Institute of Water Magazine - Winter 2018

WINTER2018 ISSUE200

OUR 200TH EDITION SINCE 1946!

IN THIS ISSUE PR19 REVIEW PROJECT MANAGEMENT TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT POLLUTION ENERGY EFFICIENCY INSTITUTE OF WATER MAGAZINE

KSB Digital Solutions The PumpMeter and PumpDrive2 Would it be beneficial if you could look inside the pump to see exactly how it performs? Now you can with the innovative PumpMeter from KSB. Combine the PumpMeter with the PumpDrive2 and real-time energy savings can be made.

The PumpMeter is easy to install and more importantly gives‚ ‘real-time‘ information on where a specific pump is operating within a system. Demanddriven operation through speed control is just the beginning, as PumpDrive comes with numerous functions that save even more on energy. By means of continuous measurements the units ensure optimum operation for any demand and at all times.

For more information visit www.ksb.co.uk Our technology. Your success.

Pumps • Valves

• Service

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Winter Edition of the Institute of Water Magazine!

You might have noticed - I’m new here!

I’ve recently joined the Institute of Water Head Office team as the new Marketing and Events Assistant and I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to introduce this very special edition of the Magazine as we mark its 200th issue.

One of the responsibilities I have will be to oversee the annual Drilling and Tapping competition which takes place at Utility Week Live. The event will be held from 21st- 22nd May. We are now calling for teams to enter and we have some great sponsorship opportunities available.

You can read more about this on page 28.

I recently attended my first Membership & Standards Committee meeting where I really enjoyed learning about the Young Person’s Network. Identifying as a young person myself, I am hoping to engage and work with you all more in the future!

In addition, I’m personally looking forward to also working with our Vice President of Engineering, Jo Parker for the 2019 Engineering Conference taking place on April 2nd. This will be the first IWater event that I have helped organise and I am really honored to kick start my role working on such a prestigious event. For more information in regard to the event see the Engineering News on pages 11.

In this issue, we also announce our 2019 cohort of Rising Stars. Before I joined the Institute the Rising Stars programme was reviewed and refreshed. This seems to have paid off as the Institute of Water received a record number of applications. I wish the new Rising Stars well as they embark on what promises to be a great development opportunity.

The Institute of Water recently held its One Day Environment Conference, led by our Vice President Environment, Ian Barker. Institute of Water member and conference delegate, Jenny Lundh, Environmental Permitting Manager at South West Water, has kindly given us her review of the day. If you weren’t able to make the conference, take the time to read Jenny’s review to see what you missed.

Whilst the Magazine has changed over the years, its’ sole purpose remains not-sodifferent! We have some great features in this edition, covering Pollution, Project Management, Energy Efficiency, and Traffic Management. We also have extra features on Wellbeing and the PR19 Review.

Moreover, you can additionally read about what our volunteers have been doing in Area News.

To conclude, I hope you’ll find this issue as useful as I’ll find it. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you in future but in the meantime, you can read a little bit more about me on page 5.

30

66

74

88

Features

30 PR19 Review 62 Project Management 72 Pollution 86 Energy Efficiency

Regulars

4 Members Update 8 Environment News

11 Engineering News

12 New Registrants

18 Rising Stars

22 CPD 95 Area News

Please enjoy!

Megan Williams Marketing and Events Assistant Institute of Water

Institute of Water HQ: 4 Carlton Court, Team Valley, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 0AZ Website: www.instituteofwater.org.uk President: Douglas Millican Chairperson: Simon Cyhanko Chief Executive: Lynn Cooper PR & Communications Manager: Lee Hansom Tel: 0191 422 0088 Email: lee@instituteofwater.org.uk Advertising: Martin Jameson Tel: 07342 850 289 Email: martin@jimjammedia.com Designed and produced by: JimJam Media Ltd Email: sales@jimjammedia.com

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

instituteofwater.org.uk

3

NEW COMPANY AFFILIATES Learning & Development Associates Ltd Learning & Development Associates (L&DA) was formed in 2016 with a vision to bring bespoke company specific training to the Water Sector.

L&DA founded in the UK, has a range of experience in the UK with a background in several international Water markets.

A team of like-minded senior professionals, who have achieved industry-wide recognition for excellence in their own particular fields, whose common aim is the advancement of the competence of the industry.

Focussing on people and process L&DA brings its skills and expertise and network to provide advice, direction and interventions to the Industry supporting the wide range of learning and development needs of the Water Sector.

We have recently worked closely with the sector to develop a suite of technically focused higher level national qualifications available to the water asset owners and supply chain.

Designed to advance the competence of the Water Industry and to address the technical needs of Water Managers specifically, the ultimate aim being to raise the technical competence of the industry to meet the requirements of its regulators.

With our breadth of knowledge and vision, L&DA makes its capabilities available to the sector through specialist design, delivery, project management, assessment and embedment of expertise. http://learninganddevelopment.associates

These new qualifications are at the leading edge of the Water Industry higher skills agenda.

Gill Sensors & Controls Gill Sensors & Controls is a designer and manufacturer of liquid level sensors and preventive pump maintenance solutions.

Created in 1985, the company has remained a family business. This means that every customer receives personal service and attention synonymous with a family business, while retaining the experience and knowledge acquired over time to deliver products that satisfies customers’ needs.

Supported by a team of research scientists and development engineers, we build partnerships with customers using our innate flexibility, responsiveness and close attention to detail, to get products successfully from the design stage, through manufacture and into the marketplace.

Our water industry portfolio includes our 7014 Water Utilities Level Sensor and our 4212 Predictive Maintenance Sensor.

The 7014 sensor is designed to provide reliable and accurate level measurement in challenging fluids. Having a smooth, hydrophobic plastic, non-stick probe without any holes or floats provides dependably accurate liquid level measurements even with suspended solids in the water.

The Institute of Water Head Office will be closed over the Christmas Holiday. The office will close from 12pm, Thursday 20th December 2018 and will reopen on Thursday, 3rd January 2019.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

instituteofwater.org.uk

For further information, visit gillsc.com/water

The 4212 sensor enables maintenance engineers to improve the reliability of equipment.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS

4

Continuously monitoring the common causes of oil lubrication failure, the sensor provides early indications of a potential problem with pumps and gear drives allowing for planned investigation and remedial action to be implemented before equipment failure occurs.

HEAD OFFICE REFURBISHMENT After many years of brown ceiling tiles, worn carpets and a broken heating system, the Head Office Team are delighted to be able to work within their newly refurbished office.

MEMBERSUPDATE

INTRODUCING MEGAN WILLIAMS OUR NEW MARKETING & EVENTS ASSISTANT Megan brings four years of educational experience, specifically focused in marketing and events as a recent MA graduate.

It was the marketing and events organising aspect within the water sector which caught the attention of Megan whilst looking for a role after graduating with a Distinction in MA Marketing.

Megan also has a BA First Class (Hons) in Event Management and her key skills include communicating effectively, organisation and time management; which are fundamentally important for the build up to several Institute of Water events, conferences and competitions such as Drilling & Tapping. Her bubbly personality and clear vision for the future of company events made her stand out ahead of other candidates also applying for the role.

Megan said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Institute of Water and having the opportunity to work on the Institute’s marketing and events. Lynn and the team at IWater are passionate about working within the industry and I am excited to meet area representatives and members of the Institute of Water in the following months.

I think it’s great that people are offered the opportunity of progression within their career, there is always room for developing learning throughout life and I believe that IWater support all members to the highest standard and I look forward to being a part of that.”

LAUNCH OF THE ASSESSOR CHARTER

NEW WEBSITE

We have recently launched our new Assessor Charter for all of our assessors of professional registration disciplines of Engineering, Science and the Environment.

The aim of the Charter is to maintain our high standards and to ensure we provide candidates with the very best experience to advance sustainable thinking across the water sector.

As part of the Charter we will make a commitment to: ■■

■■

■■

Maintain a pool of assessors with adequate geographic coverage Ensure the consistency and currency of assessors

Seek feedback from candidates

■■

Encourage and develop new assessors

■■

It may look a bit different but the majority of the work has been behind the scenes where we have worked hard to develop a much more integrated membership system.

Support and feedback to candidates at all stages

■■

■■

You may have noticed that we have moved to a new website.

Previously, our administration of our memberships were tasked across several systems. Now we can do much more from one system.

Regularly review our process to provide a great candidate experience Aim to have a pool of assessors to match the diversity of our membership

The Assessor Charter will be signed by all of our current pool of assessors across the professional registration disciplines.

If you have a registration and are interested in finding out more about how to become an assessor in the future then please contact our Professional Registration Coordinator, Sarah Dunn via sarah@instituteofwater.org.uk

There’s still more work to do and we look forward to continuously develop this system to make further improvements to your membership experience.

instituteofwater.org.uk

5

A MAGAZINE FOR MEMBERS As the Institute of Water Magazine reaches the milestone of its 200th Edition, we reflect on its place within our membership and the possible secret to its longstanding success.

By Lee Hansom

PR and Communications Manager, Institute of Water

content is beneficial for the Magazine, that it plays its part in helping our members learn more about the water sector and aid their continuing professional development.

The Water Distribution Officers’ Journal. The Waterworks Officers’ Journal. Journal of Water Officers Association. Institution of Water Officers Journal. IWO Journal. The Institute of Water Magazine. Whatever it’s been called over the years, the magazine has long-since been a central feature to the Institute of Water membership and has played a useful role in the professional development of the Institute’s members, through sharing of information, thought leadership, and helping connect people in the water sector.

To really appreciate where we are now with the Magazine, I think it’s fitting that we look at where it all started. The concept of a member publication was conceived shortly after the formation of the Association of Water Distribution Officers back in 1945.

It was recognised that there was a need to communicate with members in the intervals of the Association’s quarterly meetings and that it should be an essential feature.

As we quickly approach deadlines, with outstanding copy and adverts to chase, it can be easy to lose sight of the role that the Magazine plays in the overall membership experience.

No publication is perfect, but to be around for 200 issues, we must doing something right and I think the secret is, not just the content, but who it is provided by. The Institute of Water is member-led and this ethos continues through the magazine as we invite members to write articles, to encourage that sharing of knowledge and learning for the benefit of their peers and the water sector as a whole. We tend to mostly turn away from PR led articles and aim to attract articles that provide some form of learning or thought leadership from real Institute of Water members.

The Magazine, like the Institute, has no political allegiance, however, we feel we create that space and freedom for members to share their own views on the water sector and we encourage them to do so as it drives discussion, ideas and ultimately innovation.

The Institute has a broad range of members, so maintaining a balance of features that appeal to most, if not all, members remains a challenge year-on-year. Our members come from all kinds of roles and backgrounds within the water sector and the Magazine must reflect this by providing a range of articles that cover many different disciplines: clean water, wastewater, engineering, science, environment, customer service, supply and regulation, the list goes on. To do this, we reach out to our contacts to attract contributions. It’s hard to reach and connect with all of our possible contributors, but the good news is we’re rarely short on content but we must make every effort to make sure that

6

instituteofwater.org.uk

The first incarnation of the magazine was released in January 1946 and it was called The Water Distribution Officers’ Journal. The Board at the time were fortunate to have with them, Arthur Gilbert, who Dr Allen Bolton, founding member of the Institute, referred to as being ‘an Editor in waiting’ and helped publicise the Association’s activities for many years. Arthur had worked in the water industry for many years and he was also a musician and conductor of a well-known brass brand. He had even operated a printing press in his living room. He was already an Editor and publisher of the National Brass Band Journal.

Producing this Journal was not an easy task for Arthur, despite the Second World War ending in 1945, the country was still operating to wartime conditions. Paper supply was still limited due to the No 48 Paper Control Order and even newspapers were still limited to 25% of their pre-war paper consumption. This paper shortage made it very difficult for authors, especially new authors, to get work published and if it was not for this national paper shortage, Dr Allen Bolton stated that the periodical would have appeared some months earlier. These difficulties continued for the next decade.

Advertising soon became a staple of the publication with the first advert appearing in the second edition of the Journal in April 1946.

This advert was submitted by the Palatine Engineering Company Limited, who continued to support the Journal and the Association for many years. Several other advertisers followed and the small income generated from this was a great help in offsetting the printing and publishing costs, a practice that still continues to this day.

Arthur Gilbert wrote the Editorial, what we now refer to as the Introduction, for the early

Journals and appealed to Association members to contribute to the publication. The trials of producing the publication were already evident as Arthur pleads to members to “let me have their copy as early as possible, as the editing and collating of available material takes up a considerable amount of time”, as he would need to send his collated material to the printer some weeks before the date of publication (GILBERT, Arthur. 1946). Nowadays, with thanks to digital advancements, this process has been considerably shortened however, the problem of missing deadlines and last minute submissions will always be the nature of any publication.

Arthur continued to his appeal to members to “make use of the “Journal” for propaganda purposes by sending a copy to anyone of their acquaintance who is likely to be interested.”

(GILBERT, Arthur. 1946). Once again, a practice that still continues to this day as we send extra copies to a number of our members to share across their organisations.

The Magazine in its current form is quite substantial in volume compared to similar publications. However, the first edition contained only twelves pages but its popularity quickly grew and by the time the third edition was published the page count had quickly grown to 28 pages and by 1949, it was a 32 page publication. The magazine continued to grow over the years and today we now work to a pagination of circa 100 pages.

In his book, History of the Institution of Water Officers, Dr Allen Bolton reflected on the Associations first 10 years of operation and cited: “We had a Journal of which we could be justifiably proud in spite of paper restrictions and publication difficulties.”

The magazine has continued to change over the years as we respond to member’s needs and requirements. There is a growing desire to be more digitally focussed and we do now also publish an interactive digital version which is distributed by email and hosted on our website.

Whatever format the future magazine will take, it is clear that this will, in the words of Arthur Gilbert, “continue to be an essential feature of the organisation”.

Sources BOLTON, Dr Allen. 1995. History of the Institution of Water Officers. The Institution of Water Officers.

Editorial. The Water Distribution Officers’ Journal, Vol. 1, (No.2), Page 1 and (No.4), Page 1

Insitute of Water would like to thank our editorial contributors, advertisers, sponsors and readers as we celebrate the publication of OUR 200TH EDITION! For 2019 editorial and advertising contributions see media schedule below.

MAGAZINE 2019 FEATURES FIRST QUARTER - DISTRIBUTION EARLY MARCH Risk • Customer Experience • Environment • Sewerage Solutions SECOND QUARTER - DISTRIBUTION EARLY JUNE Water Quality • Drought Resilience • Rehabilitation vs Renewal • Wastewater Networks THIRD QUARTER - DISTRIBUTION EARLY SEPTEMBER Innovation • Asset Optimisation • Leadership • Research

WORD COUNT GUIDE 1 page article with 2 pictures - 600 words 2 page article with 2/3 pics - 800-1000 words NON-FEATURES LIST EDITORIAL - considered on submission Contact Lee Hansom, PR and Communications Manager ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITIES To discuss advertising and editorial opportunities contact Martin Jameson at martin@jimjammedia.com or 07342 850289

FOURTH QUARTER - DISTRIBUTION EARLY DECEMBER Supply Interruptions • AMP6 Review • Ownership • Catchment Management REGULAR QUARTERLY FEATURES: Asset Management, Wastewater Solutions, Regulation and Training

instituteofwater.org.uk

7

ENVIRONMENTNEWS

A REVIEW OF THE ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE 2018 On the 7th November, the Institute of Water held its second One Day Environment Conference.

Titled ‘The Water Environment – How can we leave a legacy and not a liability?’ the conference explored and discussed emerging problems and pressures on the environment. Institute of Water member and conference attendee, Jenny Lundh, Environmental Permitting Manager at South West Water gives us an overview of the day: “The Institute of Water’s Vice President Environment, Professor Ian Barker, welcomed us to the conference and emphasised the close link between service for customers and protection of the environment. Challenges include aging infrastructure, climate change, population growth, microplastics, pharmaceuticals and the ever-higher standards expected of us. Critical to all this is the skills that we need going forward hence today’s contributions from HR specialists.

Dr. Sebastian Catovsky, Deputy Director Water Services at Defra, introduced the government’s 25-year Environment Plan, with policies to enable us to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

Defra’s work on water policy has four main priorities: Financial - lots of investment has been going into the industry since privatisation, but finances are complex, with issues around shareholder returns, so customer trust has been affected.

There’s work for the sector to do to regain trust but there are already some positive signals WASCs with Cayman Islands companies will have closed them by the end of this year.

Resilience - there’s a need to reduce demand and increase supply. The government wants to enable action on both the demand and supply side.

Standing in for Harvey Bradshaw, Anne Dacey, Deputy Director of Integrated Water Planning at the Environment Agency (EA) highlighted that currently only 14% of rivers are at good ecological status because of farming (first) and the water sector (second). She also stated that legitimacy of the water industry has never been under so much scrutiny and that the EA will continue to support innovation and partnerships.

Linda Williams, HR Director at Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and Luke Stanbridge, Comercial Director at Z-Tech Control Systems, presented on HR challenges. Linda said that we still need traditional infrastructure skills; the challenge is competition from other sectors. We also need new skills due to digital information, customer expectations around speed of information and cyber security. Luke Stanbridge added that staff need to move around to stay interested.

Z-Tech run a graduate programme and sponsor University Technical College courses, and recognise that good technical people need to be able to progress without necessarily going into management. Both spoke of the need to work with apprenticeship programmes in colleges to improve their relevance.

Protecting vulnerable customers - tackling water poverty.

Hannah Leckie, Policy Analyst for OECD, gave an interesting presentation on policies to tackle diffuse pollution. Globally eutrophication and Ocean Dead Zones are mostly due to diffuse sources from agriculture. Diffuse pollution is more challenging to identify and regulate.

“Polluter pays” is less successful with diffuse pollution. “Beneficiary pays” is more successful and Hannah used the example of regional and central governments funding nitrogen cap and trade scheme in Lake Taupo NZ.

Rachel Fletcher, OFWAT’s Chief Executive is new to the organisation and to the water industry.

