. Recently, like so many people in the water industry, my job has changed. I can always meet somebody who has found themselves in a similar position and we can share our experiences at this event. For me friendship has become one of the most important elements of this competition." Pete Haslock Driller, Network Inspector Sembcorp Bournemouth Water “Wessex Water has submitted a team for the competition for many years, but this is the first time I have been involved. Overall it was a great experience, from the time trials we held to select the teams to represent Wessex Water, to the three days spent in Birmingham participating. It was great to take part and meet teams from other water companies in the UK and abroad. We now have the teams established for the foreseeable future and look forward to competing in 2012.“ Wayne Hansford Supply R&M Contracts Manager, WECS Utilities, Wessex Water “As a water company, we have always encouraged participation in the competition and have competed for the last 21 years. I personally have had the opportunity over these 21 years to experience the networking, friendships and camaraderie which develops between competing teams in the UK as well as the USA and Holland. As a Judge and referee I have also witnessed the enthusiasm and commitment given to the competition both by the sponsors, the Institute of Water and Judges. Having seen the spirit and enthusiasm shown by the 2010 champions Lee and Jason (Balfour Beatty) on returning to their workplace, I would encourage other companies not yet involved to give it a go!” Malcolm Holmes Network Manager Lincoln / Grimsby, Anglian Water

Winning teams and times since the competition began:

Why not enter a team next year? The competition is a great team challenge and more importantly a great team builder. Team members must learn to work together to complete the challenge ahead, with each having a vital role to play. The competition has now changed to assist all teams to have more than one go, all teams will have two runs (one on each rig) then the fastest six teams will go through to the finals day. The times that were set to get them into the final are removed and the finals (also over two runs) become a separate competition making it fair for all teams.

1989: North Surrey

6 mins 42 secs

1990: Anglian Water

4 mins 39 secs

1991: Anglian Water

3 mins 43 secs

1992: Thames Water

3 mins 12 secs

1993: Thames Water

2 mins 30 secs

1994: Anglian Water

2 mins 31 secs

How to enter

1995: Thames Water

2 mins 32 secs

1996: South West Water

Read the synopsis on the web site as to what the competition involves.

2 mins 27 secs

1997: Three Valleys Water

2 mins 26 secs

1998: Three Valleys Water

2 mins 17 secs

1999: South West Water

2 mins 06 secs

2000: Three Valleys Water

2 mins 15 secs

2001: Wessex Water

2 mins 32 secs

Training and fittings required

2002: B&WH/Mowlems

2 mins 22 secs

• Try to allocate yourself plenty of time for training so not to cram it all in the week before.

2003: Northern Ireland Water

2 mins 24 secs

2004: Enterprise

2 mins 25 Secs

• A dvd will soon be available to show the basic layout and process required. Contact Institute of Water Head Office.

2005: B&WH Water

2 mins 07secs

2006: Anglian Water

2 mins 16 secs

2007: B&WH Water

2 mins 12 secs

2008: B&WH Water

2 mins 17 secs

2009: Severn Trent Water

2 mins 30 secs

2010: Balfour Beatty

2 mins 24 secs

2011: Sembcorp Bournemouth Water 2 mins 32 secs

The 24th Institute of Water Drilling and Tapping Competition will take place at Sustainabilitylive! 2012 which will be held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 22 – 24 May.

Form a team of two people from any area of the water industry (Inspectors and office based staff have won this competition as well as ground crews). Everyone welcome! Contact your manager for approval to enter. Download an application form from the Institute of Water website or Drilling and Tapping website:

www.drillingandtapping.co.uk

• If required a competition representative could come to your site and go through anything you are not sure about. • All of the fittings, suppliers and rules and regulations are available on the drilling and tapping website: www.drillingandtapping.co.uk or contact organiser Barrie Light: barrie.light@sembcorp.com • Always mention Drilling & Tapping when ordering fittings as some of the sponsors supply some of the fittings free to teams competing in the competition. • Accommodation for the competition can often be booked at a reduced rate. Contact Head Office for details.

Thanks to all of our sponsors who ensure that this competition remains a prestigious and integral part of the water industry calendar:

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 9

25/8/11 09:10:29

ENgINEERINgnews

LATEST REgISTRANTS Paul Brown IEng MIWater, Water Modelling Engineer, United Utilities “i started work with united utilities (then north west water) in 1978, fresh-faced, aged 18, direct from 6th-form college - i didn’t even know what a hydrant was!

i found that my qualification fully satisfied the ieng academic requirements so i joined the institute and applied for engineering registration.

i was lucky enough to carry out my Civil engineering studies as day-release and obtained my HnC in 1982. since then i’ve moved throughout the north-west and worked in a wide variety of roles all with united utilities. most have been under the broad heading of water distribution operations, with a move three years ago to the network modelling team within the engineering department.

the process was straightforward but challenging and i received lots of friendly reassurance both from my colleagues in united utilities and the institute. i felt proud when i received my letter of acceptance - i only wish that i’d applied years ago! i’m now thinking of adding to it by becoming Chartered, perhaps through the environmental route, but it’s early days yet.”

whilst i’ve kept myself pretty much up to date with the latest developments over the years i thought it was about time to formalise things. whilst i knew what i was capable of, sometimes it’s better to get it in writing!

Stan gray,

EngTech, MIWater, Self-employed

“i was encouraged to pursue registration because, after 30 years in the water industry, i had seen the company (welsh water) change and develop over the years from a public service, to an industry following privatisation, to what it is today - a fully commercially-focussed business. this has presented enormous challenges to the workforce requiring change and an adaptable attitude to working in a commercial environment. for me, working in contract management and involvement in procurement, seeing how other external companies and sub-contractors behaved and performed was an education in itself. it made me realise that to survive in this new commercial environment it was necessary to develop and continuously improve, both as a company and as an individual. the world has become more and more competitive and i therefore realised that, even after all this time, there was still a need and an incentive for personal professional development.

i found the process of writing the report for assessment extremely helpful by reviewing my career and achievements to date, including my personal development within welsh water - almost like reviewing your Cv.

no illusion that that being self employed in the current environment is an easy thing but my achievements at obtaining both the engtech and nvQ level 4 ifCi qualifications have encouraged me to give it a try.”

it was a mixture of feelings when, having originally applied for ieng, i was told that i was close but not quite there. it has, however, made me want to take my development that bit further to achieve ieng.

stan offers contract and project manager support either on a short term single scheme / contract basis or for a fixed term contract period, as a self-employed sub-contractor. with his newly qualified status in insurance investigation, stan can undertake insurance claims management (interview / witness statements, site investigations / surveys, photographic surveys with analysis and recommendations, etc) again as an independent contractor on behalf of solicitors, insurance companies and water companies.

As part of this process, and when the prospect of voluntary severance from welsh water became a serious consideration for me (something i would not have considered up to about a year ago), i looked at what i might do post - welsh water. there was the obvious route of utilising my experience in contract and project management working for outside companies and contractors but, at the same time as i was working towards engineering registration, i also embarked upon an nvQ level 4 in accident management and investigation, with the emphasis on workplace accidents and insurance fraud investigation, and i am pleased to say that i achieved a pass with distinction in June this year. even more letters after my name!!! so i am now hoping to forge a career, using both my experience with welsh water and my new-found skills, working for myself. i am under

stan can be contacted at s&J direct management, tel. - 01443 814949, mobile - 07824 662138 or e-mail sandjdirect20@gmail.com stan was the last member to be interviewed for engtech registration as we now have the procedures in place to assess applications without the need for an interview. we broke the news last autumn but there followed a delay in finalising our process. At the time of writing we have two applications in-progress: look out for the outcome in the next Journal.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 10

25/8/11 09:10:35

SOCENvnews

SIX NEW CENvS AT NORTHERN IRELAND WATER This summer brought about a very special occasion for six Northern Ireland Water staff, when they achieved Chartered Environmentalist status through the Institute of Water. what made the occasion even more special was that they are all based in the same Asset management directorate within the company. the combination of individual determination, peer competition, and support from both the company and the institute of water, ensured all round success. their success will ensure increasing awareness and continuing support for environmental initiatives. Congratulations to all concerned. the interviews were conducted in Antrim by mervyn megaw, ex-ni water, and neil smith who travelled from swansea for the two days. this is neil’s account: “i came over from swansea to conduct the interviews at northern ireland water. my employer - the City and County of swansea - kindly gave me a day’s special leave and i had managed to collate enough flexi hours for a day off, to cover the 2 days. After landing at belfast City, i had a 20 mile taxi hop to Antrim to my hotel. northern ireland water had kindly allowed us to use one of the rooms at their Antrim training Centre for the interviews.

the experience and knowledge to support your written report, not because we are trying to catch you out. Head office had sent us the reports for all the candidates several weeks earlier to allow us to do initial preparations and assessments. for my own part, i had undertaken the initial candidate reviews for all of these 6 candidates early in 2011. this is to decide whether all the candidates were suitable to proceed to interview stage: they were! As part of this process i would feedback any advice which could be offered to candidates before their formal interviews. my advice mostly is to “think outside the box….. think outside your current job description and employment and of the environment as a whole.” A relevant case for this was the recent “freeze / thaw” incident of december 2010, which affected the water supply network in northern ireland, and the possible underlying causes and the impact that it had. Changes in weather patterns, climate change, planning…think outside the box….

mervyn picked me up from the hotel at 8:30 the next morning for the short drive to the training centre, where we had allowed 2 hours to review all the candidates’ reports for the day and compare our comments and questions and the way we wanted the interviews to proceed.

mervyn and i undertook three interviews each day, allowing two hours per candidate, with enough time to interview each individual and to review each candidate in detail. Another two hours were then spent at my hotel at the end of the day, writing up the official record sheets which we submit to head office, so that our recommendations could hopefully be endorsed.

The Interviews

six excellent candidates were interviewed over the two day period and both mervyn and i were proud that six new Cenvs now work at the professionally recognised level of Chartered environmentalist in northern ireland water. my congratulations to all of my fellow Cenvs and their sponsors: they should feel proud.

typically an interview can last an hour, but varies from 45 to 90 minutes. At times it comes down to the personality of the candidate on the day and how easily they can put across their experience and knowledge. i would say if you think we are digging for information, it is only because we believe you have

Mentoring

i would recommend that any prospective candidate seeks assistance within their local Area, with the aim to make use of the expertise that exists within. we are always happy to mentor any candidates and offer any advice that is required for a successful Cenv, Ceng, ieng or engtech application. i would advise as a start for all candidates, reviewing the core requirements which are available on the iwater website - A1, A2 etc - and ensure you can comply with them. remember the staff at head office are happy to offer advice on

1 the process and to put applicants in touch with a mentor. i am proud after 22 years of membership with iwo and now iwater to be offering the chance for our future professionals to progress to a standard envied worldwide. on a lighter note….my plane was delayed for an hour out of belfast and i arrived home at 11:30 pm on the friday night! i look forward to visiting northern ireland again in the future.”

Finally a few words from Tim Boldero, vice President Environment: “Last year when our Annual Conference was in Belfast, Natasha and I discussed her aspirations to become a Chartered Environmentalist. We exchanged a few emails following that meeting but I hadn’t heard from her since. I was recently clearing out old emails and decided to make contact with Natasha who replied to say she had recently been interviewed. It was therefore good to learn the positive outcomes and to think in the case of Natasha I may have played a small part in her success. My congratulations to all six successful applicants.”

From left to right: Karen Tosh, Janet Hetherington, Natasha McMonagle, Patrick Harkin and Henry McLaughlin. Cecil McCool, was on leave.

First up on Day 2: Natasha McMonagle

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 11

25/8/11 09:10:43

ENVIRONMENTNEWS

Society for the Environment Annual Reception 2011 This year’s Annual Reception and Awards Presentation was the busiest yet, with over 100 distinguished guests from licensed member institutions, the wider environmental profession and beyond. Guest of Honour was Caroline Lucas MP, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. Caroline extolled the work of Chartered Environmentalists as they help to move environmentalism away from the ‘doom and gloom’ scenario by demonstrating the benefits to society, industry and the wider economy, that can be achieved through environmental best practice. Caroline said “It’s time to move away from the negative rhetoric associated with environmentalism and instead focus on the need to act to improve people’s lives – tackling the problem of fuel poverty, creating jobs and growth.” Caroline also highlighted how the expertise and knowledge within the CEnv community could provide an important source of knowledge and expertise for policy makers, particularly as environmental advisory groups such as the Sustainable Development Commission and the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution have been abolished.

a key focus of the reception, with five Honorary Fellowships being awarded to Fellows of the Energy Institute. More information about the Society’s most recent Honorary Fellows can be found at www.socenv.org.uk

With the Green Deal and the Energy White Paper also key features of Caroline’s speech, energy was

Earlier in the day Prof Raymond Clark, OBE, CEng, CEnv, Hon.FSEE was elected Chair of the

Caroline Lucas and Prof Raymond Clark

significant part in shaping the future of legionella control in the UK. Mike is now planning the next stage of strategic growth for the company and is looking further afield to build on QES’ success in the South West to compete in a wider geographical market offering a broader range of services. Mike is currently seeking investment to enable this development and is considering mergers and acquisitions as a route to achieving this goal.

Mike Quest, CEnv, IEng, MIWater, MWMSoc, Managing Director, QES Ltd Mike joined the Institute of Water (as IWO) in 2004 after achieving a first class honours degree in Water and Environmental Management at De Montfort University, and very quickly became one of the first Chartered Environmentalists in England and, he believes, the first in Cornwall. In 2006 Mike started his own company specialising in water hygiene and legionella control and he believes that the recognition and credibility that comes with being chartered has enabled him to shape an interesting future for himself and his company. Reaching a turnover of £1 Million in 2010, Mike’s company, QES Ltd, has become the South West’s leading legionella and water hygiene service provider, winning contracts with the NHS, local authorities, South West Water, Viridor Waste Management, numerous housing associations and

Society for the Environment at its Annual General Meeting. Ray is Chief Executive of the Society of Environmental Engineers and is a Board Member of the Engineering Council where he represents the ‘Group C’ institutions, including the Institute of Water.

Business Leader Award Presented by Karen Brady from The Apprentice other businesses including Astra Zenica and the Pall Corporation, manufacturers of the “legionella safe shower”. In recognition of his success with QES Ltd, Mike won the prestigious Cornwall Business Leader of the Year award in 2010 and has been elected to the management committee of the national Legionella Control Association, and now plays a

Being a Chartered Environmentalist and an Incorporated Engineer has been vital in meeting and dealing with industry peers and senior members of client organisations and to build a network of customers and suppliers alike. It has also given Mike the confidence to deliver seminars, training courses and present papers at national conferences such as the NHS Infection Control and H&V news Combating Legionella. If you wish to know more about legionella control please contact Mike on 01726 891981 or by e-mail: mike.quest@qes-ltd.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 12

25/8/11 09:10:48

SIMPLIFY PIPE JOINING

1” to 24” Pipe Systems

s s s s s s

‘‘With STRAUB, pipe joining and repairs are carried out quickly and economically with total reliability’’

Simple & Rapid Installations - in Minutes Joins plain-end Pipe - No Prep Required Reusable in Pipework Dis/Assembly Stress-Free Joining with Misalignment Problem Solver in Restricted Spaces WRAS/WRc Approved for Potable Water

MV Fluids Handling Marven House 4 1 Field Road 4 Reading RG1 6AP ENGLAND Tel: 0118-9503707 Fax: 0118-9504066 Intern’l Dialling: 44-118+No. Email: info@mvfh.co.uk 4 Website: www.straub.co.uk

Abloy cliq remote helps secure water sector For the water industry, padlocks are likely to be an integral part of security and the Cliq Remote variant carries an IP57 water rating as well as conforming to BS EN 1303 like the rest of the range. Cliq Remote operates from a key receiving access rights and/or time validations through a wall programming unit or a personal programming unit connected to a mobile phone that can transfer schedules and authorisations for user keys.

Abloy UK has launched its new electro-mechanical locking solution Cliq Remote to the water sector, helping to make key management easier across large, multi-site masterkey applications. Named Access Control Product of the Year at the IFSEC Awards 2011, Cliq Remote uses web based software allowing water treatment operators and their contractors to have keys remotely authorised for use in specific operational areas within the existing masterkey system for a pre-determined period of time. This ensures a high level of key control incorporating maximum flexibility to ensure access in the event of an emergency to nominated key holders. Cliq Remote provides comprehensive audit trails and the ability to remove lost or stolen Cliq Remote keys from the system, thereby providing tight key management at all times.

Cliq Remote offers a cost-effective extension to existing systems while providing for centralised administration, key management automation and an automated audit trail, with timely reporting on systems statistics. And due to the use of individually programmable cylinders and keys, Cliq Remote enables complete electronic security management and control, even to grant variable access rights for personnel visiting remote, secure locations. Barry Jenkins, Abloy UK General Sales Manager Market Development, said: “Cliq Remote offers the water sector previously unattainable functionality for remote access control. Not only is it easy to install and to use, but also keys can be managed remotely across multiple sites for timed access and keys that get lost can easily have their access rights removed without changing cylinders.

“Further demonstrating Abloy UK’s commitment to providing quality access control solutions across all utilities, Cliq Remote means less person to person contacts for key updates, less administration and fewer software installations. Cliq Remote really does offer the ultimate synergy between the reliability of mechanical keys and cylinders and some of the benefits of access control.” The software allows additional data to be written to the keys to mostly remove the need to visit each lock individually and upload audit trails automatically. CLIQ technology is based on highly miniaturised data encryption electronics, which are embedded directly inside the key and the cylinder. The CLIQ key contains a unique electronic ID code that cannot be duplicated, altered or corrupted. Abloy UK supplies a market-leading range of padlocks, electric locks and cylinders for cabinets and doors in retail, leisure and museum environments as well as utilities, telecommunications and military applications. For further information on Cliq Remote or any of the products and services available from Abloy UK, please call 01902 364 500 or email

sales@abloy.co.uk.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 13

25/8/11 09:10:51

Continuin Professio g Developmnal ent through the

ng Mentori

A structure d approach to main E info@in stituteofwatetaining and developin g r.org.uk W www.inst relevant skills and knowledg ituteofwater e for your .org.uk T career 0191 422 0088

through

the

Progress Update By Lyndsey Gilmartin, marketing and events manager, institute of water

It was back in Autumn 2009 that we first brought to you the news of our name change and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Water Futures Programmeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was launched. This was the name given to a developmental roadmap that Accenture Marketing Scientists produced to ultimately help us raise our profile within the industry and grow membership. A lot has happened since then, so we thought it was time for a quick update!

Member Research

three key areas came through from this research:

the water futures Programme started with a membership survey in which nearly 300 members gave their insight. the vast majority of those who responded were found to be considering a long term career in the water industry. Career progression and promotion was clearly important. members wanted to grow; expected to progress and wanted to become more effective in what they do. members were very clear what they need the institute to do for them and their employers.

n Information and Learning members want to keep up to date with the latest industry thinking, innovation, best practice, news and ideas. n Networking and Mentoring members want to meet the best in the sector, hear their views and ideas, learn from their experience and maintain and build those professional contacts.

n Professional Registration those members with an engineering focus want to pursue and maintain professional registration. over the course of 2010 and 2011 the institute has been addressing these areas.

Information to meet priority one, we have refreshed this Journal and our website. new contributors tackle the subjects requested, including management and leadership, technology and innovation, regulation and legislation, environmental matters and the specifics of clean and waste water. the news is fresh, relevant and brings the best available commentary in the sector.

Learning in response to the massive skills shortages that face the industry as an increasing number of the core technical and engineering workforce retire year-on-year between 2010 and 2024 the institute is launching an induction course for the uK water industry.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 14

25/8/11 09:12:07

IN THIS EFFICIE SMART COMM

feAture:WATER FUTURES PROgRAMME retiring employees will need to be replaced, and if not through up-skilling it is likely they will be recruited straight from university or from outside of the industry. there is a significant demand for a cost effective industry induction course and this master class will provide those involved with, or working in, the water sector an appreciation of all aspects of the water cycle and the management and delivery of this essential service. the institute now has a pool of industry recognised experts committed to delivering sections of this course on our behalf. these include:

Stephen Kay, managing director, Cambridge water Trevor Haslett, interim Chief executive, northern ireland water

bodies contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of this world class service. Attendees will gain a strong platform on which to develop their careers as well as a better understanding of the interaction and impact the various stakeholders have on the water sector.

Networking to meet priority two, local Area Committees continue to offer events that draw in the most relevant and useful speakers and give members a unique opportunity to question and meet in person the industry’s key players. site visits give members behind the scenes access to the latest technology and engineering and help them to appreciate the scale of the water and wastewater sector that they work in. this year’s Annual Conference attracted some of the most influential suppliers, contractors, consultants and company personnel in the sector and the vital public health role that the water sector fulfils each day was highlighted. the presentations were educational and thought provoking and the event offered delegates an invaluable opportunity to make new contacts as well as learn more about key challenges facing the industry. Plans are well underway to ensure our 2012 Conference in london meets expectations and brings to you the latest industry thinking, innovation, best practice, news and ideas mixed with a wide social programme.

Andy Neve, engineering director, Portsmouth water Mark Penny, director, Customer services and networks, yorkshire water Graham Neave, operations director, northumbrian water limited

the course is to be piloted at welsh water and severn water later this year, but will be available to all other water companies from 2012. it is intended for all levels of staff, both newcomers to the industry and those moving into a new role. it will deliver a fantastic opportunity to fully understand the way water companies and other

A ‘water network’ within the website has been developed to allow secure on-line networking and information sharing opportunities and enable members to engage in on-line discussion and debate.

