The Source July 2012

Ambitious apprentices

to plug skills gap

London lane rental scheme

builds pressure Gang hit bullseye

with 400-yearold Victorian trunk main

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DELIVERED

Employee Recognition Awards stars like Natalie are making the business come alive

july 2012 | thameswater.co.uk

Games on for Team Thames – looking ahead to the London 2012 Olympics

Seven wonders

contents

4 6 7 9 11-13

Employee Recognition Awards Bullseye as gang find 400-year-old Victorian trunk main London lane rental scheme builds pressure Borehole with media manager Simon Evans

16 18 21

Games on for Team Thames

Queen England hails hard-working graduates Apprentices: A chance to learn and earn Volunteering: Tweet interview with Karen Rudkin

of the commercial team BY STUART WHITE

T

hames Water’s entire commercial department came face to face with each other for the first time at an awayday with a difference. Its seven teams, employing more than 100 people and who officially united together on April 1, have been set an “eye-watering profit target” and are hungry for success. The market stall event at Reading Town Hall was a chance for everyone to meet their Southall; innovation, Rupert Kruger; Thames departmental colleagues and gain a greater understanding of how the commercial function Water property searches, John Pickford; special projects, Marc Selby; affinity partnerships, Nick fits together. Sumption; and retail, Richard Tidswell. Commercial director Piers Clark said: “It’s Piers said when people within commercial about establishing a clear team identity and arrive at work they need to know how they creating a common view of what we are doing contribute to the bigger picture, and the and why. conference on 31 May helped galvanise what “Thames Water used to have a commercial he described as a “slightly disjointed family”. team that looked at opportunities outside the The event opened with a market, with the regulated business. When the company was head of each of the seven teams manning bought in 2007 the non-regulated activities their own stall were either reduced or and pitching sold off. The company “IT’S ABOUT ESTABLISHING A CLEAR their unique focused, quite rightly, TEAM IDENTITY AND COMMON GOAL” selling points on making sure that to groups our regulated business from the wider department. Each pitch took was strong and performing well. eight minutes. “We have been hugely successful in achieving This preceded a session on how to tackle this goal and we are now ready to reengage problems in brave, entrepreneurial ways. in opportunities outside of the regulated “The key thing I want people to get from this business. Our aim is simple: to generate profit conference is for them to understand where for our shareholders. Our aspiration is to be the they sit in the commercial portfolio and to see most successful non-regulated business in the clearly how they contribute to our collective UK water industry.” goals. I want people to approach problems in The seven teams within the commercial a different way… or rather – cheesy corporate directorate are: property development, headed up by Richard Hill; commercial projects, Graham jargon alert – to think outside the box.”

Sewer Week welcome to Thames Water

Stuart White editor Just two weeks into my new job as editor of Source and I was already in the hands of the famous Wick Lane flushers. It was Sewer Week and my name was on the list. It was fascinating, 2 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

the fact Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s system is still so efficient, but I have to admit that once is enough. I was actually sent down into the relief sewer due to high ‘water’ levels – during the wettest drought ever – in the main tunnel and so felt very claustrophobic and uncomfortable. I was quite relieved to get back above ground. The sewer flushers do an incredible job and I would have taken my hat off to them had I not been in the dripping bowels of east London. Rob Smith and the guys sent me back with a message: “Bin it –

don’t block it.” Only human waste and loo roll should go down drains. Their worst nightmare is people flushing cleansing wipes down the loo. So, please, don’t ever do that. I hope you enjoy this month’s edition and the new design. Inside is a full round-up from last month’s staff awards ceremony plus a full three pages on the London Olympics. Any feedback is welcome – this is your magazine after all. Stuart stuart.white@ thameswater.co.uk

Craig White watches Kieren Brackley go down. Above, all smiles for Rob Smith

LONG MAY SHE RAIN OVER US Environmental compliance manager ALEX HARRISON was in charge of making sure everything was ready for the pageant

BY NATALIE SLATER

T

he rain may have been lashing and the sky as dark as the river, but spirits were not dampened as the Queen’s Jubilee flotilla passed down the Thames to mark a moment in history. And the Thames Water teams on board the aeration and skimmer vessels had prime position as they moored up to monitor the water quality in case of any discharges.

“THE ATMOSPHERE WAS EUPHORIC – IT MADE YOU FEEL VERY PROUD TO BE BRITISH” As thousands of boats of all shapes and sizes joined in the occasion, the teams at Westminster Pier and Battersea power station had front row seats to the water-front event of the century. David Fenech, maintenance manager at Beckton sewage works, was one of those on board to wave at the Queen. He said: “We were pretty nervous we might have some issues with discharges because the rain was so heavy. But luckily, due to all the planning and preparation, this was not the case and the day passed without a problem. “Being on board felt like we were part of history, the atmosphere was euphoric and it made you

START Big Lunch Team Thames gave away over 8,000 tap-filled water bottles to Royalists at the START Big Lunch event during the jubilee celebrations. They also managed to raise more than a grand for WaterAid and hand out the company’s free water-saving devices and ‘Proud to be dirty’ car stickers at the Old Royal Naval College event in Greenwich. The emphasis of the event was to raise public awareness of the drought and encourage behavioural change by focusing on water efficiency with a key message that “everyone needs to do there bit to value this precious resource”.

feel very proud to be British. “It was such a momentous occasion and seeing the Royal family pass on board their fantastic vessel was a privilege.” The team were not required to use the bubblers or skimmers over the whole Jubilee weekend and the Environment Agency said water quality levels remained at an acceptable level. Ted Maynard, David Fenech, Dave Loft, Alan Pridmore, Andy Theobald, Ray Maynald and Mike Lupton

David added: “We had done a lot of work beforehand to make sure we had maximum capacity in the storm tanks and that the sewage works were operating properly. We were prepared and that paid off. “We had to be on the boats for 24-hours because we needed to be on the mooring by a certain time so it was a long day, but one to remember.”

What was the involvement of your team? We made sure we worked closely with the Environment Agency and the organisers to plan for any contingencies and to try and minimise the impact of any potential discharges. What was the biggest challenge? Agreeing the logistics of mooring the aeration and skimmer vessels: the Thames Bubbler, Vitality and Clearwater. The aeration boats transfer dissolved oxygen back into the river as, after storm sewage discharges, oxygen levels are usually low which can cause fish to die. The skimmer also provides physical removal of any litter or sewage debris. These vessels are significant in size and therefore a great deal of thought and planning had to go into locating them strategically to provide the best possible environmental mitigation should a storm event occur, while minimising impact on the 1,000boat flotilla. What sort of risks did you have to think about? The main risk was that if a storm event occurred and coincided with the Thames barrier closure, the discharges would be going in to a static body of water. Effectively the barrier closure impounded the river, rather like a giant lock gate on a canal. Unfortunately this was a situation that was unavoidable – it’s how the network is designed to operate and is precisely the reason for the proposed Thames Tunnel. The likely environmental impact could have been significant because there was limited incoming freshening tidal flow and reduced velocity in the river. And we had to be extra prepared because the world’s media was watching. Were you pleased The Queen celebrated her Jubilee with a flotilla on the Thames? What better way? The River Thames is one of the most famous rivers in the world and an iconic symbol of London. We’re really glad we didn’t pollute it with discharges on the day – it was a fantastic success. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 3

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS THE WINNERS:

Committed Colin Pickersgill, technical lead – process Colin has worked for Thames for 47 years and is always very passionate about the work we do as a company to treat wastewater and protect the environment. He is truly respected at all levels, is trustworthy, knowledgeable and dedicated. Lea Valley abstraction team The team spent evenings, nights and weekends working to increase the raw water levels in the reservoirs in the Lea Valley. They have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months to ensure the north east London water treatment works are supplied with the best quality raw water without interruption. Reliable Kevin Lowe, process controller Working at the largest wastewater treatment works in Europe, the Beckton process controller proved his reliability by assisting colleagues and contractors in delivering some of the largest capital projects in the Thames region, including the Beckton Extension Project.

Stars making the bu The fourth annual Thames Water Employee Recognition Awards ceremony is hailed the best-ever after an inspirational evening at Shehnai BY STUART WHITE

Riverside STW process controllers The team of six “dependable and reliable” process controllers responsible for operations at Riverside sewage treatment works have stepped outside of their normal day jobs with regards to the major extension upgrade and new sludge treatment process. Purposeful Nader Kehtarnavaz, senior definition engineer “Humble” Nader always goes out of his way to get complex and challenging jobs done, and initiated his own sewers crossing railways learning at short notice to do extra work at all hours. Capital efficiency team The team met the £80m stretch capital efficiency target in their welldocumented Going for Gold campaign when many thought they didn’t have a chance. 4 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

“You are blown away by the personal stories, the people and the depth of passion in the nominations. The people in here are stars of a huge magnitude and it is these kinds of people that are making the business come alive.” Capital delivery director Lawrence Gosden perfectly summed up what everybody at the Employee Recognition Awards was thinking and feeling after an incredible night at Shehnai, Reading. All the delighted winners received VIP hospitality Olympic tickets, Virgin vouchers and a souvenir award. Those shortlisted also collected vouchers and a certificate at the event on 25

June, organised by head of communications and brand Jayne Farrin and her team. Jayne said it was appropriate to host the biggest and bestever awards ceremony in this Olympic year and claimed the night “has been amazing, everybody has turned out in such force”. Chief executive Martin Baggs added: “We have all heard some great stories from great people

in other parts of the business and recognising they are part of a much bigger picture, not just their own team. It was a fantastic evening.” Technical support team leader Louise Bates and Luke New were runners-up to senior press officer Natalie Slater in the category Thames Tunnel managing director Michael Gerrard said unites everybody in the business together. He presented the Delivering our Customer Experience award to Natalie, who said afterwards: “We deal with customers’ problems through the media rather than actually helping them direct. On this