She’s been struck by the fact that OFWAT is referred to as the economic regulator - however it’s about customers’ interests and these include the need for affordable, and therefore

Professor Alastair Driver, Catchment Restoration Specialist, gave his view that water is undervalued and should perhaps be more expensive, not cheaper. He said that conservation needs a more integrated approach - peat bog restoration benefits water quality,

Environment - the water environment has improved but there’s more to do. The water industry is no longer the main cause of problems in the water environment (now diffuse pollution).

8

sustainable, water resources. It’s vital to focus on the strain on the environment - especially as much of the increasing UK population is in water-scarce areas like the Oxford-Cambridge corridor. The environment is not an “add-on” but is integral to OFWAT’s duty to customers.

Rachel wants to understand why we are still using drinking quality water to water gardens and clean cars, and wonders why we can’t work with developers to innovate about grey water.

instituteofwater.org.uk

water quantity (floods, droughts), carbon sequestration and habitat restoration.

Tree planting is important, with only 12% tree cover in Britain, well below the European average. Infiltration rates are up to 60% higher under young native woodland compared to adjacent heavily grazed pasture (Pont Bren study). Tree planting could be used more in water management. Water companies need to be on top of soil degradation which can also affect runoff.

Ross Brand, Asset Planner at Scottish Water, spoke about future challenges for wastewater in Scotland, including increasing rainfall intensity with climate change. Population is increasing and migrating west to east. Every Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in the Edinburgh area faces growth pressure. He questioned: Do we need bigger STWs? One “superworks”? Or do we need to innovate new processes.

Ross took us through Scottish Water’s new storm water strategy aims to get rain out of the system: “No more in - and what’s in, out”.

Scottish Water uses 2% of all Scotland’s energy and is trying to reduce this - they are piloting aerobic wastewater treatment, which has massive energy benefits.

Matt Crossman, Team Leader at National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), introduced “Preparing for a Drier Future”, a NIC report published in April 2018, focussing on resilience.

Currently not all water companies are resilient to the “worst historic drought” which has approximately 1% chance of occurring. With climate change this risk is increasing. NIC recommend leakage reduction, demand reduction and additional supply infrastructure. Their next report (expected around 2026) will look more at wastewater than clean water. Paul Hickey (EA) added that the EA commended the NIC work.

The 2018 drought impacted agriculture and farmers were angry that domestic customers could still water their gardens. The EA are actively preparing for next year and encouraging cross-sector collaboration in geographical areas.

Overall a really interesting day, combining a useful “2018 snapshot” with some thoughtprovoking discussions. There was a lot more than there’s room for here - you really had to be there!”

THE WATER EFFECT With your help this winter, we will be bringing clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to a remote health centre in Mali. The Talo health centre is a small window onto how the global water crisis is affecting people’s health. We want to raise enough to reach many more without these three essentials.

Together, clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene create a powerful ripple, transforming people’s health. That’s the water effect.

their hands with soap, children get sick and miss school. And parents are too ill, or busy caring for their families, to work.

Today, one in nine people around the world don’t have clean water close to home. And one in three don’t have a decent toilet of their own.

This crisis kills a child every two minutes.

This shouldn’t be normal.

Clean water and decent toilets are especially important in hospitals and clinics to maintain safe and hygienic conditions. But in the world’s poorest places, more than one in three hospitals and clinics do not have clean water and almost one in five do not have decent toilets. As a result, diseases can spread fast and simple, treatable conditions can kill.

Without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene, it’s impossible to stay healthy. Where people have no choice but to drink dirty water, go to the toilet in the open, and can’t wash

Water brings health.

Water brings potential.

Please give £15 to The Water Effect appeal this Christmas, and bring Talo, and many more places like it around the world, closer to the day when clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene are normal.

Find out more at www.wateraid.org

NO CLEAN WATER TO TREAT DRISSA’S SORES We meet four-month-old Drissa at one of his regular check-ups with Dr Martin.

Drissa comes into the Talo health centre with his mum every other day for treatment. He was just 15 days old when open wounds developed all over his tiny body.

“One day when I was washing him, I found a sore on his chest. The next day the sore had become very large.

I found another one on the bottom and soon there were many other parts of the body which had sores, big sores, very red and with pus. When we came here to see the doctor we were really afraid. My husband and I and all the children, everybody thought that Drissa will die.”

Kotimi, Drissa’s mum Dr Martin tells us that he has fistula abscesses – a condition most likely caused by washing his delicate skin with dirty water. He treats the sores with a saline solution as dirty water from the nearby well could make his condition worse.

Although his wounds are healing, little by little, Dr Martin says treating Drissa is a challenge.

“I had a lot of problems because the pus was transferring onto the bed and we didn’t have any clean water to wash it. After treating him, I didn’t have any water to clean my hands.” Doctor Martin It’s so easy to see the difference clean water could make to patients like Drissa. With clean water, Dr Martin would be able to treat him more effectively, without the need to resort to expensive treatments. He’d also be able to clean equipment and the bed properly before the next patient.

Together, we will make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for patients like Drissa. This will ensure Doctor Martin and the team have a better chance to keep everyone who visits the centre healthy.

Baby Drissa developed an abscess and had pus seeping out of a wound a few weeks after being born. Doctor Martin was able to treat the abscess and get Drissa back to health.

But Drissa’s mother, Kotimi, struggles to keep him safe without clean water and soap at home.

Credit: WaterAid/ Guilhem Alandry

The healthcare team at Talo are determined to do the job they were trained to do despite lacking clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.

The team is headed by Doctor Martin Koné, had to treat Drissa’s sores with saline solution as there was no clean water.

Credit: WaterAid/ Guilhem Alandry

instituteofwater.org.uk

9

SCIENCENEWS

NEW SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORMS We are pleased to say that on 1st October we launched three new application forms for the professional registrations we offer in Science; Chartered Scientist, Registered Scientist and Registered Science Technician.

The CSci application process has been improved so that now all candidates, regardless of their level of academic background, complete the same application form. There is no longer a requirement for candidates without a Masters level qualification to complete a separate Masters Equivalence Report which will significantly

simplify the application process for candidates.

The new CSci application form includes extended competencies to ensure the necessary evidence is collected in order to still meet the Science Council CSci standards.

All the new CSci, RSci and RSciTech application

forms and guidance documents can be found on the Science Registrations section of our website.

If you have any questions regarding Science registration then please do not hesitate to contact our Professional Registration Coordinator, Sarah Dunn via sarah@instituteofwater.org.uk

OUR VICE PRESIDENT SCIENCE BECOMES NEW MD FOR WATER RESOURCES EAST Anglian Water has appointed our Vice President Science and Board Member Robin Price into the role of Interim Managing Director of Water Resources East (WRE) for the next 12 months.

Recognising the significant challenges in the East of England, in particular climate change, population growth and the need to protect the environment, Anglian Water launched Water Resources East (WRE), a pioneering multisector water resource planning initiative, in 2015.

At the same time, through Jean Spencer’s leadership, Anglian Water played a significant role in developing the work for Water UK on long-term water resources planning for England as a whole.

Robin’s role will be to develop and implement a new business model for the organisation, play an active role in the development of the Defra and EA-led National Planning Framework and ensure the delivery of the first multisector catchment schemes.

10

instituteofwater.org.uk

WRE is independently chaired by Henry Cator OBE, and includes representatives from water companies within and adjacent to the East of England, along with regulators, industry, agriculture, Local Enterprise Partnerships and local government from across the East of England. WRE has a clear vision of developing a fully integrated, adaptive regional approach to water resources and catchment management

to enable communities, the environment and the economy to grow and prosper.

The group has been highly successful to date, and has developed cutting edge water resource planning and allocation tools, which have proved invaluable as part of the recent Water Resource Management Planning (WRMP) process. WRE aligns well to the expectations of regulators, and supports the recent findings of the National Infrastructure Commission report ‘Planning for a Drier Future’. The next phase of development for WRE involves further development of these tools, whilst actively managing the development of multi-sector schemes at catchment and sub-catchment scale working with landowners, farmers, the power sector and Drainage Boards.

We’ll be further profiling the work of Water Resources East in future editions of the magazine, but in the meantime we wish Robin every success in his new role.

ENGINEERINGNEWS

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING POLICY CENTRE The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) is working to establish a policy centre which will oversee a professional and strategic approach to engaging with government, parliamentarians and other influencers to ensure an excellent interface between policy makers and Engineering.

On the 12th July representatives from Engineering Institutions gathered at the RAE headquarters in London to develop a number of themes or ideas around which the engineering industry can work together. A number of presentations about key issues were made by leading members of the engineering industry and then the attendees worked in groups to develop a prioritised list of issues to be taken forward.

It seemed an impossible task to distil all the issues that society faces to the key ones which the engineering industry should discuss with policy makers but through a series of exercises the priorities were identified as detailed below.

Some of these do not affect the water industry as much as others but with a methodology to

identify policy issues to take forward further may come to the fore in the future.

One area which will be of interest to the water industry is that of sustainable living spaces where a systems approach needs to be taken to deliver thriving resilient communities. The RAE is working to scope something in this area in response to both increased government interest as well as a high level of interest from the July workshop.

A further area which has an impact on the water environment is the theme of a holistic food policy. The water industry has been more active in this area in recent years with proactive engagement to reduce nitrates and

other pollutants, efforts to make the disposal of sewage sludge more disposable and of course the impact on abstraction, particularly where there is a high degree of irrigation. The policy centre can have a strong role in making connections with a fast and agile response to issues. The government Office for Science has just started a rapid project on The Future of Food with Institution of Agricultural Engineers and the Institution of Chemical Engineers contributing but other organisations are welcome to contact Rae to have an input.

Other topics being considered are those of Skills, Health and the Safety and Ethics of Machines and Autonomous Systems.

SAVE THE DATE: ENGINEERING CONFERENCE 2019 ANNOUNCED We’re delighted to announce that the Engineering Conference 2019 will be held at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne on Tuesday, 2nd April 2019.

Titled ‘Back to the Future - Building on our engineering heritage to shape the future of the water industry’, the conference will feature parallel themes of Innovation and Building on the water industry’s great engineering past.

Heidi Mottram, CEO of Northumbrian Water, has already been confirmed as one of the Keynote speakers and the conference will look at case studies looking at challenges and innovative engineering solutions.

There will also be a panel discussion on how we can recruit the best technical people to respond to future challenges faced by the water industry plus an examination of the supply and demand for engineers in general and looking at some ways in which young people can be attracted to engineering.

Delegates will contribute to round table discussions, reviewing engineering skills

needed for the water industry referring to the past, present and future.

This Engineering Conference is part of our One Day Specialist Conferences, which are free for members to attend and are excellent CPD opportunities. More details about the Engineering Conference will be made available as we move closer to the date.

instituteofwater.org.uk

11

SCIENCE I have been involved with the water industry for over 10 years in one way, shape, or form and have recently completed my PhD so applying for CSci registration, the highest level of professional registration, seemed like the natural next step in my professional development.

The whole process of applying for CSci was highly cathartic and it was a great way to reflect on my previous training & professional experiences throughout my time in the water industry and academia.

It’s easy to forget your achievements and experiences during the daily grind but whilst producing your competencies report and discussing it with your assessors it’s surprising to actually see what you have done through your career which demonstrate your scientific competencies.

Dr Austen Buck

The requirement to maintain your CPD is also a great way to encourage your professional development through the setting of key learning objectives.

Water Risk System Manager, Southern Water Chartered Scientist I’ve been working in the Water Industry for nearly 2 decades, but had never previously got round to achieving Chartership. I imagine like many people I’d started a number of times, but never managed to get the application in! This time I decided to see it through and with help and advice from mentors and Sarah at The Institute of Water I finally got it done.

The application was a chance to look back on the work and projects that I had been involved with, and it’s not until then that you realise the different skills you have picked up during your career. The interview was informal and quite enjoyable and I’d like to thank Pete and Nicola for making it so.

I would recommend anyone who is thinking of going for Chartership to speak to Sarah, about the best way forward, and go for it!

Adam Guest

Process Engineer, United Utilities Chartered Scientist I am the Waste Sampling Manager at Thames Water. I would encourage anyone in the water industry to start the journey towards profession registration, not only is wonderful to be recognised for your experience and hard work it is also a great stepping stone for future career progression.

In my experience internal and external stakeholders are given increased confidence in the abilities of staff who have achieved RSciTech, RSci and CSci status and I have been part of discussions with multiple agencies this year including UKAS and the EA. For me this journey has been a multiple stage process. In 2013 I achieved Registered Scientist status which helped me achieve the role of DWI competent person within the laboratory. I am hugely invested in the benefits of chartership and have been looking to push myself towards Chartered Scientist status for a number of years. In late 2017 I started compiling all my experience in order to start the application process for CSci and achieved this in July 2018.

Gemma Edwards

Waste Sampling Manager, Thames Water Chartered Scientist

12

instituteofwater.org.uk

My plans moving forward are to actively encourage the use the professional registrations with my colleagues and team as part of an internal progression scheme. This has been very well received and will be kicking off in early 2019.

NEWREGISTRANTS SCIENCE CONTINUED I have been a member of the Institute of Water since I joined Southern Water four years ago, after making the decision to switch from a career as a surveyor to the more varied environment of the water industry.

Having previously been a Technical Member of the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors the benefits of joining the Institute of Water were clear, as it is a great way to find out more about the industry through events and networking. My manager is also very supportive of the Institute and has always encouraged me to make the most of the opportunities it offers.

Kathryn Nye

Principal Process Scientist, Southern Water Chartered Scientist

Having progressed through different roles at Southern Water, from Technical Analyst to Process Scientist and now Principal Process Scientist, I was keen to apply for Chartership as it is a great way to demonstrate competence and experience. I found the process of preparing the application very helpful as it encouraged me to think critically about my work and achievements over the past few years and how that fits with the competencies a good scientist should have. Through the Institute of Water I have also found a mentor, and he helped me to refine the report for submission. The final interview was a surprisingly pleasant experience, being a relaxed and interesting discussion about my career so far, issues that I’ve encountered and the wider challenges the industry faces in the future. I’m really happy to have received confirmation of my Chartership, and am encouraging the scientists in my team to keep a CPD and work towards preparing their own applications.

My career hit a T-Junction in September 2015. Having been Networks Operations Manager and a Chartered Engineer, I wanted a change of direction.

I was given the opportunity to become Water Quality Science Manager; getting back doing something I really enjoyed in managing a small team and using my technical and data analysis skills.

In becoming a Chartered Scientist, I wanted the opportunity to further my professional development and demonstrate my commitment to my team and the Company. Along with my CPD record, the Competence Report has helped me comprehend how I have developed in my role over the last three years and how each part of my job has met one of the core competencies required as a Chartered Scientist.

Rob Baldry

Water Quality Science Manager, SES Water Chartered Scientist

The Institute has been very relevant, providing a magazine with related articles, a highly informative Science conference and has given stimulating networking and knowledge sharing opportunities such as the ‘Day in the Life’ events.

So, what’s next? I plan to continue to develop, learn and grow in a deeper understanding of processes within Water Quality. I hope to further promote the Institute of Water and Chartership within the Company and maybe even become a Professional Reviewer for future candidates.

I had been a chartered Quality Professional for 3 years through the Chartered Quality Institute, which I achieved during my time as a Quality Assurance Manager. I found belonging to a professional body extremely helpful in terms of making contacts and keeping up with changes in the field and also a great way of evidencing my commitment to continuous professional development.

When I secured my current role of Water Quality Risk Manager within Anglian Water’s Clean Water Scientific team, I really wanted to demonstrate the same professional seal of approval for my scientific career, to keep informed of industry issues and gain access to more contacts through the IOW.

Jim Stuart

The Chartership application process is really straight forward and as it relies upon you drawing on past and current experience it does not create any real additional workload. As well as feeling a great sense of pride from gaining my chartership, I have already made more contacts in the water industry which I have no doubt will help me with future Water Quality challenges that we all share.

Water Quality Risk Manager, Anglian Water Chartered Scientist

instituteofwater.org.uk

13

SCIENCE CONTINUED I joined Anglian Water in 2015, after time spent working in India educating local communities about the importance of water conservation and sanitation. With limited professional experience within the water industry, I was fortunate enough to join a company who support and promote personal and professional development, and was directed towards IWater by my colleagues within the Water Quality Team.

Ben Haigh

Reactive Water Quality Scientist, Anglian Water Registered Scientist

I was encouraged to apply for Registered Scientist status with IWater based on my current level of experience and background; there are different levels of professional registration through IWater that suit a range of experience, all of which encouraging personal and professional development. Through applying for RSci status, I have been able to reflect on my career to date as well as highlight further areas of development that I would like to pursue. Whilst my professional development will continue throughout my career within Anglian Water, achieving RSci status recognises the experience I have gained so far and encourages me to look for further development within the future.

Overall, this has been a super positive experience (thank you to my mentors Nicola Johnston and Matthew Lea), and I would encourage others to consider professional registration through IWater.

Becoming a Registered Scientist was one of my personal development goals, and the natural next step for me after completing RSciTech registration.

The RSci level was appropriate to my role as Assistant Scientist in Chemistry, and the application process allowed me to identify my achievements and opportunities for further development.

Gaining the RSci award demonstrates my commitment, competence and professionalism to my peers and employer. Recognition of my knowledge, understanding, skills and experience also gave me a confidence boost when applying for my new role as Deputy Quality Manager.

Laura Grout

My employer encourages professional registration and career development, and I am fortunate to work with like-minded people who support and engage in the registration process. I would like to thank Louise Atkinson, Logistics Manager and CSci, for supporting me throughout my application. The interview with my assessors was a pleasant experience, and I will be taking their advice to work towards Chartership.

Deputy Quality Manager, Anglian Water Registered Scientist

ENGINEERING By gaining the EngTech qualification it has allowed me to have a professional qualification to show for my previous years of experience within the water industry to which I have not had previous recognition.

At my current employer GTC we are actively encouraged to grow professionally and the EngTech has provided recognition of this. My current role has also allowed for the recognition of additional skills learnt within the utilities industry, not just for water, as I have now become competent in multi-utility design.

Once the initial application was submitted everyone at the Institute of Water have been extremely helpful in completing the application & processing the final pieces of the jigsaw to gain the qualification. I would encourage anyone to apply as there is plenty of support & mentoring available.