2010

SPRING 166 ISSUE

Mentoring

2010

SUMMER ISSUE167

A mentoring scheme now offers one to one guidance and influence from some of the most experienced and qualified people in water.

AUTUMN2010 ISSUE168

SUE: IS IS THE IN TH TURE OF FU STRY THE INDU R TE IN Y WA TION NOLOG VA O INN INE TECH CY PIPEL EFFICIEN R WATE QUALIT Y R WATE

UE: IN THIS ISS EFFICIENCY ERING SMART MET Y REL ATIONS COMMUNIT

the scheme was put in place last year in response to demand from our members, and over 50 applicants have been found a mentor. the scheme has helped mentees gain new perspectives, address challenges, find encouragement and remain motivated when the going is tough. L

UR1NA

ITUTE

INST

TER JO OF WA

ISSUE: IN THIS CEE NFEREN 2010 CO REVIEW NTT NAGEMEEN ASSET MA AL NT ME ENVIRON N TIO INNOVA

SPRING 2011 ISSUE169

A ER ATER E OF WAT INSTITUT

1 L JOURNA

the institute is enhancing the internal employee development programmes that many of the uK water companies currently have by matching mentees with mentors from different organisations. we have found that exposing people to other elements of the industry has been particularly effective. Jeremy Chang, a programme optimisation senior analyst from thames water was paired with a senior manager from the contractor side of the industry. Commenting on how he has benefited from the scheme Jeremy said:

ATER WATER IN THIS OF W INSTITUTE ISSUE: INNOVA TION CUSTOM ER COMM UN WALKER ICATION REVIEW

“my discussions with my mentor have given me valuable advice about my career, what potential opportunities there are and how i should pursue them. being able to communicate with him as a

1 AL JOURN

IOW 169.in dd 1

INSTITU

person connected and familiar with the industry, but not part of thames water has probably been the most useful thing.” Paul Holton, a leakage detection manager from south east water has also benefitted from the programme. Paul’s mentor is the director of a company that specialises in and advises on physical asset management and asset related business risks. Paul said: “what was particularly good was to have someone to talk to about my career thoughts and to bounce ideas back and forth.”

Professional Registration to meet priority three, we continue to recognise engineering and environmental excellence via professional review and registration. the professional review fee of £140 + vAt was waived for engineering registration during the early part of 2010 and again this year. the offer was repeated for Chartered environmentalists. over the two month promotion last year over 40 applications were received. many members are now reaching the final assessment stage of Professional review and are successfully becoming registered at all levels of the register. neil shaftain achieved Chartered engineer status through the promotion. neil is a Project engineer with Atkins and is currently Construction neC3 supervisor for new utilities at the london 2012 olympic Park. speaking about his achievement neil said: “As with many of my colleagues, i had thought about the application process for many years, but i lacked the confidence, determination and time necessary to undertake the task. However, this all changed last year through the combination of my own level of training and experience becoming sufficient and the institute’s initiative to boost applications from their members. with the full support of the institute and my mentors, i was able to complete the process and be awarded the title of Chartered engineer.” the institute prides itself on the level of support it offers members through the application process, and this is acknowledged by many of our successful candidates.

What’s Next? As the water future Programme reaches the end of its first phase there is still much to do. marketing efforts are beginning to focus on local level initiatives but we ultimately need you to explain the value of the institute to employers and colleagues and help your institute to continue to grow. Join in the meetings; bring in new members and new ideas; take part in the seminars; take advantage of our mentoring service; join in on our online water network, and help us raise awareness across the industry of who we are: the only professional body solely concerned with the uK water industry.

TE OF WAT

ER JOU 1 RNAL 14/2/1

1 12:46 :10

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 15

25/8/11 09:12:14

STONBURY

The Cost of Sustainability I received a strange look the other day when I was explaining to someone that I thought sustainability was the greatest cost efficiency driver there was. The individual presumably thought that I was suggesting sustainability was just an excuse for driving down costs hidden behind a moral and social responsibility. They were wrong.

I remember just over 10 years ago when the buzz word was ‘quality’. Water companies were using the word more and more when talking about supply chain requirements and expectations, and initially it all seemed like talk. It hadn’t yet become a requirement, but it soon became clear that this ‘want’ would quickly evolve into a ‘need’. We soon decided to invest heavily to achieve these standards that were being talked about. Whilst this took a lot of justification as an investment, I was encouraged by what I heard around me in the industry, it was ‘nonsense’ or just ‘lip service’ and ‘all they care about is cost’. I was encouraged because I whole heartedly believed they meant what they said, and they did and it was only a matter of time before the investment paid off. We effectively started from a blank sheet when we looked to implement a quality system in the company. This quickly developed into a company management system that incorporated quality and the result of this was that it completely changed the face of the company and the way we did everything. Our focus on quality became an obsession, albeit a good one. It promptly became very clear that what the water companies wanted, the water companies would get and we found ourselves in a good position. Not only were we one of the few companies that qualified to work with the water companies, we found the drive towards quality also had another effect. This was ‘increased efficiency’ and it was on a massive scale. Not only did they receive the levels and standards of quality they asked for but they also got it cheaper, as we could pass the savings on. This continues to this day and we still very proudly show off our ISO9001/2008 certificate certified by Lloyds for Quality Management Systems. We also were amongst the first companies to switch over the latest ISO 9001/2008 from ISO 9001/2000. ‘Health and Safety’ is another buzz term that has always been around. However the ethos of the water companies has accelerated greatly and these days the standards targeted are much higher. No longer do I hear ‘it’s just paperwork for paperwork’s sake’ and ‘don’t they want us to

actually get any work done’. Why? Because the companies with that kind of outlook are no longer around. Again the water companies meant what they said and soon any company not complying with this new ethos were not wanted. And guess what, I strongly believe the strive for higher Health and Safety targets had a knock on effect. The number of lost days were greatly reduced and prosecutions and injury claims to both the supplier and the water company were significantly minimised. This again increased in my view, cost efficiency. We proudly hold OSHAS 18001 certified by Lloyds for Occupational Health & Safety. So, to the present day, the new buzz word......‘sustainability’. This has become the title of the environmental drive by industry as a whole and particularly the water industry. It is a word that was needed to enable people to focus on the environment with direction. Previously in it’s infancy the environmental drive used terms like ‘environmentally friendly’, but what did this mean? We ourselves moved away from solvented paints and looked at how much electricity we used, but was this really what was being asked? Then the label of sustainability evolved and terms such as ‘carbon impact’ gave everyone something tangible to focus on.

measurements on impact, to set standards on impact and then to reduce it through innovation. I won’t lie, as a company specialising in refurbishment, Stonbury is in an essential position to take advantage of one obvious solution to sustainability, to reduce new build by maintaining existing assets. But the answer also lies in looking down supply chains at ways of providing high quality solutions with lower carbon impact. And guess what, lower carbon schemes inevitably mean lower cost. The amount of carbon is indicative of the cost of production/service. There is of course an initial investment stage, higher efficient generators reduce operational carbon but there was a cost to the R&D in making it more efficient as an example. Recycling materials for use in new materials, significantly lower carbon impact and yes lower costs. The list goes on. And of course, I now stand proudly waving our ISO14001 certificate issued by Lloyds for Environmental Management. It seems a nice fit that in times of worldwide economic concern that sustainability does not need to take a back seat whilst the finances are sorted but in fact play a major role in alleviating the financial pressures felt by all including the water companies themselves. To the environmentally cynical who at the back of their mind do not believe the hype about environmental disasters waiting around the corner for us unless we take action, it doesn’t matter, you can even say out loud your thoughts as you can be safe in the knowledge that whether required or not for the environment, sustainability will be good for the accounts of both the water companies themselves and the suppliers who meet the challenge.

So, here lies the answer. What is the cost of sustainability? A big saving.

A few years back the comments started, ‘what a load of nonsense’, ‘it’s just an excuse to drive down costs’, ‘it’s just a fad’........ and again we were encouraged to invest. This is what the water companies needed and they were going to get it. Our view is that as a supplier we have two purposes, to give them what they ask for and to assist in their continued improvement. There is of course a vast reward for doing this, by facing up to these challenges this set the company focusing on improvement, where it may not have done of its own accord. This in turn improves the company’s performance from all aspects and puts it in a prime position to be awarded new and continued contracts with the water companies. So what are they after with sustainability? To reduce the carbon impact both embodied and operational. This simple statement is being echoed now throughout our industry. The answers, well, to start with is to get

James Stonor - Managing Director, Stonbury Ltd. www.stonbury.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 16

25/8/11 09:12:17

SERVICE RESERVOIRS

WATER TOWERS

WWTW

INSPECTION, CLEANING & CHLORINATING

CORROSION PROTECTION

STONBURY 28 YEARS AS MARKET LEADERS IN THE REFURBISHMENT OF WATER RETAINING STRUCTURES & ASSOCIATED ASSETS SERVICE RESERVOIR & WATER TOWER REFURB - STEEL TANK REFURB - SEWAGE WORKS REFURB SPECIALIST COATINGS - CONCRETE REPAIR - INSPECTION SURVEYS - CLEANING & CHLORINATION CORROSION PROTECTION TO PIPES & PIPE BRIDGES - SECURITY WORKS INC LPC4 ACCESS COVERS DESIGN & INSTALLATION OF ACCESS LADDERS, HANDRAILS & WALKWAYS - EU HYGIENE TRAINING North Office: Unit 4, Phoenix Enterprise Park, Grovehill Road, Beverley, E.Yorkshire, HU17 0JG t 01482 881198 e enquiries@stonbury.co.uk South Office: 187c High Street, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0JB t 01234 750924 e enquiries@stonbury.co.uk

www.stonbury.com

IOW 171.indd 17

25/8/11 09:12:18

A Review of Ofwat and Consumer Representation in the Water Sector By Barrie Clarke, undercurrent

Barrie Clarke runs Undercurrent, a business and environment policy blog. He was Director of Communication at Water UK from 2000 to 2010 and previously held marketing and communications positions in the food, drink and property sectors.

How refreshing: an official review that highlights no fall in performance, reveals no policy screwup, demands no swerve in direction. last year, defra asked david Gray to see if ofwat and CCwater were fit for purpose. He collected evidence, read without preconceptions, and published in July (1). if this sounds dull, it shouldn’t. with business widely mistrusted and regulation dragged every which way, such modest-sounding achievements may be just what we need. the judges will be water customers and citizens in england and wales in the future. for now, institute of water members and anyone who wants the best for the industry should be grateful to mr Gray for his contrarian approach in a hyper-active age. “the overall tone of our recommendations,” he says, is “that major changes are not needed but some of the current processes and relationships should be improved.” before looking at where the review might take us, some justification is needed for such a positive response to yet another 100+ pages on familiar topics. Here is my selective take on what the review is saying.

Ofwat and others economic regulation is complex and tricky, something grumbling companies and fellow regulators don’t sufficiently recognise. no new machinery is needed, but the process should be “smoother and more joined up”. this sounds right, as does mr Gray’s approval of ofwat’s case for more customer involvement in company planning (2) which can tie in other stakeholders and cut the burden of regulation.

Ofwat and regulation lack of trust between ofwat and companies is to be expected, but the resulting culture of compliance and focus on data assurance rather than service delivery is a problem. mr Gray acknowledges the tilt of the current system towards penalties for failure. there is also criticism of the confusion caused by the Capital incentive scheme in Pr09; and of ofwat and the industry in their work with developers and self-lay groups; “substantial improvement” is expected in ofwat’s resolution of complaints. on the other

hand, there is support for ofwat’s proposed reform of company licences. i wonder if mr Gray is right in rejecting outright the industry’s attachment to company-specific licences; they are, after all, the foundation of a stable and successful service.

Sustainable development the review is right to advise setting Price review decisions “more firmly” in the context of longterm company strategic direction statements. it accepts there is a bias towards capital expenditure in business planning, if only because people think there is! it agrees the importance of cutting costs and emissions by using and generating more renewable energy. should industry be allowed to go beyond anaerobic digestion and hydro schemes in their appointed business? disappointingly the review supports ofwat’s opposition. on water efficiency however it wisely agrees that companies should have more freedom in choosing how to best to meet their obligations.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 18

25/8/11 09:12:21

feAture:THE gRAy REvIEW on social and economic sustainability the review argues for CCwater involvement in charging and social tariffs. it regards the high level of capital market debt as evidence of successful regulation. it puts supply chain worries about roller-coaster investment down to company nervousness that carry-over schemes may not be funded – something that might improve with more predictability if not trust. mr Gray argues against making sustainable development a primary duty; ofwat should focus less on market mechanisms and purely quantifiable benefits and take a wider view of industry sustainability. well said.

governance and value for money mr Gray believes the ofwat board works but remains concerned about stakeholder engagement and decisions taken in isolation. the review is spot-on in proposing a joint ofwatindustry project to do something about ofwat’s endless stream of consultations. ofwat should engage “proactively” with other regulators; this should go down well with those who privately express frustration at high-handed ways. we read that value for money is hard to measure; it would help if ofwat provided better information about itself. yes, regulators must be as accountable as possible.

Ofwat’s duties and relationship with government mr Gray covers a range of issues including the role of government guidance and competition. He says lack of clarity is a problem, especially about ofwat’s duty to protect consumers by promoting competition “wherever appropriate”. He takes no side, arguing simply that the uncertainty should be removed; if government doesn’t want competition it should change the regulator’s duty; if it does, it is implied, then it should legislate to make it happen. this is admirably clear, but Gray is wise enough to know that things are seldom so black and white. Government, he says, should also express views on any “protection” appropriate for some customers.

Consumer representation mr Gray’s essay here is worth reading, but all that need concern us is his conclusion: “the advantages of maintaining a specialist sector body outweigh the potential benefits of change…. CCwater should continue in its current role”. so, overall, a well-researched and credible survey. what can we expect if ministers follow its measured approach, starting later this year in the water white Paper? i shall look for progress in three areas that will define industry success or failure in the next decade. first, governance. for as long as i can remember the industry has begged for more coordinated regulation while not questioning the existence of separate regulators. An insistence on Gray-style clarity in relationships should help cure many gripes and inefficiencies – in the supply chain, in over-regulation and the interface where essential service meets elected government. the true benefit will come from a shared commitment to long-term solutions. second, legitimacy. regina finn, ofwat Chief executive, speaks often and with feeling about the industry’s need to improve its legitimacy. she means customers’ understanding of the service they get and perception of value for money and i think she is right. the Gray recommendations on consumer representation, social responsibilities and stakeholder engagement can build trust and a better reputation. third, resilience. the challenges facing the industry from a volatile climate, water scarcity and higher environmental standards demand a steady focus on sustainable policy. that is what david Gray gives in every part of his review. it may not fizz with breakthrough ideas, but if it becomes a key reference for the industry and its stakeholders in the year ahead, the government will have been well-served.

Review of Ofwat and consumer representation in the water sector, Defra and Welsh Government, July 2011

bclarke@undercurrent.org.uk

Involving customers in decisions about water and sewerage services, Ofwat, April 2011

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 19

25/8/11 09:12:29

3XPS VROXWLRQV %HVSRNH GRVLQJ V\VWHPV :DVWHZDWHU VHZDJH WUHDWPHQW IRU DOO SURFHVVHV DQG LQGXVWULHV &RPSOHWH VXSSO\ DQG VHUYLFH

$Q LQQRYDWLYH GRVLQJ V\VWHP DOORZLQJ ERWK FU\VWDO VDWXUDWLRQ DQG OLTXLGV WR EH GRVHG UHGXFLQJ VLWH FRVWV DQG FDUERQ IRRWSULQW

ZZZ YHUGHU FR XN IOW 171.indd 20

25/8/11 09:12:33

IOW 171.indd 21

25/8/11 09:12:39

IOW 171.indd 22

25/8/11 09:12:57

IOW 171.indd 23

25/8/11 09:13:01

FEATURE:WASTEWATER

Efficient Biological Processes Reduce Operational Costs and Provide Effective Environmental and Footprint Benefits By Aran Bray In a market that has seen some technological advancements, the basic theory for wastewater process treatment has remained relatively unchanged for many years. AMP 5 has brought with it the demand for improvement to wastewater services, stringent discharge obligations and regulatory directives, whilst trying to reduce operational costs, neutralise carbon footprint and provide high quality discharges to reduce impact on the environment. Providers also have to contend with growth in population and industry, which in addition increases influent quantities and variability.

release, aerated anoxic systems promote multiple reactions within the same series of reactors. This process allows for both the reduction in footprint required and the equipment for treatment recycling and mixing. The consequence is a process providing wide removal efficiencies, minimal footprint and a reduction in energy consumption. With the application of a smart control system, optimisation of the oxygen delivery can further benefit increases in process reliability, energy saving and automated operational feedback. High efficiency Orbal® disc aeration

With few ‘new build’ facilities these demands have to be met through retrofit and refurbishment. So, with land space limitations and tight refurbishment budgets available are there time proven options available to achieve these requirements? I offer a brief introduction to two process areas below; whilst there are operating examples, these are lesser known approaches within the UK.

Aerated-Anoxic Aerated-anoxic is the term applied to a biological process operating deficient of the effluents oxygen demand. For a single reactor system, an oxygen deficit would indicate incomplete treatment. However, in an Orbal® process, it pertains to the conditions desired in the first and even second series reactors. The final reactor maintains an aerobic status to ensure complete treatment. By operating in this condition, the ideal environment for simultaneous nitrification and denitrification, as shown in the blue area in Figure 1 below is created.

Where conventional arrangements have dedicated tanks to carry out definite reactions i.e. nitrification, denitrification and phosphorus

Peripheral feed clarifier

High rate secondary clarification The ideal clarifier will handle high flows, provide a large quiescent zone, not shortcircuit, rapidly collect highly concentrated sludge, demand a small footprint and operate with low power needs. So how can this criteria be achieved? There are many variants in clarifier design used across the UK but these can be categorised in two fundamental sludge collection methods: ‘Scraper’ and ‘Suction.’ Central feed clarifiers are most common. In this process sludge flows from the radius of the tank to the side wall. By this point full settlement has hopefully occurred and only clarified water passes the overflow. The settled sludge lay in wait of collection at the clarifier base. With a central feed, its commonplace to have a stilling ring / baffled arrangement for energy dissipation of the influent stream. This is to promote settlement and to hinder the shortcircuit of solids to the overflow as the distance travelled is the tank radius only. The collection of the sludge blanket base layer in a proficient manner is also paramount. A peripheral feed influent offers clear advantages in the quest for optimal clarification. For new build systems, the pipework and associated installation is simplified with only collection pipework running to the basin centre. Additionally it presents a ‘two times’ concept for settlement. Since the influent is introduced at the

sidewall, its movement is toward the tank centre where it meets a hydraulic wall bringing the influent back toward the overflow weir. Therefore there is an immediate increase in settlement distance between introduction and overflow. This enables increased overflow rates due to greater hydraulic efficiency within the clarifier, without sacrificing quality for effluent consents or plant footprint. By scraping the sludge there is the potential for the sludge blanket to re-suspend and therefore the RAS to be lesser in solids concentration. Alternatively the sludge can be collected under a suction condition. A uni-tube (hollow header manifold hydraulically sized to suit the clarifier loadings and tank radius) will rapidly remove maximised sludge concentration uniformly across the tank base. This process gives a number of benefits over many existing clarifier installations including reduced chance of sludge degradation, prevented formation of anaerobic zones within the blanket, prevention of phosphate release and provision of fresh and highly concentrated activated sludge back to the biological process. As this sludge is of higher solids concentrations, the RAS pump can be reduced to maintain the MLSS levels, thus optimising the treatment, equipment used and energy consumed. Whilst these are not the most commonly used methods in the UK, there are clear benefits to each system that can empower operators, reduce energy consumption and enhance the reliability and effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants. Aran Bray is the Wastewater Manager for Siemens Water Technologies in the UK, representing the Biological, Clarification and Odour Control technologies. For more information go to

www.siemens.co.uk/wastewater

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 24

25/8/11 09:13:05

Vi sit us CH St AM an @ ST d AQ ER 0 DA 3. 50 UA M 1s TE t - 9, H 4th all CH NO 3 VE

UA TE

Low Pressure Amalgam and Medium Pressure UV Systems for Municipal Water Treatment From small scale industrial applications to large water treatment works and fully integrated PLC controlled UV packages atg UV Technology can offer a range of UV disinfection / treatment solutions to suit any application. As industry experts, atg UV can offer standard Low Pressure, Low Pressure Amalgam and high power Medium Pressure UV systems. Additionally atg UV also offer bespoke ultraviolet disinfection / treatment systems offering clients an individually tailored service to solve the most complex of disinfection problems with ﬂows ranging from a few litres per hour to over 5,000 m3/hr in a single high output low footprint UV disinfection system.

atg UV Technology have been providing UV treatment equipment and packages for 30 years and have provided solutions to some of the world’s leading brands. Municipal clients include; Anglian Water, Southern Water, Surrey & East Sutton Water, Three Valleys Veolia, Welsh Water, and Yorkshire Water. Industrial Clients include; Coca-Cola, Heineken, Nestle, Shell, Total, BP, Texaco, Siemens, Proctor and Gamble, and Royal Caribbean to name but a few. atg UV’s series of Low Pressure and Low Pressure Amalgam UV systems deliver the highest quality and most reliable performance available. These types of systems have been serving a variety of industry sectors successfully for many years.