“WE HAVE ALL HEARD SOME GREAT STORIES FROM GREAT PEOPLE AND FUNDAMENTALLY IT MAKES YOU PROUD TO BE PART OF THAMES WATER” and fundamentally it makes you proud to be part of this business. “The number of people who have been inspired by listening to others, to what else goes on

Popular winners Team Bray receive their Supportive award from Martin Baggs

occasion I was able to do something that actually made a difference to the customer and the gratitude they showed made it all worthwhile.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION AWARDS Challenging Alan Crump, project integrator Alan has been working for Thames Water for nearly 40 years and during that time has gained and is using his considerable experience and knowledge, particularly in the field of wastewater and water process and operations.

business come alive “It was just something I did because it felt like the right thing to do, and I guess that’s what customer service is all about. To win the award is a privilege and it gives you that feel-good factor to be recognised. The award ceremony was great and made you feel very special.” Thames stalwart Colin Pickersgill collected the first award of the evening from Lawrence, winning Committed individual ahead of runners-up corporate tax advisor Betty Holas and the Olympic team’s Stephanie Baker. Committed team went to the Lea Valley abstraction team ahead of the Swindon WAMI business readiness and Thames Valley process and network technical assurance teams. External affairs director Richard Aylard presented humble Kevin Lowe with the Reliable individual award yet he said he would be “keeping it quiet” at work the next day. Blockage hotspot co-ordinator Jean Gould and Natalie Beckerman’s PA Michele Slade were runners-up. The Reliable team award went to the united Riverside process controllers who praised their manager Leigh Hughes and thanked the two members of the team who stayed behind to “keep the ship running”, with the leakage optimisation and north east London small works teams

Olympic 42” NST team The specialist team met their challenging deadline of replacing two 42” trunk mains delivering water through the Olympic Park, working a 24/7 shift pattern. Supportive Brenda Daly, business support assistant Brenda has taken away a huge administration burden from the four major sewage treatment works management teams and saved the company a significant amount of money.

The Committed Lea Valley abstraction team

as runners-up. Nader Kehtarnavaz collected his Purposeful award from strategy and regulation director Nick Fincham ahead of principal modelling specialist Leo Kiernan, field operations specialist Phil Sloan and process manager Andre Galley, while the capital efficiency team got the nod over the Oxford Street event team and Crossness PaRC office. Commercial director Piers Clark was up next to present Alan Crump with the Challenging individual award, while field operations specialist Nigel Fuller and technician Charles Bailey were runners-up. The pumpedup Olympic 42” NST team were then vocal winners of the team prize ahead of the ‘Zero to Hero’ and Huntercombe adoption teams. Brenda Daly pickedup the Supportive individual award from operations director Nick Harris next,

Committed runner-up Betty Holas

with quantity surveyor Vincent McKenna, process technician Bryan Morum and Farmoor team manager Elinor Singleton all runners-up. An emotional Team Bray, from the much-celebrated table 11, were “amazed” to win Supportive team with the floorwalking and water resources analysis teams both highly commended. Life-saver Mark Donlin received his Excellence in Health and Safety award from Bob Collington, with senior process modeller Miaw-Ching Sim and process team manager Malcolm Arrowsmith both runners-up. The final award of an inspirational night was presented by HR director Janet Burr to Volunteer of the Year Matt Banks ahead of PR14 workstream lead Tom Ray and asset management specialist Michael Bright. Check out the Portal soon for a video from the awards ceremony, plus more pictures in next month’s source

Team Bray/corporate accounts The team have been fundraising to support one of their colleagues who has a 13-yearold son that is seriously ill with cancer by sending the family to Florida for a wellearned break. Delivering our Customer Experience Natalie Slater, senior press officer Natalie cut short her Christmas Eve family dinner following a burst water main in Tilehurst and was knocking the doors of customers at 7pm apologising face-to-face. Excellence in Health & Safety Mark Donlin, leakage optimisation engineer Mark’s heroic actions ended up saving the life of colleague Peter Howells after he choked on some grapes at Bourne End. Volunteer of the Year Matt Banks, field operations manager ‘Volunteer champion’ Matt organised a drought briefing to 800 school children as part of the drought awareness programme and inspired others to get involved. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 5

NEWS

‘AMAZING!’ customer service is child’s play A class of south London primary school children have praised a team of capital delivery contractors for “keeping the noise down”. Rotherhithe Primary School’s Year Six class “really appreciated” their considerate approach to works outside the classroom as they were sitting their SAT exams, proclaiming the gang to be “AMAZING!” for their efforts. In a note written by pupil Frankie and signed by 20 classmates and their teacher Jenni, they also thanked the team for their hard work towards improving the local area. The project, delivered by capital delivery’s contractor MGJV, was part of the vast Victorian mains replacement (VMR) programme replacing worn out pipes across the region. Getting out into the community and talking to local people who might be affected by their work is at the heart of the team’s approach to customer service, a subject high on the agenda for capital delivery’s London network team overseeing the VMR programme. Anthony Lane, MGJV’s site manager, said: “By talking to local people, we can understand how they might be impacted and work around their needs as far as possible to minimise disruption. “In this case we worked closely with the school to plan our activity around the exam timetable, avoiding unnecessary disruption for the children.” He added: “Our teams are very often the public face of Thames Water. They’re out in the community delivering construction projects and dealing with the concerns of local people at the same time so it’s really important that our approach to customer service works. “Receiving the Rotherhithe letter was a nice moment for the team and confirmation that we’re getting it right.”

Gang hit bullseye with 400-year-old Victorian trunk main Elm pipe found near Euston Station had a perfect join still in place, visible tree-rings and its bark still intact BY STUART WHITE

S

upervisor Tom O’Connor said it would be “impossible to find another” after his stunned gang of pipe-replacement engineers discovered a 400-year-old timber water main in London. Thames Water’s contractor team of Jack McDonagh, Martin Banks and Mick McNulty along with network service technician John Brown were looking for a route to lay a new main in Chalton Street, near Euston Station, when they unearthed the three-metre elm pipe, which archaeological boffins have since confirmed dates back to the 1600s.

“INCREDIBLE THAT THIS PIECE OF LAND HAS REMAINED UNTOUCHED FOR FOUR CENTURIES” To their astonishment the original trunk main had a perfect join still in place, visible tree-rings and its bark still intact, making this discovery even more extraordinary. “We hit bullseye,” said Tom. “We were very lucky. With all the work that has gone on in London over the years I would say it would be impossible to find another section of such quality. “The join was absolutely perfect. There was damage at one end but the bark was still on it. We couldn’t believe it. “The gang deserve a lot of credit for the way 6 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

they dug around it with their hands and for pulling it out without causing any damage.” John Brown has worked for Thames for 47 years and has only come across one similar section of pipe before, in north London, but that was crumbling away and was not salvageable. “I couldn’t believe the size of it,” he said. “It is such an interesting find and really we were so lucky to catch a glimpse of the timber. We had to extend the trench and excavate it and the guys did a great job recovering it with the joint intact. “It’s amazing when you think of all that activity and the number of pipes and cables buried around Euston that this piece of land has remained untouched for four centuries.” The section of timber piping, which was not in use, is currently being stored at Kempton Park treatment works. The aim is to transfer it to a museum or education facility. Last year Thames Water replaced 60 miles of pipes as part of Thames Water’s Victorian water mains replacement programme. Since 2004 the company has replaced 1,600 miles of old pipes, reducing leakage by more than a third to its lowest level ever.

NEWS

Capital congestion busting scheme builds pressure Streetworks carried out in London over a previous 12-month period would have cost Thames Water an estimated £12 million in lane rental charges BY STUART WHITE

T

ransport for London’s (TfL) new Lane Rental Scheme is already having a major impact on all streetworks in the capital after launching on June 11. The scheme is designed to reduce disruption caused by roadworks and means Thames Water could be charged a rate of up to £2,500 per day to work in London’s busiest streets. The company can avoid or reduce these charges by avoiding peak travel hours and working at less busy times, but the additional cost to the business is still expected to enter the millions. Streetworks liaison manager Paresh Kavia said: “Keeping our network of pipes and sewers in good working order inevitably means working in the streets, and our aim is to minimise the disruption and cost for those affected wherever we can. “We carry out far more streetworks in London than any other organisation and therefore have to find innovative solutions to minimise disruption. That is the challenge for us and every utility, but clearly it means we may be working more early mornings, weekends and nights to avoid higher charges.” It is estimated that disruption from roadworks costs the capital’s economy around £750 million a year. Around £300 million of this is on London’s busiest roads – the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) or ‘red routes’ – which, although only comprising around five per cent of London’s road network, carry more than 30 per cent of the traffic. The lane rental scheme applies to works in a carriageway but not works that take place wholly in the footway, and charges will vary according to the location. Peter Loft, streetworks policy manager, said: “We are in the difficult position where any work we do out of peak traffic hours will potentially be disrupting

Vital addition to our arsenal Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Lane rental is a vital addition to our arsenal. Setting the meter running the moment the first cone appears will finally make utilities understand the full economic cost of their work. “It will encourage companies to work round the clock, team up and share trenches or develop new technology to speed up their work. Lane rental will keep traffic moving.” quiet time for people at home, especially if we are working from 10pm to three in the morning. “We have to be sensible and get the balance right by carrying out our works efficiently and effectively with minimal disruption to traffic and to customers and residents close to our work sites.” Every opportunity to deploy innovative solutions will need to be explored, including solutions such as sound barriers which

PARESH KAVIA: “WE CARRY OUT FAR MORE STREETWORKS IN LONDON THAN ANY OTHER ORGANISATION AND THEREFORE HAVE TO FIND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO MINIMISE DISRUPTION”

provide temporary screening. More plastic road plating, which cover over excavations in roads during rush hour to enable traffic to flow during peak times, will need to be used. The use of rapid-cure reinstatement materials and further developing core and vacuum technology will all

also be promoted. Thames Water has played a leading role in discussions relating to the scheme in London and is committed to improving “on-street” performance by endorsing Mayor Boris Johnson’s Streetworks Code of Conduct, and supporting the objectives of the Traffic Management Act to minimise congestion. Paresh added: “We are committed to work with the Department for Transport and the Highway Authorities in order to achieve this objective. The Transport for London Lane Rental Scheme will be the latest tool to further reduce traffic congestion on the busiest streets of London.” For further information contact Paresh Kavia or Peter Loft. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 7

Hosepipe ban lifted Britain’s biggest water company lifted its ‘hosepipe ban’ on 14 June after an extraordinary amount of rain eased the severity of the region’s water shortage. Thames Water said “a heartfelt thank you to the 8.8m people it supplies across London and the Thames Valley for complying with the Temporary Use Ban, helping save more than 100 million litres a day during the hot spell in May. But with the possibility of a third dry winter in a row this year, the firm urged its customers to continue to use water wisely, reiterating its offer of free water-saving devices that can be ordered on the company website. External affairs director Richard Aylard said: “We are really pleased we can now lift the ban but, with groundwater levels still low and the possibility of a third successive dry winter, we still need to be careful. We don’t need a ban, but we do need to ask everyone to keep on using water wisely.”