Craig Claydon

Senior Design Engineer, Gas Transportation Company Engineering Technician

14

instituteofwater.org.uk

The online CPD will also help to log supporting documentation and information for continuation of my career progress with a view to working towards further engineering status.

NEWREGISTRANTS ENGINEERING Becoming a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Water has definitely been a rewarding experience and also, perhaps surprisingly to me, confidence boosting.

I have worked in the water industry ever since leaving school, with the exception of three years at university completing a degree in Civil Engineering. I have had a varied, but rewarding career carrying out my responsibility as a civil engineer in a sewerage design office, along with an extensive period as a hydraulic modeller of urban scale drainage systems. With a total of 33 years of experience in the water industry, I decided that becoming a Chartered Engineer would fulfill a long held personal goal and would also be a fitting recognition of my time served. I also wanted to inspire professional development within my section and felt the best course of action would be to lead by example.

John Bell

Principal Consultant, Wood Plc Chartered Engineer

I have always been conscious that my career has not necessarily followed an orthodox path that would naturally lead me to become a Chartered Engineer through the Civil or CIWEM route, although these options were open to me. The Institute of Water very much appealed as it specifically recognises the diverse range of contributions that scientists, environmentalists and engineers, like us, make to the health and wellbeing of the environment and everyone and everything living in it, through caring about the essential life source that is water.

ENVIRONMENT I was encouraged to apply for REnvTech by my departmental manager, but when I thought about it properly, it was clearly something I should always have been encouraging myself to do a long time ago.

From a very early age I was lucky enough to be dragged out into the countryside every weekend going camping, walking, cycling, fell walking, fishing, caravanning, canoeing. I just loved being out in the great outdoors and threw myself in and out of most Rivers and Lakes across Northern Britain.

This love of being outside was reflected in my studies, I loved geography and science and learning about how the weather, elemental forces and human activities have shaped our Environment.

Richard Salmon

Technical Support Advisor, Northumbrian Water Registered Environmental Technician

So it is no surprise that my career immersed me into the water industry. My career path has so far been convoluted and covered many different roles such as vent stack testing at agrochemical plants, chemical analysis in various pharmaceutical laboratories, and as an Environmental Analytical Chemist before I became a Commissioning Chemist for Water and Wastewater treatment sites. After that I joined the Environment Agency as an Environment Officer before taking on the role of Technical Officer for Groundwater and Contaminated Land. I am currently a Technical Support Advisor for Northumbrian Water.

I would urge anyone with a personal and professional interest in the Environment, and who cares about the impact that Humans are having on the water cycle to join up both as part of their personal development, and to share their experience and knowledge, and to help others in their careers.

BECOME PROFESSIONALLY REGISTERED

The Institute of Water is licensed to register Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers, Engineering Technicians, Chartered Environmentalists, Registered Environmental Technicians, Chartered Scientists, Registered Scientists and Science Technicians.

Find out more at WWW.INSTITUTEOFWATER.ORG.UK

Professional registration recognises competence and expertise in a subject

area and demonstrates an understanding and knowledge of this expertise. Having a professional accreditation brings high self-esteem, higher earnings potential and improved career prospects. Becoming professionally registered is a great example of Continuing Professional Development and is often recommended or preferred by certain industry bodies and regulators.

instituteofwater.org.uk

15

ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED I was very keen to apply for Chartered status because it not only provides recognition for the skills and experience that I have gained personally throughout my career, but also for Anglian Water’s Coastal Catchment Management programme which I work on.

I feel passionate about protecting and enhancing the coastal environment and feel equally strongly that the Catchment Management approach provides an effective means of doing so.

Chartered status will help further increase stakeholder and public confidence in the work that we do and this in turn will help open up new opportunities for collaborative working and positive environmental outcomes.

The process of applying is a very worthwhile experience in itself. In pulling together my CPD history and Professional Review Report I found that I had achieved much more than I realised in terms of meeting the Chartered Environmentalist competencies and it has provided a focus for my future CPD goals.

Greg Hall

Coastal Catchment Manager, Anglian Water Chartered Environmentalist

I also thoroughly enjoyed talking about coastal water protection with like-minded people during the assessor interview.

Joining a professional association is choosing to make an investment in your career.

As a Technical Support Advisor working for Northumbrian Water, I applied for Registered Environmental Technician as it recognises my skills, knowledge, and expertise within the water sector. REnvTech status demonstrates my level of competence and understanding to both internal and external stakeholders.

Receiving my REnvTech certificate gave me a real sense of achievement. It has provided another dimension to my CPD and has motivated me to work towards getting a Chartered status.

The application process was straight forward and I found it was beneficial to look back and reflect on what I have achieved during my career so far. I would encourage anyone to invest some time and apply for professional registration.

Jonathon Banks

Technical Support Advisor, Northumbrian Water Registered Environmental Technician The REnvTech registration appealed to me as I believed it would be a positive step to become recognised for the environmental work I undertake in my current role and general life. Having followed an environmental route through my education and work it was a natural accreditation to apply for and was actively encouraged with the company.

I found the application process to be an enjoyable reflection on how I have demonstrated and achieved the environmental competencies required, evidencing these through various examples. As a new member to the IOW I found it an instant benefit for my CPD that I am now recognised in my team and to my employer that I am environmentally registered/ conscious and living these values in my current role.

Matthew Brough

Technical Support Advisor, Northumbrian Water Registered Environmental Technician

16

instituteofwater.org.uk

L.B Engineering

Specialist engineering solutions for the water industry

LEADING WATER UTILITIES SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR CLEAN AND WASTE WATER INSTALLATIONS L.B Engineering are at the forefront of providing trusted services to water companies country wide, investing heavily in research and development, we pride ourselves in designing bespoke solutions tailored to our client’s needs.

From general engineering to complex PLC control systems, our engineering teams are on call 24/7 365 for unplanned emergencies whilst our planning team provide day to day works for planned outages, with ISO9001 compliance, we pride ourselves on quality and health & safety.

Providing statutory compliance solutions giving peace of mind to our clients ensuring legal obligations are met and maintained, using test equipment calibrated to UKAS standards, our clients enjoy full traceability of our work, utilising our newly developed Motion Kinetic inspection database, our clients can retrieve any asset report in real time via a secure client portal.

With our fleet of mobile workshop facility site vehicles, we can provide self sufficient site operations with onboard power inverters, LPG powered 3 phase generators, breathing respirators, gas detection, lighting, rescue and lifting equipment, all our engineers are confined space trained and can be on site within hours, to bring your plant back on-line minimising down time.

• • • • • • • • • •

STATUTORY COMPLIANCE VENTILATION (LEV) CHEMICAL DOSING, PIPE SYSTEMS & VALVES FABRICATION & GENERAL ENGINEERING CONTROL SYSTEMS, PLC & SCADA INTIGRATION EUSR FUSION WELDING & BUTT WELDING WASTE CHEMICAL REMOVAL CONFINED SPACE TEAMS BREATHING AIR CHARGING STATIONS BS EN 12021 AIR PURITY TESTING

Powdermill Lane, Wilmington Dartford, Kent DA1 1NT

• PRESSURE VACUUM BREATHER VALVES • FLAME ARRESTER MAINTENANCE / SERVICING •

HAZARDOUS AREA INSTALLATION

• FUEL STORAGE & AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SYSTEMS

Tel: +44 (0) 203 868 6283 Email: lee@lbullen.com

www.lb-engineering.com instituteofwater.org.uk

17

MEET OUR RISING STARS OF 2019 It’s been a very exciting year for Rising Stars. Now in its eighth year, the Institute of Water’s unique development programme has gone through a bit of a refresh.

Shortly after last year’s application process had concluded, our Area Committees worked together to review the programme to ensure that it was run at a consistently high level across the UK. We also did a little brand refresh and improved the way we promoted the programme, which paid off as we received the highest number of applicants since the start of the programme.

Rising Stars is essentially, an accelerated development programme designed to help these members progress further by exposing them to opportunities they would never normally have the chance to experience, such as meeting with Chief Executives, bespoke site visits and being able to contribute to the Institute of Water events.

Rising Stars is aimed at Institute of Water members who are at an early stage of their water sector career but who have already demonstrated the potential and appetite to progress.

Through a selection process which takes place in each Area of the Institute of Water, up to eight members from across the UK, get the opportunity to take part in Rising Stars.

We would like to thank everyone who applied for this year’s programme. Our Area Committees, who select the Rising Star for their area, found the applications to be of very high standard, making the final selection particularly challenging.

We’re pleased to introduce our Rising Stars of 2019…

Jonathon Banks

Rose Shisler

Charlotte Rhodes

Jonathon began his career as a plumbing and heating engineer in Yorkshire. He completed a City & Guilds apprenticeship in mechanical engineering before gaining experience running his own plumbing company. He worked in France, New Zealand, Australia and the US before moving to Newcastle and joining Northumbrian Water (NW) in 2014. Since then he has completed a Diploma in Water Engineering which, combined with a diverse practical background, has helped him work his way through different roles in wastewater, sewer flooding and pollutions.

After three years working in forecasting and analytical roles within Anglian Water, Rose started on the Accelerated Management Programme at the end of 2017. She has had placements with the Integrated Maintenance and Repair and Clean Water teams across Anglian Water. Rose has worked on a number of projects including Customer Experience, Leakage Innovation, Team Engagement and Well-Being.

Rose will be spending the remainder of her programme in operational, technical and commercial roles, building a deeper understanding of Water Industry. Her goal is to develop professionally and personally, with a focus on leadership development.

Charlie graduated from Aberystwyth University with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Geography in 2015 and has always been passionate about the environment. After falling in love with Wales, Charlie was keen to stay there to begin her career and secured a contracted position in Dŵr Cymru’s Drinking Water Laboratory as a lab technician later that year.

Technical Support Advisor Northumbrian Water

Jonathon has an enthusiasm and drive for professional development. He played an important role expanding NW’s Water Ranger scheme, working with members of the public and local authorities. His report writing on pollution incidents is setting a new benchmark and has contributed to the department’s success in pollution reduction, for which NW are now recognised as industry leading.

18

instituteofwater.org.uk

Accelerated Management Trainee Anglian Water

One of Rose’s proudest achievements to date was projecting managing a WaterAid fund-raising event in which the team raised £6,500 for the Nepal Beacon Project.

We are currently working on a programme for the Rising Stars of 2019 and one of the early events will be a Masterclass hosted by Institute of Water President Douglas Millican, Chief Executive of Scottish Water.

Network Asset Technician Dwr Cymru Welsh Water

There she stayed for seven months before progressing into a permanent position in the Water Assets Risk Team as a data technician, focusing on data management, reporting and supporting the annual submission of Drinking Water Safety Plans to the DWI. A year later, she progressed to her current role of Network Asset Technician. Charlie is also an active member of the IW Welsh Area events committee and looks forward to exploring other areas of the water industry through the Rising Stars programme. Additionally, she is embarking on an Environmental Leadership Programme in her spare time with UpRising Cymru.

RISINGSTARS

Rebecca Skuce

Georgia Brown

Brandon Morris

Through studying Earth Science at The University of Glasgow Rebecca was first introduced to the water industry through elected Environmental Science courses. Rebecca continued her studies in Glasgow as a PhD student where she investigated the removal of nanoparticle pollutants from water and waste water which gave her an insight into critical water industry issues.

Georgia joined the water industry at eighteen upon completion of her A-Levels. Joining the operational apprenticeship scheme at Severn Trent in 2016, she trained to operate a major surface water treatment works in the Severn Trent region, also training as a water treatment process advisor. Alongside industry training, Georgia studied at EEF College for an NVQ level 2 in Maintenance and an NVQ level 3 in Water and Wastewater Treatment, obtaining a distinction for her apprenticeship. She has been recognised at the RateMyApprenticeship Awards 2018, winning her category, Outstanding Advanced Apprentice.

Brandon began his career within the water industry in September 2017, as a Water Operations Apprentice. Going on to complete a full rotation of the industry over a year’s period, he experienced different roles within the company, furthering his long-term career and helping him to understand how different aspects of the industry work together to provide the work they do. In result of this, he decided to specialise in Leakage; the area that fascinated him the most.

Project Manager, Scottish Water Horizons

Rebecca joined Scottish Water as a Specialist Graduate in 2014 where she was assigned a role as a Waste Water Process Scientist.

This role enabled Rebecca to develop her technical knowledge and expertise; and resulted in Rebecca gaining responsibility for managing her own area of Waste Water Treatment Works in the Glasgow and Ayrshire regions of Scotland.

Rebecca recently joined the Business Development Team in Scottish Water Horizons, a commercial subsidiary of Scottish Water.

As Project Manager, Rebecca is responsible for managing Scottish Water’s recently created Water and Waste Water Development Centres.

Here, innovators, companies and researchers can test and demonstrate new technologies, products and processes under live conditions without risk to the utility’s vital operations.

Waste Process Commissioning Technician, Severn Trent Water

Georgia now works as a process commissioning technician, commissioning and optimising new treatment processes at wastewater treatment works in order to meet tighter final effluent permits. Georgia has had the opportunity to work with new innovations and treatment processes to Severn Trent, as well as having many opportunities to represent the company and apprenticeships at competitions and events.

Water Systems Operations Apprentice Wessex Water

Brandon has also started his CPD, creating a log of his career so far, acting as a very motivated and dedicated employee. Furthermore, Brandon is a member of the South West Committee for the Institute of Water, allowing him to give presentations and speeches regarding the experience gained as a result of the Institute.

Additionally, Brandon gives talks about his apprenticeship on Open Days and other events.

In the future, Brandon’s ambition is to become a Leakage Inspector, enabling him to understand Leakage in more depth, he hopes to progress further within the water industry.

instituteofwater.org.uk

19

RISINGSTARS Hayley Wakeford

M&E Graduate Engineer Portsmouth Water Hayley currently works as an Assistant Network Engineer for Portsmouth Water, after just been promoted from working as an M&E Graduate Engineer within the Investment Department for the past 2 years. As an M&E Graduate Engineer, Hayley has gained project experience where she has led and managed numerous projects with a wide range of expenditure, some of her projects have included working on the Hampshire Bulk Supply for Southern Water, Borehole Condition Surveys, and River Ems Augmentation. Some of

Thomas Kelly

Operations Manager, Northern Ireland Water Alpha Thomas is Operations Manager for Northern Ireland Water Alpha. Having undertaken a number of technical, water quality and leadership roles, Thomas now manages a team of engineers operating a group of water treatment works across Northern Ireland. He is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Scientist through the Institute of Water, and a Chartered Manager through the Chartered Management Institute.

Thomas holds an MBA from the Ulster University,

20

instituteofwater.org.uk

this work was completed whilst working parttime as she completed her degree in BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering graduating in July 2017.

Hayley is now continuing her studies part-time with a Masters in Water and Environmental Engineering with the support of Portsmouth Water.

Hayley has been an active member of the Institute of Water, since she first started in the industry in 2015, and has been involved in the South East Weekend School, a speaker at the Young Person’s forum where she spoke on the challenges that female engineers face, and also was privileged to attend the annual conference in Glasgow. having previously qualified with degrees in Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering from the University of Manchester. Thomas sits on the Institute of Water Science Panel, and is part of the Institute’s Northern Ireland Area Committee. A member of the Institute of Water since 2010, Thomas has previously been awarded the USIT Business Skills Award, the Northern Ireland Area Innovation Award and the national CPD Award in 2016.

He is looking forward to learning from the experience of senior industry professionals through the 2019 Rising Star programme.

DIVERSITYNEWS

DIVERSITY, EQUALITY AND INCLUSION NEWS

by Robin Price

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Champion DEI Action Plan There’s a huge amount going on in the world of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI), and it’s good to be able to share how the Institute of Water are progressing through our DEI Action Plan.

We have recently completed a benchmarking exercise using the Royal Academy of Engineering and Science Council Diversity and Inclusion Framework. It’s great to report that we compare favourably to other professional bodies, but there are, of course, some areas where we feel we could undertake more work, as part of the ongoing delivery of our DEI Action Plan and our progression through the Framework.

Some of the actions we are proposing are detailed below: Governance and Leadership: ■■

We need to review the Terms of Reference of the Board and all Committees to ensure that they adequately cover DEI both in terms of composition and activities

Membership and Professional Registration: ■■

Our welcome pack and Code of Conduct will reference diversity and inclusion

■■

We will review the minimum standards of accessibility (communications) for disabled people

Meetings, Conferences and Events: ■■

We agree that accessibility, catering, content, format must not be barriers

■■

Diversity of speakers/presenters is essential

Education and Training, Accreditation and Exams: ■■

■■

Check content and delivery of the Introduction to the Water Industry course are inclusive and inoffensive Feedback questionnaire to include something on diversity and inclusion

Prizes, Awards and Grants: ■■

We will review our prizes and awards to ensure that there is something for all, and will ensure that our entrants and our judging panels are diverse

■■

We will invite feedback and include question on diversity and inclusion

Communications, Marketing, Outreach and Engagement: ■■

We will provide advice to contributors & designers on our commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality, ensuring that we have a range of features to suit all

■■

We will report regularly on diversity, equality and inclusion matters

Employment: ■■

■■

Staff contracts will include statement on expectations around behaviour and will mention flexible working options We will encourage suggestions on diversity, equality and inclusion in staff meetings

Monitoring and Measuring: ■■

We will undertake an annual review of the Benchmarking Framework to review our progress, and will report this to committees and our membership at the AGM and via the magazine.

The Institute of Water is committed to a policy of inclusion and equality for all its staff, members and stakeholders. We recognise the value that a diverse water industry brings to society, and we are committed to promoting these benefits. We aim to be representative of the industry whom we serve, and to ensure that there are no barriers to membership.

You can read our policy at www.instituteofwater.org.uk/diversity

Unconscious bias A key element of our action plan is to raise awareness of so-called ‘unconscious bias’ throughout all of our committees, governance groups and volunteers. Unconscious bias means that we tend to associate with and favour people who are like us or come from a similar background. We naturally relate to these people as they are familiar. This is a positive thing, embedded in our DNA as a survival mechanism, enabling us to make very quick decisions to take flight or fight!