STATE-OF-THE-ART

ULTRAVIOLET Water Treatment Systems

Drinking Water Waste Water Process & Industrial Pharmaceuticals TOC Reduction Offshore (ATEX) Marine & Ballast Water Horticulture Aquaculture Swimming & Leisure Building Services US EPA Validation

The Low Pressure system design offers high efﬁciency, ideal for use in smaller scale applications, although larger scale Amalgam systems and multi-lamp low pressure UV systems are also available.

The atg UV Technology range includes: -

Standard Low pressure UV systems Low pressure amalgam UV systems 800 watt low pressure UV systems Medium pressure UV systems Capacities from <1 to >5,000 m3/hr. 3rd Party Validated - US EPA UVDGM

Municipal applications include: - Drinking Water Systems - DWI UV system upgrades - Waste Water & Final Efﬂuent treatment - Advanced Digestion Applications - Advanced Oxidation Applications - Water Reuse & Grey Water Reuse - Rain Water Harvesting

atg UV Technology’s Medium Pressure UV systems have provided many industries with solutions to large scale and complex disinfection demands successfully for many years. With market leading technology atg UV’s range of traditional and in-line Medium Pressure Ultraviolet systems have provide the beneﬁts of a high-output UV system in the most economical package available.

Pictured above: atg UV mobile containerised UV disinfection/ treatment plant - 6000 m3/hr

www.atguv.com Tel: 01942 216161 The atg UV design delivers the greatest level of process control, monitoring, and performance across a large range of applications. atg UV have provided systems capable of disinfecting up to 5000 m3/hr with a single high output low footprint UV disinfection system. UV packages linking treatment chambers together in either series or parallel to accommodate larger flows are also supplied by atg UV Technology. atg UV’s large flow UV packages include drinking water, waste water and offshore well injection and pipeline packages. Specifications that include: validation, high dose, low transmittance, high temperature fluids, low temperature fluids, and reliable large-scale disinfection are all catered for by the atg UV Medium Pressure UV range.

For further information please call atg UV Technical Sales on tel: 01942 216161 / www.atguv.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 25

25/8/11 09:13:08

INTELLIGENT PUMP CONTROL PROVEN TO GIVE SIGNIFICANT MAINTENANCE AND ENERGY SAVINGS AT SCOTTISH WATER TRIAL SITE Scottish Water recently identified that its Levenhall Sewage Pumping Station, near Edinburgh, had significant issues with pump blockages and was considered the worst site for blockages in its south-east operating area. It was therefore an ideal site to try out the low cost innovative Intelligent Pump Control (IPC) software pre-installed into a Control Techniques Unidrive SP AC drive.

Background: Ragging causes a decrease in pumps’ hydraulic efficiency, increasing power consumption and causing pump blockages – and this is often addressed by over sizing pumps by more than 20%.

Scottish Water was impressed by demonstrations of the Control Techniques IPC system preloaded in an applications module within a standard Unidrive SP – and chose to test it at their most problematic site, Levenhall Sewage Pumping Station. The IPC system is unique in that it monitors active current to determine variations in torque, which then triggers a reversing cycle to break up rags as they begin to form on the impeller. The active current monitoring allows very small changes in operating torque to be monitored.

The test site: Levenhall SPS is a low-lift station, part of the East Lothian coastal chain of pumping stations. The pumping station has a consented pump forward flow of 675l/s and an average static head of circa 7.2m. The pumping station has four foul pumps rated at 43kW with currents of 35amps/phase at the theoretical pump duty point.

1 Variable speed drives (VSDs) can play a substantial role in energy reduction by bringing the pump in line with the consented flow and reducing friction (energy) losses in the system, whilst also reducing component wear and tear. However there is a greater incidence of blockages at wastewater pumping station using conventional VSDs. Because of this, blockage avoidance through the use of blockage resistant pumps has generally been considered to be more important than energy savings. A number of new approaches to the problem of pump blockage detection and control have been tested and evaluated at Scottish Water, including costly PLC-based solutions, to great success.

Unidrive SP AC drives with IPC were installed on the remaining two pumps. All pump blockages stopped immediately, the rag balling issues in the wet well declining over the first week of operation with running currents on all drives reducing. Pumping efficiency has been seen to improve by up to 15% - giving an energy savings of £4,200 pa with additional Opex savings associated with blockages reducing by over £15,000 per annum. The Levenhall trial proves that pump blockage detection and control is achievable using the Control Techniques IPC system. Regular pump blockages at the station should now become a thing of the past and the pumps should operate more efficiently as a result.

Blockages and partial blockages were happening two or three times each week, resulting in pump trips and operational call-outs. Levenhall has an annual power bill of around £28,000 and requires about £15,000 per annum of operational interventions, to deal with ragging, blockages and pump trips, but there are additional hidden costs, such as the knock-on effects due to resources being diverted to deal with its problems. The pilot project initially saw the installation in June 2010 of a single Unidrive SP with IPC on one of the existing pumps (Pump No 1), to investigate if the energy usage and the occurrence of blockages on that pump could be significantly reduced.

The trial From the outset blockages were eliminated and the average running current and peak operating currents for Pump No 1 were been seen to be significantly reduced by around 15%, this was then repeated on a second pump. However, ragging on the two other pumps continued to be a problem, with rag balls as big as 600-mm diameter being seen.

Typical Rag Ball being removed from pump prior to Control Techniques' IPC installation

Ragging of impellers at Levenhall SPS

Lifting of Levenhall Pump

Recorded Peak Currents

Running Currents with VSD installed pump 1

Control Techniques Unidrive SP Drive

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 26

25/8/11 09:13:13

Hydrok’s Wastewater Treatment solutions help reduce Plant Carbon Footprints Hydrok UK Ltd have developed innovative energy efficient solutions for the wastewater treatment industry, helping reduce carbon footprints with a twofold approach. Significant expertise and experience in-house along with partnerships with key European specialists have enabled Hydrok to introduce their innovative technologies to the UK market.

within the flow of the tank, leading to an enhanced performance, this in turn increases the capacity of the waste water treatment plant. Hydrok has incorporated Hydrok UK’s Managing Director, Mike Foote, explains: this technology into its HY-SAF Biotextil Cleartec a textilerecently product madelaunched of 100% Hydrok UK Ltd have developed innovative energy “We’re a very innovative company, developing whatisthe package treatment plant polypropylene which by the nature of its construction efficient solutions for the wastewater treatment water industry needs. We’ve always asked the water creates a large specific surface area on which biomass industry, helping reduce carbon footprints with a units. companies to come to us with their problems and we then

HYDROK

Hydrok’s Wastewater Treatment solutions help reduce Plant Carbon Footprints

can grow. The material permits good oxygen supply A of testimony and prevents excessive growth thick layers ofto the Hydrok Significant expertise and experience in-house along WwTW solution thus around maintaining the optimum efficiency of is evident The Hydrok WwTW aeration solution biomass centres with partnerships with key European specialists in the work carried out for the process. Aquaconsult Aerostrip a fine bubble diffuser with have enabled Hydrok to introduceDiffusers, their innovative Anglian Water in association with @One Alliance. Their very low toenergy demand applicable forBiotextil domestic and are positioned directly Cleartec curtains technologies the UK market. Basildon aeration scheme achieved a global accolade – the industrial sewage treatment - a technology that can offer above the diffusers, housed in a removable frame, set Hydrok UK’s Managing Director, Mike Foote, explains: Skanska parallel to the thanks flow. The material allows forGreen flexibilityAward – for the high efficiency aeration over 30 per cent savings on overall treatment costs, “We’re a very innovative company, developing what process development work. Mark Humphries, Production and movement within the flow of the tank, leading to to its power-saving and improved efficiency attributes. the water industry needs. We’ve always asked the Manager for Wastewater Non Infrastructure, said: “Oxygen an enhanced performance, this in turn increases the water companies to come to ushave with their problems an ‘Integrated In addition Hydrok developed Fixedcapacity of the waste water treatment plant. Hydrok transfer from air into fluids is an essential process in waste TM and weActivated then come up with a solution.” is a fixed Film Sludge’ system, the Hydrokhas IFAS incorporated this technology into its recently water treatment. Smaller air bubbles increase transfer bed biomass system which utilises Cleartec launched HY-SAF package treatment plant units. The Hydrok WwTW aeration solution centres around the Biotextil efficiency. “We’ve introduced a system for high efficiency media. When in aconjunction with the Aquaconsult aeration new to the UK, with diffusers and efficient Aquaconsult Aerostripused Diffusers, fine bubble A testimony to the Hydrok WwTW solution is diffuser with verydiffusers low energy demand Aerostrip this applicable system offersevident even blowers several projects. The result is an astonishing in thefurther work carried out for AnglianinWater for domestic and industrial sewage treatment a efficiencies within the treatment process. in association with @One Alliance. Their Basildon capacity increase of 15 to 20 per cent, while reducing technology that can offer over 30 per cent savings on increase of 15 to 20 per cent, achieved a global accolade – theby aboutastonishing energy needs 20 to 30capacity per cent and consequently Biotextil Cleartec is toaitstextile product aeration made scheme of 100% overall treatment costs, thanks power-saving while reducing energy needs by about 20 to 30 per Skanska Green Award – for the high efficiency polypropylene by the nature of its construction CO2 emissions. and improved efficiencywhich attributes. cent and consequently CO2 emissions. aeration process development work. Mark creates a large specific surface area on which biomass can Hydrok have recently secured contracts to deliver their first Humphries, Production Manager for WastewaterTM In addition Hydrok have developed an ‘Integrated Hydroksystems have recently secured contractsWater to deliver at for Anglian Hydrok IFAS treatment grow. The material permits good oxygen supply and Non Infrastructure, said: “Oxygen transfer from air Fixed-Film Activated Sludge’ system, the Hydrok their first Hydrok IFASTM treatment systems for Bedford and Colchester. prevents excessive growth of thick layers of biomass thus into fluids is an essential process in waste water IFASTM is a fixed bed biomass system which utilises the Anglian Water at Bedford and Colchester. maintaining theWhen optimum efficiency of the Smaller process. treatment. air bubbles increase transfer Biotextil Cleartec media. used in conjunction further Mark Lunn 01726 861900, efficiency.above “We’ve introduced a system for highinformation Forcontact further information Biotextil Cleartec curtains arethispositioned directly the For with the Aquaconsult Aerostrip diffusers system efficiency aeration UK, with diffusers and contact Mark Lunn 01726 861900 diffusers, housed in awithin removable frame, set parallel to new theto themark.lunn@hydrok.co.uk offers even further efficiencies the treatment blowers in several projects. The result is an mark.lunn@hydrok.co.uk process. The material allows for flexibility efficient flow. and movement twofold approach.

come up with a solution.”

Working to meet the Carbon Challenge WASTEWATER T REATMENT P ROCESSES : • High Efficiency Fine Bubble Aeration Systems - Aquaconsult AEROSTRIP ® Diffusers • Hydrok IFAS TM - Biotextil Clear tec ® - Enhanced Fixed Bed Biomass Media System • Hydrok Diffuser Liftout Grid System • Hydrok/Atac HY-SAF - Package Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant

Simple…Efficient…Cost Effective

www.hydrok.co.uk

01726 861900 sales@hydrok.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 27

25/8/11 09:13:30

vernon morris

A New Approach to Asset Management – The VIP System Vernon Morris Utility Solutions reveal the “VIP” Valve Integrity Protection System – a new level of control & visibility for Asset Management.

Asset location – you can search within DMA’s, view a full service history or monitor Operatives performance. The VIP System is a cost effective solution and really puts Asset Management Information at your fingertips. The easy to interpret reports can be exported as a PDF for further analysis.” The VIP System can also be tailored to the needs or requirements of individual water companies & authorities.

Utilising the latest in RFID technology, the VIP System enables tagged Assets to be scanned & recorded, with data instantly transferred to a Toughbook onsite. Operatives in the field can then input information about each Asset, record the status of the Asset, log repairs needed & location, as well as uploading images, graphs & maps.

Online users can easily see every Asset in an area plotted online to Bing maps. Users can view Asset information by DMA, Zone, Date, Operative & more, and can then drill down into each Asset with options to click through to information, images, plans & graphs. The VIP System brings a whole new approach to Asset Management.

Once submitted, the information can be viewed by managers & colleagues in real-time from anywhere, by a secure log-in to www.vipdatabase.com

Ian Greenwell, UK Sales Manager at Vernon Morris commented “With the click of a button the VIP System enables you to remotely view any Assets in great detail, easily track repair status & visualise

With over 65 years experience in the water industry, Vernon Morris Utility Solutions is an innovative & leading provider of solutions to the water utility industry. The Vernon Morris team are always on hand to answer your questions on water management.

Accurate Asset Management & Tracking with RFID technology. Introducing the VIP System. The Valve Integrity Protection Sytem by Vernon Morris. Real time, online data at your fingertips.

A new level of control, security & visability

Asset Management Accurately monitor, track & control your Assets with our onsite software & remote online database using the latest RFID tagging technology. Asset Mapping Easily see every Asset in an area plotted securely online to Bing maps. Asset Images, Plans & Graphs Upload & store multiple images, plans & graphs of assets. View an Asset in closer detail, track before & after repair status & visualise location. Remote Access Operative inputs data using Toughbook in the field. Manager access data in real time via a secure & personalised database at www.vip-database.com

Asset location plotted on bing maps

Report & Analyse Online database gives detailed Asset information by DMA, Postcode, Operative, Date & can be exported to a PDF report with multiple reporting formats.

Vernon Morris Utility Solutions Ltd | Specialist Suppliers to the Utilities T: 07584 212 261

sales@vernonmorris.co.uk

www.vernonmorris.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 28

25/8/11 09:13:34

MINERAL SUPPLIES

Zeoclere selected for UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest ammonia removal plant. ammonia from swimming pool water, was selected as the best choice for the far tougher task of attrition and ammonia collection in the final sewerage process. The plant consists of a revolutionary designed control cycling system implementing 38 tonnes of Zeoclere into 4 vast specifically manufactured filters with innovative under drain and distribution systems to ensure maximum flow and ammonia take up as water passes over the Zeoclere bed.

MSI product Zeoclere was the filtration media of choice in the construction of the inspired project designed to prevent ammonia entering the natural water course after concluding sewerage treatment. MSI high-grade zeolite, Zeoclere 30, with a pedigree of over 25 years, is already well proven as a recognised and efficient method of removing

Using the ingenious cycling system the effluent first passes through No1 filter where it is stripped of its ammonia content. As the first filter bed becomes saturated with ammonia the monitors indicate that the ammonia levels have risen to the maximum level permitted by the Rivers Authorities. The control system when the ammonia level is reached closes down No 1 filter and directs the flow along to No.2 filter where the process is repeated and so on. At the end of the

procedure an influx of air is introduced along with a monitored saline solution together with hypochlorite, filling the filter to its full capacity. The solution then remains static within the filter for a predetermined period whilst the Zeoclere regenerates itself in readiness to come back on line. Should the control system recognise that ammonia levels have risen outside of the normal predicted parameters and No.2 filter becomes saturated before the set period then the third filter automatically comes on line. Filter No.4 is used as a standby and during maintenance periods. For further details contact: Bob Kent MSI International

Tel. +44 (0) 1825 790524 Fax. +44 (0) 1825 790908 e-mail. Sales@mineralsi.com www.zeoclere.com

www.zeoclere.com natural ammonia removal

Telephone: 01825 790524

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 29

25/8/11 09:13:38



QUANTUM CONTROLS

Northumbrian Water to save £100,000 pa which could cost just £3360 per month Northumbrian Water is set to save over £100,000 a year on pump running costs following a project to install ABB low voltage AC drives on its anaerobic digester. An anaerobic digester uses microorganisms to break down biodegradable material such as sewage waste. The company was experiencing a problem with the pumps on the three digester tanks that make up the anaerobic digester at its Bran Sands sewage treatment works on Teesside. Each digester tank had two 90 kW star-delta controlled pumps with no speed control. When run at full speed, the pumps caused a foaming of the liquid in the tanks, making it difficult to control the digestion and to measure the sludge levels.

n 90KW, Star Delta pump running

12 hours a day 7 days per week Present fixed speed running data per week

5,712kWH £456.96 Cost 3.08 Ton Co2

VSD Control comparison per week

Case Study

As well as processing the sewage sludge, the digesters also produce methane. This is supplied to gas fuelled engines which contribute up to 4 MW of power, helping to offset the site’s total power requirement. The foaming also interfered with the volume of methane produced. Northumbrian Water contacted Quantum Controls, an ABB Drives Alliance member, enquiring whether it could achieve a form of pump control that would prevent the foaming. Quantum Controls fitted two low voltage AC drives to one of the digester tanks. As well as giving the ability to reduce the motor speeds, avoiding the foaming, Quantum Controls also demonstrated a substantial cost saving for the application through the reduction of the energy used by the motors. Quantum Controls measured the difference in power between two pumps running simultaneously, with the first pump being star-delta and the second being controlled by a low voltage AC drive. Quantum Controls calculated that the overall saving based on these results would be £107,000, giving a payback period of 0.27 years. As well as the monetary savings, Northumbrian Water will also be able to reduce its CO2 footprint by over 700 metric tons a year, giving an additional saving of £8,600 under the current UK carbon tax credits scheme. This brings total savings up to £115,000, with a return on investment of 92 days. Daniel Fitzsimons, Utilities Account Manager for Quantum Controls, says: “At first it was not clear how much the pumps would need to be slowed to prevent the foaming. We initially did a test that involved fitting two low voltage AC drives on a temporary basis. This would also tell us if the reduction in pump speed would cause any temperature problems with the existing motors. “Using the drives, the speed of the pumps was reduced from 1500 rpm to 900 rpm, allowing them to pump without causing excess foaming. We also found that there were no problems with excessive pump temperatures.” Ian Clark of Northumbrian Water says: “We are very heavy users of variable-speed drives for speed control,” says Clark, “and Quantum Controls are our contractor for drives. They can also fit them, which suits us as we have limited fitting capacity on site.” Another option available from Quantum Controls was their unique LeaseandSave scheme. Almost all industries can benefit from the installation of Variable Speed Drives and energy efficient motors to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their ever increasing energy costs. However, this involves an upfront purchase of the equipment which in many cases has not been budgeted for by the client. To help organisations solve this problem Quantum have launched their lease and save scheme. This allows you install energy saving systems at no upfront hardware cost and structure your payments so they are always significantly less than energy savings. This scheme delivers CO2 reductions and real cost reduction from day one.

An example for each pump can be shown as follows:

4,284kWH Saved £342.72 Cost Saved 2.31 Co2 Ton Saved

Lease costs to client -

£140 per week lease cost Client annual lease costs = £140 x 52 weeks

Annual Cost = £7,280 per pump Annual Savings = £17,821.44 per pump Net Profit = £10,541.44 per pump

n Client savings & costs Summary for 3 year lease

Year 1 – £17,821.44 energy savings Year 1 – £ 7,280 lease cost Year 2 – KWH costs increase 5% Year 2 – £18,759.41 energy savings Year 2 – £7,280 lease cost Year 3 – KWH costs increase 5% Year 3 – £19,746.75 energy savings Year 3 – £7,280 lease cost Client total savings over 3 year lease = £56,327.60 Client costs over 3 year lease = £21,840 Client total net saving = £ 34,487.60 This is for one pump, if you look at the combined total for all six pumps the 3 years net savings are: £206,871.60

n No up front equipment costs to client n Client attracts 100% KWH and CO2 savings for government CRC scheme. n Quantum supply all goods, service cover etc with no out lay from client. n No hidden cost over the 3 year term for servicing, maintenance or repair.

To find out how Quantum can help you with their lease and save scheme just click on the link now:

leaseandsave@quantum-controls.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 30

25/8/11 09:13:48



Just Call:

01661 835566 What is available for lease? • Variable speed drives • Soft starts • Electrical motors and machines • Switchgear & transformers • Generators • Flow meters • Ultra-sonic level sensing devices

Lease Drives and Motors and get the following benefits Almost all industries can benefit from the installation of Variable Speed Drives and energy efficient motors to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce their ever increasing energy costs. However, this involves an upfront purchase of the equipment which in many cases has not been budgeted for by the client. To help organisations solve this problem Quantum have launched their lease and save scheme. This allows you to install energy saving systems at no upfront hardware cost and structure your payments so they are always significantly less than energy savings. This scheme delivers CO2 reductions and real cost reduction from day one. To find out how Quantum can help you with their lease and save scheme just click on leaseandsave@quantum-controls.co.uk email us the nowlink at now  � Lease No initial large capital to purchase new equipment cost always lessoutlay than energy savings achieved o Lease Lease cost paid for out of energy savings paid for out of specific application running cost reduction. This means lease cost and extra energy saved increases achieved therefore leaseisisneutral cost neutral profitability of your operation o Reduced energy costs and CO emissions for your 2

Up front costs a thing of the past!