Do you have a best friend at work? The Q12 champions seized their chance to grill four members of the Executive team before the annual employee engagement survey – to be completed by July 10

C

hief executive Martin Baggs took on the most controversial question of the bunch: do you have a best friend at work? “In other words, do you have a mate at work you can confide in or go for a pint with? I’ve got a few,” said Martin intently as things kicked off. “This is the best question in there, I reckon.” Not everyone nodded. He described it as the biggest talking point and most powerful question in Q12. Martin joined a team of four Executive members in a Question Time-style event for the 80-strong group of Q12 champions at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Caversham. Media manager Simon Evans hosted the session, at which Mr Baggs was particularly vocal.

“A MORE ENGAGED BUSINESS IS A HIGHER PERFORMING BUSINESS” Operations director Nick Harris said the overall objective was to encourage more staff to be engaged “to improve the place we work, not for a better Q12 score”. “A more engaged business is a higher performing business,” added Martin, who also claimed it was easy to see the difference in performance from a team engaged – the buzz word of the hour – from one that is not. HR director Janet Burr said she believed in the format of the survey and that the champions “need to continue to push the campaign upwards”. 8 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

Last year’s 71 per cent participation score was “absolutely superb”, agreed the panel. But the compère suggested otherwise, arguing that 29 per cent not taking part added to the 15 per cent of disengaged individuals, confirmed by last year’s scores, amounted to 44 per cent of the business possibly being disengaged. Simon was told bluntly by the boss that he was wrong and should go away and “do his research properly”. Undeterred, the host asked why more senior managers were not Q12 champions. The answer: because it is part of their job role anyway. It was accepted that senior managers had to get closer to the frontline operation, and that if all the Thames Water staff were located in one building things would be simpler. IS analyst Jon Charlton said senior managers should spend a day working at “ground level”. All the Executives agreed, saying they were already doing so. Nick said it was vital that contractors were equally engaged in the business and that we need to change the way we work with them.

“That is the challenge for the rest of this fiveyear period,” he said. The Executive quartet was asked where does a team go once it achieves ‘best practice’? Janet said: “Look at the bigger picture, look downwards, look sideways, and share your knowledge and ideas with other teams.” On the company’s £50m investment on implementing the new Work and Asset Management Information system (WAMI), Martin said: “WAMI isn’t just a new tool, but a whole new toolbox”. Simon asked if we had invested in the right thing. It was agreed that success would not happen overnight and that it could be a “painful process” at times, but it was ultimately the right solution for the future. Visit the Portal to find out more about Q12. This year’s survey needs to be completed by 6pm on Tuesday 10 July with results due by the end of August.

Executive Roadshows: what’s on your mind? The Executive Roadshows rolled into more than 40 Thames Water sites last month wanting to know ‘what’s on your mind?’ The team travelled in twos, threes and fours across the entire region from 11 to 15 June to give staff the opportunity to speak faceto-face with the company directors. The purpose of the roadshow was to find out what employees from all corners of the business think, to hear of any concerns, listen to ideas and, where appropriate, make the steps to put these into action.

BOREHOLE with media manager Simon Evans

Each month BH drills down on the news and issues affecting Britain’s biggest water firm

Twitter – one good, one bad

“Apparently 2 tons of water flooded the Central Line at Stratford. Congrat s Thames Water! Destroy the Olympics main station...” “GREAT service fro m Thames Water today. On tim e, dismantled my ga rden & decking, dug, fixed & rebuil t all in good time, no fuss & frien dly :)”

WETTEST DROUGHT IN HISTORY

S

hortly after Denis Howell was appointed Minister for Drought in 1976, the heavens opened and stayed open. History repeated itself this year when, following the driest two years on record, we and six other suppliers imposed a Temporary Use Ban, or ‘hosepipe ban’ – an irony not missed by us or the media, who promptly dubbed it the ‘wettest drought in history’. By 14 June, the day we lifted our ban, we had already received 169% of the average rain for the whole month, after a whopping 262% in April and 76% in May. Had we had known on 5 April that the topsy-turvy British weather would ride so spectacularly to the rescue, we would not have imposed the ban. Sadly, right now we cannot see into the future. At least, not yet. BH understands LeakFrog inventor Leo Kiernan, of Thames Water’s crack innovation unit, is working on it.

Year-end results Our year-end financial results, reporting a 13% drop in underlying pretax profits for 2011/12, were the most transparent we have ever published. They included fine detail on directors’ pay and frank admissions that customer service had “deteriorated”. Media seized on these things. Nothing personal. Just how it works. After all, who wants to hear about us hitting six consecutive annual leakcutting targets when there are executive bonuses to discuss?

For she’s a brolly good fellow Press day at the Chelsea Flower Show: Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman visited the ‘Climate Calm’ garden, set up by the Southern, Thames, South East and Sutton & East Surrey water firms. Some neat footwork by a certain external affairs director ensured that when the photographers started snapping the Minister was clutching one of our splendid pink ‘drought’ umbrellas – matching her splendid pink dress. One does one’s research, darling!

Welsh Water serves ‘half the globe’ Welsh Water “serves three billion people”, reported one UK broadsheet, which, in the interests of discretion, BH will not name. Explanation? Some very focused procreation in the valleys, a major global expansion, or a typo. BH suspects the latter.

You’ve all gone down

A salutary reminder “Central Line flooding adds to Tube fears during London 2012 Olympics” was Metro’s headline after a burst main on 5 June sent 2m litres of water into a London Underground ventilation shaft. All services were halted on the line connecting the city centre with Stratford, home of the Olympic Park. This was a salutary reminder of the need for us to be on top of our game this summer. When 30,000 members of the media arrive for the ‘greatest show on earth’, starting on 27 July, we don’t want to become the story.

High five to a man taking it in his Stride Long after the rest of us are tucked up in bed, he can be found fielding tough questions from residents about the proposed scheme to stop sewage polluting the capital’s river. An awestruck BH salutes Phil Stride, 26, head of the Thames Tunnel project, for his indefatigability.

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed there are no capital letters on people’s job titles in this revamped Source. That’s a decision by our new editor, Stuart White, aka ‘ed’. A senior Source source tells BH: “The ed is running Source like a newspaper. Willy-nilly capital letters just won’t do.” BH concurs fully with ed’s decision to take you down. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 9

NEWS

HR team win SAP award

DINING OUT WITH AN OLD FRIEND AT CHELSEA: External affairs director Richard Aylard bumped into his old pal Antonio Carluccio, the famous restaurateur, near the water companies’ ‘Climate Calm’ garden. “Haven’t seen you for 20 years. You haven’t changed a bit,” said both in unison.

Opinions wanted to shape 25-year strategy BY ANDREW BOYD

C

ustomers are being asked to help decide Thames Water’s strategy for the next 25 years – and staff are invited to give their views too. The company has started a public consultation on a scene-setting document that sets out how it will define priorities to 2040 and beyond. The consultation is the first step in plans for the 2014 price review – or PR14 – when Thames submits its business plan to Ofwat for the period 2015-2020. They will use this to decide the work the firm carries out over those five years, the budget available for it and the price limits that decide customers’ bills. The document, called Making the most of the essential service, has been sent to 1,700 stakeholders and published on the company website.

“WE WANT TO INVOLVE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE FROM THE VERY START OF THE PR14 PROCESS” Customers’ feedback will help decide the long-term strategy, which will be published in draft form at the end of the year. The process will help show Ofwat how the five-year plans sit within Thames’ wider priorities. Sarah McMath, head of strategic business planning, said: “We’ve described the challenges we believe we’ll face over the next 25 years, some of the most commonly-held views from recent customer research, and our early thoughts on our long-term priorities. “As well as asking customers and other stakeholders, we very much want to hear what 10 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

staff across Thames Water think. We want to involve as many people as possible from the very start of the PR14 process.” The consultation, which is being carried out independently, runs until 21 September. The approach follows guidance from Ofwat that customer engagement will play an even more important role. Sarah said: “We did a good job of consulting with customers in the run-up to the 2009 price review – but we and other companies will be expected to do much more this time, and to put our customers at the heart of our decision making. “As part of this, we’ll be inviting our 2,000-strong customer research panel to give us their thoughts. We’ve also set up our own independent Customer Challenge Group, who are ensuring we engage with customers and take their views into account.” The consultation will also seek input from the 400 members of Thames’ employee research panel. If you’re not a member but would like to comment, please complete the online questionnaire at thameswater.co.uk/haveyoursay.

SAP named “groundbreaking” Thames Water as its most successful human resources solutions customer in a brand new awards ceremony. The Run Prouder prizes were introduced to highlight which firms are making the most of SAP – which stands for Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing – solutions and to provide an example to others of how its products can work. Chief executive Martin Baggs said the award recognises the “huge effort from the team” and that it “seems strange that not so long ago we were facing some big challenges in introducing the new system and rolling it out to the business”.