However, this can cause problems in the workplace, particularly when it comes to meeting new people, for example during a recruitment exercise, a business meeting or at an event or conference, when we may make rapid decisions using our unconscious biased brain, meaning

that we perhaps make the wrong decision, or inadvertently isolate people from what we’re doing.

We’ve rolled out unconscious bias training for the Board, the Area Forum and the Membership and Standards Committee, using the video produced by the Royal Society. The video can be found at https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/ publications/2015/unconscious-bias/.

We encourage all members to watch it.

Does our membership reflect the industry we serve from a diversity perspective?

A further key element of our Action Plan is to ‘Gather further data from organisations within our sector to benchmark the diversity of our membership against the sector we serve, including gaining an understanding of any regional variations’. There are clear regional variations across the water industry, but it was difficult to reveal these due to confidentiality issues.

The Institute of Water have a very appealing membership offering for the under-30s, both men and women and we must continue to capitalise on this, and ensure that we continue to attract (and most definitely retain) newer members of our industry. As an Institute, we must continue to increase our female membership and should look to focus more on women over the age of 50, seeking to highlight and promote female role models who have had a successful career within our industry.

We should also focus on ensuring that we appeal to people in the middle of their career (40+); opportunities for mentoring and coaching, converting to Corporate membership, gaining Chartered status and supporting professional registrants through their journey, along with speaking at events and conferences and Committee membership all need to be promoted further.

With a caveat around the age of the Institute of Water data, there is always more we can do to attract and retain ‘non-white UK’ members, and we should ensure that we identify high profile role models in other ethnic groups, and ensure that all of our marketing and imagery is diverse.

This research has been extremely insightful, and all of the actions and observations have been accepted by the Board and included in our action plans. I look forward to letting you know how we get on!

instituteofwater.org.uk

21

CPD - GETTING STARTED For many of us, CPD is second nature, but if you are starting out in your career the best approach may not be obvious. This article aims to give a bit of guidance to help those who aren’t clear.

There’s also an opportunity to use what you’ve learnt to help others.

targeted activities, reflecting on the benefits.

■■

Something personal to you, done for yourself.

■■

Part of your working life.

■■

Required for all Corporate Members of the Institute of Water.

A good place to begin is by setting aside some time to think about the direction you’d like your career to go - the classic interview question “Where do you see yourself in five or ten years’ time?”. Then consider what skills you already have to get you there - are there any things you might need to work on? Are there any things missing altogether?

CPD is not...

by Matt Bower

Operations Team Leader, Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland and Institute of Water CPD Champion Perhaps this is your first job after qualifying or you are starting to work towards professional registration, or maybe you are just looking to refresh your approach and get things back on track.

“I don’t know what CPD is…”

Let’s start by decoding that acronym - CPD is Continuing Professional Development. It’s how we make sure that as our career grows, our skills and capabilities are able to keep pace.

The key word is ‘Continuing’. CPD shouldn’t be something we just pick up when we are wanting a promotion or applying for professional registration, it should be something that we do as a key part of our working lives. The leading companies and managers recognise this and provide plenty of support for their employees, but ultimately it’s down to YOU. There are plenty of misconceptions about CPD from talking with other professional registration assessors in the Institute of Water, it seems some of these are especially common among those just starting out in our industry. Let’s go myth-busting…

CPD is...

22

■■

Any sort of learning activity that leads to development.

■■

A planned approach to development.

■■

A cycle - identifying needs, undertaking

instituteofwater.org.uk

■■

A list of training courses you’ve done (formal training is only part of the story).

■■

Signing up to the first conference that comes along.

■■

A one-off exercise.

■■

Something you do to please your boss or compete with your colleagues.

■■

A slog that takes hours if you do it properly.

■■

A specific number of hours or type of activity - we believe it’s personal to you.

That’s probably the hardest part. Once you’ve got this you’ve made a start - you can now identify activities that are going to meet your needs.

It doesn’t all have to be done at once and you will probably need to prioritise - quality beats quantity every time. Make sure that you record what you’ve done - plus what you got out of it and what else you might need to do to meet your goal. This reflection stage is often neglected, but it’s really helpful as it means that your CPD will continually evolve to meet your needs as your career develops.

“But I don’t know where to begin…”

Don’t worry - it probably won’t be perfect straightaway, but the important thing is that you do make a start - and your Institute is a great place to get some support. You are probably undertaking a lot of development anyway, without knowing it perhaps.

Don’t forget to share what you learn - both by coaching others and by putting what you’ve learned into practice.

But CPD is so much more effective if you do it as part of a cycle, with some planning before and reflection afterwards.

The CPD Cycle Sharing Benefit Others

Scoping Identify Needs Reflecting Reflect & Evaluate

Recording Record Activity & Outcome

Planning Set Goals

Doing Undertake Activity

CPD Some top tips to get you started

Be open minded Lots of activities bring about development, not just formal training.

There’s often more than one way of meeting your goals. A wide variety of activity types will tend to make your skillset more resilient. Have you thought about things you do outside work too?

SIMPLIFY PIPE REPAIRING

Don’t be despair If one approach doesn’t deliver all you’d hoped, try something else. Don’t be afraid to discuss it with someone – a colleague or friend perhaps.

Adjust your approach or select a different activity – it’s all part of the cycle.

Little and often Regularly spending a short time reviewing your development needs can be more effective than making it a big task that you do rarely. This way it’s also more likely to become a habit – it’s just something you do. Different approaches suit different people – the important thing is it works for you.

WINTER SEASON - PIPE DAMAGE CONTROL

Use your Institute The Institute of Water is all about development – it’s why we exist. Make the most of your membership by participating in events and using the services the Institute offers – the Mentoring Programme and Online CPD tool would both be great places to start. Helping others with their CPD can be a wonderful way of developing some of the skills you’ll need as you advance in your career.

Once you make a start and take time to think about it you’ll realise that it’s very hard not to develop in the course of your career. We all take up new challenges and adapt to changing situations – the trick is to build these into our structured approach to CPD alongside more formal development. That’s when the process really starts to work for us and we begin to take control of our future.

Email: info@mvfh.co.uk • www.mvfh.co.uk

GF Plastic Piping Systems

ZERO corrosion We have built a reputation for delivering quality products and offer the largest range of piping systems products in the UK

instituteofwater.org.uk

23

CHANGING ROLE OF THE TEAM LEADER Historically, Team Leaders or front-line managers in the water industry have been promoted into the role due to skill and experience in their particular operational area.

The Team Leader’s main responsibilities were to “manage the men” who carried out the operational activities, as they themselves once did, in a set geographical area. Most of their time was spent dealing with complex operational challenges while ensuring that sufficient cover was provided for routine activities.

However, due to changing organisational structures, the drive for efficiency savings and more stringent quality, financial and environmental regulation, the responsibilities of this fundamental position have changed markedly over the last 10 years.

As well as the usual operational guidance and direction, Team Leaders are now expected to take a much greater role in:

by Stephen Smyth

Director of 2000 Weeks Ltd and the British Water Engineering College This position is critical to the success of every water company’s performance. Using the analogy of a ship, Senior Management act as navigators, setting vision and strategic direction, while the Team Leaders are the engine room and rudder driving the ship in a set direction.

It’s the Team Leaders who have the local operational knowledge to know when an asset is close to a failure or which combination of events are likely to lead to a pollution incident.

It’s the Team Leaders who have the experience and confidence to organise the repair of a major trunk main burst at 3am.

It’s the Team Leaders who can spot trends in complaints and instinctively understand root-cause.

Finally, it’s the Team Leaders have the greatest impact on staff morale. A team can suffer stagnant pay, frustrating policies, a heavy workload and irate customers if they have a boss they know has their backs and who brings them together into a close-knit team.

24

instituteofwater.org.uk

■■

purchasing and budget management

■■

health & safety

■■

premises management

■■

HR issues such as absence and performance management

■■

stakeholder management and investigation of complaints

■■

regulatory reporting

“The role of an operational team leader is exceptionally challenging and requires the position holder to be proficient in a number of disciplines i.e. technical skills, Health & Safety Leadership, Procure to Pay, Finance and people management to ensure their area operates efficiently within the realms of the Regulatory Framework”. Carolyn Bywater - Catchment Manager Yorkshire Water.

Considered in isolation, the addition of each new responsibility makes perfect sense and is a testimony to the importance of the Team Leader role: Who better to manage procurement and budgets than the Team Leader responsible for spending it in their area?

Who better to check contractor’s compliance to contract terms than the manager who requests their services?

Who better to investigate customer complaints than the man or woman with most local knowledge of the area?

Who better to take the lead in managing underperformance in the Team than the linemanager who best understands the standards required?

However, collectively the range of extra duties imposed on Team Leaders has added significant pressure to those in the role.

The management of budgets, contracts, contractors, complaints, regulatory performance and endless reports takes time away from the operational areas in which they are most confident and qualified.

Logic dictates that if a Team Leader is spending half a day trying to understand a new Contractor Framework or the requirements of a new report or navigating the legal mind field of performance management, they can’t spend that time dealing with the operational issues they are best suited to tackling.

The time taken to properly complete each new task is often underestimated by the specialists who have gladly relinquished what (in their view) is a relatively straightforward job.

For example, a finance professional with a degree in accounting will check through budgets quicker than the average operational team leader.

The same is true for those jobs previously undertaken by trained health & safety managers or HR professionals.

The risks to water companies performance due to overloading the role with traditionally nonoperational responsibilities has largely been overlooked by most companies. The problem is compounded further as the majority of most experienced team leaders are likely to approach retirement age before 2023.

“People, and the skills those people have, are the key to turning investment in infrastructure into

energy, clean water and a better environment.

There is intense competition for talent, with 36% of sector vacancies identified as hard to fill due to a lack of skilled applicants. This is now higher than in any other sector (UK figure is 23%). Policy makers and regulators have yet to approach the challenge as sector-wide or to quantify the value of people as a critical asset.”

UKCES (2016) Employer Skills Survey Accepting the importance of the Team Leader position and the significant new skills required in the role, what options are available to senior managers who need to get the best out of every Team Leader?

In the current financial climate, it’s unlikely the extra duties would return back to the functional teams they came from originally. After all, it’s not likely that the HR, Finance and Customer Service teams of each water company have been sitting bored and idle since they transferred some of their responsibilities!

A halfway option, taken by many water companies is creation of the “Business Partner” role. A Finance/HR/Health & Safety professional provides advice and support to Team Leaders in their specialist area. However, a simple comparison of the number of Team Leaders compared to Business Partners in any given company will show that the time they can dedicate to each manager is very limited.

Finally, water companies can invest seriously in the development of those in this vital position.

To reach their full potential, effectively managing budgets, contracts and staff while providing a link between senior leadership who set the vision and front-line operational staff who make it happen, Team Leaders will need: ■■

Quality training in the fundamentals of financial, contract, asset and stakeholder management

■■

Combined with an industry-specific leadership development program and

■■

One to one coaching to guide the individual’s development journey

As an example of best practice, Scottish Water is a company who have invested heavily in developing their Team Leaders over the past five years. Recognising the added responsibilities of the role, they focused on providing each Team Leader with the confidence and skill to grow into the position.

Every Team Leader has the opportunity to study for a third-level qualification in water operations management, to work with their own mentor and attend a range of CPD events. The return from this investment can be seen in the company’s performance and in the enthusiasm in which their team leaders embrace the challenge.

Scottish Water’s Lauren Gourlay (one of the only female Wastewater Team Leaders in the company) said, “Balancing out day-to-day operational needs with a wide range of other responsibilities can be challenging, but ultimately delivers a sense of reward that I’ve not yet found in any other job role. Excellent people management and a keen passion for the role is key to success; as with effective team building, subsequent empowerment, and being committed and driven to always deliver excellent customer service, we can continue to be the business that Scotland trusts to deliver clean, safe and high-quality drinking water.”

The Team Leader role within the water industry has been around since at least Victorian times. That have always been the experienced, knowledgeable, dedicated practice professional that other operational staff looked to for support and more senior management sought for operational knowledge.

They can still be the link between the organisation’s leadership and it’s front-line workforce but will need support to turn vision on paper into results on the ground.

PROTECTING FUTURE GENERATIONS THE BENEFITS

REQUIRE

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LOW CARBON RESISTANT TO CHEMICALS REG. 31 APPROVED FISH FRIENDLY FAST SETTING & CURING

NO GRIT BLASTING NO PRIMERS NO BONDING AGENTS NO CURING AGENTS NO CHEMICALS

Benefit your organisation by booking a FREE Approved Continual Professional Development Seminar.

For all enquiries contact:

enquiries@naturalcement.co.uk

01226 381133

www.naturalcement.co.uk Natural Cement is the Greener Choice

instituteofwater.org.uk

25

YOU CAN’T STOP THE WAVES BUT YOU CAN LEARN TO SURF Should Wellbeing be given the same status in the water industry as Health & Safety? their weight, while 55% had improved their blood pressure.

In October 2017, the UK government published “Thriving at Work”, a review of mental health and employers by Lord Stevenson and Paul Farmer, which found that poor mental health costs the UK economy between £73 billion and £97 billion per year. Of this, the cost to employers is between £33 billion and £42 billion per year with over half of the cost coming from presenteeism (when individuals are less productive due to poor mental health in work) with additional costs from sickness absence and staff turnover.

by Kirsty Ayres

Senior Engineer & Institute of Water Rising Star 2018 We often hear the words “health and safety” and immediately know that it is something we should be listening to and acting upon to keep ourselves and others safe. Whether that is in the office, out on site, on our commute or in our personal lives, we all make concerted efforts to reduce risk and exposure to harm.

Wellbeing, however, seems to sit as a side line issue to health and safety; a forgotten cousin if you will. But as a 2018 survey by mental health charity Mind of over 44,000 people showed that almost half (48%) had experienced a mental health problem in their current job, it is clearly something that needs to be taken seriously.

Therefore, in September 2018 the Institute of Water South-East Area held their first Wellbeing Conference at WSPs’ Chancery Lane headquarters to recognise the importance of wellbeing and the positive steps that companies are taking to improve the wellbeing of employees.

We spend a significant proportion of our time at work, so being happy and engaged can be vital to our productivity. Deloittes’ 2017 report “At a tipping point? Workplace mental health and wellbeing” highlights that low levels of employee wellbeing negatively impacts productivity, but more importantly has a significant negative impact on employees’ overall health. Thames Waters’ Occupational Health and Wellbeing Manager Aimee Cain presented their Personal Medical Assessment programme at the Wellbeing Conference, which has seen significant improvements in employee health. Of those undergoing 3 or more PMAs, 37% had improved

26

instituteofwater.org.uk

At the Wellbeing Conference, Ben Draycott, Special Projects Manager at Lanes Group, showcased their Wellbeing App which asks employees how they feel each day with response options from “very happy” to “very unhappy”, and offers support to those that need it. Through this, Lanes Group have seen a decrease of 9% in “very unhappy” staff and a 57% reduction in staff attrition, which has saved £1 million per year in recruitment and training costs.

So what about from a health and safety perspective? Poor wellbeing can increase the risk of accidents because an employee is not as engaged in the activity they are undertaking so may make mistakes or take shortcuts. The IOSH information guide Working Well (2015) notes that wellbeing strategies need to complement and support existing corporate strategies, such as those for health and safety and human resources. Chris Hanson-Moring, WSP Health and Wellbeing Manager, described at the Wellbeing Conference how WSPs UK Health and Wellbeing programme called Thrive aligns with their Zero Harm vision and Make Safety Personal principle.

However, knowing how to develop a wellbeing strategy can prove challenging for companies.

The Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index was launched in 2016 to help employers better understand how to support the mental health of their workforce. Employees are surveyed on current policies and practices, with employers receiving a report of recommendations for improvements and a ranking of bronze, silver or gold. In 2017-18, only a handful of companies in the water sector took part including Severn Trent who were ranked silver.

Consideration must be taken on the type of staff a wellbeing programme is aimed at. Different staff in different roles may have different needs;

for example, comfortable chairs for office staff are irrelevant to operational staff who may require different sized vehicles for different body shapes as explained by Tom Swain, Network Optimisation Lead for Severn Trent at the Wellbeing Conference.

Finally, manager support is intrinsic to improving mental health in the workplace. The 2018 Mind study showed that managers felt more confident promoting staff wellbeing if their employer supported their mental health. Wellbeing also encompasses feeling valued which managers are best placed to endorse by acknowledging staff and appreciating or rewarding hard work.

A simple “thank you” can go a long way.

It is clear that wellbeing needs to be a priority for employers to reduce costs and increase the productivity of their employees. If increased staff engagement can also reduce accident numbers, then wellbeing must be seen as being as important as health and safety. But the primary driver has got to be the health and happiness of our people. After all, they are our most important asset.

If you would like to speak at a future Institute of Water Wellbeing Conference, please email me at kirsty.ayres@wsp.com

FOR EMPLOYERS SETTING UP A WELLBEING PROGRAMME The “Thriving at Work” report (2017) sets out six mental health core standards as a guide: ■■

Produce, implement and communicate a mental health at work plan

■■

Develop mental health awareness among employees

■■

Encourage open conversations about mental health and the support available when employees are struggling

■■

Provide employees with good working conditions and ensure they have a healthy work life balance and opportunities for development

■■

Promote effective people management through line managers and supervisors

■■

Routinely monitor employee mental health and wellbeing

Case Study: Wet Well Refurbishment, Anglian Water, 2018

CSC Services refurbished a wet well on behalf of Anglian Water, restoring its structural integrity, enabling rapid return to service.

There were visible signs of cracking to the wet well, located in the Colchester area. It had suffered problems caused by vegetation growth and root ingress.

Upon initial inspection, tree roots were found to be entering the well through joints and pipe entry. Ring joints and grout holes were leaking and there were holes to the base and cracks to the wall. Between 5-10mm of concrete had been lost from the walls and soffit areas.

CSC Services began by inserting pipe access bungs and setting up

over-pumping to an intermediate bulk container. Confined space entry was then established. Once the atmosphere was tested and forced ventilation set up, tree roots were cut out and removed. The concrete substrate was prepared using high pressure water jetting and grinding equipment.

All joints, grout holes, cracks and voids were sealed using Flexcrete repair mortars. A first coat of Monolevel 844 SP was applied to all surfaces.