For ‘FREE LEASE PACK’ visit www.quantumcontrols.co.uk/hp.php or call 01661 835566 Quoting Ref LQ 11ME LS 11DC Quantum Controls lease Information Pack Lease Brochure ABB 6 Step Energy Reduction Commitment Leaﬂet Carbon Footprint docs Quantum Calendar 24/7 Keyring ABB Energy Slide Rule

For drive & motor lease contact 01661 835566

� NoCarbon initial Footprint large capital outlay to purchase new equipment Installation o Lease cost paid for out of energy savings � Frees up capital for other energy save products achieved therefore lease is cost neutral o Reduced payments on schemes such as the CRC o Reduced energy costs and CO2 emissions for your � Fixed lease prices for up to 3 years Carbon Footprint Installation o Installation and commissioning of equipment by Quantum Controls � Fixed lease prices for up to 3 years � No maintenance or up keep costs o Installation and commissioning of equipment by Quantum Controls o Asset managed by Quantum with regular servicing � No maintenance or up keep costs on site by our fully qualiﬁed service engineers o Asset managed by Quantum with regular servicing � 24/7 service call out on all equipment in unlikely event on site by our fully qualiﬁed service engineers of equipment failure � 24/7 service call out on all equipment in unlikely event o All Drive spares are carried by Quantum Controls of equipment failure � New equipment can be installed every 3 years o All Drive spares are carried by Quantum Controls � Easy, simple contracts Designed to � New equipment can be installed every 3 years suit your individual requirements � Easy, simple contracts Designed to Forsuit more information justrequirements visit link now your individual leaseandsave@quantum-controls.co.uk To your enquiry simply Forsend moreus information just direct visit link now email us at or contact on details below.  leaseandsave@quantum-controls.co.uk or contact on us details on 01661 835566 or contact below.

To ﬁnd out more visit www.quantum-controls.co.uk instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 31

09:13:51 25/8/11

Wastewater with a dash of lime? NEUTRALAC® SLS45 IN Dissolved Air Flotation SYSTEMS

Dissolved air filtration systems have shown themselves to be versatile pieces of equipment, as seen in use in a multitude of industries ranging from oil refineries to food processors. This flotation process is also established in the treatment of industrial waste waters, and water treatment overall as it separates the suspended material from the liquid that is carrying it. The basic DAF process of transporting suspended materials such as oils and grease to the surface is enhanced by the addition of pre-treatment flocculants. The flocculant of choice needs to take into account the material being removed from the effluent stream, as well as the pH conditions in which it needs to operate. DAF systems typically use an iron or aluminium salt based flocculant which lowers pH, followed by an alkali to raise the pH to near neutral before the addition of a polymer to stabilise and densify the Floc. It is at this pH adjustment step that Neutralac® SLS45 is proving a successful alternative to Caustic Soda the common alkali in use today. Neutralac® SLS45 has been shown to improve the performance of contaminant removal in DAF processes by improving floc properties and hence the efficiency of contaminant removal, with the welcome addition of reducing often expensive polymers and flocculants.

Neutralac® SLS45 as a Reagent As an innovative product designed to address the main objectives of reducing trade effluent charges and to achieve compliance for sewer discharge, it has been successfully applied to treat dairy waste, food effluent and other waste waters. Neutralac® SLS45 offers the advantages of using caustic soda but provides superior technical performance as regards coagulation, settling velocity and the consequent dewatering of sludge. Developed and manufactured by Lhoist, the worlds leading lime manufacturer, Neutralac® SLS45 is a versatile liquid lime that is a safe, environmentally friendly and highly cost-effective alternative to caustic soda and magnesium hydroxide. It has displayed several advantages in many industries ranging from automotive to metal finishing applications, and has also seen success in combination with DAF plants at different processing sites.

Treatment Capacity and Costs In many cases, the operational output of a plant increases at a rate at which the effluent treatment plant struggles to keep up with. Without the space or CAPEX backing to bring waste treatment operations in line with the remainder of the facility’s competence, alternative solutions have been found. Some DAF units are designed to make use of parallel plate packing materials, which provides a significantly increased separation surface, whilst occupying a disproportionately small footprint for the enhanced separation efficiency that has been made available through this method. Together with Neutralac® SLS45, a 2-in-1 reagent that offers both flocculation and pH adjustment capabilities, the optimum conditions for DAF processes can be ensured, whilst avoiding the potential large investment necessary to increase the capacity for treating effluent. Furthermore, by reducing the need for coagulants or minimizing the volume of sludge generated, Neutralac® SLS45 helps in optimizing the overall processing costs. Neutralac® SLS45 is only produced by Lhoist UK, near Buxton, Derbyshire. In operating its own processing plant and quarry, Neutralac® SLS45 is produced on demand, with a guaranteed secured supply always available at predictable prices. Whether the customers’ need is for IBC-sized loads or bulk loads exceeding 20t, Neutralac® SLS45 can be delivered to site along with relevant storage solutions. For further information on this product, please do not hesitate to contact Derek Thompson, Product Manager, Lhoist UK Ltd, 01298 768670 email

derek.thompson@lhoist.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 32

25/8/11 09:13:57

ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENTS

Monitor AMI Turbiwell –

Nephelometric non-contact turbidity monitor for potable water, surface water and effluent.

AMI Codes-II CC

Monitor for norm conform measurement of Free, Combined and Total Chlorine.

� No direct contact with

� � � � �

the sample – no fouling of the optical elements. Measurement according to ISO 7027. Measuring range: 0-200 FNU Average sample consumption of 10 liters/h. Heated precision optics to avoid condensation. Automatic or manual purging of the sample chamber via drain valve.

� Greatest long-term stability by

� �

automatic zero point adjustment before every reading. Continuous rinsing of photometer. High operating reliability because of constant control of sample flow and reagent level. Optional pH sensor. DPD method (DIN EN ISO 7393-2).

Made in Switzerland

www.swan-analytical.co.uk · SWAN ANALYTICAL UK LIMITED · Unit 3 The Steading · Copthill Farm Deeping Road · Stamford PE9 4TD · sales@swan-analytical.co.uk · Phone 01780 755 500

SMART WASTEWATER TREATMENT

HIGH STRENGTH LIQUID LIME FAST AND EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS

Neutralac.co.uk

• METAL FINISHING AND PAINT SHOP EFFLUENT • RECYCLING AND REPROCESSING WASTES • SLUDGE AND WASTE WATER • FOOD INDUSTRY WASTE Neutralac SLS45 is a 45% solids liquid lime with a viscosity close to Caustic Soda and a reactivity to match.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 33

25/8/11 09:13:59

Achieve legislative compliance without the risk of penalties.

Air quality maintained at seaside resort ERG (Air Pollution Control) has completed a major ÂŁ300k project to refurbish the odour control plant at the East Worthing Wastewater Treatment Works belonging to Southern Water. The project was undertaken on behalf of main contractor Barhale Trant Utilities, and is in addition to the regular preventative maintenance programme that ERG carries out on behalf of Southern Water. The main task for ERG was the replacement of two large odour control wet chemical scrubbers. These were housed inside a large portal frame building where there was extremely restricted access. This provided the project team with their greatest challenge, as the old scrubbers had to be dismantled in situ. The newly fabricated replacement units were then craned in sections into the building via the roof, which had to be opened up especially for the task. This was an extremely delicate operation, as at times there were only inches to spare, as the vessels were manoeuvred past internal beams and structures.

ABB Measurement Products is helping utility and industrial operators to comply with the latest potable water and effluent quality legislation, MCERTS and other standards. To find out more about our comprehensive portfolio including flowmeters, water analysers, and data logging devices, plus our verification services, visit www.abb.co.uk/instrumentation or email moreinstrumentation@gb.abb.com ref. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;legislationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

,:2BKDOIBYHUWB LQGG

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 34

In order to guarantee an uninterrupted continuous operation, Nick James, ERGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s senior project manager, explained â&#x20AC;&#x153;The scrubbers, which operate in parallel, were replaced one at a time, with the first new scrubber being commissioned and brought into service before the second old unit was decommissioned and removedâ&#x20AC;?. The new scrubbers are constructed from a composite of PVC/GRP with polypropylene internal packing. Weighing approximately 5 tonnes, each measures 3 metres in diameter and 9 metres tall. With each scrubber capable of treating over 62,000 m3/hr of odorous air, the refurbished odour control system is now operating with an H2S removal efficiency of >99%, thereby helping reduce the impact of odours in this sensitive urban location near a popular tourist location and close to the beach.

25/8/11 09:14:07

PANTON MCLEOD

Ongoing Success for Water Quality Engineers Scottish Water Framework Panton McLeod has cemented its position in Scotland’s water industry following its latest high-profile work with utility giant Scottish Water. reservoirs the size of Murrayfield stadium, so we are very pleased to be continuing this important work under the new deal. “Scottish Water continues to make concerted efforts to ensure that water quality standards across the country remain at their highest level, so it is a great endorsement of our expertise that they have chosen us as the single supplier for all cleaning and inspection services. “Our technology and expertise will provide them with a cost-effective, efficient and environmentally-friendly way of performing this routine work across Scotland.” Following a thorough procurement process, the Scottish Borders-based water quality engineering firm has agreed a new deal with Scottish Water to clean and inspect water storage structures across the country for the next three years. The agreement expected to be worth a seven figure sum, will see Panton McLeod become the single supplier for all tank cleaning and inspections in Scotland until 2014 as part of Scottish Water’s ongoing Price and Supply Framework. It will also build on the important work that the firm has provided for Scottish Water over the past decade – including providing repairs, cleaning, inspections and pipeline services at some of the country’s biggest water storage facilities. Iain Weir, managing director at Panton McLeod, said: “We’re delighted to have been chosen as the single supplier for all tank cleaning and inspection work in Scotland and look forward to continuing to serve Scottish Water over the coming years.

The agreement comes on the heels of a major success for Panton McLeod’s expanding pipeline division – a high-profile strategic pipe section clean for Scottish Water in the West of Scotland.

Pipeline Division Expansion The company completed a programme of flushing and swabbing along a 43km stretch of pipeline in Argyll & Bute, which provides drinking water for thousands of people across three villages in the region. A team from Panton McLeod spent three weeks servicing and cleaning the pipeline as part of a wider programme carried out by Morrison Construction for Scottish Water, which involved replacing and extending the water mains connecting Lochgilpead, Adrishaig, Lochgair and the surrounding area. In addition to providing cleaning services, the Panton McLeod team successfully disinfected and de-chlorinated a brand new stretch of pipeline that was installed as part of the project, ensuring crystal clear drinking water for households in the region. The project was also the first pipeline programme overseen by Panton McLeod’s new team leader Les Bottomely, a former land drilling operative with Holequest Ltd who joined the company earlier this year. The expansion of Panton McLeod’s pipeline operations is part of a wider business drive designed to grow the company’s influence across the UK and to win new business with some of the country’s biggest utility companies, including Scottish Water and Severn Trent Water. In the past year, the company worked with contractors including KMI, BiWater Leslie, Black & Veatch and Carillion on a range of pipeline projects throughout the country, and is expanding its repairs division to provide refurbishments and repairs at water storage facilities throughout the UK. Panton McLeod also provides traditional tank cleaning and inspection services, and uses pioneering robotic equipment to inspect and clean service reservoirs, tanks and towers while they are still active and in service.

tank before treatment

More information about Panton McLeod and its services can be found through the website www.pantonmcleod.co.uk or by calling 01835 822 835.

tank after treatment

“We’ve worked extensively in the past with Scottish Water and have provided important services for them at many of the country’s strategic water storage facilities. Our work has included cleaning and disinfecting facilities right across the country, ranging in capacity from small water storage tanks to huge underground

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 35

25/8/11 09:14:19

Pump Hire, Sales & Service

2 4 Em Hr

ergency Callout

Selwood provides the complete Pump Hire, Sales and Service package for all your requirements. Along with pumps ranging from 50mm to 300mm discharge, Selwood also offers you 1st class in-depth technical expertise. ● Surface Mounted Diesels incorporating Selwood’s unique environmentally friendly priming system - Solids Handling - High Head - High Volume - Super Silent from 55db(A) ● Submersibles - Drainage - Sewage - Sludge - Slurry ● Hydraulic Submersible ● Chopper Pumps ● Site Surveys ● Site Installations ● Method Statements ● Risk Assessments ● Pumping Accessories ● Remote Mobile Telemetry ● Road Ramp

Local branches nationwide

08450 733835 www.selwood.co.uk

IOW 171.indd 36

25/8/11 09:14:38

selwood

Selwood opens specialist pump centre Selwood has opened a specialist pump centre in Liverpool. This operation has been set up with a dedicated support team, focused on delivering technical excellence throughout Selwood’s northern branch network in the supply and installation of specialist electric submersible pumping equipment as well as servicing its major water company contracts with United Utilities and Yorkshire Water. Through the expansion and investment Selwood has made over the last three years, this is a major holding facility for specialist explosion proof submersible pumps largely used by water companies and major contractors within the UK. This facility possibly holds one of the largest submersible pump fleets in the country.

of the pumps and associated equipment all to the required British Standards. Selwood also took the action to put a programme in place to have its regional electrical centres assessed and enrolled by the NICEIC as having the technical capability to carry out electrical installation work in accordance with the requirements of BS7671.

However, in the short time that it has been open it has proved to be so successful throughout the northern regions that it has been expanded to become Selwood’s distribution centre for the whole of the country for electro submersibles and ancillary equipment until a similar facility is opened in the south.

As well as developing new pump models, Selwood is committed to continually improve its existing product range. The recent introduction of the Seltorque S100, S150 and S200 super silent pumps and the D80, D100, D150 and D200 super silent in a close coupled configuration is the latest example of this development programme. The advantages of this improved arrangement are reduced noise, reduced vibration, longer coupling life plus ease of maintenance and production.

The need for Selwood to expand its already large electrical submersible hire fleet, and to additionally invest heavily into providing an extensive range of explosion proof submersible pumps, was put into place partly to meet the requirements of a number of water company framework agreements, most of which stated that all electrical pumps had to be certified EEx d IIB T3. The decision to purchase new equipment also entailed Selwood having to invest in the training of its electricians to repair, test and certify EX pumps and to install and certify the installation

Telemetry allows the remote measurement and reporting of the pumps operation directly to preselected mobiles or landlines, providing real time alarm messages for high level float, failure/start, engine fault and emergency stop activation using pay as you go technology. Selwood’s existing manufacturing facility at Chandler’s Ford in Hampshire has benefited from an improvement programme designed to increase efficiency and capacity. Smart procurement and greater stock holding will allow for standard products to benefit from shorter lead times which are increasingly required in this modern, fast moving marketplace. The pump units produced at the factory range from 50mm to 300mm discharge diameter and can be fitted with a variety of different drives including diesel engines and electric motors to meet individual customer requirements. Operating from a nationwide branch network with a reputation built upon the quality of its extensive plant and pump equipment fleet combined with the service provided by its dedicated local teams, Selwood offers an unrivalled depth of technical expertise and on-site service to all of the market sectors served. For further information please:

Tel: 02380 266311 www.selwoodpumps.co.uk

To combat ever increasing fuel costs Selwood has upgraded its auto stop start control system using the latest available technology. The system is now available as auto stop start only or auto stop start with telemetry offering a more flexible and appropriate system for different applications. The auto stop start facility provides an efficient and automatic operation with the use of float level controls and ultrasonic level devices turning the pump on and off as required.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 37

25/8/11 09:14:57

URS scott wilson safe yield available from the proposed reservoir resource, and a comprehensive assessment of the impact on downstream river catchments in terms of average flow, low flow and flood frequency. The behaviour analysis simulation compared catchment inflow characteristics with proposed reservoir yields and compensation flow releases. The model established the storage and ultimately the dam crest level required to ensure the reservoir could sufficiently meet the required yields over the drought periods on record. The rainfall profile model covered the recognised worst recorded drought for the region to ensure robustness. The Southern Dam forms the impoundment across the Mourne Beg River outfall from Lough Mourne and is approximately 350m in length. Its structure is that of a rockfill embankment with a central reinforced concrete core and a 1500mm diameter secant pile cut off below, into sound rock. The Dam incorporates a 30m wide reinforced concrete spillway with a 75m reinforced concrete spillway channel, a pool and traverse fish pass and associated works.

Lough Mourne URS Scott Wilson is a leading consultant in dam and reservoir engineering, providing all associated specialist services.We have provided solutions on a wide range of challenging dam and reservoir projects within the UK and Ireland, and across the world. These include hydropower, flood management, tailings and water supply schemes. URS Scott Wilson, in conjunction with Nicholas Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dwyer, has completed the Engineering Report and final Environmental Impact Assessment for the impoundment of Lough Mourne, located between Ballybofey and Donegal Town in Ireland. The future water requirements for the region to 2030 were identified to be 31.31Ml/d. The report recommended that the demand be satisfied by developing Lough Mourne to allow abstraction of 25.19Ml/d with the balance being made up from other sources. The Engineering Report set out details of three separate stages to the development of the scheme. 1. Development of Lough Mourne by the construction of two impounding dams to raise the water level by approximately 4.5m and works to supplement the catchment.

2. Expansion of the existing Water Treatment Plant at Meencrumlin 3. Improvements to the network and storage capacities including construction of a large trunk watermain to link with the Letterkenny supply network. Following planning approval, URS Scott Wilson was appointed by Donegal County Council to carry out the detailed design of the headworks at Lough Mourne. The scheme involves impoundment of the Mourne Beg River to increase the storage of the existing water supply source, Lough Mourne. The scheme will raise the water level in the Lough from its approximate Top Water Level of 165.5mOD by 4.5m to a level of 170mOD with the construction of two rockfill dam structures (The Southern & Northern Dams). The detailed hydrology for the scheme included the robust assessment of the

The Northern Dam forms an impoundment at the Northern end of the Lough, approximately 250m in length and its structure follows the same format as the Southern Dam. The water supply draw off tower is located adjacent to the Northern Embankment and the dam incorporates a reinforced concrete access tunnel through the dam structure for the draw off pipework. A 50m long pedestrian footbridge is to be constructed between the Northern Dam and the Draw off Tower. The scheme also includes construction of 2800m of 710mm OD PE raw water aqueduct between Lough Mourne and Bunadowen River with an associated intake structure and construction of approximately 2400m of 800mm OD PE raw water pipework (as twin pipes) between Lough Mourne and the Meencrumlin Water Treatment Works. Contract documents are currently being completed for this phase of the works and will be submitted to the Department for the Environment Community and Local Government in the next few months. Our full range of services cover reservoir inundation mapping assessments, peer reviews of standard methodologies and all stages of design development and construction. We have also carried out investigations and detailed refurbishment programmes on dam structures and their valve tower arrangements, dating back to the 1880â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

For further information please contact David McKillen on 028 9070 5111 or at

david.mckillen@scottwilson.com www.urs-scottwilson.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 38

25/8/11 09:14:59

Do you want to save time and money on live branch connections with no disruption to supplies? Your customers do! Fusion’s range of large diameter branch saddles provide simple, safe and cost-effective live connections on polyethylene water mains up to 500mm. A dramatically reduced excavation footprint – 1m x 1.8m – means simpler groundworks, quicker reinstatement and less disruption to traffic. An example of innovation in action.

ERG’s maintenance can keep your odour control plant at optimum efficiency

• Routine or planned maintenance • Refurbishment projects and upgrades • Emergency repairs

www.ergapc.co.uk

Odour prevention

• Framework agreements Supplier to all UK wastewater companies

Fusion’s large diameter branch saddles and nationwide network of trained and accredited installers can help you meet your customer service and cost reduction targets.

To find out how call Brian Atkinson on 01246 262268 or email batkinson@fusiongroup.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 39

25/8/11 09:15:05

RentalService Instrument rental service combined with the very best in technical support A comprehensive range of instrumentation available at competitive rates. Products have been carefully selected to offer leakage and network management engineers the best technology for projects from short-term investigations to ongoing efficiency and customer services initiatives.

Products available • • • • •

Data loggers and ancillaries Noise loggers Analogue and digital correlators Ground microphones Insertion magnetic flowmeters

Flexible financial arrangements • Rental from a minimum of one week • Discounts for large orders and long durations • Annual hire agreements available For further information and availability contact: rental@primayer.co.uk Tel: +44(0) 23 9225 2228

www.primayer.com

technology for network management and leakage control

instituteofwater.org.uk

17110 half page rental advert40 primayer.indd 1 IOW 171.indd

1/8/11 11:49:31

25/8/11 09:15:09

feAture:PIPELINE TECHNOLOgy ��

��

The cost eĸcient way to join pipes

tel: +44 (0)1494 679500

www.teekaycouplings.com instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 41

25/8/11 09:15:21

IOW 171.indd 42

25/8/11 09:15:26

Avk Uk

Fire Hydrants Quality and Security The recent civil unrest in a number of cities across the UK has brought to our television screens again the public safety dangers and destructive damage of arson, says AVK UK Managing Director, Paul Jennings it has reminded us all of the important role that the fire and rescue service perform in our society and their need for an effective water infrastructure network to assist them in their life saving duties. the fire hydrant is a critical piece of equipment for our fire service and the effective and reliable operation of these is essential in terms the health and safety for operators, the fire service, water consumers and members of the public.

manufacturerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hydrant and AvK fully support the view that these approvals should be essential selection criteria for this product. the fire hydrant, from the very nature of its operational needs, requires unobstructed access to the valve, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. the advantages of this allows immediate access to a water supply for the emergency services and by specifying Kitemark products the quality levels are assured to meet the standards required by this product. the negative aspect of having ease of access to the fire hydrant is the potential for illegal use and vandalism. there have been many reported instances of the general public and water utility operators receiving injury, in addition to interruption of supply, and damage to property as a result of these problems. with this is mind, AvK uK has developed a universal protection device that will protect the operating spindle and the outlet from unauthorized use whilst allowing the fire brigade quick removal of the cover when the hydrant is needed.