Safe summer working Employees are reminded to enjoy a safe and healthy summer by preparing properly for working in the sun. Protect yourself from the harmful rays, especially during 11am and 3pm when they’re strongest, by wearing a hat, suntan lotion and sunglasses, and by trying to work in the shade. Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration, and if you are feeling any effects avoid fizzy drinks, tea, coffee and alcohol. Also be aware of heat exhaustion or heatstroke. If you or a colleague feels unwell during a warm spell, move somewhere cool to rest and drink plenty of fluids. For more summer health and safety tips visit the Portal.

Poor pressure, not DG2 Asset management director Bob Collington made a cutting-edge move at his team QBR in June. He’s leading the way by dropping reference to ‘DG2’ and instead has asked asset management to say what they really mean – poor pressure. This move away from regulatory-speak focuses on ‘doing the right thing for our customers, our brand and our people’. Source is looking forward to seeing other areas of the business follow suit.

Desal 154 not out Engineers at the Beckton desalination plant were celebrating after the facility produced 154 million litres in a single day, exceeding its official daily maximum output by four million and confirming that London’s “drought-buster” is now fully up to speed ahead of the Olympics.

Bone of contention Police attended the Thames foreshore near Beckton sewage works after engineers working on the site’s expansion discovered what they thought were human bones. “Tests soon concluded they were in fact swan bones,” said a company spokesman.

Image courtesy London 2012

source looks ahead to the biggest sporting event in the world

‘I’ll enjoy the Olympics when it’s over’ They say it is like having 26 FA Cup finals on one day for 40 consecutive days of the year. Yet Thames Water’s man of the moment DANNY LEAMON, the London 2012 Olympics principal project manager, told source he is ready to tame ‘the complex beast’

W

e have set up a dedicated Olympic event team, which comes into force on July 15 and consists of around 200 staff working dedicated 24-hour shift patterns. They will be based at strategic locations around London close to the venues to try and provide a rapid response to any issues impacting the Olympics, and staff will be policing the areas around the venues to identify any emerging issues like leaks or blocked sewers.

The Government has said if there is an issue at any Olympic venue they want us to respond within half an hour. That is much quicker than a typical response in London, which is normally around two hours. There will be two key differences during the Games. Firstly, the consequences of mishaps are much, much higher. Something that would normally be of local media interest could become national or

even international news if something goes wrong. The second difference is the ability for us to get around London. Large parts will be inaccessible. This will make going about our normal daily work that much more complicated. Nothing has ever been on the same scale for Thames Water. We have been talking to other water companies in other countries who have hosted the Olympics, like Sydney, Australia, to gain insight but London is such a different Games. It is one of the first to be in the centre of a major city. We are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best – all our arrangements are in place in case things go wrong. We will be taking the lead communications role for the whole water industry at the Olympics control centre in Canary Wharf, so if there is a water

supply problem at or near the football stadium in Newcastle we will deal with the local water company and oversee the media response. It is crucial for us to raise awareness in the business of what the implications will be. There is still that fear that people aren’t taking it seriously and haven’t woken up to the fact it is really happening. I’m waiting for the phone call on 16 July asking ‘How do I get to work today?’ We want to drum into people at every opportunity: ‘Are you ready? Do you really understand how it is going to affect you?’ We can’t say it enough. I can’t wait for it to be finished. I won’t be able to enjoy any of the Olympics until 10 September when it is all over. I used to love watching it, I am keen on sports, but we don’t really get to see anything. You think there would be sports associated with the preparation, but there hasn’t been any really. It is a fantastic thing to be involved in but there is just so much of it – it is such a complex beast. Danny Leamon was talking to Stuart White Turn the page for more Olympic news…

www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 11

OLYMPIC SPECIAL

Thrown in at t The London 2012 Olympic Games will be “just another event” to HELEN WHITTLE when she takes up her poolside position as a swimming official at the Aquatics Centre later this month. Stuart White didn’t quite believe her…

T Jerry’s on the pace Head of drought strategy Jerry White told press officer Craig Rance he is hoping for a quiet Olympics How have preparations gone? The most important thing for us in water production was getting all of our sites running at peak performance, because forecasts suggest demand for water will increase by between five and 10 per cent in London during Games time due to the expected influx of people. That means getting Walthamstow water works up to speed and, of course, the desalination plant, our trusty ‘back-up generator in the basement’. Did the two driest years on record leading up to the Games make the challenge even greater? People have been working pretty much non-stop on just this and the drought has just compounded things. Just like the athletes, we’ve been doing our own Olympic training. Did the hosepipe ban and burst main on the Central Line add to the pressure? Yes, one minute you’re official provider to the Games, and the next you’re being called into question. I think the drought communications have changed a lot of perceptions about what Thames Water does. Hopefully that means customers understand the difficult job we do, but it’s vital we are ready and resilient. Our response time has been set at just 30 minutes for incidents at Olympic venues – is this realistic? We’ll have an operations manager on 24-hour shifts at the venue and infrastructure command centre at Canary Wharf. Senior managers are on out-of-hours shifts to support should anything go horribly wrong. It’s all about response time and being ready to go at the drop of a hat wherever and whenever.

he biggest sporting event in the world is coming and Helen Whittle can smell the chlorine. She will be one of the youngest swimming officials at the London 2012 Games and the more we talked Olympics, the more her mind raced and the butterflies fluttered.

“THE SAME RULES APPLY TO OLYMPIC SWIMMERS AS THE NINE AND 10-YEAROLD KIDS I WAS REFFING AT THE WEEKEND” A member of the finance team, she naturally shies away from the limelight and hates to be centre of attention. But soon the 30-year-old will be centre-stage. “Yes it is the biggest, but to me the Olympics are just another swimming event,” she said, confirming she would, if required, have no hesitation in hitting the headlines by disqualifying even Olympicgold machine Michael Phelps. “Obviously I hope I don’t have to do that. In the back of my mind, yes they are Olympic athletes, big names like Phelps and our own Becky Adlington, but all I see are swimmers in their lanes. “The same rules apply to them as the nine and 10-year-old kids I was reffing at the weekend. If they do it wrong they are out. I have to forget the hype. I am just focused on my lane or the stroke. Rules are rules, unfortunately. I just have to get

in the zone, switch off from everything else and do my job.” Helen, an amateur swimmer herself, has been an official for eight years and a referee for six. She was fast-tracked to the top on a British Swimming development programme. It is in her blood, with both her parents and her sister also referees. She was placed on the FINA (swimming’s international governing body) list last year, when she was part of the officiating team for the European Junior Championships in Belgrade. Last August Helen was then told she would be one of 12 British officials working at the London Olympics. “Everything is geared towards the Olympics,” said Helen, who has worked at Clearwater Court for four years. “Everybody talks about it to me. I just need to turn up now – everything I need to do is done. “I am a Olympics-bound Helen Whit bit nervous.

Last Olymp up for grab

So it will be like our own 100m sprint final? I guess I’m known for when things get exciting. I quite enjoy it (he thrives on it, ed) but when it comes to the Olympics I’m hoping it’s going to be quiet. But you could end up back on TV like when talking about the Central Line flooding recently. Do you like giving interviews? A lot of my friends tell me they’ve seen me on TV, but they mostly have advice for things I could do better. Recently, after all the drought interviews, a friend texted me saying: ‘Please get off my telly, you’re on more than Simon Cowell.’ 12 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

The London 2012-bound Walnut Court trio of Kirsty Colmer and Kate Northcott, both Triggy Wonka winners, with Danielle Dorman, right, who won her tickets at the Customer Service Conference

Hot Olympics tickets c Thames Water staff b or buying Triggy Wonk The company had a up for grabs through a and competitions, and given to those attendi swimming, waterpolo basketball, cycling and Water network optim Damian Crawford is th to the Games after wi Wenlocks’ competitio For a full list of the w

OLYMPIC SPECIAL

the deep end

ttle

Stephanie says…

Stephanie Baker has done “a remarkable job” since joining the Olympic programme team in September and was praised for her “positive approach” and “steely determination” by principal project manager Danny Leamon. He said, quite simply, the Olympic project would fail without her. Here, workstream lead Stephanie tells Source some of the key Thames Water facts and figures which reveal the enormous scale of the operation The Olympic Games runs from 27 July to 12 August and the Paralympic Games from 29 August to 9 September featuring 14,500 Athletes from 205 nations. There will be 300 events across 26 different sports at 26 venues with nine million tickets sold and a worldwide audience of four billion.

Members of the Hackney rowing team get their hands on Olympic gold at the launch event for this year’s Thames Water London Youth Games Regatta

When the torch relay started I thought: ‘Actually, it’s getting a little bit close now’. I’ve been receiving emails about uniform and when I have to be there – it is slowly starting to sink in. Just talking about it now makes me get a bit more nervous.” Swimming dominates the first week of the Olympics and Helen is expected to have just one of the days off to use her pass to catch the action as a spectator at the Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre, where recycled water,

pics tickets bs

can still be won by by entering the Raft Race ka chocolate bars. a total of 500 tickets a number activities d most have now been ing rowing, gymnastics, o, hockey, diving, d athletics. misation manager he latest on his way inning our ‘Spot the on in The Source. winners see the Portal.

much of it from Thames Water’s nearby Old Ford recycling plant, will be used to flush the venue’s toilets. In the pool, she believes the ones to watch will be American big-guns Phelps and Ryan Lochte. And Britain’s Adlington looks to be in promising form, too. Helen will carry out her roles, including blocking out advertising logos on swimsuits with a marker pen if competitors overstep the strict regulations of a national badge and one sponsor, dry-side. “I will be behind the starting blocks or down the side of the pool – ring side seats. Monday I could be turn judge in lane eight, Tuesday a stroke judge. It is decided on the day. The atmosphere will be amazing – it will be a once in a lifetime experience.” So just another sporting event? “Okay, it will be completely different. Nothing will ever compare to this. But in the pool the swimmers will just be red hats or black hats – just swimmers in their lanes.”