This chemical resistant fairing coat brought the concrete back to profile.

future Hydrogen Sulphide Attack.

A physical check was made to ensure the coating was fully cured. Bungs were then removed and the wet well returned to normal service.

The Project Engineer for Anglian Water said: “The finished product looks like a brand-new install and I was highly impressed with the level of detail provided on this job. The works were carried out within the time-frame, allowing the wet well to be put back into normal operation extremely quickly. Thanks for a great job.�

Protective coating Cemprotec E942 was applied in two 1mm coats to all surfaces to provide protection from

CSC Services provide refurbishment services and protective coatings to a range of water and wastewater structures.

0191 410 3444 | www.csc-services.co.uk instituteofwater.org.uk

27

DRILLINGANDTAPPING

DRILLING AND TAPPING 2019

I’m sure that you are aware of our annual Drilling and Tapping competition which takes place each year at Utility Week Live (UWL) in Birmingham.

The Competition is a key event at UWL, increasing in popularity each year with the music, atmosphere and audience enthusiasm drawing in the crowds around the arena.

This year UWL is taking place on the 21st – 22nd May and promises to be an insightful couple of days bringing together a wide and varied audience across all different levels of the water industry and other utilities.

Enter the competition The competition brings in the crowds year after year thanks to the enthusiasm and camaraderie from the teams leaking into the audience and creating an electric atmosphere.

The competition not only gives teams the opportunity to showcase their skills but also offers companies the excuse to show off their employee’s talent.

Sponsorship Opportunity We have an excellent opportunity to get your brand and message in front of some of the water industry’s key players.

A number of different competitors from across the water industry, including teams from Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water and Clancy Docwra take part in the competition and as you can imagine the competition gets quite intense!

28

instituteofwater.org.uk

Prizes are awarded for a ‘quality tap’ and best newcomer among others. The men’s and women’s teams with the fastest times win an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the overseas competition.

If you are interested in entering the Drilling and Tapping 2019 competition, visit www. drillingandtapping.co.uk or contact Megan Williams on 0191 422 0088 or megan@ instituteofwater.org.uk We have a number of different sponsorship packages available, ranging in value. A visual presence at the competition gives you the opportunity to reach the audience which Drilling and Tapping draws, through company branding around the arena, on the score boards and big screen as well as shout outs in the arena over the two days and promotion over social media in the run up and following the competition.

Please contact Megan Williams on 0191 422 0088 or megan@instituteofwater.org.uk

75% faster

installation than traditional bolted systems

“If

you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”

Albert Einstein

Universal - mechanical self-anchorage system

www.saint-gobain-pam.co.uk

Email: innovations.uk.pam@saint-gobain.com

The FPI Mag is a Full Profile Insertion flow meter combining the ease of hot tap installation with an accurate measurement of the full flow profile.

This is accomplished with a unique operating principle featuring multiple electrodes across the entire pipe diameter. This allows the FPI Mag to deliver accuracy unmatched by other insertion mag meters and rival the performance of a full-bore mag meter.

Simple Installation The insertion design of McCrometer’s FPI Mag Flow Meter facilitates simple installation across a wide range of applications and pipe sizes. Hot tapping allows insertion without process interruption, dewatering lines, cutting pipe or welding flanges.

Robust Construction With no moving parts, wear and tear are minimized. The heavy-duty stainless steel sensor body imbues maximum structural integrity and is hermetically sealed and protected by NSF/WRAS certified 3M fusion bonded epoxy coating.

Lower Costs Furthermore, FPI eliminates the need for heavy equipment and manpower normally associated with mag installation realising typical savings of 45% in this regard.

0118 931 1188 | info@able.co.uk

FPI at a glance: • Hot tap installation without interrupting service • Total installed cost reduced by more than 45% • Insertion design for total accessibility. Removable in pipes under pressure for inspection, cleaning, calibration or verification.

• Multi-electrode sensor delivers accurate total flow profile to rival the performance of a full-bore meter • Robust Construction for operational longevity with rugged 316 stainless steel sensor body • Virtually no recalibration or maintenance.

www.able.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

29

PR19 - WILL IT DELIVER A BETTER FUTURE FOR WATER CUSTOMERS?

PR19 Review

Tim Williams reflects on the recent PR19 submissions and opportunities for the Water Industry to deliver performance improvements infrastructure schemes to third party competition through proposals for direct procurement;

31 January 2019 and their final determinations in December 2019.

by Tim Williams

Stantec Strategic Growth & Business Development Director for Water Setting the focus for water company business plans In September, water companies in England and Wales submitted their business plans to Ofwat.

Ofwat will publish their initial assessment on

30

instituteofwater.org.uk

The September submissions marked an important milestone in the price review process.

Initial press reaction and commentary quietly focused on headline figures given in Water UK’s ‘A Manifesto for Water’ – i.e. over £50 billion projected spend across the next five years, domestic bills to fall on average by more than 4% in real terms, a 16% reduction in leakage, and a 36% decrease in the time supplies are interrupted. Now, the water sector’s key stakeholders, dedicated press and supply chain, are scrutinising these business plans to determine what the future may hold and the key challenges.

Ofwat’s PR19 Methodology set the focus for business plans to: ■■

Strengthen customers role in water companies’ decision-making;

■■

Promote new markets in bioresources and water resources;

■■

Push companies to open-up high value

■■

Improve levels of services customers receive through upper quartile incentives;

■■

Improve resilience-in-the-round, i.e. resilient supplies, resilient systems that recover quickly from problems like bursts and floods, resilient companies with sound governance, and securing resilience for our environment;

■■

Ensure affordable bills, which demonstrate value for money, are clear, fair and as low as possible, while ensuring the right amount of investment for the future

■■

Increase innovation, addressing concerns that not enough has been done in the past to improve and innovate.

Embracing opportunities in AMP7 - how have water companies responded?

Customer involvement in shaping PR19 plans has been greater than ever. Approaches have varied, but greater information on what customers want,

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW mean companies now have real opportunities to involve customers and stakeholders in making decisions on service outcomes and expenditure.

It will be interesting to understand how customer research has truly shaped plans and decisions that companies have made. Understanding what customers do or don’t want is very different to willingness-to-pay tools applied in previous business plan submissions. Companies can now also involve customers in their decision-making on a regular, ongoing basis, rather than a snapshot every five-years.

Most companies have proposed falling bills in real terms. There is an increase in expenditure in the sector in the period 2020-25 compared to 2015-20, which should be a welcome investment in the infrastructure of UK plc.

Falling bills appear to have been achieved along with improvements in service and significant investment to improve the environment.

Yorkshire Water is considering opening it’s Bioresources business to the market. South West Water are offering customers a real financial stake, a WaterShare, in their business, sharing up to £20m accrued from AMP6.

Improvements in service and standards proposed by companies, coupled with decreasing customer bills make innovation to drive and realise efficiencies essential. Several companies are making their data publicly available, to generate new insights and drive improvements.

This will require combining data sources, better use of technology and increased use of analytics for the growing amount of information.

This, when analysed effectively, can enable real step changes in value for money to customers.

In delivering these ideas, it is critical companies embed new technology and practices to sustain service commitments to customers and returns to shareholders.

There are a few less obvious areas. For example, the level of efficiency improvements required to achieve or beat financial targets isn’t clear.

Ofwat stated this was the price review where Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) was to play a part in delivering greater value for money for larger projects. So it may take the view that there has been disappointing response in the level of DPC proposed, with few projects suggested and several companies with potentially suitable projects delaying the decision on DPC until later in AMP7. However, as many companies now operate integrated supply and distribution networks providing resilient supplies, the scope for discreet DPC projects may be less than originally envisaged.

What makes a good plan?

Ofwat has been clear on its expectations and how it will undertake its initial assessment of business plans. The likely attributes of a submission being received positively are:-

■■

Clear demonstration customers have been engaged in the co-creation of the business plan, that this has influenced its development and will be integral to its delivery;

■■

Ambitious performance commitments, leading to upper quartile performance, supported by customers, with appropriate risk and reward mechanisms to incentivize companies and drive the right behaviors;

■■

Falling bills despite increased expenditure, rather than rising bills hidden behind poor efficiency challenges and rising expenditure;

■■

A plan that embraces innovation and manages risk, not one relying on the same old techniques and processes, hoping some innovation will deliver what’s needed

■■

Demonstration that a true evaluation of what markets can do for the customer has been carried out, covering water resources, bioresources and DPC opportunities, rather than a short term ‘tactical’ plan that leaves difficult decisions for another day and management team.

From our initial view of the submissions it seems a few companies may fall into the ‘significant scrutiny’ or ‘slow track’ categories, but only one that might be rewarded with an enhanced status determination. A normal distribution wouldn’t be a surprise given the Ofwat criteria listed above.

However, tight regulatory deadlines may detract from this approach and prevent companies developing innovative means of achieving environmental outcomes compared with the certainty of Capex, carbon and costly end of pipe solutions. There is room for wider water cycle thinking to finally come to the fore and deliver for customers, land users and the environment.

Customers have increasingly engaged in the development of business plans and now can be involved in more frequent and dynamic decision making. Companies also have the chance to think more widely about resilience and promote long term resilience to the many industry stakeholders. Innovation has also been promoted as a key requirement in the delivery of these plans.

The Challenges Ahead The industry has achieved much in recent years and through submissions for 2020-25, proven there is much more to go for. Environmental improvements are vigorously being pursued, but additional innovative thinking will be required.

Has Ofwat achieved its intended PR19 outcomes?

Efficiency, Totex and resilience are the broad areas discussed in the press, and most coverage is aligned with Ofwat’s four key themes of resilience, customer service, affordability, vulnerability and innovation. Some commentary has noted this being a ‘successful’ price review, especially considering the increasing ‘politicisation’ and re-nationalisation messages from the opposition benches.

DPC feels like ‘the dog that didn’t bark’, with many a company ducking the opportunity offered. Either ignoring it on grounds of complexity or just leaving it for later in the period.

The question remains, how to achieve even more? And what would be enough to prove the industry is moving forward fast enough in a challenging political environment?

Bills falling is a good thing, especially with big improvements in performance. But, could they fall further? Has bill reduction mainly been achieved by reduction in the cost of capital? lf companies had challenged themselves further could customers have benefited more?

The industry faces challenges and has set itself ambitious targets, on leakage, pollution and flooding from sewers for example. Likewise, some companies have large environmental improvement programmes.

Overall, the industry has reacted well, the challenges ahead are clear, with recognition that innovation must play a key role in delivery.

The reaction may be that there is more to play for, and for the first time, customers and others can play a role in decision making, more often than every few years. Companies have proposed significant improvements in performance which in themselves are likely to be challenging, alongside improving resilience and overall bill reductions.

Delivering these efficiently will require fresh thinking and innovative approaches if performance commitments are to be met and deliver best value for customers.

The supply chain undoubtedly has a role in helping companies deliver on challenging use of digital technologies. Greater resilience and system thinking will be essential in enabling improved performance. Similarly, wider catchment management and potentially offsetting or combining consent performance will need embracing by the sector to drive the lowest long-term cost to the customer.

The supply chain must also step up and provide answers to more efficient, innovative delivery in what will undoubtedly be a dynamic environment. It is essential they lead the sector in areas such as digital, leakage, resilience and environmental improvements. The supply chain can also be the key to unlocking areas that benefit from collaboration and other sector involvement including catchment management and market reform in areas like water resources, bioresources and strategic water transfers.

instituteofwater.org.uk

31

ABB

COLLABORATION HOLDS THE KEY TO THE WATER INDUSTRY’S DIGITAL FUTURE

Here, Steve Hughes, ABB’s digital lead for drives, motors and robotics, discusses some of the challenges facing the water industry.

32

During a recent conference on digitalisation in the water industry, I was surprised to discover the absence of anyone from any of the UK water utilities. For whatever reason, the water industry appears to be lagging in any urgency to adopt the Internet of Things (IoT). That is not to suggest total apathy in the industry. Far from it. Many utilities have now set up “digital and innovation technology” teams to help modernise legacy IT and assets and adapt to a new business landscape.

had a monopoly. Furthermore, with London’s expanding population, land is at a premium, so rather than building extra capacity, the utility must engage with customers to encourage them to conserve water. With a history stretching back to the early 1600s, the utility has a huge legacy of assets, both physical and IT. “A big old estate that’s really ripe for modernisation,” says its Head of Digital and Innovation Technology and Transformation Alliance.

Thames Water is a case in point. Upcoming changes in the retail water market will mean that consumers are free to choose an alternative water supplier, where previously Thames Water

To help modernize that legacy, the utility has signed a long-term contract with four services providers — IBM, Deloitte, Accenture and Bilfinger (a process industry specialist).

instituteofwater.org.uk

Partnerships, collaboration and co-creation In fact, insufficient internal resources and skills is recognised as the biggest barrier to the wider adoption of IoT. As such, many water authorities and suppliers are now looking for alliances with technology consultants, system integrators, hardware providers or communication service providers. There is a recognition that organisations can strengthen their own proposition and bring new solutions to the market that they wouldn’t have been able to do on their own.

Take for instance Swiss pump maker, Egger.

Earlier this year, the company launched the

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW result of its collaboration with ABB. Using ABB’s smart sensor technology, Egger has managed to convert traditional pumps into smart, wirelessly connected devices, enabling them to be remotely monitored.

simple and fundamental as the powertrain.

Not only is the motor and pump now fitted with smart sensors, but the bearings have also joined the club.

The smart sensor measures vibration and temperature from the surface of the pump and uses this data to gain meaningful information on the pump’s condition and performance. Based on the measurements it calculates health indicators for detecting common problems in pumps, such as cavitation, bearing failure, blade problems, looseness, unbalance or overheating.

A powertrain is the entire electrical and mechanical system that ultimately drives the end application such as a pump. It comprises a transformer, variable speed drive (VSD), motor, bearings and the actual application such as a pump. Other than the VSD, traditionally none of the other components had any digital capability, rendering the powertrain a relatively “dumb” system.

Smart sensor for motors

Turn data into usable information

The smart sensor technology was originally developed to monitor the condition of the humble low voltage induction motor. Previously, condition monitoring of such basic motors was a costly and time-consuming affair, and as such, was rarely carried out. For the water and wastewater industry, with a massive installed base of low voltage motors, predicting when a motor would fail or pre-empting any maintenance was simply too costly, resulting in motors being operated until they failed.

The arrival of the smart sensor has packed the powertrain with “intelligence”. It helps utilities achieve a key goal: to collect data which can provide insight and intelligence to inform the organisation’s operational excellence and business growth.

Costing only a few pounds, ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor attaches – without wires – to the frame of selected low voltage motors. Using advanced algorithms, the smart sensor relays information about the motor’s operation and health via a Bluetooth-gateway or smartphone to a secure server.

The sensor picks up data on vibration, temperature and other parameters that can be used to gain meaningful information on the condition and performance of the motor, enabling users to identify inefficiencies within their system and to reduce risks related to operation and maintenance. Maintenance can now be planned according to actual needs rather than based on generic schedules. This extends equipment lifetime, cuts maintenance costs and reduces or prevents unplanned downtime due to breakdowns.

If smart sensors can monitor motors predictively, thought Egger, then why shouldn’t they be able to provide the same services for pumps?

The collaboration between the two companies marks a small but important trend in the way the water industry is set to operate in the future.

As IoT becomes more mission-critical there is a realisation that you can’t always succeed on your own. Partners, co-creators and collaborators are needed, especially when there is an ever-growing skills gap. Forming collaborations with other companies is recognised as the way to drive innovation.

Extending throughout the powertrain Water utilities could do a lot worse than partnering alongside something as relatively

Data gathered from VSDs’ inbuilt sensors and loggers, together with that collected from the smart sensors fitted to motors, bearings and pumps, can be aggregated, stored and further accessed via the cloud. The ability to gather and analyse this data can reveal information on the status and condition of your equipment, so that you can schedule service activities more effectively.

“The biggest challenge for all water companies going forward,” suggests ABB’s Stuart Foster, “is the need to get better information. By better I mean more granular, such that you can make informed decisions in real time.”

Now, the digital powertrain means that through condition monitoring, detailed information on parameters like temperature and vibration could be extracted into a company’s own portal and systems page. Dashboards give full transparency so that you can take actions that lead to less downtime, extended equipment lifetime, lower costs, safer operations and increased profitability.

Ensuring that the right person is exposed to the right information at the right time brings better insight into production challenges, thereby helping to control operating costs.

There is a greater overview into various aspects of the water process, thereby improving quality and reducing variations, errors and waste.

There is a lower risk of process or pump failure as maintenance is changed from reactive to predictive.

powertrain, and in conjunction with cloudbased analytics, there are huge productivity and resilience gains to be made. But they are victims of their own historical architecture.

And they aren’t sure what to do with all the data. Everything is within their infrastructure, all predominantly hardwired and behind firewalls. There is a nervousness about opening up the huge capacity offered by cloud-based computing.”

IT/OT integration A key challenge is the integration of the information technology (IT) and the operational technology (OT) departments. Integration addresses the challenges of managing ever increasing costs, minimising schedule overruns, mitigating risk, optimising or maximising production and controlling energy expenditure and efficiency. Unfortunately, many utilities have little or no data integration across the value chain and still operate in silos, with data not being shared with other departments.

Many still rely on spreadsheets combined with human expertise for crucial decision support.

Things are changing with companies now taking steps to implement IT/OT data integration. These players have a consolidated view of production systems and the most advanced can dynamically view and adjust operations across the value chain.

IT and OT cannot operate in silos if good shareholder returns are to be delivered in light of increasingly difficult and uncertain market realities. Companies are coming to realise that addressing emerging challenges effectively, means transitioning to an environment which provides remote asset diagnostics, continuous automation and production optimisation made possible through a fully integrated approach to power, automation and telecom systems.

“There are still many challenges ahead,” says Foster. “The utilities are used to dealing with big data. Some utilities have around 40 million data points a day. They’re used to having multiple data points in things like pressure and flow monitoring. Being able to combine that with the additional data gained from the digital

instituteofwater.org.uk

33

34

instituteofwater.org.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

35

36

instituteofwater.org.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

37

PROMAR INTERNATIONAL

ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF UK WATERCOURSES Farmers can play a crucial role in enhancing the quality of UK watercourses - provided they have the right help and support.