AvK is the renowned innovator and uK based manufacturer of bs750 fire hydrants for the water industry, first launching our range as far back as 1979. since then, AvK has pro-actively sought out the views and opinions from the key stakeholder users on the required application, health and safety and quality compliance for this product. As a result of these regular consultations AvK have continually invested in the development of our hydrant range seeking to accommodate both the current and future requirements of all parties. However, central to the design criteria of the AvK hydrant has always been full compliance to the prevailing bs standard (bs750), as well as full wrAs approval. from our consultations with the uK fire service they have confirmed their requirement for third party approval (e.g. bsi Kitemark) for any

Paul Jennings

to the traditional hydrant design. firstly there was a requirement for increased flow rates from the fire service to give greater water output in areas of low water pressure. secondly, the water utility companies were increasingly looking toward the hydrant as an effective access point for the mains which could be used to inspect and potentially repair broken pipe without the need to dig up roads and pavement with all the associated disruption. AvK was the first manufacturer to secure Kitemark approval for a through bore hydrant design to address both of these needs - our Clearway hydrant. the AvK fire hydrant has an Autofrost valve fitted as standard. this feature enables the bowl to drain of excess water not only preventing the possibility contaminated water releasing back into the mains water supply but also, eliminating the chances of water freezing in the bowl and cracking the casing when it thaws. our hydrants are also maintainable in situ should the o ring seals be damaged during operation which prevents the cost and disruption of removal. finally our commitment to the environment is also addressed via the design innovations for our hydrant over the last couple of years that have reduced the carbon footprint for this product and have given us the ability to record accurately each hydrants individual carbon content.

AvK also identified the regular theft of the traditional gun metal outlets and as part of our ongoing product development it was the first supplier to replace these with a standard epoxy coated steel outlet to minimize the attractiveness of this part to the opportunist.

AvK have therefore been both a defender of standards and quality for fire hydrants to ensure reliable and effective operation for the critical role that they perform but also an innovator responding to our customer present and future product requirements.

in 2009 it was apparent that there were two potential user enhancements that could be made

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 43

25/8/11 09:15:51

Need accurate Pipeline infrastructure advice?

Wouldn’t it be great to know the condition of pipes without interrupting supply? Wouldn’t it be helpful to make renewal/rehabilitate decisions based on thousands of past cases?

Hydrosave gives you both: • A range of non-intrusive, cost-effective measurement and assessment techniques: these allow you to see a complete picture of the state of your mains, on DVD! • The ‘Legion’ Predictive Pipe Condition Assessment Tool: Using over 30,000 pipe sample analyses, we provide an accurate prediction for any given section of metal pipeline.

IOW 171.indd 44

25/8/11 09:15:59

We offer a complete range of services: • Non-Destructive Inspection (NDT):

Using ultrasonics, pipes can be scanned to provide accurate internal and external corrosion measurements

• Acoustic Condition Assessment Inspection (ACA): With no excavation

necessary, we can calculate pipe wall thickness + a leakage assessment at the same time!

• Under Pressure CCTV: This can pinpoint a whole range of internal pipe problems.

• Under Pressure Rodding and Crawler CCTV: Ideal for inspecting

linings suspected of deterioration + pinpointing connections, hidden or buried apparatus and leakages.

• Under Pressure CCTV via Hydrant: Excellent for

use in a pre-design feasibility study to determine if a lining is present. In addition, Hydrosave can also conduct Under Pressure Drilling and Soil and Water Analysis.

So, don’t just try to divine the answer - let Hydrosave remove the guesswork in that renew or rehabilitate decision.

Call us today on 0121 521 2801 Fax : 0121 521 2826 IOW 171.indd 45

Email : pca@hydrosave.co.uk Web: www.hydrosave.co.uk 25/8/11 09:16:24

IOWJis

FASTFLOW

Life in the Fastﬂow lane Roland Thomas is flushed with success after being appointed to head up the pipeline cleaning team with Fastflow.

the success of the company’s award winning and environmentally friendly trunk mains cleaning system prompted the creation of a contracts manager post which roland was selected to fill. A string of contract wins over the past 12 months – including one with northumbrian water to manage and maintain the north east’s clean water network – means the washington based company has a decade of work in the pipeline. roland, aged 40, originally from swansea but now living on tyneside, believes his background in civil engineering helped him land his new role, in which he will be responsible for managing fastflow’s new trunk mains cleaning division.

He said: “when i first joined fastflow i wanted a change of pace. i wanted to move away from a conventional civil engineering role but remain in the industry. i’m pleased to now be working for a nationwide company with an excellent reputation. “this restructuring will really benefit the company and highlight the different services which we offer. i have an excellent team working under me and together we’ll see some great results.” working with roland are eddie Hicks, Anthony Hewitt, Andrew rae and duncan wilkinson; compliance manager, site manager, engineering manager and technical support manager respectively. roland continued: “i’m really looking forward to the challenges that i’m sure will come with this role. Competing against larger businesses is always tough but i’m confident our highly skilled team and unique trunk mains cleaning system will help us win new contracts and develop the business even further.” the european-patented system uses specialist tools capable of operating over distances of up to 1,000 metres - resulting in fewer excavations and pipe interventions - saving substantial amounts of time and cost.

Newly appointed contracts manager, Roland Thomas

in addition, it uses just a fraction of the water consumed by traditional pipeline flushing methods – all of which improve safety and reduce environmental impact. for more information on fastflow please visit

www.fastflow.co.uk

NORTH EAST CEO IN Uk TOP THREE

Neil Armstrong

neil Armstrong, owner and Chief executive officer of the fastflow Group has been named among the top three bosses in the uK. the washington based independent utility services provider has consistently improved performance and turnover since neil acquired it through a management buy-in in 2005. this week he was honoured at the institute of Gas engineers and managers Awards lunch at london’s Park lane Hilton Hotel with a top three place in the Chief executive of the year category. said neil: “it was a very pleasant surprise which is reward for the efforts of the whole team at fastflow. it shows how far we’ve come in recent years and is another step along the road to becoming recognised as a national presence in the utility sector.” the fastflow business has two divisions, Pipeline services which specialises in the water sector and energy Projects, which works in the gas sector. recent projects have included re-enforcement and re-routing work on high pressure mains for national Grid.

for more information on fastflow please visit

www.fastflow.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 46

25/8/11 09:16:33

IOWJissue170fatsflowad:Layout 1

25/4/11

18:21

Page 2

When it comes to trunk mains cleaning, there are plenty of fish in the sea. But are they all swimming in the right direction? At Fastflow, our innovative European patented system ensures that we are, because it

Quite simply, we aim to Go Further

� Cleans up to 1000m – requiring fewer excavations and pipe interventions � Needs only a single pass, using just a fraction of the water consumed by conventional spray cleaning methods � Is non abrasive – maintaining the integrity of internal linings � Achieves cleaning standards well within DWI values � Combines with our highly efficient, large diameter spray chlorination process, which can deliver further, dramatic time and water savings In addition � The system is tried and tested over 80 kilometres of 300mm – 1,245mm mains � Our end to end service includes design, planning, civils, cleaning and restoration All of which saves time and cost while reducing risk and environmental impact. For further proof that this is no fishy tale, visit

www.fastflow.co.uk call us on +44 (0) 191 415 7744 or come and see us at

Stand D1 in hall 3A at IWEX 24th - 26th May

IOW 171.indd 47

25/8/11 09:16:34

REDUCE TIME, RISK & COST With WACHS intelligent Automated Valve Equipment & Utility Pipe Cutting Machines Call: WACHS UK on 01606 861423, 07824 873769 or 07824 484368 and request a demonstration.

WACHS UK (A Division of ITW Ltd). Units 4 & 5 Navigation Park, Road One, Winsford Industrial Estate, Winsford, Cheshire. CW7 3RL.

www.ehwachs.com VALVE EXERCISING

PIPE CUTTING

VALVE BOX CLEANOUT

NEW RQWDLQHG V\VWHP

3LSH ,Q 3LSH GXDO F

Q R L W S R Q D W R Q V L N D H IRU ZKHQ D O stem lvent welded sy so -U VC P lly fu to install Extremely easy ds fitting in the correct Patented Centra-Lok™ system hol place prior to installation ailable k detection system av Visual or automated lea

Your ‘Guardian Angel’

3URFHVV 3KDUPDFHXWLFDO :DWHU :DVWH 7UHDWPHQW &KHPLFDO Q ,QGXVWULDO 3URFHVV :DWHU 'LVWULEXWLR Please contact us via email at: enquiries@durapipe.co.uk or call 01543 279909

www.noleaks.org

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 48

25/8/11 09:16:41

LEAkAgE MANAgEMENT IS CHANgINg Chris Medcalf, Operations Manager and Leakage specialist for leading environmental engineers, MWH outlines why. “because leakage is very visible to consumers, meeting regulatory leakage targets will always be a key measurement of water businesses’ overall performance.

reduced with current technology). but we need to ask - is this apparent leakage a physical loss or are there elements of miscalculation or data inadequacy?

the advent of ell (economic level of leakage) and more recently sell (sustainable economic level of leakage), accounting and management has been pivotal to a company’s overall success. However, water lost from leaks can only be reduced if someone physically visits a dmA (district metered Area) or water resource Zone (wrZ), who knows where to start looking and can find the leak for repair.

Perhaps with the emergence of smart grids and networks with the potential for more effective network management, the dmA approach will change? similarly, some companies are advancing with universal Automatic meter reading. but only time will tell if this equipment can improve confidence in the network data arising.

Given the challenge we all face to deliver targets in both a timely and on-value basis, there is much room for innovation. Presently we remain reliant on the use of “acceptable” size dmAs and their integrity to identify potential loss points. but with average dmAs being 1500 properties, leaks remain the proverbial, “needle in a Haystack” and the leakage technician, central to saving water lost from buried water networks.

technological advances are starting to assist in the delivery of leakage targets. indeed since the droughts of the 1990’s and our two recent winters (outside of perceived normal operating conditions), the industry achieved a reduction of approximately thirty percent. therefore some parties believe that with current technology it should be possible to detect and reduce leakage by a further twenty five percent. this would take most companies beneath their sell and nearer to policy minimum (the level at which leakage can be

leak detection processes will never be lost, they can only evolve. there will always be some level of physical loss to detect for repair. the ageing networks and slow pace of replacement guarantees this. leakage management is however in transition. the approach to managing loss is starting to change from a reactive data-driven approach, based on the mnf (minimum night flow) to a more proactive approach, predicting where losses might occur and the reasons for failure.

Postgraduate water courses for your professional development Cranfield University’s Water Science Institute is recognised internationally for its excellence in teaching, research and consultancy. Our Masters courses are professionally accredited and have a proven track record for enhancing careers. Courses include:

• MSc Water and Wastewater Engineering • MSc Water Management with options in – Community Water and Sanitation – Environmental Water Management – Global Water Policy and Management

• MTech Water Processes – Advanced Professional Masters We also offer funded research opportunities and a portfolio of specialist short courses for your continuing professional development.

T: +44 (0) 1234 754086 E: appliedsciences@cranfield.ac.uk www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/iwo

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 49

25/8/11 09:16:51

The Water White Paper By Phill Mills, director, Policy Consulting network

Phill Mills has significant experience in the water sector, environment, regulation and consumer affairs, gained within a water company, a global consulting organisation and a representative body. Phill has led development of policy across several areas over the last eight years with water uK. He has delivered successful policy change in the areas of drinking water quality, water for health, household customer debt and water affordability, and infrastructure, including network resilience and the transfer of private sewers. Phill has a successful track record of working with stakeholders to deliver positive policy change. these include Government and shadow ministers, Government officials, industry regulators, consumer associations, environmental associations and other sector representatives. Phill’s previous roles include deputy Chief executive at water uK; member of the board of management of eureau; board member of nJuG ltd (national Joint utilities Group); and member of iCe’s water Panel. Phill is a Chartered engineer with a degree in civil engineering and executive education at Harvard business school.

water affordability is now a real and growing issue for an increasing number of customers. the minister, richard benyon mP, recently stated that Government wants to assist water companies to address water affordability. He also acknowledged the need to support a wider group of people in real need; and this will be a key part of the water white paper. the extent of water affordability in england and wales has now overtaken fuel poverty, according to the recent statistics from ofwat and deCC1. despite this, water affordability has not seen the same Government policies and interventions as those set to tackle fuel poverty. the water industry is moving from an unmeasured to a measured charging basis. by 2015, around 50% of the households in england and wales will have meters installed. this move to metering has two impacts on lower income and vulnerable groups: (i) unwinding the inherent cross subsidy in the rateable value charging system as the support from those customers in higher rv properties decreases. this increases the overall charge for those remaining unmetered. (ii) more specifically, the change to a metered supply will adversely impact the larger and lower income families living in smaller, lower rv properties. the potential therefore exists to create more affordability problems for those customers who can currently just afford their water bills. defra recognised the challenge of water affordability when they appointed Anna walker to lead the independent review of Charging for Household water and sewerage services back in August 2008. walker reported in december 2009.

defra then included clauses on social tariffs and debt recovery in the flood & water management Act. this April, defra published a consultation covering Government’s proposals following this review. the Government’s decisions are expected in the water white Paper. the walker review recommended any new affordability measures should be very carefully targeted to those who need help. the review suggested a new package should be put in place, with: n watersure retained for those on low incomes with high essential use for medical reasons only. but bills should be capped at the lower of either the national or regional average bill. n All metered low income customers should be offered a 20% discount on their bill, or; n A volumetric discount should be offered to all low income households with children, estimated in value to be around £40 per child each year. walker also suggested there were strong arguments for Government to fund this package. so having had the benefits of the walker findings and recommendations, what did the Government propose in the recent consultation and, more importantly, what can we expect to see in the water white Paper? 1. Changes to the existing watersure tariff. Government is ‘minded to’ to make one of the changes suggested by walker, i.e. to cap the bills at the lower of the national or regional average bill for those customers with a medical condition. 2. the Government viewed both ‘discount’ proposals for low income households as unaffordable and did not consult on them

or consider any other form of national social tariff. instead Government proposed improving the concession available under the existing watersure scheme for those with 3 or more children living at home, by capping the bill at the lower of the national or regional average bill or the customer’s actual metered charge. the costs would be met by Government, rather than the water companies. this reflects the commitment in the 2011 budget. 3. Government also suggested water companies could ‘go further’ by introducing social tariffs, to provide support to a broader group, as allowed for under section 44 of the f&wm Act (once ministerial guidance has been issued). they suggested that companies are best placed to take decisions around the design of company social tariffs, having engaged and consulted with their customers. this is contrary to views from customers obtained by CCwater; subjective feedback from some advice bodies that favour a national social tariff and deCC’s recent changes to a single social tariff in the energy sector. 4. improving the promotion and take up of watersure. defra suggested that Government may be able to assist identifying potential eligible customers through data matching. the Government has already developed such an initiative with the energy sector for the warm Home discount scheme providing rebates to those poorer customers receiving certain elements of Pension Credit. 5. Providing water efficiency and benefit entitlement checks targeted at low income priority customers. the Government made a separate case for the south west – as had Anna walker in her report.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 50

25/8/11 09:16:53

FEATURE:affordability and customers Around 5.4 million households in England and Wales are spending more than 3% of their income on their water and sewerage bills compared with 4.3 million fuel poor households spending more than 10% on their fuel bills.*

*Source – Ofwat “Affordability and debt 2009-10 – current evidence” (May 2011); DECC “Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics 2011” (July 2011)

This follows the 2011 Budget, where Government made a commitment to supporting households who face water affordability pressures and households in areas with particularly high water bills. Government has therefore suggested using public expenditure to fund additional options for the South West, potentially to reduce bills for all customers in the region, not just those with affordability problems. Government does however need to consider how to balance helping all households in the South West and helping low income households with affordability problems in both the South West and elsewhere.

Conclusion Water affordability is a real issue, and will affect an increasing number of households. Bills are

highest in the South West and there is naturally a focus on fairness and affordability in the region. However, there are significant numbers of customers with affordability problems that need help in other regions of England and Wales. Many companies are already offering some forms of assistance, however most are waiting for guidance from Government on how company social tariffs should be designed. The Government has promised public funding to help support those low income and vulnerable customers struggling with water affordability

problems. This is welcome, but water company customers will still have to accept and provide some form of cross subsidy, especially if companies are to offer social tariffs. A key issue will be identifying who are the real households in need. Whilst recent research has identified the ‘at risk’ groups, identifying specific customers in need of support is likely to be a challenge for companies, without help from Government with data matching. We look forward to the guidance and the policy proposals in the Water White Paper.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 51

25/8/11 09:16:57

ABB

COMBININg THE PROvEN AND THE NEW COULD BE THE kEy TO FUTURE WATER LEAkAgE MANAgEMENT Faced with the imminent prospect of less money from OFWAT to tackle water leakage, the UK’s water companies will need to find new ways to manage the problem. ABB’s Measurement Products UK & Ireland General Manager, Tony Hoyle, discusses how water companies can combine proven techniques with new technologies to fight the problem of leakage.

water companies in the uK have made huge progress with recent leakage management programmes, but a run of recent incidents has brought leakage management programmes back into the public eye. for example, burst water pipes in brixton Hill and brixton meant that a staggering seven million litres of water (according to thames water) was wasted in one week. A burst water main in Huyton, liverpool, caused a 40ft (12m) plume of water to be sent into the air, affecting over 200 houses and businesses. many existing leakage management programmes focus on resolving leaks that are likely to cause immediate problems, due to the need to conserve costs and balance manpower resources across other activities. while some leakage reduction has been factored into the AmP5 investment programme over the next five years, it looks like relatively little money will be injected after that to bring leakage down further between 2015 and 2030. the fact that leakage can never be totally eliminated means that water companies will need to find new ways to better identify and rectify leaks whilst keeping costs on a tight leash.

DMAs - the front line in the fight against leaks district metering is an ideal starting point in the war against leaks. the concept of district metered Areas (dmAs) was first introduced to the uK at the start of the 1980s by the then uK water Authorities

Association. A district is a defined area of the distribution system that can be isolated by valves and for which the quantities of water entering and leaving can be metered. the subsequent analysis of flow and pressure, especially at night when a high proportion of users are inactive, enables leakage specialists to calculate the level of leaks in the district. this can be used to determine not only whether work should be undertaken to reduce leakage, but also to compare levels of leakage in different districts and thereby target maintenance in those areas where it will have the greatest impact.

More innovation, less leaks

leakage generally falls into two categories – background leaks and bursts or breaks. even new distribution networks experience both types of leak, and the water industry in the uK must work with some of the oldest underground assets in the world.

working together, the project partners have developed an automated leakage management system which combines up-to-the-minute pipeline data with artificial intelligence to continually monitor network performance.

the role of dmAs is to divide the network into manageable sections that make it easier to determine where bursts are and to repair them.

its success has already been proven in 16 dmAs throughout the yorkshire water catchment, with leaks now able to be spotted and repaired at a much earlier stage. the immediate benefits include the ability to better allocate repair teams and minimise disruption caused by repair works. the longer terms benefits of this will include better control of water supply and improved energy efficiency through the reduced need for production and treatment of replacement supplies.

district metering is now part of an established, active leak management programme among uK water companies. initially, dmAs are used as a tool to drive down leakage in networks that had received little or no previous leak detection work, apart from dealing with reported problems. At this stage, their role is to highlight those areas where companies should be concentrating their efforts, helping to get the biggest benefit for a given maintenance budget.

new technologies are also presenting new opportunities for tackling leakage. one example is Project neptune, a joint partnership between yorkshire water, united utilities, Abb, the engineering & Physical sciences research Council (ePsrC) and seven uK universities. represented by the trident of neptune, the roman god of water, the project set itself a three-pronged goal of improving the monitoring, control and optimisation of water supplies.

Summary with an infrastructure that is already struggling to cope with the needs of a growing population, the uK needs to conserve and manage its water supplies more carefully than ever. the reduced level of funding likely to be available for tackling leakage means that water operators will be under increasing pressure to do more with less in the near future. with the ability to help reduce the costs of tracing and rectifying leaks, the use of both proven methods and new technologies such as those outlined above can play a vital role in helping to ensure that the uK’s water supplies are managed as effectively as possible.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 52

25/8/11 09:16:59

Economical water meter Award Winner asset management tool 2010 Innovation regional showcase winner

Mouchel use Metercheck for meter surveys

Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management

Metercheck aged meters surveys

Metercheck can solve your

For meter replacement budget savings

inaccurate meter problems e.g.

Identify & replace ONLY faulty meters, NOT good meters. Estimated savings on a 7,500 meter replacement budget by replacing only faulty meters and not good meters:

• Lost revenue • Unnecessary meter replacement • Increase in leakage figures a)

~20% of newly installed water meters are inaccurate = Lost Revenues for 10+ years “Surprising proportion (~20%) young ( 2 years) meters failed’’ WRc’s Senior Consultant Andy Godley - SBWWI conference 24 Nov 2010 on non-household metering

~30% of meters 10+ years are inaccurate = Lost Revenue

As ~70% of meters 10+ years are accurate = Estimated 78% wasted meter replacement budget

Huge savings can be made by replacing only the faulty meters. See ‘Metercheck Aged meters surveys’ section on the right.

Due to inaccurate meters from a) + b) above, lower meter readings/water usage figures are generated = Higher leakage figures produced than in reality

• £351,429 (78%) saving. • Payback in 1.83 months (including all surveyor costs) Contact us to calculate your possible meter replacement budget savings.

Economical Quality Control • New meters checked in-situ by installer with Metercheck providing immediate red/green light result • Water company executes Metercheck tests on newly installed meters • Aged meters tested pre-replacement • Meters tested for debris after local mains works complete • Test results saved & downloaded later by water company.