THAMES WATER DUO ANT TYLER AND GORDON RALPHS WILL BE PROUD TORCHBEARERS WHEN THE OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY HITS THE STREETS OF READING ON 10 JULY TRANSPORT FOR LONDON HAS CREATED A GETTING AHEAD OF THE GAMES (WWW. GETAHEADOFTHEGAMES.COM) WEBSITE HELPING YOU TO UNDERSTAND THE TRAVEL HOTSPOTS, INCLUDING PUBLIC TRANSPORT, FOR EACH DAY OF THE GAMES

Thames Water’s first milestone came when work commenced in July 2007 to demolish the original site in Stratford which would become the Olympic Park. It was around that time Thames Water first became involved in the project, with water main and sewer diversions being carried out by our developer services department to make way for the venues. As the official Water and Waste Water Provider for the Games, Thames Water has been responsible for overseeing the installation of the permanent infrastructure on the Olympic Park and the temporary infrastructure to supply the other London venues such as Greenwich Park and Horse Guards Parade. More than 30km of new pipes and sewers have been installed along with a new deep foul pumping station. A new non-potable water network has been installed across the Olympic Park to distribute the water and reduce the reliance on potable water by 40 per cent. The Old Ford Recycling Plant generates 570 cubic meters of non-potable water per day and will supply water for uses such as irrigation, toilet flushing and cooling in the park’s energy centre. The Olympic Park and Stratford City form part of the Woodford Zone in north east London and will be fed from Coppermills Water Treatment Works. The site includes 14km of new 450mm and 600mm pipework and will connect to existing 42” and 24” mains in the west and north east respectively. The estimated peak flow during the Games will be 34mld with the average 14mld. Thames Water is also responsible for carrying out diversions of existing assets with 20 major diversions ongoing across the site at a cost of £12m.

www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 13

NEWS Solar cell-ebration at 27 sewage works Project is innovative and makes financial and environmental sense, says Thames Water’s head of carbon and energy management JOHN GILBERT

T

hames Water has fitted new solar power installations at 27 of its sewage works. The photovoltaic (PV) arrays across at sites including Henley, Aldermaston and Dorchester, have been up and running since the end of March. Together they will produce more than 1,000,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity a year – enough to run 250 average-sized households. This will save of 561 tonnes of greenhouse (CO2e) emissions every year – enough to fill more than 3,000 double-decker buses. This work is helping to hit the firm’s goal of cutting emissions by 20 per cent by 2015 compared on 1990 levels. The solar installations were completed in time to receive the Government’s 30.7p/kWh feed-in tariff, before it was reduced to 12.9p on April 1. This means Thames Water has secured lowcost, green electricity over the lifetime of the solar panels, which should be at least 25 years. John Gilbert, Thames Water’s head of carbon and energy management, said: “We delivered this project in the nick of time, keeping alive our goal to become Britain’s biggest on-site producer and industrial user of solar power, and further hedging ourselves from future upward

JOHN GILBERT: “OUR GOAL IS TO BECOME BRITAIN’S BIGGEST ON-SITE PRODUCER AND INDUSTRIAL USER OF SOLAR POWER” fluctuations in the mainstream, non-renewable energy markets. “We use a huge amount of power and it is expensive, and we expect it will continue to be expensive. The installations are good news for the customer because it is low cost energy and good news for the environment as we are cutting out all that harmful CO2. “Around 10 of our sites are now running

completely on solar power and all the panels are on land we could not use for anything else. This project is innovative and makes financial and environmental sense.” Enfinity Solar and Promo Energy will own and maintain the solar panels, selling the environmentally friendly energy to Thames Water at a market-competitive price, saving around £100,000 off the firm’s annual energy bills. Electricity is the firm’s highest operational cost at £80 million a year. By producing its own renewable energy, the company reduces energy costs, bringing downward pressure on customers’ bills. This solar power project has taken the total number of sites where renewable energy is produced to more than 50. Last year Thames Water hit the headlines after fitting 3.7 megawatts of solar arrays across three of its main London sites, making it one of the biggest producers of solar power in the UK. To date Thames Water has reduced its greenhouse emissions by 11.4 per cent in 1990 levels, despite serving the equivalent of three million more customers today than 20 years ago and while meeting today’s higher water and sewage treatment standards.

Changing industry for a sustainable legacy Dramatic finish to finance quiz Nineteen teams from finance, IS, procurement, fleet and property raised £1,000 for WaterAid after locking horns in the inaugural Finance and Business Services Quiz. Girls, Girls, Girls (Clare Frankum, Emily Plews, Helen Whittle, Poling Lau and Jim Hawkins) stole the victory from Team Pemberton (Carol Pemberton, Will Sanderson, Wyn Moseley and Kevin Gough) by one point in the last round to be crowned champions. The wooden spoon went to KPMG auditors at the Olympic-themed event held at Island Bar in Reading in May, while Allan Comins and Anne Richards won the top prize of London 2012 tickets in the raffle. The Finance Social Committee of Emma Prince, Jonathan Biruls, Amy Seng and Greg Handley organised the event which is hoped to be the first of many. 14 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

Thames Water chief executive Martin Baggs spoke to more than 300 water industry experts who gathered to celebrate innovation in the water sector at the Institute of Water annual conference. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Changing the industry for a sustainable legacy’ with the focus firmly on innovation and its role in developing the sector to ensure customer service, evolving legislation and technical delivery all help to shape a sustainable future for the industry. Martin said: “Innovation is not just about driving down costs. For our customers, it’s also about value and improving service. It’s no longer about technology and legislation, it is also about regulation and customers. All these aspects

need to work hand in hand to drive innovation.” Martin was one of a number of key speakers at last month’s event in London. Professor Martin Cave said he believed this industry is on a threshold that will lead to innovation and change and claimed “the sooner that comes the better”. And Sonia Phippard, Defra director for water, floods, environmental risk and regulation, added: “Innovation is not just about cutting edge technology. We are helping to co-ordinate co-operation across the sector and this is key to ensuring the right environment for innovation to take place.” The Institute of Water was founded in 1945 and is the only professional body that exclusively supports the careers of anyone working in the UK water industry.

NEWS

£80m savings from Going for Gold campaign It is important that efficiency remains high on the agenda after hitting cash target BY HEATHER LEWIS-JONES

T

hames Water achieved £80m of cost-savings in the second year of its Going for Gold efficiency drive. The campaign to save more than £200m to the company’s 2010to-2015 investment programme involved teams from asset management, capital delivery, operations and finance. Steve Plumb, head of programme and risk management, said: “From a standing start at the beginning of 2011/12 we managed to find £80m in savings – a really impressive achievement.” Asset management’s capital programme team saved £66m by working with representatives from across the business to identify activities which could be removed without posing a significant risk to the business. The rest of the savings were achieved by making changes to the way we deliver our projects. “We challenged some of the traditional ways we work, like reviewing our standards and contract conditions,” said Steve.

reducing the number of man-hours required on site, with the number of personnel needed to assemble the walls reduced from eight people for three weeks to four for one week. In the rest of the business, individual project teams made further savings by exploring ways of cutting costs. In the fleet team, savings were achieved by reducing the pool of vehicles from 90 to 70. Other strategies, like introducing competitive tendering, also brought significant savings. For example, the King’s Cross Reinforcement Main project, to provide additional water to meet rising demand, achieved £320,000 of savings using this approach. Steve added: “We’ve done well so far but it’s important that efficiency remains high on the agenda. To make sure we reach our overall target we need to save a further £40.8m over this year. This is a big challenge but applying what we’ve learnt so far will help.” Although the project teams have smaller efficiency targets this year, finding further savings will be a big challenge. Asset management’s capital

“WE FOUND INNOVATIVE WAYS OF WORKING, USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAKE CONSTRUCTION QUICKER AND CHEAPER” “We also found innovative ways of doing things, using new technologies that make construction quicker and cheaper.” Within capital delivery, for example, the major upgrade at Crossness sewage works achieved more than £1m in savings by challenging our usual approach to construction, and building the 12 final settlement tanks from pre-cast walls made in a factory before being assembled on site. The savings were achieved by

programme team have also carried out a detailed ‘risk and value’ assessment of forthcoming projects, making sure low-priority ones are excluded and new ones are structured efficiently. Steve said: “Trying to cut costs during a project will never be as effective as being as efficient as possible right from the start. This project will provide the best value for our customers’ money and will put us in a good position for the 2014 review of prices, so it’s essential we get it right.”

PIPE DREAMS: Left, from front, Ebby Abdul, Omotayo Onanuga and Matthew Hackshaw. Right, Steve Lawrence, Andrew Hutchinson, Geoff Paul and James O’Donoghue

Desalination plant ‘can reduce leakage’ The desalination plant at Beckton is London’s much-publicised ‘droughtbuster,’ safeguarding the company’s ability to provide the essential service to its customers during extended dry spells. When supplies run low, as they have done recently, this facility can supply an additional 150 million litres of water a day, enough for 1m people. But what does it mean for the man on the ground? What does it mean for, say, eastern region leakage optimisation manager Geoff Paul? Geoff recently took his team – who are responsible for helping to drive down leakage from our 20,000mile network to its lowestever level – on an eyeopening tour of the site, led by Dave Cash, to learn

about how it works. Geoff said: “The desal’ plant is extremely relevant to my team as when it runs into the supply network it has a significant influence on how water is distributed about our region. “It can even influence the leakage figures as it changes the interaction between different water supply zones, actually giving us a leakage reduction.” The team also discovered the water coming out of desal’ is two degrees Celsius warmer than the water out of Coppermills water treatment works. This, they said, could potentially be a big positive if the plant is ever run in the winter as it should reduce the effect of cold water on cast-iron pipes and cut the number of bursts.

www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 15

GRADUATE AWARDS

Queen England hails hard-working graduates

Randal Lavery, Omoruyi Agbonlahor, Harriet De Bene, Pradeep Rao, Anthony Sotiriou and Jonathan Birul

Richard Smith, Amy Seng, Harriet De Bene, Sarah Hedden, Stephanie Davidovitz, Jasmine Killen, Ben Searle-Barnes, Alex Saunders and Stephen Pattenden

A glitzy ceremony to reward all the graduates who have completed their programme as well as acknowledging those on the 2011 scheme added some glamour to Reading Town Hall last month

A

stunned Faye England was honoured at the Annual Graduate Awards for most consistently living the Thames Water Values throughout her development programme. The central north graduate field operations manager was singled out by line-managers as the top performer and presented with the Values Award by operations director Nick Harris at the Reading Town Hall event last month. Faye said: “It was a complete surprise! I know as a graduate intake how hard we have all worked over the last 18 months and what we have all achieved is fantastic.