To date, most work with the agricultural sector has focused on a narrow range of improvements.

But to really reap the potential UK farmers can make to water quality there has to be a more holistic, business-wide approach to directing change.

At the simplest level, there needs to be better communication about how any management changes on-farm can bring direct benefits to agricultural businesses as well as the environment.

by Matthew Brennan

Principal environmental consultant at Promar International A broader approach to engaging with farmers - and the right policies post-Brexit - are vital to driving improvements.

When it comes to UK watercourses, the role that farmers can play in protecting and improving their quality cannot be underestimated.

As custodians of the countryside, management decisions on farm can have significant implications for the long-term health of our water, bringing benefits to the environment and the public.

Yet despite the potential, opportunities to work with farmers to drive improvements have so far been frustratingly under-utilised by the water industry.

It’s clear this has to change: Across the UK, water quality remains disappointingly varied, and despite tough European targets more than a 1000 water bodies in England and Wales alone remain unimproved.

Current practices obviously aren’t working, and there’s clearly a need for a new approach - which has to include finding new ways to work with farmers.

38

instituteofwater.org.uk

Clearly policy plays a large part in how these changes are driven and supported, and with the creation of a domestic agricultural policy post-Brexit all eyes will be on Defra to see whether new regulation will help the sector make improvements more easily.

Farming and environmental regulations currently separate issues such as ammonia reduction, food sustainability and soil health, and this segregated approach to tackling issues can often restrict farmers from driving whole-farm improvements.

Defra secretary Michael Gove has made it clear that future agricultural subsidies will be focused on the provision of public goods and services, as well as the protection of the natural environment — a change which will require farmers to demonstrate social, financial and environmental sustainability across their whole business.

However, the existing policy context does not make this change simple: There will be increased focus on ‘polluter pays’ regulation, for example, while increased targeting of schemes such as Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) and stewardship have to be balanced with the need for change from farms and catchments which fall outside of priority areas.

Coupled with the drive towards payment for ecosystem services and a more coordinated approach to reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, these policies require the water industry to take a fresh look at how it works

with farmers to ensure success.

In addition to supporting regulatory change, it will be important for water companies to collaborate with other interest groups and to focus on areas to make improvements in water quality.

To achieve this, those in the sector will need to change the way they approach farms and look at them as entire businesses, rather than identifying single areas for potential improvements. For example, reviewing cultivation practices, alternative cropping systems, use of margins and woodland planting alongside infrastructure improvements such as sprayer washdown and biofilters can contribute towards improving farm productivity and profitability, whilst also offering public goods.

Carrying out an environmental assessment across the entire business is an important place to start, as that will help identify the critical issues on a whole farm level. These can involve whole farm reviews looking at business resilience as much as soil management and infrastructure requirements. In order to drive change, it is essential farm businesses are profitable so they can reinvest in future.

Once advisors and farm managers understand what they are dealing with, it will be easier to create a plan of action which is targeted to each individual business, creating scenarios which improve water quality as well as farm efficiency.

It’s often easy to focus on achieving the largest, most obvious environmental outcomes, but any action plan must have farmers at the forefront and provide them with a checklist of options and recommendations which are both easy to follow and practical for their business.

Not only will provide a framework for providing additional financial support for improvements, where significant risks are identified to justify costs, but ensure that water management is a win-win for both farmers and the environment.

Catchment Management Support Services and Activities

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW Understand Farmers

Ac

A

Sup

rt

ge

po

• •

Attitude and behaviour studies Characterisation reports Catchment walkovers Farmer surveys and assessments Discussion groups and stakeholder meetings Benchmarking And more...

e

is e

• • • • •

ev hi

dv

Engage with farmers to understand their motivations, behaviour and knowledge:

Support Farmers

Ma

na

Help farmers to improve their knowledge and land management practices to develop mutually beneficial relationships: • • • • • • •

Nutrient management planning Pesticide handling, storage and application advice Soil husbandry advice Machinery calibration Water and energy audits Waste management planning And more...

ACHIEVE YOUR OBJECTIVES Create long-term relationships and meaningful engagement with farmers to support their business and help them to understand and reduce their environmental impact.

Work with farmers to promote your agenda and their farm business.

Forge strong catchment relationships by following the Four Rs:

Mitigate Risk

Build Resilience

Consider future changes to agricultural policy, understand consumer focus, optimise usage of natural resources and utilise inputs in an efficient manner to identify ‘threats’ and maximise value for agriculture and the water environment.

Promote future growth and stability of the farm business, Increasing resilience to volatility in policy, consumer focus and global market ‘shocks’.

Supporting farms in remaining strong and resilient for the future through efficient farming practice.

Source Responsibly

Unlock Revenue

Develop ‘best practice’ techniques, using evidence derived from a robust data and evidence base, to deliver output efficiently and with consideration for key social and environmental impacts.

Meet the demands and expectations of the consumer base to build trust in agriculture and develop the profitability and marketability of the business Building the ‘brand’ of that farm helps develop trust between agriculture and the water industry.

01270 616800 | matthew.brennan@genusplc.com instituteofwater.org.uk

39

GPS PE PIPE SYSTEMS

PROTECTING WATER QUALITY James Roper, Infrastructure Segment Manager for GPS PE Pipe Systems, discusses the complexities around installing barrier pipe within contaminated land.

With increasingly more brownfield sites being redeveloped to allow a greater volume of housing to be constructed, reliable pipelines are required to transport large volumes of drinking water for new homes. However, with contaminants often present in the ground, there is lots of debate around the best solutions to ensure a safe drinking water supply is maintained.

When considering pipework materials and systems to use for water supplies in brownfield sites it is important to determine whether the land is at risk of contamination. UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) offers guidance in the form of its ‘Guidance for the Selection of Water Supply Pipes to be used in Brownfield Sites’ published in 2011.

The previous use of the site will provide a good indication of whether contaminants are likely to be present in the ground, but developers will need to undertake costly soil analysis to clarify whether the ground contains any harmful substances.

The majority of water authorities now stipulate that brownfield sites need to be assessed under the UKWIR method, which includes desktop studies, site walkover and site investigation including multiple soil samples. Utilities will then assess all data provided by the developer or contractor to confirm the pipe material to be used, based on the defined trigger levels in the pipe selection table within the UKWIR document.

It is vital that the correct pipe material is selected as hydrocarbons, such as petrol, diesel, heating fuel and white spirits, often used in industrial processes can permeate through standard plastic pipes and pollute the drinking water being transported. Hydrocarbons can also damage the pipes causing them to fail due to environmental stress cracking or corrosion in metal pipes. Pipe pollution and failure is not only a danger to the public and surrounding environment, but could also result in hefty fines for the water utility, developer and contractor.

The only way to ensure the public is protected, and any contaminants remaining in brownfield sites cannot permeate into the water supply, is to use a material, which is not permeable to hydrocarbons. The Pipe Selection Table included within the UKWIR guidance outlines which pipe materials are safe for use with a variety of contaminants identified in the site investigation.

Standard polyethylene (PE) and PVC plastic pipes are not resistant to permeation of many

40

instituteofwater.org.uk

contaminants and should only be used if remediation work is undertaken to remove all contaminated soil. However, the high costs to remove contaminated soil, along with associated completion sampling and analysis, would significantly increase project costs.

While wrapped steel, wrapped ductile iron, copper and PE barrier pipe with an aluminium barrier layer (PE-Al-PE) all provide an effective barrier to the majority of contaminants, a PE-Al-PE barrier pipe is the only material tested to provide a safe barrier against all known contaminants including those of inorganic nature.

This leads to a lot of debate among water authorities, developers and contractors regarding whether site investigation and soil analysis is required if a barrier pipe is installed. Although there is no definitive statement for how water authorities should deal with this, UKWIR offers the following guidance: “The UKWIR project steering group have decided that a PE-Al-PE barrier pipe would provide sufficient protection for the supply of drinking water in all brownfield sites. If barrier pipes are specified, there is no need to carry out soil sampling and analysis and this maybe the most cost effective solution in some cases. It is therefore reasonable to expect all water companies will accept the use of a barrier pipe in all situations as a blanket approach.”

While each water authority has its own individual process, the majority do accept PE-Al-PE barrier pipe being installed without a site investigation.

However, it is left to the contractor or developer to decide whether a site investigation is preferred, with a pipe selection made based on the findings of the report. There is a strong argument that if the cost of site investigation exceeds the cost of installing a barrier pipe, then specifying barrier pipe for all brownfield sites, regardless of site specific levels of contaminants, would be the most cost effective solution.

GPS PE Pipe System’s tried and trusted fully integrated barrier pipe and fittings system, Protecta-Line has been selected by water authorities, developers and contractors as a proven solution for the safe transportation of water supplies for more than 20 years. Avoiding the need for costly site investigation and soil samples, Protecta-Line is a cost effective solution, while also offering the only UK produced PE-Al-PE pipe in sizes up to 630mm. Protecta-Line is a fully designed system with the reassurance that all pipe and fittings are manufactured by the same company, both of which are Kite marked and approved to all applicable standards including BS8588.

With the government’s increased priority on re-developing brownfield sites, many pipe systems are now promoted for use in contaminated environments. Therefore, it is important developers, housebuilders, contractors and utilities clarify the previous successful experience of barrier pipe systems to ensure the integrity of the water supply is not compromised through the selection of inappropriate pipe.

SUPPLIERS OF LIQUID AND SOLID SEPARATION TECHNOLOGIES TO THE WATER AND INDUSTRIAL MARKETS

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW QUALITY

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Craft beer clarifier

Flottweg centrifuge technology

Filter press technology and spares

Mobile/contract dewatering

Euroby Ltd

SALES RENTAL MAINTENANCE REFURBISHMENT SPARE PARTS

New Dawn House, Gorse Lane, High Salvington, Worthing, Sussex BN13 3BX T - 01903 69 44 00 F - 01903 69 44 77 E - sales@euroby.com

www.euroby.com instituteofwater.org.uk

41

Z-TECH

WASTEWATER FLOW CONTROL

Figure 1: The complications of FFT flow measurement]

Wastewater flow is one of the key themes in the next Asset Management Period (AMP), as it features in the Environment Agency’s National Environment Programme (WINEP).

This programme aims to monitor and control the flow that a site must achieve before going to storm, with storm tanks used only when absolutely necessary.

In order to do this, there are some considerable technical issues that the water industry faces moving forward, and discussions are ongoing as to how these are going to be managed.

Monitoring Flow to Full Treatment (FFT) One solution to the technical issue of monitoring and controlling flow relating to storm events is to install a device that will monitor when a wastewater treatment works goes to storm, whilst measuring the FFT. In theory, on a site where flows are precisely controlled, the site goes to

42

instituteofwater.org.uk

storm as the FFT is reached; in reality, this is much harder to achieve.

One of the first challenges that the water companies face is measurement of the FFT, especially under the Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTS), which has not been designed for inlet flow control, and retrofitting of flow measurement is potentially very difficult to achieve.

An example of this can be seen in Figure 1 (main image above), where flow control on a small rural works is achieved using a simple weir device.

Although very simple, this device ensures that greater than the FFT is achieved at all times.

Due to lack of space, flow measurement can often be practically impossible and very expensive

to achieve. In these cases, an alternative to FFT needs to be investigated. There has been ongoing work in the industry by way of an UKWIR study that has been looking into the potential of using flow measurement elsewhere on the treatment works to remotely imply the FFT flow.

The problem with this method is that it will need to use a device that can be certified under the MCERTS scheme, which is normally located on the final effluent to the works, and the temporal hydrodynamics of the treatment works will need to be understood. In some cases, this might be possible; in others, definitely not.

The Potential in Technology There are, however, flow measurement technologies that have the potential to make the practically impossible a lot more feasible.

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW The measurement of MCERTS flow is primarily achieved using open channel flow measurement, which utilises level measurement and flumes (which are also excellent for providing flow control). Where this is present, some refurbishment may be necessary, but this is by far the most practical approach.

Figure 2: A typical non-contact Area-Velocity flow measurement device

The second most popular measurement technique is the use of electromagnetic flow measurement, but this method can experience problems relating to the inlet, with fouling affecting the accuracy of flow measurement if not maintained correctly.

In cases where neither of these technologies can be used due to practical issues, the use of AreaVelocity devices is the next option. Typically, this option has occupied a niche representing 2-5% of the industry’s total installed base. As a flow measurement device, it offers a simple solution for retrofitting into inlet works, as it does not suffer from the complications associated with flumes, where relatively large heads are required, which in some situations would require substantial changes to the inlets of treatment works.

As with any technology, Area-Velocity devices do have their limitations. As the devices work on the principle of measuring the area, inlet channels must be kept clean, as any changes due to fouling will affect the accuracy of the measurement.

The devices also work by measuring an average velocity within the channel, so the location of their installation can be relatively complicated.

This issue has been addressed recently with the release of Bulletin 27 of the Environment Agency’s MCERTS scheme, which states that when the minimum distance requirements of 20 upstream diameters and 5 downstream diameters are not met, it is advisable to complete a pre-survey to prove that suitable conditions for the use of the technique are in place. This evidence should be provided to the MCERTS inspector as part of the inspection process. The issue here, however, is that there are only a few experts within the industry capable of undertaking such pre-surveys.

The Challenges Ahead In the next AMP, flow will be a huge challenge.

There are over 2,500 installations to inspect for accuracy of FFT flow measurement, in addition to 3,742 installations that are measured for accuracy of dry weather flow (DWF) measurement. This is a huge inspection burden for MCERTS inspectors.

In addition to this, there are over 1,000 investigations to complete in the first two years of the next AMP to check flow measurement installations are suitable to use to assess the FFT. These inspections require specialist skills and knowledge to complete, looking at the potential for flow measurement across the works and implying it to the FFT point. There is also potential for the installation of over 5,000 event duration monitors to detect when a site weirs over to storm, or weirs over from the storm tanks

to the environment. The issue surrounding event duration monitoring for FFT is the monitoring of data availability, which has historically been a challenge in the industry; this will need to be near-perfect, increasing the management burden of the asset base.

All of this monitoring is done for a purpose to make sure that all of the treatment works are compliant with both their DWF and FFT flow conditions. The methodology for managing DWF compliance is well-established; this is, however, not the case for FFT measurement - methodologies have been proposed, but are not yet set.

All of this has resulted in a programme of works in the next AMP (and, realistically, the following one too) that will stretch the technical and delivery capabilities of the water industry as a whole, and increase the need for specialists in the water industry who can help to deliver it.

Moving forward, there needs to be a holistic and systematic approach to water companies’ asset and data management in order to regulate the flow measurement asset base and its data.

The approach would need to ensure that flow installations are routinely maintained and calibrated (including secondary verification), and that data is accurate and available for the assessment of compliance, as flow management becomes a regulated parameter with the same weighting as sanitary compliance.

About the Author Oliver Grievson is the Water Industry Technical Lead at Z-Tech Control Systems.

He has over 20 years’ experience in the water industry, specialising in process engineering, instrumentation and control, and the measurement of wastewater flows under MCERTS, in which he led Anglian Water to an industry-leading position by developing their PR14 and PR19 plans for MCERTS flow and managing their regulated flow asset base.

Z-Tech Control Systems is an electrical, control and instrumentation specialist company, able to offer a full suite of flow and MCERTS services to the water industry.

instituteofwater.org.uk

43

Z-TECH

WHAT DOES WATER 4.0 MEAN TO THE WATER INDUSTRY

Most people in the Water Industry have heard the term Water 4.0 or some derivative of it such as a the “Digital Water Industry” or concepts that form a part of it including Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning or even the Industrial Internet of Things but what does all of this actually mean to the Water Industry?

Water 4.0 as a concept was brought to life by the German Water Partnership who defined the concept as: WATER 4.0 puts digitization and automation at the centre of a strategy for resource-efficient, flexible and competitive water management. In doing this, WATER 4.0 incorporates the same main features and terms of the industrial revolution INDUSTRY 4.0, such as “networking of machines, processes, storage systems and resources”, “smart grids”, “Internet of Things and Services”, and brings them together in a systemic, water management context.

In the implementation of WATER 4.0, Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are drivers of the optimal networking of virtual and real water systems, with planning, construction and operation being largely done by software.

In these terms the concept is all about CyberPhysical Systems which to be honest is a difficult concept to understand. From an operational point

44

instituteofwater.org.uk

of view Water 4.0 is all about having the right information to enable the water industry to make an informed decision. An informed decision is about having a situational awareness that will allow the industry to operate in the most efficient and cost-effective way in order to deliver a service to the customer.

In order to have the right information to hand the water industry needs to understand the information that it needs and from this the data that it needs to collect. This in turn allows the water industry to install the right data gathering from the water meter that collects how much a customer uses to the plethora of instruments that make sure that the product that is delivered to the customer is fit for consumption.

At the current time the industry collects hundreds of millions of pieces of data everyday and it is often difficult for the water industry to see what data is useful and can be used to give situational

awareness and allow informed decision making.

Couple this with the fact that the quality of the data that is being used is often unknown, the water industry faces the potential danger in suffering from the concept of “Garbage in Garbage Out” which as a concept dates from as early as 1957. As we run towards a “Digital” Water Industry we have to ensure that the quality of the data that we use is of a standard that allows us to make informed decisions. In order to do this there is a need to go back to basics of instrumentation maintenance and calibration to ensure the data that is converted into information at a very basic level is right. It is only by getting the basics right that the water industry will be able to start to walk and then to run towards a future where Water 4.0 is transformed from the concept of a factorybased approach to an actual reality.

Oliver Grievson Z-Tech Control Systems

instituteofwater.org.uk

45

MERIT SKILLS

TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY TAILORED TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS

Merit Skills is the Water Industry’s leading training provider offering short and bespoke courses, qualifications and apprenticeships.

Merit Skills provides cost effective, high quality training and development products for individuals and organisations, delivered by the best industry experienced staff.

We also offer assessment, verification and auditing services should they be required as well as provision of training and assessment towards qualification for in-house assessors.