Metercheck’s unique features • • • • • • •

Economical in-situ meter tests 30 second real-time test Immediate red/green light results Portable, simple to use Robust handheld light-weight Non-invasive, non extractive Automatically stores results for download to PC later • GPS option • For all positive displacement & multi-jet meters up to 40 mm

Meter Inaccuracy Causes

Your options for using Metercheck • You can lease the Metercheck to 9 Execute your own in-house surveys pre-meter replacement 9 Execute your pre & post-installation meter quality control 9 Give to your meter installer/contractor for quality control

Investigative tests demonstrate that no single factor causes new or aged meter inaccuracy. Causes include: • Debris in new & repaired mains • Initial high water pressure • Installation damage

• Meter age • Water volume • Water character • Tampering • Faulty manufacture

• Leased by your contractor / installer for quality control • Survey packages provided by Mouchel For more information please contact John Jenkins: Tel: +44 1656 728103

E-mail: info@metercheck.co.uk

Web: www.metercheck.co.uk

IOW 171.indd 53

25/8/11 09:17:14



A complete Service for Pump Service Repair and Protection

Established in 1975, Corrocoat Corrosioneering started specialist pump repairs shortly afterwards and since then it has grown in size and stature to its present day position as a world leader, with the skills and facilities to repair and corrosion protect the largest of pumps. Our dedicated Pump Division offers customers a comprehensive service covering refurbishment, re-manufacture, modification and coating for corrosion protection of many types of pumps.

list of clients includes some of the world’s most respected companies operating in fields as diverse as: mining, oil & gas, chemicals, power generation, waste & water, pulp & paper and marine.

The bespoke nature of the service enables us to respond to individual customer requirements and our ability to provide equipment quickly and to budget are key elements in the service offered to customers.

Providing excellent long term performance, Corrocoat Corrosioneering’s ability to combine mechanical engineering with advanced polymer technology allows even severely damaged pumps to be refurbished at a fraction of the replacement cost, often without expensive replacement parts.

Considered to be world class, Corrocoat Corrosioneering is based in the UK but has a network of over 30 facilities worldwide. Our

The use of our advanced materials can

prevent the need for expensive metallurgical solutions on new pumps, and substantial efficiency improvements can be achieved by utilising the Fluiglide range of materials. All pumps & pump parts are repaired where possible in accordance with ISO standards or better, with upgrades in materials and tightening of tolerances to improve pump life, efficiency and performance. Many of these pumps are protected against corrosion using Corrocoat’s tried and tested coatings – the selection of which is dependant on the service environment.

COMPLETION PACK Every refurbished pump is returned to the customer with its own ‘Completion Pack’ giving assurance to the client that the work has been carried out to the highest standard. This pack contains: performance test data, an internal hydrostatic test certificate and mill certificates for material traceability (if required). Details of all work carried out with relevant photographs are also included.

Forster Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS10 1PW, UK Tel: +44 (0)113 2760 760 Fax: +44 (0)113 2760 700 Email: info@corrocoat.com of the Institute of Corrosion

IOW 171.indd 54

www.corrocoat.com

25/8/11 09:17:25

 

  MAINTENANCE FREE TOTALLY PASSIVE EXTREMELY LOW HEADLOSS 25-YEAR LIFE EXPECTANCY

Tideflex ® TF-1 Check Valve

When it rains it never pours, with Tideflex® Technologies’ unmatched line of backflow solution products. The patented CheckMate® Inline Check Valve is your winning solution for backflow prevention and odor mitigation applications. The legendary Tideflex® TF-1 and TF-2 Check Valves eliminate costly backflow from oceans, CSO, SSO, rivers, stormwater and interceptors. For more than 30 years, Tideflex® Technologies’ unique elastomer fabric-reinforced designs have provided a proven record of maintenance free performance, cost savings and results no other check valve can match. Call us today to learn more.

  

Flowing

Tideflex Technologies

IOW 171.indd 55

600 North Bell Avenue

Carnegie, PA 15106, U.S.A.

Closed

P: 412.279.0044



Valve Sales Limited P.O. Box 90 Abergavenny Monmouthshire NP7 5ZS +44 (0) 1873 850164 www.valvesales.co.uk F: 412.279.7878

www.tideflex.com

25/8/11 09:17:29

National specialists to the water industry â&#x20AC;˘ PE pipe, ďŹ ttings & valves â&#x20AC;˘ Pipeline equipment for hire, sale & refurbishment

Utilities Guide

NEW Drain Center Utilities Guide

OUT NOW

For further informat ion telephone 0870 or visit our website 16 at www.draincenter. 22557 co.uk Whilst every care has been document was accurate taken to ensure that the informat ion included in this at the time of printing, specifications at any we reserve the time.We must also point out that goods right to change prices ruling at the date of dispatch unless will be invoiced at If you wish to be otherwise agreed. removed E&OE. email unsubscribe@wol from our database for marketin g activities please post code or alternativ seley.co.uk quoting your name, company name and ely post your information to Data UK, The Wolseley Controller, Wolseley Center, Harrison Way, Leamington wish to see full details Spa, CV31 3HH. of our data protectio If you co.uk. n policy please go to www.wolseley. Catalogue Number: Y94000

Pick one up from your local branch Ref No. 8084 a 2011

Wolseley UK Ltd

| The Wolseley Center

| Harrison Way | Leamington Spa

www.wolseley.co

.uk

| CV31 3HH

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got it.

&RYHU LQGG

Log onto www.draincenter.co.uk for your nearest branch

IOW 171.indd 56 DG IRU XWLOLWLHV JXLGH LQGG

25/8/11 09:17:40

Tier 1 Mechanical Contractors (AMA)

Would you like to promote your organisation?

Kemys Way, Swansea Enterprise Park, Morriston, Swansea SA6 8QF

Tel: 01792 797790 Fax: 01792 781164 Email: enquiries@wwalters.co.uk Website: www.wwalters.co.uk

• Design, Fabrication, Installation of Pipework, Walkways and all lifting equipment including Gantries.

• Stainless steel fabrications and pipework including Scotchkote coating. • Full AutoCad design facilities Inc 3D parametric modelling with optional ™

simulation and analysis for the manufacture of pipework, walkways, structures & lifting equipment. • Detailed Site management systems to manage Design & Build projects inclusive. Main Contractor/Principal Contractor through to small works under Sub-contract. • Manufacture & Supply of Bespoke Solutions including Containerised UV packages, Lifting Equipment & Gantries etc. • Maintenance, Statutory Inspection and testing of all forms of lifting equipment to LOLER and PUWER regulations.

We have a mag for that...

Current/Recent Projects include: If you would like to promote your organisation in the Institute of Water Journal please contact Distinctive Publishing on 0845 884 2339 or email martin.jamieson@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

Euro Process Eng. Half page

...an ecologically friendly coagulant based on tannin, extracted from sustainable sources, for the treatment of water and wastewater

5/10/09

14:54

Page 1

Design, Manufacture, Installation & Commissioning of;

450T Aggregate Storage Bins – Kings Cross, London CoCoDaff Water Treatment Plant – Bangor, North Wales GAC Water Treatment Plant – Carmarthen, South Wales UV Treatment Plant – Staffordshire Crane/ Gantry system - Bristol

Can reduce sludge volumes by up to 40% by substituting for inorganic coagulant Biodegradable and sustainable For the removal of heavy metals

Precipitation of heavy metals

Trimercapto-s-triazine trisodium Salt

United Kingdom Tel + 44 (0)1993 843081 The Netherlands Tel. : +31(0)10 2351047

your clear solution

info@lansdownechemicals.com www.lansdowneaquatec.com

FOREST

Lansdowne is fully accredited to theSTEWARDSHIP Quality System BS5750 / ISO 9002 COUNCIL

Lansdowne Aquatec is a division of Lansdowne Chemicals Plc

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 57

25/8/11 09:17:46

Water Matters (UK) Limited 280 Juniper Way, Bradley Stoke Bristol BS32 0DR e: jbrain@watermatters.biz t: 01454 620072 w: www.watermatters.biz

Water Matters (UK) Limited, providers of water leak detection and repair services to Industrial and Commercial customers throughout the UK

Measurement Products ABB Measurement Products supplies a wide range of equipment and services to help efficiently measure, record and control any potable water or wastewater process. To discover how to improve your utilityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance and productivity, visit www.abb.co.uk/instrumentation

ABB Ltd Howard Road, Eaton Socon, St Neots PE19 8EU Tel: 0870 600 6122 Email: moreinstrumentation@gb.abb.com Web: www.abb.co.uk/instrumentation

Power and productivity for a better world TM

,:2BDG B B [ PPBY LQGG

To find out more contact: Scott McCrae 07748 624874 scott.mccrae@utility-design.co.uk www.utility-design.co.uk

UDS Training offers a comprehensive range of services from National Water Hygiene Utility SHEA Scottish Water DOMS Manual Handling IT Training Organisational Development Asbestos Awareness Training

Visit us at www.cobasuk.com to view our range of high density tapes and compounds. COBAS Nickel sealing and anti-seize tapes, are unique for sealing threaded items in extreme environments.

Tel: (01773) 719922 Fax: (01773) 719933

They consist of PTFE (TEFLON*) and Nickel powder giving a material which can operate up to 1000 deg c in most liquids and gases. It has WRaC approval for use with potable water and is available in both tape form and a compound in a syringe.

ECCS Group offers: Hire of butt & electro-fusion plant 63mm -1200mm McElroy TracStars 250 - 1200

24 Hour delivery on ABB Watermasters, Aquamasters, Aquaprobes & all spare parts

www.mercomwp.co.uk T: 07766 491143 E: sales@mercomwp.co.uk 2 Golden Valley, Brimscombe, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2RX

For more information contact: Andy Lamb ECCS Group Limited Lower Bathville Armadale EH48 2JS 01501 733335 (office) 07912 084927 andylamb@eccsgroup.co.uk www.eccsgroup.co.uk

feralco FERALCO (UK) LTD

PE fittings for water, waste & gas industry throughout UK Specialist PE fabrications Training on all aspects of pipe welding Pipe welding & installation division

Ditton Road, Widnes, Cheshire, WA8 0PH, UK T: +44 (0) 151 802 2910 F: +44 (0) 151 802 2999 M: +44 (0) 7760 174973 barry.lilley@feralco.com www.feralco.com

Leaders in pump manufacture, installation, service and repair

Jon Nix Caprari Pumps UK Ltd Bakewell Road Peterborough PE2 6XU T: 01733 371605 F: 01733 371607 E: info@caprari.co.uk

Feralco (UK) Ltd was formed in January 2001 following the merger of the Laporte and Alcan water treatment chemical businesses. Today it has manufacturing facilities in England (Widnes) and Scotland (R&J Garroway in Grangemouth). Rapid growth has seen Feralco Group expand its manufacturing base to become a world leader in high performance aluminium chemicals, blends, dispersions and sols. Supply is backed by a first-class support service including application, handling and process optimisation expertise.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 58

30/8/11 09:29:11

BUSINESSCArdDIRECTORy PO BOX 5, Birds Royd Lane, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 3UD www.gavalves.co.uk

GA Valves are manufacturers and distributors of valves to the water & sewage industries. Including gates, checks, air valves & miscellaneous valves. UK distributors and Technical Support of Dorot Flowcontrol valves.

“Recruiting the right people with the right skills within the Water industry is a crucial factor in organisational growth and requires specialist expertise and resources. Let Capita help you ﬁnd the best candidates.” Jennifer Dodd, Marketing Manager T: 01628 408 100 M: 07799 340 791 www.capitaresourcing.co.uk

Gee and Company Holborn Hill Birmingham B7 5JR T: 0121 326 1700 F: 0121 326 1779 www.geeco.co.uk info@geeco.co.uk

Paul Coleman ACII Kingsbridge Risk Solutions Limited Kingsbridge House, Wargrave Road Twyford, Berkshire RG10 9NY

Specialists in Chemical Dosing

Email: water@kibl.co.uk Telephone: 0118 960 2400 Fax: 0118 934 9764 Mobile: 07917 386207 Web: water.kibl.co.uk

Our Solution is Clear Quality Design • World Class Products

Kingsbridge are commercial insurance brokers and we supply insurance and risk management advice for all businesses and professionals involved with water, waste water treatment and environmental risks.

MWH. One of the world’s largest providers of Business Consultancy, Programme Management, Engineering, and Environmental Services to the Water Industry

Manufacturers of valves and fittings for the water, gas, waste water and fire fighting industries worldwide. T : +44 (0) 1604 601188 F: +44 (0) 1604 604818

8 Rushmills Northampton NN4 7YB England, UK

www.avkuk.co.uk

Contact us Graham Dickinson, Marketing Director Dominion House, Temple Court, Birchwood, Warrington WA3 6GD Tel: +44 (0)1925 845000 For more information please email: mwhuk.info@mwhglobal.com or visit www.mwhglobal.com

MWH-Institute of Water Journal-1010.indd 1

15/10/2010 15:43:02

Paul Henderson Sales & Operations Director

For Aeon’s full product range please visit the website ÆON International Ltd Blenheim House, Falcon Court, Preston Farm Industrial Estate Stockton on Tees TS18 3TS United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1642 611826 Fax: +44 (0)1642 617487 Email: enquiries@aeon-online.com

Water Quality Engineering: Asset Refurbishment, Reservoir Cleaning & Disinfection, Underwater Robotic Inspection & Cleaning, Pipeline Chlorination & Pressure Testing.

1 Waverley Place, Newtown St Boswells, TD6 0RS T: 01835 822 835 M: 07767 653 764 F: 01835 822 919 E: info@pantonmcleod.co.uk W: www.pantonmcleod.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 59

25/8/11 09:18:11

BUSINESSCArdDIRECTORy “Your clear solution for treatment of eﬄuent and drinking water”

UTS Engineering Limited

Winstons House, Cartoten Oxfordshire 0X18 3EZ United Kingdom

Tel +44 (0) 1993 843081 Tel +44 (0) 1993 841261 web: www.lansdowneaquatic.com email: andy.duong@lansdownechemicals

6 Albany Business Centre, Wickham Road Fareham, Hampshire PO17 5BD 01329 234 888 martin.topps@pipetech.co.uk www.pipetech.co.uk

The Water Industry’s most comprehensive range of Drilling, Drilling & Tapping and FlowStopping Machines and Pipeline Tooling and Equipment

Connor House 30 Pilgrims Way Bede Industrial Estate Jarrow Tyne & Wear NE32 3EW

Tel: 0191 428 4003 Fax: 0191 428 4004 Email: info@uts-ltd.com Website: www.uts-ltd.com Managing Director: Shaun W Sadler Sales Director: Shaun P Donnelly

VAG are established market leaders in water, wastewater handling solutions. Think twice before you invest in your next ﬂow control solution VAG Valves UK Limited St James Business Centre, Linwood Road, Linwood, Scotland, United Kingdom PA3 3AT T: 0141 848 1181 F: 0141 848 1187 E: sales@vagvalvesuk.com www.vagvalvesuk.com

Verder UK Ltd T: 01924 221 001 F: 0113 246 5649 E: info@verder.co.uk www.verder.co.uk

Verder manufactures and supplies high quality pumping solutions throughout the world to a variety of industries including: water and wastewater, printing, packaging, chemical, industrial, food and beverage, construction and pharmaceutical.

Telford House, 105 Dalton Avenue, Birchwood Park Warrington, Cheshire WA3 6YF T: 08707 558 811 F: 01925 847 976 W: rpsgroup.com

RPS is an international consultancy providing advice upon: the development of land, property and infrastructure the exploration and production of energy and other natural resources the management of the environment the health and safety of people We trade in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Australia and Asia and undertake projects in many other parts of the world.

www.crossfilters.com email: filters@crossmanufacturing.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 60

25/8/11 09:18:24

SOUTHWESTAREANEWS

61st AGM By Ian Walker and Simon Bennett There was a good turnout for this year’s AGM kindly hosted by Wessex Water at their innovative HQ building above the Bath skyline. Chairman Frank Van der Kleij reported back on 2010 which had seen a number of very interesting and successful evening meetings. Frank passed his sincere gratitude to a number of long standing committee members who were standing down: Tony Cooke, Roger Harrington, Arnold Bates, Chris Bewley, Steve Hodges and Chris Muscat. He welcomed Mandhy Senewiratne, Karen Wright, and Phill Mills; and congratulated members that had successfully pursued the Chartered Environmentalist and Engineering status this year. The Treasurer, Kevin North, reported that the area had a reduced, but healthy balance at yearend.

Richard Barton provided an overview of the activities at national level and out-going President Ian Walker thanked all his committee colleagues for the hard work put in over his tenure, and for the many occasions when he has enjoyed their company at work and socially. Although he was standing down, he intended to continue to support the Institute as an active committee member.

insight into the problems encountered as water companies venture into the world beyond the boundary of our responsibilities, and some taxing exercise for attendees to see if they could determine where those boundaries are (not easy!). Our thanks go to Helen for the presentation.

Phill Mills

The AGM was closed by the incoming President, Phil Mills who has a long history in the sector, working at senior levels within water companies and more recently with Water UK. Phil is currently running the Policy Consulting Network and you can read an article by him on Affordability and Customers inside this Journal. After the meeting closed, a very interesting talk entitled: “Are you sure it’s not my responsibility?” was given by Helen Clay-Chapman, Head of Water Supply Regulation, Wessex Water and SW committee member. The talk highlighted how recent changes in the water quality regulations have increased the requirements on private water supply owners and local authorities and caused water companies to review their existing procedures. We were given

It’s not what you do but the way that you do it... By Simon Bennett Simon Bennett chaired an evening of lively debate on SIM and the Customer Experience at WRc’s Offices. Simon spoke about some of the things Bristol Water and its contractor Daniel are doing to improve their customer experience. These included training; improved liaison with partners; additional staff to cover phones between 6am and 10pm; more staff trained to cover busy periods and standard street works signage/web site.

Technical Visit to WRc-NSF in Oakdale By Ian Walker In May 2011, the staff of WRc-NSF took time out to show more than 30 members around their extensive testing facilities in Oakdale, South Wales. Split into manageable groups we were given a guided tour and detailed explanation of the wide range of testing that is carried out for the water sector. We saw robots that constantly turned taps and valves on and off (and up and down, and side to side); pipes undergoing cycles of pressure changes under high temperatures; meters that had been clocked and toilets being flushed. It was explained that such tests are important for suppliers bringing new products to market, and ensure that customers and developers can be confident in the performance of the fittings they are installing. But it is also health that forms a key part of the testing and assessment

regime with compliance with the water by-laws and drinking water regulations being checked on appliances ranging from washing machines to massage baths for invalids. The range of products, materials and appliances proved quite a surprise for delegates. WRc-NSF staff, led by their CEO Guy Franklin and product champion Iain Naismith, provided enlightening talks and description, and some audience participation with the taste and odour tests that are carried out on new materials. We all managed to detect the cats-pee smell, and were told (reassuringly) that the product did not pass. All delegates agreed that it had been well worth the trip to South Wales for the Welsh Cakes, coffee and marshmallow tea cakes and came away with a much greater appreciation of the work that goes on behind the scenes to keep up safe.

Nickie Hawton of Definity presented on how to create positive customer perceptions. Nickie has over 30 years of customer service experience. She considered whether we should be measuring positive behaviour and introduced the Assertice Influence Cycle model, advising the audience that the Manager should be the role model! Past Area President Ian Walker commented “This was a thought provoking presentation. Everyone is a customer and messages given apply to many interactions, and it helped me to understand the significance of the shift from OPA to SIM.” Karen Wright was next to present and Karen talked about CP434 (SIM-understanding the impact of Interventions). This is a WRc project that Karen is heading up which looks into the root causes of unwanted calls. The evening closed with a questions and answer session that could have gone on all night. Thanks to all who attended and to Nickie and Karen for two great presentations.

...and that’s what gets results! Presentations from this event are available to view on the Archived Events section of the website.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 61

25/8/11 09:18:29

John Lewis – How do they do it? By Alec Nolan On 17 May Shani Ellis (PR & Marketing Manager) for John Lewis came to the Severn Trent Centre to share some insights into the unconventional business ethics behind the success story that is the John Lewis Empire. The John Lewis Partnership has a fascinating history from the early thoughts of John Spedan Lewis and a small draper shop in Oxford Street to the innovative, multichannel business that they are today. They are now one of the UK’s top ten retailers, with 32 John Lewis shops (28 department stores and 4 John Lewis at Home’s), 255 Waitrose supermarkets, an online and catalogue business, a direct services company, one production unit, a farm and 5 holiday centres. There are over 70,000 partners in the John Lewis Empire. Shani went on to explain the John Lewis ethos which is to be 100% honest & 100% kind to all.

How do they measure customer service? This is measured mainly by written media (comment cards) and exit surveys as customers leave the store. They currently stand at a ratio of 15 appreciations to every 1 complaint. External consultants carry out secret random store

visits, and stores scoring 100% are rewarded. A customer portal is used for feedback in real time, to enable issues to be followed up and rectified quickly to prevent a negative snowball effect.

The decision was made to halt all building works on new stores during the recession. Waitrose introduced their ‘essentials range’, where they price matched 1000 basic items with Tesco.

What do they do when things go wrong?

These important decisions proved wise and paid off during this difficult time and a substantial bonus (under the circumstances) was still achieved. This proves Spedan’s philosophy that by having both home products and food products, one business will always prop up the other.

Shani says “Simple – we nip it in the bud straight away”. The problem is dealt with immediately, efficiently and there are no limits (regarding time spent with the customer) in order to satisfy the complaint or problem. They have found in the past that if a problem is left, then it tends to escalate out of proportion and causes a great deal more hardship all around than it needed to. She explained that all members (right through to the delivery staff) are empowered to make on the spot decisions to rectify a problem immediately.

How do they test success? They simply ask the partners via a paper based survey with such questions as: n Does their pay reflect performance? n Do they feel they work well as a team? n How do they feel about being a partner?