“I have been a field operations manager for the last year managing NSTs in central north London and my role as a front line manager has been particularly challenging. “During the last year we have been the pilot area to take on WAMI and there has also been the recent introduction of the new working patterns. We now have the drought and the Olympics to contend with. “I have learnt a ridiculous amount over the past year and I would not have been able to do it without the support of central north NSTs, the other managers and my manager Tony Wiles so a big thanks to them!”

Jayne Farrin with WaterAid’s Jessica Sutton and Harriett De Bene

16 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

The evening saw certificates presented to all the graduates who have completed their 18 or 36 month programme as well as acknowledging some of the initial achievements of graduates on the 2011 scheme. Line managers were also praised for the essential role they play in their development at the second annual ceremony. Helen Newman and Harriett De Bene of WaterAid also recognised and thanked the 2010 ‘London team’ for the 5/20 fundraising event run in September 2011 as well as ‘Team Fusion’ for the recent OlympiAid fundraising event which were both in aid of WaterAid. During their first few months at Thames Water, each of the current crop of graduates were given the task of recording an informative and interesting video diary of an employee – along the lines of ‘A Day in the Life’. The video clips were to last no longer than three minutes and head of communications and brand Jayne Farrin presented Harriet White, a graduate trainee field operations manager based at Epsom WTW, with an award for the most innovative, accurate and stylish video. Innovation manager Rupert

Kruger presented asset management graduate Sally Rose (waste network performance team) with the Best Personal Innovation Project award for her delivery and summary presentation given to senior leaders of her 12-week placement in innovation. Finally, CEO Martin Baggs was pleased to present Dave Cash (production manager, Coppermills WTW) with a Most Supportive Manager Award for the first class challenge and support he has provided to Alex Mahon in the initial stages of his career. Thames Water CEO Martin Baggs presented certificates to all the graduates completing the programme: Evelyn Kimuri James Lancaster Anthony Sotiriou Jonathan Le Mare Dumi Gazi Pradeep Rao Faye England Stephanie Baker Jevan Laxen Randal Lavery Danielle Brown Omoruyi Agbonlahor Thomas Ray Thomas Hutchinson Ed Dodman

CEO Martin Baggs with Dave Cash

NEWS

It’s about people, not pipes BY NATALIE SLATER

Operations director Nick Harris with Faye England

Agents are being asked to make an emotional connection to customers and think outside the box to help improve service at Thames Water. At a customer service conference last month, customer service director Natalie Beckerman said that there was going to be a shift from focusing on pipes to people to help make sure customer agents get things right first time. The event was held to launch the new strategy which is being invested-in to reduce the amount of unwanted calls to the customer centre and in turn reduce costs. She said: “This is about doing the basics absolutely excellently the first time. The number of complaints we receive is increasing, not reducing – we have a lot to do but we are committed to doing it. It’s not about regulatory targets, it’s about making an emotional connection to our customers. “We need to empower our call

agents to make them believe that they can help people, not to just say what we have told them to say.” Held at Walnut Court in Swindon, the day involved a number of workshops to bring together ideas on how customer service can be improved around metering, customer contacts, training and revenue. Team leaders were asked to think about ways they could help improve the way customer agents take calls, from ‘thinking outside the box’, to putting themselves in the customers’ shoes. Chief executive Martin Baggs said everyone who works for Thames Water works in customer service, claiming: “It’s about making people feel good when we do something right.” Taking the stage at the end of the conference he instigated a game of heads or tails and then gave winner Danielle Dorman – an internal communications advisor – a pair of Olympic tickets. Handing them over, he said: “That makes you feel good, right? That’s customer service.”

WaterAid Lottery winners Mobile feedback

Innovation manager Rupert Kruger with Sally Rose

HDG Cruickshank scooped the top prize of £800 in April’s Thames Water WaterAid Lottery. Other winners, each collecting £25, were Dee Cane, Helen Kenyon, Keith Silk, I Larkins, J Keddie, Maria Rafter, R Harris, J Francis, Iggy Lezica, V Keningale, Mark Willcocks, Amanda Gould, Philip Taylor, Suzanna Smart and A Stepanow. Jeffrey Whiter took the top prize for May with the other £25 winners being: HJ Batiste, N Shaw, Graham Coe, Stephen Feely, Timothy Wilson, David Thompson, RR Sharp, Ian Salisbury, DB Evans, Thomas Pitts, Carol Knight, Stephen Dymond, JE Boyce, DM Scott, D Pepper and CW Cocklin.

Customers can now say what they think of their Thames Water service by giving instant feedback via their mobile. After a customer request has been completed the company will text them a message asking for feedback and the technology of the CSAT tool will pick up words and phrases to help monitor when they are happy or dissatisfied. Customer service director Natalie Beckerman said: “This should help spot things that are going wrong sooner, and identify ways to improve customer satisfaction across all parts of the business. Up until now we have only measured certain parts of a customer’s journey but this new system will allow us to understand the whole end-to-end experience.”

Renewable energy solution at Hogsmill

Martin Baggs with Danielle Brown

These futuristic structures at Hogsmill sewage treatment works look as though they have landed from outer space but are actually biodomes installed to convert part of the asset into a biogas storage facility. Two existing concrete tanks were reengineered converting them into digesters by splitting the 32m diameter tank with a pre-cast central walkway and by developing a bespoke BIODOME® double membrane gas holder. Enrico Masini, senior engineer at contractor GBM, who are delivering the project as part of the capital programme, said: “The conversion delivers a number of benefits including better odour control and more efficient treatment of the sludge whilst the recovered bio gas will be

used to generate power in the CHP plant on the site.” Last month’s upgrade provides an improvement of treatment and maximises renewable energy options at the Kingston Upon Thames site.

www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 17

SEEING IS BELIEVING

We believe ambitious app can plug ageing workforc A BY STUART WHITE

pprentices took centre stage at the Cathedral of Sewage despite sharing a room with the most powerful leaders in the utilities industry. The Prince’s Seeing is Believing programme, in association with Business in the Community, arrived at Abbey Mills Pumping Station in May with the aim of introducing company executives to young people on apprenticeship schemes. Thames Water CEO Martin Baggs hosted the day in east London and was joined by 16 delegates from across the industry, including Anglian Water MD Peter Simpson and Clancy Group CEO Seamus Keogh, as they joined forces to identify what they could do to tackle the UK’s alarming skills gap and youth unemployment crisis. Mr Baggs played a leading role in assembling such a strong presence for the successful event, the first of a number of sessions planned, having personally invited delegates himself, and he was delighted with the response. He said: “It was a great session, inspirational,

A chance to learn and earn The visit to Abbey Mills gave apprentices and their leaders the chance to discuss the state of the industry. source editor Stuart White joined in… The apprentices from Thames Water, Murphy, Morrison and Clancy Group had no reservations The apprentices touring Abbey Mills

18 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

about enrolling on their respective schemes. Each was cherry-picked from a large crowd of candidates

applying for very few places and was proud to be on the ladder. They see a future, and are locked into a structured programme with a route up. One talked of friends “in and out of work” who are “quite jealous” because he has prospects – “it changes your life” – and is gaining practical skills and qualifications. But it was widely agreed the the sector was poor at making the careers sound

sexy to young people and that the perception is: ‘What do you actually do?’ Everyone needs water and power but the challenge was making that attractive and transparent. Thames Water doesn’t struggle for applicants but the intention is to do more to expose the number of schemes on offer, with the knowledge that you can move around the business, gain experience and change direction once on board. “You are given a list by your career advisor but have no idea what the jobs are,” one apprentice said. “You are guessing. It is a lengthy process, not much money, so you have to be really sure you want to commit.” The consensus was that there has been a skills shortage since the 90s and the fear is the industry will soon start to run out of these skilled people. The workforce is getting older and this is where ambitious apprentices can help plug the gap.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

pprentices ce skills gap

CASE STUDY

and I’d like to congratulate all the apprentices for doing a great job and being a fantastic advert for their businesses. You could sense the pride and success in the room.” Sonia Dodd, Thames Water learning and development specialist, said there is a long tradition of apprentices in our business and that Thames currently has 56 at different stages of their learning “They are an integral part of our HR strategy,” she said. “Fundamentally, apprentices bring a new, young perspective and approach. They have the hunger and desire to learn which inspires those around them. “Apprentices add lots of value and when they have finished their schemes and are ready for full time employment they understand our culture and sites and know our business. Long term, they will help address the skills gap we will have in the future.”