Our aim is to continuously build on this experience and ensure we deliver honest, cost effective, down to earth services for our customers.

We have an approved centre offering a variety of qualifications by a number of nationally recognised awarding bodies.

We are always happy to tailor existing products or design and develop new ones to fit the way your business operates.

We always liaise with our customers and aim to agree the best approach, ensuring that programmes are delivered efficiently with minimum disruption to learners normal working. All of our trainers and assessors are industry experienced and used to working with learners from all aspects of work, taking them through their qualifications in a straight forward stress-free way.

Understanding our clients

Subject Areas

Our training products are designed to ensure they provide the necessary skills and knowledge required to meet the industry operational and legislative standards.

We understand the importance of ensuring a competent workforce. We have a breadth of experience in helping clients determine competency standards and demonstrating compliance against them.

We are very aware that many companies prefer to specify their own competency standards.

We can support customers who chose to do this in several ways. We can help write competency standards and frameworks or provide training and support should they choose to use their own resources to carry out the work.

46

instituteofwater.org.uk

■■

Water - A range of bespoke and off-the-shelf training products designed for those working within the water industry.

■■

Health and Safety - A wide range of programmes designed specifically to meet the needs of the utility industry.

■■

■■

Street Works - Compulsory training for anyone who may be involved in working on and adjacent to the public highways.

Confined Spaces - A range of training and assessment products to meet the requirements of your business.

■■

Gas - Programmes designed specifically to meet the needs of the utility industry.

■■

Management Development - Programmes designed to support leadership and management within your business.

Apprenticeships We deliver both new standards and frameworks in all water industry operational areas. We were proud to be the first provider to support learners through the new Water Process Technician apprenticeship standard.

The Merit Skills Training Centre Our purpose built training centre is located on the outskirts of Peterborough in the village of Yaxley. Located within close proximity of the A1(M) and easily accessible from the A47 and A14.

Our practical facilities include areas for training and assessment of: ■■

Excavation and reinstatement techniques

■■

Cable and pipe location

■■

Signing, lighting and guarding

■■

Trench safety and support

■■

Confined spaces

■■

Gas and water main laying and service laying

■■

Mains commissioning

■■

Leakage detection

Do you have skills and knowledge to pass on?

Merit Skills is expanding its team and wants to meet Water Industry people interested in getting involved in training and development.

We have full and part-time opportunities available and will provide the training and qualifications necessary.

We need people with skills and knowledge in: 路 Water treatment 路 Waste water treatment 路 Water distribution (including mains and service laying) 路 Waste water networks

Interested? Give us a call to discuss.

Peterborough Training Centre, 9 Broadway Business Park, Broadway, Yaxley, Peterborough PE7 3EN Phone: 01733 246 415 meritskills.co.uk

instituteofwater.org.uk

47

BRITISH WATER ENGINEERING COLLEGE

BUILDING A TEAM OF MANY TALENTS

by Bob Windmill

Academic Director of the British Water Engineering College In the summer of 2017 I was offered a three-month contract as Interim Water Quality Monitoring Manager with Southern Water to help implement a new Compliance and Resilience directorate.

Eight months later (yeah, I know) I had created an entirely new team of six monitoring scientists and a principal, fitting this into a new department made up of existing teams. Not an everyday situation…

The challenges Bringing a new member into a team has challenges but good teams help new starters understand and adapt to their role. With a new team this can’t happen, so the candidates also had to be exceptional self-starters.

Add that the roles were challenging, requiring a detailed knowledge of clean water treatment, ISO quality systems and data analysis, the new starters faced a steep learning curve. And did I mention that the roles were in three operational areas each some fifty miles apart?

Getting started Discussions with Alison Hoyle (Director of Compliance and Asset Resilience) and Guy Franklin (Head of Water Quality and Compliance) established the role requirements and, importantly, that Southern Water would wait for the right candidates.

Further discussions with Guy agreed that no one candidate would have all the skills and personal qualities but that the team collectively must cover all the bases. We also agreed that the principal must have exceptional technical and interpersonal skills.

Recruiting Recruiting the principal was straightforward with two strong internal candidates, the one with the greater operational experience shading the decision. Welcome Lee Dark, Principal Monitoring Scientist.

Lee showed his mettle by holding out for assurance that his new team would be trained to a common minimum standard before being deployed operationally.

The team recruitment took many rounds of interview over several months but ultimately identified six great individuals.

48

instituteofwater.org.uk

The team The candidates were an interesting mix, some self-selecting by failing to complete the spreadsheet exercise or telling us how lucky we were that they had applied. However, others impressed with their technical knowledge and all showed a drive to better themselves in Southern Water’s service.

The sixth candidate later decided to stay in their current Southern Water role. The position was subsequently filled by Grace Gledhill (an environmental scientist turned ISO expert).

Definitely a team of many talents.

One candidate stood out: virtually deaf (his choice of descriptor) he asked early on if this affected his chances. Being assured this was not so he went on have a stunning interview and was offered a position.

Lee proved a great choice, organising the required inductions and training with huge energy and enthusiasm. These attributes were somewhat tested by repeated enquiries from the business on when the team would “start work”.

However, his passion and professionalism assured the business that the wait would be worthwhile, a position fully justified by the team’s subsequent performance.

Southern Water were brilliant in supporting his integration, arranging assessments and liaising with Lee over the adjustments needed for him to undertake the role safely. Welcome Oliver Richardson.

The team gelled beautifully, exceeding my expectation in how they shared expertise to ensure that they delivered objectives. By any standards they blitzed these, earning praise from across the business.

The team

Learning points

An outstanding candidate

Oliver was joined by Catherine Silvester (a biologist turned environmental consultant), Ewa Esposito (a Southern Water employee progressed from water sampler to Biosolids Recycling Advisor), Caroline Harris (another internal candidate, an experienced process scientist), and Magdalena Sobkowiak (a medical microbiologist).

A key learning point for me was the importance of giving a new team the space to find its feet before throwing it in at the deep end. Add to that the importance of appointing the right principal, not just the safe corporate option and waiting for the right candidates and you have a recipe for a team of many talents.

The monitoring scientist team have demonstrated fantastic attention to detail, ensuring that the instrumentation, sampling facilities and associated log books are fit for purpose.

I would like to personally thank Lee and the team for their continued hard work.

Richard Smith Hazard Review Project Manager, Southern Water

It’s been brilliant to observe this strong interdisciplinary team form and then take a fresh look from many different angles at some of the thornier challenges that we face.

Guy Franklin Head of Water Quality and Compliance, Southern Water

Bob Windmill As Academic Director, my aim is to help your managers be effective in range situations. This case study shows how problem solving and collaborative working were key team skills, and that wellconsidered risks can reap big rewards.

Such skills cannot be developed by courses and qualifications alone, but need a rolling programme delivering a pipeline of effective individuals.

At BWEC, we would be more than happy to discuss how we could help you achieve this.

Email: bob@bwec.org.uk Tel: 07554 994855

IChemE Forms of Contract An internationally acclaimed series, developed to reflect best practice in the process industries

The Red Book – Lump Sum Contract

The Brown Book – Subcontract for Civil Engineering Works

The Green Book – Reimbursable Contract

The Orange Book – Minor Works

The Burgundy Book – Target Cost Contract

The Silver Book – Professional Services Contract

The Yellow Book – Subcontract

There are currently two suites of contracts available, one suitable for the UK market and another for international use. Each contract contains a model form of agreement and general conditions, supplemented with detailed guide notes to assist the user in preparing a contract.

MB0095_18

Available in hard copy, PDF and editable word document formats.

www.icheme.org/shop

instituteofwater.org.uk

49

PRIMAYER

PRIMAYER WINS ANGLIAN WATER LEAKAGE FRAMEWORK Anglian Water has awarded one of the first framework contracts of AMP7 to leak detection specialist Primayer.

The £40 million agreement for leak detection products has been awarded jointly to 10 suppliers and will ensure the utility has access to as wide a selection of equipment as possible.

Primayer, which is based in Denmead, Hampshire, has been manufacturing intelligent technologies for water network monitoring, leakage control and flow measurement for over 20 years. The company’s research and development team works closely with utility field teams and their partners to develop best-in-class technologies that directly meet industry requirements.

In a change to the way frameworks are usually planned, the five-year contract with Anglian Water runs from 2017-23, covering the remainder of AMP6 and the start of AMP7, which runs from 2020-25. Anglian Water aims to reduce leakage by 22% across its 40,000km network in AMP7 with a total investment of £240 million

Kevin Brook, sales director, Primayer said, “Ofwat has raised expectations on leak reduction dramatically. Utilities are expected to cut losses by 15% minimum in AMP7 to avoid penalties and some, including Anglian Water, are going even further.

“Anglian Water has taken a very considered approach to the way this framework has been set up. Awarding the framework for leakage products to multiple suppliers gives the company access to a very broad range of equipment and starting it immediately means they hit the ground running.

[A technician undertakes installation of the Enigma3HyQ into a pipe.]

“Primayer is delighted to be named as one of their partners and we look forward to working ever more closely with the Anglian leakage team.”

into the realms of tracking down really hard to find leaks long before they’re visible to the naked eye, meaning our leakage targets are now really tough.

Sean McCarthy, head of leakage at Anglian Water said, “We already have the lowest level of leakage in the water industry at half the national average.

But being ahead of the curve means we’re now

“We’re looking into every avenue of engineering available to us to continually be better and technology like this will revolutionise our ability to meet those tough targets.”

ENIGMA ROLL-OUT IS INDUSTRY FIRST ON LEAKAGE Anglian Water is deploying Primayer’s Enigma3hyQ noise logger, developed in partnership with the Hampshire-based technology company, to drive down leakage.

In a first for the water industry, Anglian will install 3,500 Enigma3hyQ leak detectors across their network over the next 18 months.

The Enigma3hyQ is adapted from naval technology and works like a hydrophone. Placed permanently within the pipe, the logger listens through the flow of water to locate hard-to-find leaks.

Andy Smith, leakage optimisation manager, Anglian Water said: “One of the biggest challenges faced across the water industry is the ability to detect leaks effectively on plastic pipes as they don’t transmit noise when they leak. Critically, unlike more widely used methods, this new technology can be used on plastic pipes, which make up 60% of our waters mains.

50

instituteofwater.org.uk

“This is a real game-changer in how we tackle leakage in terms of our teams on the ground and the processes we use. It will revolutionise what we do in terms of leakage.”

Smith continued: “We very much created the technology together. We didn’t want to just accept what was on offer, we wanted to collaborate to drive for the best solution for the challenge we faced.

“Working with our in-house data team we’ve also developed a dedicated modelling system which works out the optimum points across the water mains network to place the sensors. This precise deployment means the noise loggers can be installed much more efficiently.”

[Primayer’s Enigma3HyQ leak detection system will be available to Anglian Water though the new products framework agreement.]

Barbara Hathaway, technical services director at Primayer, said: “The collaboration with Anglian Water on the Enigma3hyQ datalogger is a tremendous opportunity for Primayer and we look forward to supporting the roll-out across their networks. This is the world’s only hydrophone sensor for leak detection and initial results show fantastic promise.”

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW Solutions for network management and leakage control

An essential component in your smart water network

Web

The Engima3hyQ adapted from naval technology utilises hydrophone sensors to accurately pinpoint leaks.

For more information on Enigma3hyQ visit: www.primayer.com/remote-leak-location/

www.primayer.com instituteofwater.org.uk

51

WHY ANALYTICS MUST BE ABOUT CHANGE

I am often asked what the latest and best insights from the sector’s data and analytics are.

There is never a one size fits all response to this, and over the last year or so I have stopped talking about the robustness of the analytics or the quality of an insight. Instead, I now focus the discussion on what companies should do with the insight. of organisations like Facebook, Google and Amazon. Yet the reason they are so successful isn’t that they are amazing at analytics (although they are), but their ability to change internally and, in turn, to bring about change in their sectors based on the insights they have derived.

by Alex Mahon

Performance Analytics Expert, PA Consulting Analytics is not what we think it is about, it is not about software, it is not about data, it is not even about analysis but it is about change. If you don’t, or can’t, act on the insights derived from your analytics or technology programmes then the expenditure (in terms of resource, time and money) is wasted.

52

In the Disney Pixar films, Cars, the lead character, ‘Lightning McQueen’, becomes known in the first two films for his heroic hard graft and dedication which, in turn, helps him get to where he needs to be. However, in the third film he suddenly starts losing, and it is not because he is not working hard, it is that the game has changed.

The other racers are using data and analytics and have achieved a step change in performance. Only by embracing change himself is our automotive hero able to compete with these new challengers.

It is the same in the water sector: every company has submitted a PR19 plan to Ofwat stating the critical role technology, analytics and insight will play in helping them transform performance. Yet to date, there is little consistent conversion of analytical insight into action and demonstrable performance improvement.

Chief Data Officers across multiple sectors are all facing exactly the same issues as we are in the water industry. Namely, how to demonstrate the ROI for data and how to get people to use the insights in the data to drive action.

This is not just a UK issue. I have worked with 14 companies globally, developing over 85 insights that are so robust that they support a large-scale investment case, backed up by over 400 evidencebased and associated recommendations. However, less than 3% of those insights have been acted upon.

When we think about successful companies maximising the benefits of their data we think

There are three things which seem to be stopping insight-led action:

instituteofwater.org.uk

1. First, a lack of recognition from senior leaders that technology or analytics projects are just the beginning and that for every pound you spend on them you should be spending four or five more on helping the end users understand, incorporate and utilise the insight.

2. Second, a lack of translation mechanism between the analytics and the business which is often personified by an internal story teller who can interpret the findings and recommendations into a language that resonates with the people impacted by the change.

3. Third, the lack of empowerment and mobilisation of the marzipan layer, those individuals within an organisation who can galvanise people to action. They are unlikely to be the most senior people in the organisation and may not be the most vocal, but they will have the ability to influence large areas of the business to take action.

If the sector does not address these gaps and become more change orientated then we will end up being like Lightning McQueen at the start of Cars 3 and will not achieve the step changes in performance we know we are capable of and which customers are expecting.

Some companies are already doing this but all of us need to become agents for change and enable our organisations to harness the power of data and analytics to build a better, brighter future.

FEATURE: PR19 REVIEW

THE SAFE CHOICE A new £160m renewable energy plant on Teeside has turned to Protecta-Line barrier pipe from GPS PE Pipe Systems for the safe transportation of water on the site.

Port Clarence Renewable Energy Plant is being constructed on the Clarence Works site, which has a long history of heavy industry and port related works including steel production, chemical manufacturing, iron works and oil and gas refining and storage.

As part of the construction project, 700 metres of 63mm Protecta-Line has been installed to transport potable water from the boundary to the office building to ensure safe drinking water is supplied to the personnel working on site in the offices.

Preliminary risk assessments of the site found elevated levels of soil and groundwater contamination. As a result, careful consideration needed to be given to the pipework system installed to cater for potable water applications to ensure there is no risk of the water supply becoming contaminated.

Commenting on the project, Paul Hurst from Thermofuse Pipelines said: “With a proven track record of successful installations in similar applications, Protecta-Line was the ideal choice for this project, and while its performance benefits were clear to us, it was the service we received from GPS that was the deciding factor. From the initial enquiry through to delivery, we received fantastic support to ensure we ordered the correct pipe, which was then delivered to site quickly and efficiently.”

Following further site investigations, the developer stipulated that a barrier pipe must be used for the potable water supply and tasked Thermofuse Pipelines with sourcing and installing a safe and reliable solution. Looking for a product that has a proven track record in transporting water through contaminated land, Thermofuse Pipelines turned to Protecta-Line barrier pipe.

For further information on Protecta-Line or any other products within the GPS portfolio, log onto gpsuk.com or call 01480 442600.

WHEN IT COMES TO THE SAFE TRANSPORTATION OF DRINKING WATER CHOOSE PROTECTA-LINE Over the last 20 years Protecta-Line has helped supply clean water through contaminated land for every leading water utility

BARRIER PIPE AND FITTINGS SYSTEM

Protecta-Line is a major award winning, fully integrated barrier pipe & fittings system

BARRIER PIPE AND FITTINGS SYSTEM

Protecta-Line is the most widely used barrier pipe in the UK

BARRIER PIPE AND FITTINGS SYSTEM

FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT WWW.GPSUK.COM OR CALL 01480 442600

BARRIER AND FITTINGS THE TRIEDPIPE & TRUSTED BARRIER SYSTEM SYSTEM

instituteofwater.org.uk

53

DRAEGER

CLEAN WATER IS NOT A GIVEN.

It is the result of painstaking cleaning processes. Guided by people.

The cleaning and treatment of fresh water and sewage is associated with hazards just as much as the maintenance of the sewage system itself: The presence of toxic or flammable gases and oxygen deficiencies are potentially risky. If you know the risks, you can control them and provide employees with reliable protection.

The water industry is faced with a range of different confined spaces in which to work: treatment units, tanks, service reservoirs, chemical handling and storage areas, pumping stations, wells, sumps, overflows, boreholes, sewers and manholes. The most frequently occurring hazards are methane, hydrogen sulphide and a lack of oxygen.

The challenge The water industry bears great responsibility.

It has to deal with limited resources and contributes to the health of billions of people.

Despite all the technological progress, it is still people – employees of the water and sewage industry – who ensure that everything runs smoothly. This includes inspection patrols, cleaning and maintenance work, repairs and dismantling: despite careful risk analysis, there is always the potential of contact with hazardous substances, which can be dangerous or even fatal to health. Employees who work supporting the ongoing cycle of water recovery, cleaning, supply

54

instituteofwater.org.uk

or discharge pipes, as well as reprocessing and disposal of sewage sludge, must be given special protection to enable them to perform their jobs safely. If the risks cannot be permanently diminished via a safe system of work, a protection concept tailored to the specific activity is required. The concept will focus on the key aspects of gas detection, respiratory protection, personal protection and training.

The risks There are specific risks to staff and facilities in each stage of the water recovery and treatment process, which in particular include toxic gases, flammable gases and low oxygen levels. Even today, working on water or sewage channels still requires manual visual inspection, fixing faults, maintenance and cleaning. A lack of ventilation combined with biological fermentation processes and chemical reactions encourage the accumulation of methane (CH4) or even hydrogen sulphide (H2S) at critical concentrations. CH4 is extremely flammable and can react explosively.