Working in a recession Shani explained that John Lewis’ approach during this time did not change – only the customer’s attitude changed. The customer became much more savvy regarding market prices and price comparisons. “Prove it” was the motto. The customer wanted evidence that they were truly getting a good deal and value for money.

Partners are rewarded and encouraged to celebrate their success. Their ethos is: ‘If our partners enjoy themselves then this will undoubtedly impact on our customers’. Have you had the John Lewis experience – no, then pop into a store today!

An Introduction to the Underwater World By Nafeesa Ehsan

The diving experience itself once I’d had a few panic stricken moments, was absolutely amazing. I was actually breathing underwater! The most challenging thing was to tell your brain ‘it’s ok to breathe underwater with your regulator and do not hold your breath’. We were taught that holding your breath with your lungs full of compressed air can cause damage to your lungs. That’s something I will not forget in a hurry. For fun, we played underwater Frisbee, and competitive streaks surfaced again!

A fun packed evening at the Olympic pool at Coventry Leisure Centre started off with a team building quiz. This set off the event to a good start with great networking opportunities and some competitive rivalry, not mentioning any names… Sarah Williams, oops, slip of the tongue. Our PADI instructor for the evening was the Institute’s very own Jason Ryall, who as well as being a diving instructor, is a committee member

All in all a great experience and I look forward to taking part in more educational evenings like this.

and works for C2C Services Ltd. Jason covered the format of the evening and showed us along with the dive team he had bought along, a few simple signs so that we could communicate underwater. At this point I was excited about trying scuba diving but also nervous as I was here to over-come fears of swimming at a depth. Knowing what we were going to be doing from the briefing, and having excellent PADI instructors teaching and supporting us, I knew we were all in safe hands.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 62

25/8/11 09:18:46

MIDLANDSAREANEWS

Charity Golf Day 2011 By Gill Wood The Midlands Area charity golf day was held on 16 June. Sixty four contestants from around the country converged on Buxton & High Peaks Golf Club to participate in the annual golfing event. The winners of the morning Texas Scramble event were Ground Control and the runners up were McElroy . The afternoon Stableford event kicked off in dry conditions, although the wind continued to blow strongly from the north and the occasional showers were quite heavy at times. Luckily, a number of players had the foresight to purchase new waterproof clothing during the lunch break.

Customer Service & Technology By Andrew Burns Geoff Skinner and Alan Warren from Severn Trent Water helped spark a debate between Gaurav Mathur (Associate Partner, IBM) and Michael Cairns (Head of Commercial Services, Sword Ciboodle) on the topic of “What comes first, customer service or technology?” at the Severn Trent Centre in Coventry. Ten exhibitors shared their respective new technologies and approaches to customer service with an excellent turn out of visitors and this was followed by a seminar taking a completely new type of approach for the Institute of Water Midlands Area. It started out with a vote, asking the audience: Does technology drive customer experience? Does customer experience drive technology? Is there a different answer?

This was then followed by a live parliamentary style debate between Michael (in the corner of technology) and Gaurav (in the Customer Service corner). The views expressed were not those of the people or the companies they work for – they kindly simulated debate for the evening. Michael’s argument was backed by a timeline of innovations that led to improved customer experience from the abacus to the bar code. He maintained that only when technology came into being, did people exploit the opportunities available. Gaurav on the other hand, argued that the customer needs drove new technology, with the example of the customers’ requirement for banking transfers to happen more quickly, leading to banks implementing transfers taking less than 3 days.

The vote was split between ‘customer experience drives technology’ and ‘Is there a different answer?’ with Michael the only supporter of his own view point!

The session was finished with a repeat of the vote that started the session to see if audience had been swayed by discussions, and following independent adjudication the result was ... ‘There is a different answer.’

Following the vote Geoff and Alan covered many of the arguments about how service and technology have developed over time – from the wheel to the pub! In essence, they agreed that it is people that change over time and that both technology and service leapfrog each other as society, and science in particular advances. They agreed there was no “right” answer.

Gill Wood presenting cheque to Tony Gwynne from Cancer Research

Competition for the individual title was very competitive and scoring was scrutinised to ensure fair-play. Closest to the pin on 3rd hole winner: J McGulkin prize sponsored by SKA Ltd. Closest to the pin on 8th hole winner: D Wood prize sponsored by Ground Control. Closest to the pin on 13th hole winner: C Palmer prize sponsored by P N Daly. Longest drive on the 15th hole winner: L Fisher prize sponsored by Voicesage. 19 – 28 Handicap winner was: 1st place (33 points) – R Malloy (Balfour) sponsored by Glynwed Pipelines Systems. 0 – 18 Handicap winner was: 1st place (37 points) – D Budworth (Radius) Instermac Cup Winner, sponsored by IWS Ltd. Runners up to this year’s Stableford Team event were SKA with a score of 82. But the runaway winners of this year’s Stableford Team event were Hydrosave with a tremendous score of 90. It gave me great pleasure in handing over a cheque for ￡£2,000 to Cancer Research UK for money raised from this event. My thanks go as always to my fellow organisers John Williams and Dave Wood and Club staff; the players; sponsors and friends who continue to make this day one of the Midland Areas long running success stories with local charities benefiting.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 63

25/8/11 09:18:58

Process Modelling Tools for Enhanced Nutrient Removal By Simon Barton This Lunch and Learn session was presented by Andrew Shaw, a Principal Process and Technical Specialist in Sustainability for Black & Veatch in the US. He is also a member of the IWA task group on Good Modelling Practice. In his talk Andy discussed modelling tools and procedures that can be used for process design. He also discussed the use of Life Cycle Assessments. Process models are used widely throughout the world to design and optimise wastewater treatment plants particularly for enhanced nutrient removal. Andy described the common types of modelling tools in some detail and how the models were constructed to ensure accurate and meaningful output. This included discussions on influent characterisation, sidestreams, kinetics and calibration of models. An example of modelling the impact of centrifuge operation was also given. New guidelines are being produced by IWA to promote “Good Modelling Practice,” to ensure that models are constructed and used in a consistent manner. Andy described his involvement with the IWA task group on Good Modelling Practice and the unified protocol that they have developed. Andy’s talk concluded with an overview on Life Cycle Assessment. This technique can be used to compare and balance environmental impacts of different schemes as part of the decision making process for selecting sustainable options for a variety of applications. He discussed the trade off between social, environmental and economic factors and tabled example nutrient removal schemes in Kansas and Ontario where this exercise had been undertaken recently.

Family day at the Waterworks museum in Hereford By Adrienne Walsh What a great day we all had at The Waterworks Museum and Broomy Hill Model Railway in Hereford. Following a wonderful picnic outside the Victorian buildings housing the steam pumps, we had a brief talk by Dr Noel Meeke (Chairman of Trustees) who explained the historical value of the site for supplying water to the people of Hereford.

diesel trains. I’m not sure if it was the children or adults who enjoyed this more!

The afternoon progressed with the adults being led on a very entertaining tour through the museum whilst the children were entertained by Mary Watkins Dwr Cymru’s education teacher with pond dipping and a frog treasure hunt. I’m not sure if all of the frogs would have been found in time for our tea and cakes without Mary! The day continued at the Model Railway where we all had fun having rides on model steam and

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 64

25/8/11 09:19:08

WELSHAREANEWS

Wales Win Again! By Simon Harris This year’s Wales v South West (England) Institute of Water Ryder Cup took place at Cumberwell Golf Club in Bradford on Avon. Both teams were eager to lock horns once more. Captains on the day were Simon Harris (SW & England) and Steve Hennah (Wales). An interesting range of scores came in but none able to equal the 40 points from Nigel Tongue (Radius) who represented the Welsh team this year! Every year the final aggregate score is close

but again Wales managed to overcome the gallant English struggle by a margin of 12 points and retain the trophy. Sponsors generously provided prizes for nearest the pin, longest drive and overall best stableford score and the day was finished off with a meal and presentation of the new trophy supplied by Industrial Valves. Thanks to all involved especially our sponsors, Trilliant, Exwater UK Ltd, DT Civil Engineering and Primayer for all their help in making this such an excellent event.

Summer Forum 2011 By Adrienne Walsh Steve Wilson (Head of Waste Water Services, Dwr Cymru) introduced this year’s Summer Forum saying that the industry is getting better and more efficient at managing its incidents, but things are changing. Customers expect more; weather and security situations require different solutions and equipment failure is no longer an excuse. The industry has to keep focused. Craig Lewis from the Emergency and Planning team at Dwr Cymru followed next. He indicated events were inevitable but the magnitude and impact can be minimised by planning; having procedures and processes in place and putting them in to practice by regular exercise. These activities were all required as part of the legal framework behind the Water Act and Civil Contingencies Act. He emphasised the importance of working with the local communities and providing support to other water companies in the form of Mutual Aid. He closed by suggesting that the focus of the day could equally have been are incidents affordable or acceptable? Given they are inevitable, what is the industry willing to pay in order to minimise the impact.

the audience), showed us what hell on earth actually looks like. Paul Dyson, Gerwyn Howells and Phillip Irving participate in International Search and Rescue and have been deployed to Haiti, Japan, Turkey and Pakistan to name a few. In going overseas they undertake rigorous training to UN standards and have to be self sufficient in the country of deployment for up to 7 days, taking 12 tons of equipment with them. Their prime role is to recover survivors then the deceased. Video snapshots brought tears to the eyes of even the hardest in the audience, but they simply said “it’s our job” – super heroes or what. Mary Watkins (Peripatetic Education Office) had a hard act to follow. Mary showed the lessons implemented when she returned home, following a WaterAid Supporter trip to Uganda. She displayed her enthusiasm for the experience, her shock and horror at the quality of the water and the distance travelled to obtain it.

Alun Williams (Incident and Emergency Planning Manager, Environment Agency) expanded on Craig’s presentation to explain the nature and role of the Local Resilience Forums. These were established post Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to develop local contingency plans for major disasters. He gave some examples including the involvement of the LRF for a local fire event which due to the potential problems of prolonged burning, the means used to eliminate the fire and the pollution impacts both air and land. One surprise for the audience was when he asked what was the biggest risk facing the UK LRFs today – the answer a flu pandemic, with flooding second. Again the costs associated with the impact of incidents were significant.

After lunch, John Lee (Security and Resilience Manager, Severn Trent Water) reminded us it was the fourth anniversary of Mythe and how that one event changed the way water companies and governments look at emergency planning. John indicated Severn Trent recorded over 400 learning points! He also said they were lucky – no Cheltenham Gold Cup and no prolonged dry period before hand which would have put added pressure on the company in terms of population affected and water resources. He also emphasised the need to engage others, especially those with the expertise such as the army for their logistical abilities. One learning point was that plans are best if simple and concise – not books left on the shelf. Innovation has also been a positive outcome – bowsers are deemed to require intensive operational maintenance and activity. They’ve developed tankers with taps fitted which are “push-fill” rather than “turn on” minimising water loss – more efficient and more effective at getting to the population affected.

Following a brief interlude, for most the highlight of the day was next. Three firemen based in West Wales, in uniform (especially for the females in

The Welsh Water perspective took two angles. The first, how we can get it right, and the second, lessons from the winter of 2010. Ian Murphy

Captain Simon Harris tees off on the 1st!

demonstrated a repair to a major main feeding Swansea city during the winter 2010. Whilst the population were unaware of the activity ongoing, staff were working through three days and nights in extreme weather conditions, with restricted access and under enormous pressure both in terms of getting the job fixed as well as the operating pressure of the affected trunk mains. There were problems including sourcing spare parts, water in supply dropping dramatically and further joint problems but the main was repaired and with no impact to the customer in terms of supply and public health. Huw Carrick followed this with a review of the impact of the winter across the whole of Dwr Cymru’s operating base. The impact on staff in terms of work load and the ability to get to work had a major impact. Planning for this type of event is seen as critical if we are to learn from this winter. Contingency planning, across the business is key including smarter planning such as staff resources, equipment hire and procurement and undertaking exercises more frequently so that the impact is minimised. Our final presenter was Helen Clay Chapman. Helen reflected on the Buncefield oil pollution event and how it impacted on the local water company Veolia Water. It was evident that water companies are not always able to influence Gold Command and yet expected to play pivotal roles. The impact of decisions made by others has to be considered by water companies because the consequences may be longer term and not necessarily visible at the outsight. The water company had to adapt to the problem and look for ways of resolving it including using the internet to undertake research. She summarised that collaboration is vital if public confidence and public health is to be maintained. Although legal proceedings, as in this case, has the impact of affecting working together and draws out closure of the event. Following every session a good debate was held with questions from the floor. Feedback indicated that it was interesting and diverse, but more importantly an opportunity to take stock and reflect that the “incidents” we report and manage is nothing in comparison to the issues facing our firemen and other service personnel, both here and abroad on a daily basis.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 65

25/8/11 09:19:11

Unlocking Potential By Catherine Fearon On the 24 March, 26 participants from 6 different water companies across the South East took part in South East Area’s first weekend school for a number of years at Marwell Hotel. The theme was “Unlocking Potential” and was aimed at developing junior managers or those that have shown potential within their companies. Area President Chris Edmondson gave an inspiring talk about being a good manager and leader and

provided genuine examples of things that had worked for him during his successful career in senior management within the Water Industry. This was followed by an enthusiastic presentation from Ian Limb (HR Manager, Portsmouth Water) on Continued Professional Development. The next two presentations from Clare Fryer (Linxall) and Louise Clarke (Partnership approach) were exceptional in making you think about individuals’ behaviour and how you can work with and get the best out of people in your everyday

life as well as work life. We also had a very interesting presentation from Bruce Faulkner (3 Simple Rules) concentrating on how we can best use data to get our message across. The final presentation of the day was from Judith Gilmore (Effective Communication) titled “Presenting the Peacock” who gave us a perfect presentation about presenting to others; an excellent way to round up the day. Teams of delegates presented back to a panel on Saturday morning using the skills they had developed over the weekend. It was obvious that everybody had gained something from the weekend that they could take back to their respective companies. The weekend was a lot of fun and from the feedback gained the SE Area are definitely planning to run another one next year as it was such a success. Thanks to all of the speakers; our sponsors (Primayer, HydroCo, WSM, Intellitect Water and Mitsubishi); participants and their companies for their involvement; and to Jim Marshall and Chris Edmondson for all of their efforts.

Customer Service By Steve Youell On 15 June colleagues from across the country came to Portsmouth Water’s Head Office to listen to 3 presentations that explored the challenges and benefits of SIM; the expectations and engagement of the customer and innovate ways that water companies can look to improve their customer service. OFWAT’S Former Director of Consumer Protection and SIM creator Andrew Dunn (Andrew Dunn Consulting) outlined the need for the change from OPA to SIM; the challenges that are facing the water companies to ensure a low SIM score and also the penalties’ for not improving their overall customer service. Andrew also stated that the rewards and benefits of getting it right first time would not only help the customer but also the Water Company, its employees and the industry as a whole. Colin Lench (Customer Service Policy Manager, Consumer Council for Water) emphasised how gestures of good will go a long way in terms of improving customer engagement. He followed this on by talking about the expectation of the customer and how providing a good service

(from left to right) Colin Lench, Andrew Dunn & Derek Burton for every customer experience would naturally improve your SIM score. This was also true in terms of customer complaints as it is best to resolve the complaint in the first instance and that being proactive (i.e. don’t wait for the customer to phone back – contact them first) would also reap rewards. Cougar Automation is an awarding winning company that has been voted 22nd in the ‘2011 Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work for’ listings and has been in the top 100 for the

last 3 years. Business Partner Derek Burton rounded off the seminar by outlining their unique approach to customer service. Derek stated that Cougars approach was to improve 100 things by 1% rather than focus on one area; this was supported by identifying their employees strengths and structuring their roles around them. This would lead to happier staff which in turn would lead to better delivery of service ultimately leading to better customer service. The presentations gave rise to an engaging questions & answers session. Thanks to all of the speakers and to Portsmouth Water for staging and sponsoring the event. Presentations from this event are available to view on the Archived Events section of the website.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 66

25/8/11 09:19:23

SOUTHEASTAREANEWS

South East Area AGM By Steve Youell This year’s AGM followed the Weekend School. Chairperson Catherine Fearon thanked members for their continued support and outlined the successful year that the area had which included winning the 2010 President's Cup. Catherine outlined the areas aims and objectives over the coming year and announced that due to a change in jobs she will be stepping down as Chairperson later in the year. We wish Catherine luck in her new role at Anglian Water. Following Catherine the area accounts and national report was presented by Ian Limb while Steve Youell presented the Secretary’s report. There was then the handover ceremony where Chris Edmondson (Past President) handed over to David Port (Black & Vetch). The area would like to sincerely thank Chris for all his efforts and having seen the work that David has done since joining the committee it looks like it will be another successful year.

Catherine Fearon with Chris Edmondson.

The AGM finished with Kelly Price (Southern Water) giving a really moving presentation of her experiences working for WaterAid in the region of Bangladesh. After lunch all members and their families explored Marwell Zoological Park. David Port (Incoming President) and Chris Edmondson (Past President)

Corbett Challenge

this allow everyone a chance to test their walking gear but also to meet before the actual walk. The B&B booked for the event was very ‘interesting’. Not only was it in the middle of nowhere but it had an ‘open plan’ bathroom! On the morning of the walk we awoke to sunshine and so we headed to the starting point with the usual supplies of Jelly Babies, GPS positioning system, energy drinks and of course our Institute of Water Banner. Six hours of walking later, through changeable weather conditions (we had hail, sun, rain and wind throughout the climb), a cup of tea at the top of Penn y Fan and some Famous Grouse at the top of Cribyn the team had successfully ascended and descend all three peaks and raised around￡£1600 for WaterAid. Certainly the views from the top made the walk worthwhile and knowing that we had helped raise a lot of money for charity made the beer at the end even more satisfying. There was even talk of the 3 Peaks Challenge for next year?! A big thankyou to Paul Holton and Jim Marshall for helping me to organise the event and we are already planning our next mountain for next year.

By Steve Youell The Corbett Challenge aims to have a team of walkers on the top of all of the UK’s 312 Corbetts between a given time period. Corbetts are mountains between 2,500 and 3,000 feet. The South East Area submitted 2 teams consisting of employees from Thames Water, South East Water, Portsmouth Water and Southern Water to walk up 3 of the corbetts in South Wales: Pen y Fan, Corn Du and Cribyn raising money for WaterAid. With the event itself taking place on the 11 June preparation started on the 28 May with a practice walk (including pub stops) around the South Downs. Not only did

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 67

25/8/11 09:19:59

When the Well Runs Dry The Annual Conference “When the Well Runs Dry” was held at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick and focussed on lessons from the freeze thaw of 2010. It attracted keen interest with 135 delegates.

By George Irvine

Area President George Butler welcomed all to the Conference and introduced the Keynote speaker: Alan Gardner (Managing Director of Emergency Planning Solutions). Alan posed the question what is a crisis? Alan then went on to explain that: n 75% of Disasters are caused by sloppy management; n 90% are also a failure of communications; n Unexpected events do not simply happen, quite often they are authorised by the organisation. Alan concluded by stating “the level of resilience will determine who succeeds and who fails.” Alan was followed by John Wylie (Senior Meteorologist from the Met Office) who gave a background to the December weather in Northern Ireland and compared it to 2009. He outlined the components of the “Perfect Storm”. Deep snow covered Northern Ireland; there were 17 hours of darkness, and when this pattern existed for 10 days temperatures plunged. There was a new record low temperature of -18.7 degrees on 23

December and an average 156 hours below zero with 211 hours at Castlederg in the west. The thaw when it came on 26 December was extremely rapid. John left us with a few thoughts for 2011:

UK’s Mutual Aid scheme and how Northern Ireland Water benefitted from this; the political situation and the role that the height of media activity that surrounded the situation and the impact that this had on the event. Jim concluded with two important statements:

n The future depends on what we do today!

“Never underestimate the appetite of the media.”

n Lightening never strikes twice – or can it?

“Don’t let politics get in the way of our duty to protect public health – ask for help when it is needed – focus on our guiding principles.”

Next we had Jim Marshall (Policy Adviser from Water UK) who gave his presentation remotely through Skype. Jim described Water UK’s involvement in the Freeze/Thaw event, which began on 28 December. Jim considered Water

Cathy Graham (Head of Water at the Consumer Council) completed the morning session with a presentation entitled: “Left High and Dry.” Cathy explained that the public were largely unable to get in touch with NI Water over the period of the crisis and the information was poor. She suggested that emergency action should be tested to the extreme and the use of stakeholders to relay information should be deployed. Accurate information is essential and in order to restore public confidence NI Water needs to plan better, educate the public and improve communications. After lunch, Sean McAleese (Head of Networks, NI Water) gave a presentation entitled “Response to the Perfect Storm.” Sean argued that the extreme weather and very rapid thaw had led to a severe impact on the distribution system. Reservoirs began to rapidly fall and the distribution input (DI) went from the average of 625 Ml/d quickly to 860 Ml/d and a peak on 27 December of 1000Ml/d. There were 290 burst mains, 1175 bursts on private pipes (accounting for 70% of the losses). On top of this there were some large commercial losses and schools all of which were on holiday and took several days to find. In order to maintain some service it became necessary

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 68

25/8/11 09:20:15

NORTHERNIRELANDAREANEWS to rotate supplies and all forms of alternative supplies were deployed. The rapidness of the thaw was a critical factor and it was 6 January before normal operations resumed. Following Sean was David Essex (Water strategy Manager, Severn Trent Water) with a presentation entitled “Changed Forever”. This centred on the lessons learned from Gloucestershire 2007 and how it helped in 2010. David explained that much more than alternative supplies were needed to get over the 2007 problems which showed the limitations of their customer communications approach and crisis management capability. The response to the severe winter of 2010 was more effective as a result of the enhancements made and lessons learnt in 2007.