“THE APPRENTICES ARE A FANTASTIC ADVERT FOR THEIR FIRMS. YOU COULD SENSE THE PRIDE IN THE ROOM” The delegates are now set to work on a plan of action which could have a long-term impact on Thames and the industry, which has very open concerns over its ageing workforce. They will regroup in October before reporting back to Prince Charles in January with their results and plan of action. Sonia added: “We have a scheme that works but we will not rest on our laurels and are always looking to improve it. We are currently looking to expand our scheme and to find ways to give a route for the young unemployed to join our business.” Previously that morning, the delegates had visited Community Links, an innovative Newham-based charity running a wide range of community projects, and Alpha BSE College in Stratford. This provided an opportunity to meet young people who are currently looking for employment and, through their personal stories, delegates had a chance to understand the multiple barriers they face. Mr Baggs said: “The team at Community Links work hard to get local people who are unemployed or ‘unemployable’ into a ready to work programme. They then place them in work and maintain the support to ensure the job goes well, for both the candidate and the employer. “The Alpha BSE College is really special, and shows what can be done with a bit of imagination and hard work. I met a young man who was a qualified mechanic but who had not been able to get a job and so was retraining as a plumber – someone trying that hard to get a job deserves our help.”

Katarzyna Gill Kat was a 26-year-old full time mum with two children aged 10 months and three when she was offered a place – one of five from 1,000 applicants – on the Thames Water process apprenticeship scheme in 2005. Seven years on, and after McDonald’s turned her down, she is a team leader When I first started I was excited but nervous. Beckton is massive, and I was the only woman out of 10 technicians. I didn’t know what to expect only that I had to learn the process. I was following the different stages with the technicians and during that period I also had projects to do. The apprentice scheme was great for me as I got to see an overview of the business. It is not just working with the technicians; I also spent time with coordinators, the trade effluent team, with maintenance, press operators and I shadowed the management team. You are moving around Thames, gaining insight and experience, and the advantage is you can see a career path. After two years of the apprenticeship I was offered a secondment to Riverside STW and I worked there for almost six months as a team manager,

gaining man-management skills. Then I was called back to Beckton as an engineer before being asked to be a team manager, looking after 16 men, which was reduced to 10, and was in that role three years. I’ve now moved to clean water production having gained a lot of process experience and knowledge. I have ambitions but really just want to keep developing and see how far I can go. No matter what age, what gender, you have to put your mind to it and be proactive. You have to work hard to achieve – don’t expect others to serve it on a plate. Challenge others and challenge yourself. As an apprentice I had the chance to develop, go to college, but it was all down to me to work hard and make the most of my opportunity. The bottom line is, the more experience you get the better chance you have. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 19

NEWS

Saving water at Mogden BY HEATHER LEWIS-JONES

The team upgrading Mogden sewage works has been working smart to help reduce water use by 80 per cent. A key part of their water-saving strategy is to use treated water from the works rather than drinking-quality water from the mains. They also plan to minimise wastage by reusing this water numerous times during the testing and commissioning of the new equipment on site. In total the team have to test more than 20 tanks on the site, with a combined total capacity of more than 150,000 cubic metres – equivalent to the water consumed by one million people in a day. One of the biggest savings made using this principle was achieved in May when the new 69,000 cubic metre concrete aeration tank was tested to ensure it is completely watertight. Adrian Jack, project manager, said: “We tested each section sequentially, allowing us to reuse the same treated effluent that would otherwise be returned to the Thames.” The team will also be using final effluent for damping down dust. Newsletters and drop-in sessions for local residents have helped the team share their water conservation plans with customers, sending a clear message that saving water remains a top priority for the business. The Mogden upgrade, to help improve water quality in the River Thames by increasing the site’s treatment capacity by 50 per cent, is nearing its final stages and is on track for completion by spring 2013. Adrian Jack and Matthew Warburton in the Mogden aeration lanes

20 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

Historic trench engine good as new Kew Bridge Steam Museum unveiled its newly restored horse drawn steam fire or ‘trench engine’ complete with original Metropolitan Water Board lettering last month. The super-shiny machine was built in London by Shand Mason & Co and was originally supplied new to the London Fire Brigade in around 1867. However, it was soon sold to the Southwark & Vauxhall Waterworks Co for fire fighting purposes at their Hampton waterworks site and for pumping out excavations relating to water main installation, repairs or bursts across London. It joined a fleet of at least eight which all came under the ownership of the Metropolitan Water Board from 1904 onwards. The museum’s machine was modified and rebuilt in around 1914 by water company staff in their own workshops at Hampton to suit the different working conditions, and is now the only survivor. It was presented by the M.W.B on its retirement in around 1930 to the new London Fire Brigade Museum at Southwark. They have owned it ever since and transferred it on loan to Kew Bridge last year.

Community investment manager Rosemary Waugh helped unveil the engine

New partners celebrating efficiency roadshow success We know household budgets are stretched which is why water and energy-efficiency can make such a difference

T

he water and energy-efficiency roadshow hosted by Thames Water and British Gas was met with a “very positive response” by two enthusiastic communities. Almost 500 residents from Pangbourne, in Berkshire, and Marlborough, in Wiltshire, attended the events – like mini trade fairs – designed to help customers save money by using water and energy more wisely. Thames commercial consultant Di Addison said: “The residents were glad to see Thames take the time to come and see their customers rather than hide behind the drought. They were very interested in how they could do their bit to save water and loved the freebies. “Customers could also speak to British Gas about how to save energy, learn more from Kingspan about how they could use rainwater harvesting systems at home, and also tackle issues with hard water through our relationship with ScaleGuard.” Britain’s biggest water and gas utilities, who are working together in partnership over the next five years, hosted the day-long events recently to promote products like shower savers, dual-flush toilets, tap inserts, solar panels and energyefficient boilers. As a first step in the partnership, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, British Gas will be offering Thames Water customers free loft and cavity wall

insulation which would help shave hundreds of pounds off their energy bills. The firms were also working in tandem at the community events with a plumber from DynoRod – part of British Gas – to install more than 50 products in Marlborough and Pangbourne homes in direct response to customer needs. Di added: “The events worked very well and allowed us both to get deeper into our communities. We know household budgets are stretched which is why water and energyefficiency can make such a difference. “About a third of all the energy we use in homes goes on heating water, so if we save water households with water meters can save money off two bills, not to mention burning less carbon. It is this crucial overlap between energy and water efficiency that the partnership will address and these community events are a great way of spreading the word.” Thames Water is continuing to develop partnerships with organisations that have products that will benefit our employees and customers. We can all do our bit to save money and water as all of the products are available to employees at discounted prices through Benefits on Tap.

interview

tweet

VOLUNTEERING

‘I love making a difference’ Community investment coordinator KAREN RUDKIN explains her job at Thames in our latest tweet interview feature – with answers restricted to 140 characters going into schools and community groups and telling them about what we do.

So you are a community investment coordinator. What’s that? I organise and coordinate volunteering for our employees, helping TW give something back to the community.

What’s been your favourite project? I organised a great project for a team from wastewater process performance at a day centre for people with mental health difficulties.

Why do we do this? It’s really important to be involved with the community, it’s great for staff engagement and is a great way to bond with your team.

What made it stand out? The willingness of the volunteers and the staff at the centre, Root and Branch, were amazing! They were so grateful to have us there.

What’s the best thing about your role? Everything! I get to meet so many different people, and get the chance to help make a real difference to people’s lives.

What about the drought and Olympics, surely everyone is busy with demanding work loads at the moment? Yes, but we have some great opportunities that are drought-related – it’s so important to get out there and educate our customers.

How? A lot of the volunteering I organise is for small organisations, so having volunteers come in is often the only way they can get work done. What’s the biggest event to get involved in? Reading RESCUE is the biggest, volunteers from all over the TW area come to Reading to help litter pick along the river. Is there anything in the London area to get involved in? Yes! Thames21 is our volunteering partner in London, they organise great events for volunteers – be prepared to get a bit muddy though!

Do people have to use annual leave for this? No, Thames Water encourages employees to volunteer and gives all staff two days a year for volunteering. But I don’t like the thought of getting muddy, is there anything else I can do? Of course, volunteering doesn’t have to be dirty work, getting involved in our Community

Speaker Programme is another great option. What’s that? The speaker programme is all about educating our customers,

How can I find out more? We post all volunteering opportunities on the portal under corporate responsibility and sustainability or get in touch with me direct.

Drought speaker goes old school Children at Belleville Primary School have been writing to their parents urging them to use less water in response to the drought. The Year 5 pupils also admitted telling people off for using hosepipes during the ban and even wondered whether they should now just be drinking orange juice to save water. These were the findings of Deephams leakage and optimisation manager Geoff

Paul after he answered a Thames Water drought speaker request call to return his old school in Battersea. “It was really good fun going back,” said Geoff, 40, who left Belleville back in 1982. “It is a big, old Victorian school but everything seemed a lot smaller, and it was strange seeing all the old corridors and stairs again after so long.” Geoff hosted a 30 minute

assembly for the nine and 10-year-olds who he said were “very clued-up” on the current drought. “I asked them lots of questions and they got the answers to all the obvious ones, like saving water by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth,” he said. “They all were aware of the things to do to save water and are now writing to their parents and speaking to friends to ask them to do the same.” www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 21

NATURE

First class foreman rescues flapped-out racing pigeon An exhausted racing pigeon was rescued from the construction works at Mogden by Black & Veatch foreman of 27 years Alan Lloyd. He spotted the bird between shutters in structures soon to be filled with concrete. After giving it food and water, he reported the lost bird on the homing pigeon website using the ring numbers around its leg before eventually linking up with its owner.

Nature haven from old clay A haven for riverside wildlife has been created out of 2,000 tonnes of clay recycled from construction projects at Beckton sewage works, in east London. The ‘Creekside Retreat’ will provide a 2,000-squaremetre range of habitats, with the aim of supporting and preserving a variety of plant and animal species found along the tidal River Thames. The project has reused London clay excavated during construction work at the site, which includes the expansion of the sewage works and the creation of the Lee Tunnel. Beckton’s treatment capacity is being boosted by 60 per cent, so it can treat the wastewater that results from heavy rainfall, substantially reducing partially-treated sewage being discharged into the Thames. The expansion will also allow the site to treat sewage from the Lee Tunnel, a new fourmile sewer which will hugely reduce pollution of the River Lee. Nick Butler, tunnel construction manager, said: “Reusing the clay not only reduces our carbon footprint put also provides considerable cost savings. “This waste material would otherwise need to be transported along the Thames to sites where it is reused – an exercise which would require four stages of handling. “The ‘Creekside Retreat’ will provide a perfect habitat where invertebrates and juvenile fish, such as smelt and gobies, can thrive.” The ‘four stages of handling’ would have meant the clay would have been loaded onto the boat, unloaded at the reuse site, loaded again on a truck, and levelled out at its final destination. 22 | July 2012 www.thameswater.co.uk

Alan said: “He lives in Essex. He thanked me for helping out and asked if I would set the pigeon free when it had recovered – and preferably with a south-westerly tail wind!” After three days, the site’s feathered visitor had recovered enough to continue its journey home and, later that afternoon, Alan received a phone call from the very grateful owner to say his pigeon was back.

Home sweet home for Crossness honey bees Nature reserve manager KAREN SUTTON signs up to Capital Bee scheme

C

rossness is buzzing with excitement after welcoming two colonies of honey bees to the nature reserve. These sweet pictures show the fully suited and booted team transferring the Queen and her workers into their new hive where they are now busy on their way to producing golden honey. “I was a little nervous but it was very exciting and it all went well,” said nature reserve manager Karen Sutton. “The biggest challenge now is ensuring they stay as the beekeeper’s biggest fear is they will swarm and half the colony will fly off with the queen, but even with all the rain we have had the workers have been bringing in pollen so it is looking positive.” Karen has been working with Sidcup-based Ruxley Beekeeping Association and Crossness volunteers Reg Northam and Roger Taylor after signing up to London’s Capital Bee scheme, designed to help reverse the decline – a massive 54 per cent in the last 20 years – of honey bee colonies. The initiative granted Karen free expert training on how to keep the insects, a free hive and a free colony of bees, while Thames Water paid for the two volunteers to also undertake the training and a second colony. The hives are positioned in a protected area of the 20 hectare nature reserve, screened by tall reeds to provide wind shelter and

Nature reserve manager Karen Sutton

drive the bees up so they are not a nuisance to visitors. They are only accessible to Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve members and during controlled educational visits. Karen said: “The interest came in 2010 following the arrival of bees that decided to nest in an underground hydrant chamber. Unfortunately, they could not stay in this precarious location and we neither had the equipment or the knowledge to keep those bees elsewhere on site so I arranged collection and removal with Ruxley Beekeepers. “The Capital Bee scheme gave us the perfect chance to bring bees back in a controlled manner. We’ve since had David Rea (of Ruxley Beekeepers) come and give the Friends of Crossness Nature Reserve members an indoor presentation on bees, so there really has been quite a buzz around of late.” Karen says it will be a while before the bees are producing any of the

sweet stuff but to watch this space for jars of Crossness Honey hitting the shelves… Crossness volunteer Reg Northam

IN FOCUS: GROUNDWATER TEAM

Thames man against the Crossrail machine

It may look like David and Goliath, but STEPHEN BARRY is standing firm to protect Thames Water’s assets from this beast

R

isk management technologist Stephen Barry has been tasked with the crucial job of ensuring trade effluent and groundwater discharges from the Crossrail project cause no harm to Thames Water’s assets. Crossrail is the ambitious project linking London by rail to Maidenhead in the west and Brentwood in the east, and is expected to be finished in 2018. The line will join up with major stations along its route, including Paddington, Tottenham Court Road and Stratford, and the section running under central London will require the boring of twin tunnels up to 36 meters underground. Tim Chalk, groundwater compliance manager based out of Crossness STW, said: “On a project as large as Crossrail, there are a huge number of work streams taking place at the same time. The work Stephen is doing is helping to ensure none of these work streams are held up and, more importantly from Thames Water’s point of view, that none of them have any impact on our assets. “He carries out regular site visits to check that trade effluent discharges arising from such activities as wheel washing and concrete batching are controlled and not likely to cause issues in the sewage network.”

HOLDING HIS GROUND: Stephen Barry in front of the huge tunnel boring machine being used for the Crossrail rail link across London

Tim added: “The drilling process involves sealing the tunnels with waterproof concrete as the tunnel boring machine goes along, but it’s the cross connection tunnels that are more likely to run into problems with groundwater as they are dug by smaller, less complex machines. The effect of the

drought may mean that little or no groundwater is encountered.” Stephen and his team sit within the trade effluent and risk management team at Crossness. They control groundwater discharges into the foul network by imposing limits on volume, to ensure the local sewer’s capacity is not exceeded, and watch out

Report excavations to the groundwater team The groundwater team operate across the whole of the Thames region and rely on two main sources for work. The majority comes from companies letting them know about their proposed discharges which are then assessed and permits issued, but a smaller amount of work is generated by random site inspections of suspected discharging sites revealing

unauthorised discharges followed-up by the team. A recent spillage of bentonite (fine clay-like material) from a site at Bond Street was reported to Stephen Barry who then contacted operations and the local asset planners to assess the likely outcomes from the spillage. Thankfully, the drains in the immediate vicinity were reported to be blocked off

and no bentonite entered the main sewer. Thames Water employees can lend the trade effluent and groundwater team a hand – any excavation below the surface of the ground has the potential to yield groundwater so if you come across anything like this or any other suspected illegal dischargers, contact the team on 0203 577 9483.

for contaminants, so groundwater does not have any negative impact on either the receiving sewer or sewage treatment works. They issue a legal permit to record this and, if the customer does not keep to the terms of their permit, the technologists have the ability to take out prosecutions against the customer which serves as a handy deterrent to potential offenders. Possible worst case scenarios include solvents that degrade the fabric of the sewer or substances such as cyanide that could kill the bacteria in the sewage treatment works resulting in Thames Water failing its discharge consents. The team also ensure that explosive atmospheres do not build up in the network from such things as petroleum contamination which would be dangerous to personnel working in the sewers. www.thameswater.co.uk July 2012 | 23

for granted Go for Raft Race gold It’s going to take more than a rubber ring and fancy lifevest to win gold at this year’s Olympic-themed Thames Water Raft Race. Fired-up teams have been burning the torch at both ends preparing for the hotly-anticipated mile-long event which starts and ends at Reading Rowing Club on Thursday 19 July. The theme for this year’s big race where dreams will be made and crushed is Olympics Through the Ages, with each squad required to pick an Olympic-hosting city and year combination and go for glory on the Thames in Caversham. Whether you gun for the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles 1984 where Carl Lewis won four golds, the style and grace of sophisticated Paris 1924 or even Tokyo 1964, the first games to be televised internationally, fancy dress is a must. To be in with a shot you simply need to get your team of six to build/beg/borrow a raft and paddle it around the course – which is more of a marathon than a 100m sprint, although there will be a number of hurdles on the way. The Raft Race, which starts at 6pm, is great fun with the competitive edge you would expect when friends and colleagues lock horns on the river, and attracts hundreds of competitors and even more spectators. A full list of Olympics cities will be sent out in the application pack and will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with a maximum entry of 40 – that’s nearly one per host city of the Olympics since Athens in 1896. To get your application pack, find out more, or volunteer to help out at the event, please email RaftRace@ThamesWater.co.uk or visit the WaterAid Portal page. Get on the podium The emphasis of the Olympic Raft Race is on raising as much cash as possible for WaterAid while having fun, but you can also win gold in the following categories: Race winner (as well as silver and bronze) Best fancy dress Best raft Least sporting behaviour Team raising the most sponsorship money

Walton-based senior water quality scientist PHIL RENTON has been giving talks at schools and colleges since the early 1990s. Here he describes why he got involved and the importance of spreading the WaterAid word…

W

e take it for granted in the UK that clean, wholesome water will come out of our tap 24 hours a day and that our waste will be flushed away – the classic ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude. My conscience was further pricked during my involvement with Thames’s past project in Izmit, Turkey, where continual water restrictions and significant quality issues were limiting cultural and industrial development. These were the main two reasons why I wanted to get involved with WaterAid by talking to young people. Every presentation is different but all are rewarding, because raising the profile of WaterAid and its work hopefully fixes in the students’ memory, and with luck they’ll continue to support WaterAid throughout their adult lives. I use a modified WaterAidproduced slide pack and the WaterAid speaker briefing notes as a base for my talks, emphasising that for a relatively small amount of money, the provision of clean water, sanitation and public health education can transform lives. Each talk I give is also enlightening. The best example I can give was two

Want to be a WaterAid speaker?

years or so ago at a primary school in Wandsworth. I was showing a slide when one pupil put his hand up and exclaimed that the photo showed his grandmother, who was pictured in a group of women carrying water back to their Tanzanian village. He had just returned from seeing his family and told us of the hardship his friends and family endure. I always take a tenlitre plastic barrel with me, fill it with water and get the students to pick it up and hold it as long as they can. It’s a simple but effective demonstration of how much water weighs and the effort required to carry water over a long distance. The presentations can also be challenging. For instance, I was once asked to attend an evening presentation at a school in Tooting, only to find myself the key speaker for the humanities and language awards for Years 8 to 12. In front of 500-plus students and parents, I had to think on my feet and deliver an impromptu speech on the work of WaterAid, praising the school’s efforts in supporting the charity and raising £800. I had to sit on the stage with the headmistress and assist with the presentation of the awards to the students – thankfully, I’d worn a suit that night.

Visit the Speak for WaterAid section at www.wateraid.org.uk or email WaterAid’s community fundraiser rebeccadallison@ wateraid.org for more information.

Designed by: Octagon Design and Marketing Ltd, Britannic Chambers, 8a Carlton Road, Worksop, Notts S80 1PH. Tel: 01909 478822

We take water