Day two was all about the future and the first speaker was Paul Fenton (Resilience Manager at South West Water) with a presentation “Preparing for the Worst.” Paul explained that your organisation is expected to be well prepared and emergency response is not just confined to operations but to all aspects of the business. Key components of the incident management procedures are clarity of roles; team work and good communications. Incident management is all about applying basic common sense to chaos. His steps in response to an incident are:

n Access situation

Presentations from this event are available to view on the Archived Events section of the website.

From left: Cathy Graham (CCNI); John Simpson (Journalist); John Wylie (Met Office); Alan Gardner (Emergency Planning Solutions Ltd); Sean McAleese (NIW); Natalie Healey (NIW); Mark Walsh (NIW); David Essex (Severn Trent Water).

From left: Trevor Haslett (NIW); Séan Hogan (NIW); Jo Aston (NIAUR); Danny Kennedy (NI Assembly); Helen Edwards (Chair, Institute of Water and Yorkshire Water); George Butler, (NI Area President & NIW); Sam Phillips (Scott Wilson)

n Allocate tasks n Review and debrief

John Simpson (Independent Journalist) gave the media’s view. He said that the event could not have come at a worse time but that there were warnings out there. John felt there had been a degree of complacency and better education of the problem to the public is required. Liam Mulholland (Head of Customer Services, NI Water), who bore the brunt of the press during the crises explained that the incident was initially only of local interest but soon became of interest to a wider media audience and eventually was making news worldwide.

Next up was Jo Aston (Director of Water at NI Utility Regulator). Jo outlined the Utility Regulator’s investigations and recovery plan. While the weather was extreme and 67% of customers had no interruptions, communications were wholly inefficient as only 13% of the public in Northern Ireland knew about the “Protect your Pipes” campaign. There are 56 recommendations in the Utility Regulator report 50 of which fall on NI Water.

This ended day one and in the evening a very successful Presidents Dinner was held in the form of a Murder Mystery on the theme of James Bond. A raffle in aid of WaterAid raised over £700.

The NI Area President George Butler summed up the two days and thanked all the speakers for their excellent presentations.

n Take ownership

“Gloucestershire 2007 changed us .. .the challenge is to make it forever” concluded David.

Mark Walsh (Manager of the Customer Control Centre) gave a presentation entitled “Taking the Heat.” He presented some interesting statistic. Normal staffing in the control centre is around 40 and on average 1500 calls are received each day. It would have taken over 800 members of staff to answer all of the calls at the peak of the incident on 28 December. More calls were received in one day than in a normal year and the telephone system could not cope.

stated that improvements to communications are essential and meeting customer demands is paramount. Engaging with customers to reduce waste and leakage is a priority. The next four years will be very challenging to achieve the efficiency and performance targets set.

n Always have post incident procedures

Trevor Haslett (Interim Chief Executive of NI Water) was the penultimate speaker on the subject of “Restoring Confidence”. The top three short term commitments for NI Water are: n Restore confidence in the NI Water Brand. n Improve Staff Morale. n Implement Lessons Learned. Trevor concluded by stating “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do”.

Evening Fishing Trip By George Irvine On Tuesday evening 28 June members gathered at Bangor Harbour and spent the Evening on a sea fishing trip. A variety of fish were caught with mackerel being the most popular but some decent cod also succumbed to the rod.

The final speaker was Danny Kennedy MLA the new Minister of the Department of Regional Development with responsibility for NI Water. The Minister paid tribute to the workforce of NI Water for the quality of service they produce. He

An Intelligent Pumping Station Manager? By George Irvine On 14 June members gathered at the Wastewater Centre in Belfast for a lunchtime presentation by Roy McAlonan (NI Water Innovation Programme Manager) on the development of an Intelligent Pumping Station Manager (IPMS). IPSM is a multifunctional electronic controller which monitors various input signals and provides outputs for optional automatic control of the station.

Roy’s presentation focussed on a pilot project that had been conducted. The Pilot Project objectives included operational efficiencies, reduced carbon, improved environmental protection, standard solution and reduced tinkering. The project found that IPSM identified anomalies with site operations, and even for sites with poor hydraulic design the IPSM can still have significant benefits. A business case is being prepared to apply the technology to most NI Water wastewater Pumping Stations.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 69

25/8/11 09:20:21

NORTHERNAREANEWS

Inspiring Innovation

By Helen Edwards

Due to the adverse weather earlier in the year, the Northern Area Winter seminar became the Spring Seminar! Around sixty delegates attended this year’s seminar, at the wonderful venue of Burn Hall, on the outskirts of York. Many of whom took the opportunity to attend the AGM to see Richard Warneford (Northumbrian Water) take over as Area President from Mark Penny (Yorkshire Water). Mark gave a summary of the highlights of his year before introducing Richard. The Spring Seminar was the final event of Mark’s year centred on the theme of “Inspiring Innovation”. Throughout the year, fund raising for WaterAid had taken place and Kezia Drew of Yorkshire Water gave an emotional presentation of her supporter’s visit to Bangladesh last year. This made it really clear the difference that the charity makes to people’s lives across the world. Following a fantastic barbeque dinner in the warm sunshine, Heidi Mottram (Northumbrian Water’s new Chief Executive Officer) gave us her initial impressions of the Water Industry. She believes the water industry has a great customer service record and that there is scope for more collaboration between the companies. There is a great deal of innovation that goes on, but we don’t tell our customers about it, the challenge is to get these good news stories out. In the morning Colin Kelly (Operations Director Water and Gas, BBUS) spoke about innovation from a contractor partner’s point of view. He drew parallels between the health and utility sectors, in the past 30 years the techniques used in medicine have changed enormously whilst in water there have not been any step changes. He believes that there should be a national strategy for innovation in the water industry and much more collaboration between companies and contractors. Ian Costigan (Business Implementation Director, United Utilities) spoke about the lean asset

Mark Penny (left) hands over to Richard Warneford. management techniques that the company was employing to ensure that most appropriate investments are made. Lee Pitcher (Bathing Water Beach Strategy Manager, Yorkshire Water) then gave a lively presentation of the innovative work that is taking place on the East Coast of Yorkshire. The company is going for “excellent” bathing water quality, a higher standard that is required by legislation. Innovative techniques have been developed, such as smartphone apps to inform beach users of water quality. The final speaker of the day was Pam Warhurst (Incredible Edible Todmorden). Pam was truly inspirational and told us about bringing a community together through the language of food. The small Yorkshire town now grows a lot of food locally and the incredible edible movement has started to spread across the country, bringing the message of local food to a wider audience. During the day, a personal development session had been lead by Develop Change, giving the delegates tools and techniques to think more creatively. Bob Keegan and Dave Scott returned in the evening to lead a team building exercise. The challenge was to build two spitfires and decorate

them as a wedding gift for Will and Kate! As ever the teams rose to the challenge and the fruits of their labour can be seen in the photographs. As is traditional, the morning of the final day was taken up by syndicate group “presentations”. These are presentations in the loosest meaning of the word. All of the group must be involved, feeding back the key points from the seminar, in the most creative way possible. Lots of home-made props and cross-dressing is involved, and this year lots of singing! We were treated to ferrets, frogs, mad Russians, Olympic torch bearers, bog monsters and “poo tracking” hounds – to find out more, join us next year! Two delegates from the winning teams were sponsored to attend the Northern Ireland seminar.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 70

25/8/11 09:20:46

EASTERNAREANEWS

Retirement Can Seriously Improve Your Golf!

An Evening of Two Halves

By Steve Leigh

By Jeff Bishop donations by the players, with a total of £300 being raised on the day. Competiveness was paramount amongst the 24 players taking part seeking to get that “extra yard” on the drives and battles within the various four ball games for the “honour” of taking the Claret Jug trophy. This year’s winner was Tim Boldero (a well known member of the area committee and national Board). Tim showed just what can be achieved by taking retirement to the golf course. He finished with a very creditable 44 points in “Stableford” and won the Primayer prize. Runner up was Patrick Campbell of Veolia Water 1 with 37 points and Noel Hughes of GPS just one point behind. Best team was Veolia Water 1, with Patrick Campbell, Matt Rowlatt, Chris Offer and Gerald Doocey.

Winner Tim Boldero Once again the Ted Terry Challenge Cup was contested at Thorpe Wood Golf Course. Macmillan Cancer Charity was chosen as the beneficiary of

The Selwood Prize for longest drive was won by Noel Hughes of GPS and the Groundbreaker prize for closest to pin was won by Imtiaz Dhanji of Veolia Water 2.

World Environment Day 2011 By Sharna Richings The Eastern Area embraced the theme of “Forests” for this year’s World Environment Day. Chris Hayton, Graduate Management Trainee at Anglian Water put together a diverse range of activities culminating in a response to the Independent Panel on Forestry’s ‘Call for Views’ on the future of our forests. The day began at Grafham Water Fishing Lodge with some highly competitive bird spotting challenge. The Reserve Warden Aidan Matthews began presentations with an explanation on how the site is managed to enhance biodiversity and the plans to link it with nearby woodland areas by establishing wildlife corridors. Second on the stand was Greg Hall of Keep Britain Tidy who gave an interesting introduction on RiverCare, a partnership project with Anglian Water. He explained how willing volunteers from the community and local businesses are helping to clean up and improve the habitats of our local waterways and how similar partnerships are being set up across the country. The presentations concluded with Kylie Jones, Biodiversity Surveyor at Anglian Water. She depicted the enormous task ahead of her in carrying our surveys and producing habitat management plans for the company’s sites.

The group was then asked to provide a response to the Independent Panel on Forestry’s ‘Call for Views’. Splitting off into small teams, responses were gathered on what our forests mean to us and the services that they provide. Members can read the full response on the Archived Events section of the website. A truly successful event that not only provided members with the chance to widen their appreciation and understanding of woodland habitats but also to contribute to the future policy of our country’s forests.

This year’s President’s Event was held on a summer evening in the Suffolk countryside. Picture the gently rolling lines of the Newmarket July Course disappearing into the distance, the anticipation of an evening race card on the world famous course and chatting with the Director of the Eastern Region of the Environment Agency who had recently declared a drought in the region. And the rain!

But the sun came out. Actually half of the course is in Suffolk and half is in Cambridgeshire making it a fitting location for what was in many ways an evening themed of two halves. Sixty guests and sponsors joined the event with tables being hosted by Veolia Water, Enterprise, Anglian Water and Groundbreaker. The President’s guests were Paul Woodcock (Director of Eastern Region; the Environment Agency) and Stephen Kay (Managing Director, Cambridge Water). Following a welcome address and buffet the race cards were studied. The first race was soon approaching and as far as punditry is concerned John McCririck has missed something. I heard such insight as, “I like that name” and, “those colours will not win”. There was a long queue at the Tote. Some ventured to the parade ring to check out the competition, and they were off! There was the noise of the crowd; the thunder of the horses as they approached; the excitement of looking for your racing certainty and then across the line. It was all over. Where was my horse?

And it rained. The winners and losers were self evident. Confidence grew and within the space of a couple of hours and seven races we were all experts. Even the rain and being huddled under umbrellas didn’t dampen the enthusiasm. As if by magic strangers talked together as if they were life-long friends. Newmarket Nights have been a feature of the course for 25 years and they combine racing with top line entertainment. The course transformed into a concert venue with the Jools Holland band taking centre stage. Not somebody I would ordinarily follow, but what a performance he put on with his band, especially given the rain. Too soon it was all over. Rain and sun; winners and losers; food and wine; racing and music; Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The evening of two halves was over and I hope everyone had made new friends, made new contacts and went away with a new determination to join the Institute of Water.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 71

25/8/11 09:20:49

The Challenge of Organising a Successful Lunch & Learn Programme By Kevin Moffat

“The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley, an’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, for promis’d joy!” Anyone who has ever worked on an Institute of Water committee will take familiar comfort from the above words of wisdom from the great Scottish bard Robert Burns. Such was the story (well sort of anyway), in organising this year’s Scottish Area Lunch & Learn programme. Last year’s Lunch & Learn programme was very pleasingly a roaring success and it was agreed to set up a programme for 2011: three papers, presented by three speakers, at three venues, across three successive Wednesdays. So we had the ideas and I had the phone book. Three phone calls later (what I really mean is at least six phone calls, a load of voicemails, and about a dozen emails) and we were done. Three topics were confirmed, one confirmed speaker, one probable speaker, and one promise of a speaker (yes I know with all my previous committee experience I should have never fallen for that one, but I did). Now if you recall the plan was for three Wednesdays. So whilst I was arranging the speakers my esteemed colleagues were organising Scottish Water venues. Last year we had access to the excellent Watermark House facility in Livingston, which at the time, was a thriving hub of SW and SWS but this was now closed with staff now scattered asunder across the central belt. In the

end I was handed a meeting room schedule that looked like this: Week One - Wednesday 4 May: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee Week Two - Wednesday 18 May: Edinburgh, Dundee; Friday 20 May: Glasgow Week Three - Monday 23 May: Glasgow, Edinburgh; Tuesday 24 May: Dundee Back to the phones and to my relief Fraser Purves of SW Horizons was completely flexible on when he could speak about hydro-power. Graeme Moore of the SW Innovations team stepped in and grabbed three dates. However the ‘promised speakers’ now couldn’t make the dates, leaving three dates to fill. Committee member Nicci Day advised I call Lynsey Tweedlie who agreed to tell the Glencorse WTW story. I then called Alastair Dyer and promised a

round of golf if he did a paper on the work he was doing on Long Term Asset Planning. President Paul Sexton phoned Derek Allen from Veolia and cajoled him into talking about their ‘Hybas System’ and we were done. In the end we staged nine presentations, on five different topics, with five speakers, in three venues, across four weeks, all with a buffet lunch and according to the feedback it was all worthwhile! My heartfelt thanks to: Fraser Purves, Graeme Moore, Lynsey Tweedlie, Alastair Dyer, and Derek Allen for their excellent presentations and their willingness to re-arrange their schedules; to my colleagues on the committee for stepping up to the plate and taking over the hosting and lunch delivery duties when I had to pull out; and to my long suffering wife, Karen, for helping with the buffet lunches and putting up with me.

Something Fishy going on – but not a lot! By Kathy Auld The Annual Scottish Area fishing competition took place, as usual, in Loch Etive, Oban on 2 July. The glory of the trophy was fought for by 14 determined people, aided by knowledgeable skippers and mates. The weekend was warm and sunny which was a great relief for the campers. The fishing was not as plentiful as previous years, but the banter and company made up for it. The winner was Phil Cruelly, landing 12 fish. After a golden “fish-off” I won second place with

11 (after more than 15 years trying) and Steve Rutherford drew with Robert Lee for third with 10. The heaviest catch was won by Robert Lee after landing a 121/2lb Ling. Alan Dick, who finally relinquished his grip on the main trophy, had donated a bottle of Malt to the person that caught the most species, which was also won by Robert. Thanks go to our sponsor of the boats and refreshments McNicholas and Robert Lee for hosting on their behalf. It was another fantastic day and I for one look forward to next year.

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 72

25/8/11 09:20:57

SCOTTISHAREANEWS

The victorious ABB team with Aileen Stewart of Macmillan.

Charity Golf Day By Kevin Moffat

Visit to Whitelee Wind Farm, Eaglesham By Niall Darrant

On the 4 June, the Scottish Area visited Europe’s largest wind farm which is located near Eaglesham, some 13 miles south of Glasgow. The Whitelee Wind Farm is owned and managed by Scottish Power Renewables and is currently capable of generating 322 mega watts of power from its 140 operational turbines. This will be supplemented by 75 more turbines, which will add a further generation capability of 217 mega watts, which is enough to supply 124,000 homes with green energy. Construction of this extension is due to be completed in the summer of 2012. The main part of the visit entailed a tour of the windfarm onboard the site’s electric eco-bus. A tour guide told the group that the Whitelee Wind Farm site measures some 55 square kilometres, taking in a variety of different landscapes and habitats, which required to be carefully managed during construction and continue to be maintained day-to-day as a key aspect of running the site. To facilitate the wind turbines over 375 hectares of coniferous woodland had to be felled. This was also completed to aid the restoration of the original bog land. The forest had been grown after the Second World War, when Britain had become increasingly short of timber. Before felling began, the Whitelee Forest measured approximately 6000 hectares! Love them or hate them, wind farms will continue to spring up all over the country and around our

shores. From an engineering perspective, the development of wind farms uses a wide array of engineering and scientific disciplines. However, from our visit it was clear that it is equally important that the correct levels of environmental and ecological specialists are involved, to limit the impact of the development on the unique local environment and specie habitats. Thanks go to Scottish Water Renewables for the interesting and informative excellent tour.

It was at an annual Institute of Measurement & Control dinner in Bellshill that this event was born. The nominated charity for that dinner was Macmillan Cancer Relief and as part of their talk that evening they issued their “Hundred Thousand” challenge. This was quite simply to sign up 100 local Scottish businesses and ask them to raise￡£1000 each. My business partner, Scott McCrae, and I decided that this was an excellent idea and promptly signed up. Moving ahead in time at a subsequent Institute committee meeting it was suggested that the Scottish Are should hold a Golf Day. This struck me as an ideal event to try and raise the £1000 Scott and I had promised to Macmillan. Ratho Park Golf Club was selected and the target revenue agreed (£1000), all that was required, (according to my calculations anyway) was 10 Four Balls - all paying their way; a bunch of prizes for the raffle, and some rare Scottish sunshine on the day. Following numerous phone calls and emails we had ten teams signed up for the day. Thursday 9 June started off with a few light showers but brightened up beautifully. After with bacon rolls the first team were off the tee at 1pm. Having played the Texas Scramble format previously on a charity golf day I went for this format for our match and my thanks to Jimmy Anderson for keeping me straight on this. Following scoring, the competition winners were Ian & Colin’s ABB Scotland team, my congratulations to them and their guests. The raffle was also an overwhelming success and in total we raised ￡£1,800 for Macmillan on the day. The Scottish area committee would like to thank the following companies and their excellent teams for supporting our very first charity golf day and making it the success it was: ABB; MWH; Processplus; McNicholas; Scottish Water; Panton Macleod; WGM Engineering; Morrison Construction; Utility Design (Scotland); Scottish Water Solutions 2. Same time same place next year?

instituteofwater.org.uk

IOW 171.indd 73

25/8/11 09:21:05

Would you like to promote your organisation?

We have a mag for that... If you would like to promote your organisation in the Institute of Water Journal please contact Distinctive Publishing on 0845 884 2339 or email martin.jamieson@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

IOW 171.indd 74

25/8/11 09:21:08

WE UNDERSTAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Severn Trent Services understands wastewater treatment. Our innovative technologies are proven to be effective and efficient solutions for the removal of ammonia, BOD and suspended solids from tertiary wastewater. With hundreds of TETRA® DeepBed™ and [N]SAF installations successfully operating in the UK and many more globally, water companies rely on the performance of TETRA filters to meet their treatment needs.

To learn more about TETRA® wastewater treatment solutions e-mail marketing@severntrentservices.co.uk or call +44 (0)1827 266 000 www.severntrentservices.com

IOW 171.indd 75

25/8/11 09:21:09

NXk\i `j fli dfjk gi\Z`flj i\jfliZ\%%%

%%%c\k lj dXb\ jli\ `kËj ki\Xk\[ gifg\icp M\fc`X NXk\i gifm`[\j nXk\i Xe[ nXjk\ nXk\i dXeX^\d\ek j\im`Z\j k_ifl^_flk k_\ LB Xe[ @i\cXe[% 8j k_\ nXk\i \og\ikj# n\ befn _fn kf dXeX^\ k_\ nXk\i ZpZc\ Xe[ ZXe d\\k k_\ Z_Xcc\e^\j XjjfZ`Xk\[ n`k_ gifm`[è^ Xe[ i\ljè^ nXk\i% N\ jg\Z`Xc`j\ è [\c`m\iè^ èk\îXk\[ jljkXèXYc\ jfclk`fej jlZ_ Xj1 9l`c[è^# fg\iXkè^ Xe[ dXèkXèè^ nXk\i i\cXk\[ Xjj\kj Gifm`[è^ Zljkfd`j\[ Xe[ jljkXèXYc\ jfclk`fej Æ fgk`d`jè^ nXk\i ZpZc\ Xe[ nXjk\nXk\i dXeX^\d\ek ]fi è[ljki`Xc Zc`\ekj

K1 '(0)* )0*)*. <1 ZfekXZklj7m\fc`XnXk\i%Zf%lb N1 nnn%m\fc`XnXk\i%Zf%lb

:ljkfd\i j\im`Z\j1 d\k\i i\X[`e^# Y`cc`e^# Zljkfd\i hl\i`\j# ZXj_ Zfcc\Zk`fe Xe[ [\Yk dXeX^\d\ek

F]]\iè^ k\Z_efcf^`ZXc jfclk`fej kf ki\Xk gfkXYc\# gifZ\jj Xe[ lk`c`kp nXk\i# Xe[ nXjk\nXk\i Fg\iXk`fej Xe[ dXèk\eXeZ\ è glYc`Z j\Zkfi nXk\i Xe[ nXjk\nXk\i ki\Xkd\ek gcXekj

Veolia WWT ad.indd 1 IOW 171.indd 76

8/4/09 17:12:51 25/8/11 09:21:12