Even at very low concentrations, H2S is extremely toxic to the human body. There is also a range of chemical and biological reactions which can reduce the level of oxygen in breathable air and increase the risk of asphyxiation if workers are inadequately protected. Furthermore, the chlorine used for water disinfection is derived from a highly noxious gas which, even in the smallest

quantities, is harmful to the respiratory system.

The solution Recognising, analysing and assessing risks are important pre-conditions in order to develop solutions for work in confined spaces, handling hazardous substances, plant safety and emergencies. The plant-specific hazard assessment provides a detailed list of risk factors for certain activities and areas of the plant.

To find the right solution for every one of these stages of water purification and waste water handling is challenging. Gas measuring devices with fast responding sensors, personal protective equipment such as respiratory protection with adequate filters and protection classes as well as appropriate escape devices are needed.

The right devices at the right time, at the right location can protect employees against upcoming hazards. The goal is to achieve a healthy balance between sufficient protection and minimal physical strain on workers to avoid the consequent restrictions on efficiency. It must also feature a portfolio, which can be utilised economically and dependably throughout its life cycle. If you are faced with the challenge of procuring the best material for you and your employees, you can trust Dräger. Our portfolio has an answer to the most diverse requirements of your working practice.

DE NORA

LAUNCH OF NEXT GENERATION OF CLORTEC® ON-SITE SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE GENERATORS

SMALLER JUST GOT STRONGER

PFC100 CONTROLLER: HIGH PERFORMANCE PACKED INTO A SMALLER FOOTPRINT

The electrochemical innovation, to be launched at WEFTEC 2018 in New Orleans, features significant operational advantages and enhanced system efficiency.

De Nora, a leading designer of safe, innovative, and sustainable water disinfection and oxidation, filtration and electrochlorination solutions, today announces the launch of its next generation of ClorTec® on-site sodium hypochlorite generators at WEFTEC, the Water Quality Event.

• Extremely compact and

The new De Nora ClorTec® DN Gen II electrochlorination system boasts a range of market-led features, designed to offer even greater on-site sodium hypochlorite generation efficiency, easier operation, less maintenance, and up to 50% footprint reduction. The Gen II continues a tradition of reliability and safety that can be expected after more than 3,500 ClorTec installations.

• 600 MHz processing power

Upgrades to the ClorTec® system include a new design that allows the duty and standby units to be mounted on the same frame, saving up to 50% on the footprint. Other improvements include 100% access to every component, making operation and maintenance simple, and a proprietary liquid flow backboard that can be located anywhere in the building for additional flexibility.

New features ensure optimal performance and efficiency including new non-intrusive level switch and temperature sensor design, optional split flow technology, and new water and brine flow controls. Additionally, Smart Monitoring technology and acid cleaning notifications allow users to remotely monitor, troubleshoot and control the operation of their system and provide operation and performance data remotely.

“De Nora has always prided itself on its electrochemical expertise, as an innovator with more than 355 patents and 3,000 regional extensions.

The investment of time, knowledge and R&D resources in the De Nora Water Technologies product lines is returning some exciting results,” said Bryan Brownlie, Managing Director, De Nora Water Technologies Texas, LLC. “We have been listening carefully to the market to create a compelling new offering for our second generation ClorTec® DN systems, addressing the concerns and needs of operators and engineering contractors alike.

The launch at WEFTEC 2015 of our original De Nora ClorTec® DN generators was just the first step towards this point and the process is always ongoing.”

maintenance-free design saves control panel space

allows seamless automation of complex industrial systems

• Cost-effective configuration via

e!COCKPIT engineering software

• Scalable modular system ready for future challenges

• Comprehensive on-board data security packages

• Two ETHERNET interfaces for extensive compatibility

• Linux® operating system • CODESYS 3 runtime system Telephone E-Mail Internet Search for

01788 568 008 ukmarketing@wago.com www.wago.com “WAGO PFC100”

De Nora will be showcasing the new product at WEFTEC in New Orleans at booth #1729, where visitors will be able to see the new system and watch live demonstrations of the Smart Monitoring feature.

instituteofwater.org.uk

55

HWM

PERMANET+: CHANGING THE ECONOMICS OF LEAK DETECTION

Clean drinking water is the world’s most precious resource and it is becoming increasingly scarce.

Factors such as population growth, climate change and aging infrastructure are putting pressure on water suppliers.

Leak detection is a proven method of safeguarding water and at HWM we’ve developed PermaNET+ to change the economics of leak detection.

With over 3,100 million litres of water being lost per day (Water UK/Ofwat), the cost of non-revenue water to the UK’s water companies is substantial. Ofwat has demanding targets for leak reduction and investment in cost-effective leak detection equipment will support water companies in meeting these targets.

PermaNET+ is our award-winning leak detection system. Combining a leak noise sensor with our versatile telemetry technology, PermaNET+ creates a fixed leak monitoring network.

Affinity Water, Britain’s largest water-only utility servicing 3.6 million people in South East England has partnered with HWM to target a significant reduction in leakage rates using PermaNET+ fixed network telemetry.

Drew Richie, Managing Director of Wholesale Operations at Affinity Water explained that “by using the HWM PermaNET+ solution we can continuously monitor 25 percent of our network, identifying leaks in a matter of hours, rather than the days it takes using conventional techniques and technologies”.

56

instituteofwater.org.uk

PermaNET+ represents the next stage in the development of noise logging. Data generated by the noise logger is automatically sent to the user, removing the need to visit sites to carry out data collection. Data transmission is achieved through a combination of 3G, GPRS or SMS cellular communication.

The unit also sends an audio file for remote monitoring and correlation to localise the leak position. PermaNET+ is located entirely below ground, making it less intrusive and more practical for large-scale deployments.

Working in conjunction with Google Maps, PermaNET Web provides live on-screen tracking, allowing leakage teams to respond quickly to problem areas and bring them under control.

Fully waterproof and designed with the latest mobile technology to maximise dial in and minimise cost, PermaNET+ is a cost-effective remote leakage monitoring solution.

While many of the UK’s water companies including Affinity Water, Yorkshire Water and Thames Water are reaping the benefits, it is not just in the UK where PermaNET+ is helping to save customers money and water.

Danish specialist Leif Kock A/S has used PermaNET+ to save millions of krone for

Denmark’s largest utility company.

A project consisting of an initial deployment of 185 permanent data loggers was established in Copenhagen to detect leaks.

On just the second day of the project the leak detection team identified a leak. When the team dug down they discovered that the water from the leak was running directly into the sewer.

“If we had conducted a study of this particular area using our old method a week before the leak began” explains Kim Roar, team leader at HOFAR “it would have been three years before returning to this area and discovering the leak”.

“In other words, the leak would have been continuously running into the sewer for three years. By our rough calculations, this leak alone would have cost us 1.2 million kroner (approx. £116,000)”.

This project illustrates one of the many benefits of PermaNET+, as PermaNET+ drastically reduces leak run time. PermaNET+ is an effective leakage monitoring solution developed specifically to reduce non-revenue water, saving water companies time, water and money.

- Global leaders in leak detection

PermaNet+ • Fixed network monitoring continually scans for leaks • Full underground installation with remote cellular communication • Auto-correlation functionality automatically locates leak position

NEW from

DXmic • Best in class sound quality • Colour touch screen • Wireless capability (connects headphone/App) • Dedicated App allows sound, GPS & image files to be transferred remotely, along with site reports • Sound frequency display

For more information visit:

www.hwmglobal.com MONITORING ASSETS, DELIVERING DATA, BRINGING CONTROL instituteofwater.org.uk

57

AQUAM

INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCE REQUIRES MULTI-FACETED APPROACH Disruption from seasonal weather extremes mean Ofwat is asking utilities to ramp up resilience.

Aquam’s water services director Phil Walker says data-driven prediction, smarter intervention and incident prevention are the way forward.

The UK’s water infrastructure has faced a seasonal cycle of challenges in 2018 that has impacted on customers’ perceptions of the industry and tightened regulatory demands.

Ofwat says it expects the water sector in England and Wales to reduce leakage by 15% by 2025, making a “step change in efficiency”. Some utilities are voluntarily going further, with Yorkshire Water committing to a 40% reduction by 2025.

This makes it imperative that water utilities are driving operational efficiency in every area that impacts leakage, from the way they prioritise investment to how they deliver programmes of works and the skills embedded in operators of the network. A multi-faceted range of innovative services and technologies, developed in-house

by Aquam, can provide support in a number of key areas.

Data-driven prediction Data from advanced pipe inspection and condition monitoring technologies can help clients be much more analytical in assessing what action to take and when. Huge efficiencies are made possible by identifying weaknesses in advance, calculating the likelihood of bursts and leaks, and planning proactive maintenance.

Aquam’s range of tethered leak detection and pipe inspection systems include LDS1000 and Investigator, which can be inserted into live potable water mains up to 1km-length. The devices capture thousands of real-time datapoints from the sensor head, which combine high-definition CCTV, hydrophone and a highpowered sonde.

Well maintained pipe infrastructure helps ensure networks are operating in compliance with water quality regulations and at optimum rates of flow and pressure. Identifying weaknesses in the network means that investment can be prioritised and interventions take place before a burst or leak even happens.

Smarter intervention Where leaks, corrosion and blockages are

58

instituteofwater.org.uk

[Data from advanced pipe inspection technologies can help clients be much more analytical.]

pinpointed, it may no longer be necessary to carry-out costly and disruptive pipe replacement programmes. Aquam’s pipe rehabilitation team can deliver targeted planned and emergency no-dig infrastructure interventions without inconveniencing customers, road users and the wider community.

Pipe cleaning and lining services and technologies can be delivered from a single access point and, depending on the application, significant lengths brought back to full operational health with minimal excavation.

Aquam’s Whirlwind pipe cleaning system uses an air vortex to force 10 or 20mm aggregate through pipe lengths up to 1km.

Corrosive deposits are safely removed, restoring pipes to their original diameter and optimum operating capability.

Blown-in coatings for the rapid repair of small-diameter pipes can seal against leaks and improve water quality. Aquam’s lining and relining solutions include Nu Line epoxy coating and Serline, a DWI-approved polyurethane coating proven to protect against lead leaching.

These versatile systems can be used at scale to restore pipeline infrastructure across multiple systems in a multi-storey building, across a neighbourhood or on a single problematic pipe.

Incident prevention Human error in the way hydrants, valves and pumps are operated is a major cause of surge effects in water supply networks and surge is a major cause of leaks and bursts in pipe infrastructure. Aquam’s certified Calm Networks Training ensures operators achieve an understanding of the causes of transient surge in the water network.

Aquam can also help utilities restore potable water quickly to homes which have lost supply can dramatically improve utilities’ performance commitments for disruptions to the network and customer service. Overland Supply Vehicles (OSV) carry everything needed to create a temporary replacement water network for at least 24 households in an emergency burst incident or during planned works.

Aquam is already working closely with utilities in the UK and internationally to ensure robust understanding of the integrity of pipeline assets, carry-out infrastructure rehabilitation works and enhance network operation and customer satisfaction. We are interested in working with utilities that want to tackle the issue from every angle. www.aquamtechnologies.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

59

EXPECT… AVK

A FIRST FOR SCOTTISH WATER’S ALLIANCE PARTNERS - LUNCHTIME TECHNICAL SEMINAR COLLABORATION 166 years and counting... Glenfield Valves Ltd and AVK UK have supplied products to Scottish water and its former authorities for over 166 years.

As a UK manufacturer of valves and fittings and part of the SR15 framework supply chain to Scottish Water, we have a responsibility of not only supplying product but also actively supporting customers in what can sometimes be complex product applications. It is therefore vital that the engineers whose task it is to design a new plant and help maintain existing assets in order to extend service life, are fully supported by experience and knowledge from the supply chain.

AVK’s Wilson McPhail, Business Manager for Scotland and Stuart Montgomery, Project Manager, recently attended a site at Stepps for a lunchtime seminar with ESD and amey-Black & Veatch. This being the first time that both JV Alliances have collaborated for such a training session.

Lunchtime technical seminars are an ideal environment where comprehensive and expert support can be given. The informal training seminar was well received and lots of questions

60

instituteofwater.org.uk

asked, resulting in fruitful discussions with the 12 attendees. Starting with an overview of AVK UK and its worldwide manufacturing capabilities, followed by a an insight into innovation and product selection.

examples of returned valves for refurbishment.

These valves will soon be returned to site for another term. The fact that these valves can be repaired and restored to their original state, is truly a reflection of the quality of the products.

Additionally, focus was on the existing support that AVK UK/Glenfield give Scottish Water in terms of refurbishment of existing valves and penstocks, site services and also support required on product that had been in service for well over 50 years. Sometimes it makes sense to have the product refurbished as opposed to supplying new product. The Glenfield works at Kilmarnock have the full capability to completely refurbish any size or type of valve.

If you need support or advice on your project, valve selection or refurbishment, please contact:

Glenfield were recently awarded E&M Framework Supplier status for valves with Scottish Water which covers inspections, surveys and refurbishment of existing valves and ancillary products. Pictures show the works and some

Stuart Montgomery Water Projects Sales Manager E: stmo@avuk.co.uk M: +44 (0) 7876 798775 Wilson McPhail Business Manager Scotland E: wimc@avkuk.co.uk M: +44 (0) 7515 576658

REMEMBER

THE BEAST FROM THE EAST?

DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT, BE PREPARED MAJOR UTILITIES ARE PLACING STOCK ORDERS NOW. Contact: Gas Sales: +44 (0) 1246 479100 Water Sales: +44 (0) 1604 601188

24/7 EMERGENCY SAME DAY LEAK REPAIR FITTINGS SERVICE FOR GAS AND WATER MAINS

0800 202 8228 • Sizes available DN50 to 1200+ (2” to 48”) - Please state single or double band.

• Single band clamps DN50 to 450, multi band clamps DN80 to 1200+.

Please have the following information available: • Medium: water or gas • Pipe diameter (callipered).

• Length of clamp in increments of 150mm (6”).

• Pipe material (if possible).

• Working pressure of main.

• Extent of ovality (if possible).

• For clamps DN50 to 450 (2” to 18”). Please state single or double band.

• Contact name and number.

• Delivery address and post code.

• An order number and/or ability to send a written order confirmation (electronic, fax, text).

For fittings and other AVK products on standard service offer contact: Gas Sales: +44 (0) 1246 479100 Water Sales: +44 (0) 1604 601188

instituteofwater.org.uk

61

EGREMONT

PROJECT MANAGERS VS LINE MANAGERS THE ULTIMATE DERBY MATCH…

Project management is a neat phrase bandied around in business that encompasses a huge range of diverse skills.

by Jamie Harrison & Alex Graham Egremont Group

When put head to head, however, who would come out on top when comparing the skills needed to deliver change and sustainable improvement – Project Managers or Line Managers?

Over the next 5 years the water industry will face more change than at any other time since privatisation. As the detailed planning for the projects and initiatives needed to drive their change agendas over the next AMP starts, should companies turn to the ‘professional’ project manager who hasn’t led the line or the

62

instituteofwater.org.uk

experienced line manager who hasn’t delivered a successful change project?

Using the seductively simple Plan. Do. Review framework we will explore who would ‘win’ in a head to head match.

Plan The ultimate success of all projects can be determined by the foundations laid during the planning phase. But who has the best skills?

Set Clear Objectives: Start with a clear vision of what you are trying to achieve. Work out early on your goals, main outputs and end objective. Then set the team the challenge of defining the exact the problem you are trying to solve or the opportunity you

are looking to exploit. Only then can you avoid ‘scope creep’ and unnecessary delays which result in extra expense and a confused end result.

Clarity of vision enables quantifying benefits and a sustainable outcome.

Assemble the Right Team: Consider the people around you and use the expertise of colleagues, direct reports, and those in front end customer / asset facing roles. Create a good mix of internal and external stakeholders who will be able to feed in ideas which will help to develop creative, effective and sustainable solutions. Continue to involve these key stakeholders, checking back throughout the life of the project to ensure the outputs are fit for purpose and address the original project objective. The right team with the right mix

FEATURE: PROJECT MANAGEMENT of skills will ensure you are representing each audience.

Engaging the team from the outset means they are empowered to offer ideas and opinions, and more likely to stand behind the eventual solution presented at the end of the project. This is particularly important if the project requires process or behaviour change. People are not good at having change done to them, far better to bring them along with you during the process.

Project Managers (PMs) are generally good at planning (probably because they have the luxury of time) vs line managers who often jump straight to action. However, PMs can spend an inordinate amount of time and effort on project inception documents and planning to a paralysing level of detail. Overall PMs win 1-0

DO Once the project is underway, keeping it moving forward and to plan is never easy.

Get the governance balance right: Good governance is essential, but not at the expense of project delivery. Sense check each item of governance and ask whether it is adding necessary controls that support the delivery of the project or whether it is in fact holding everything up. It is possible for large more complex projects to get 6-12 months in and have only delivered a large pile of paperwork that ticks a lot of boxes but hasn’t delivered anything on the ground to improve service, compliance or financial efficiency.

Equally, no governance at all is a recipe for a loss of control and disaster. Get the balance right.

Raise Problems Early: Resist the urge to cover up problems or risks.

Steering groups are there to help and can’t support a project manager effectively if they don’t know what is really going on. If scenarios change, problems emerge, risks materialise, or complications develop, raise them candidly and seek help in how to effectively overcome them.

Equally, if expectations are unrealistic from the start, it is important to raise this at the earliest opportunity. It is better to have these difficult discussions at the start to set expectations than part way through (or worse) near the end.

Remain agile throughout the project: Business priorities can (and often do) change over the life of a project. Market volatility, customer demands or even the scope of the problem can mean plans need to flex. Keep an eye on the wider business and adapt the project as you go whenever possible. It is important to be aware that all projects operate in a dynamic environment and the team will need to adapt as it progresses. No one will thank you for delivering a redundant or less effective output because you’ve stuck to the Microsoft Project Plan.

This is where a project manager who has previously led the line (or that is going back in to the line) can be a powerful agent of change. They tend to be less afraid of raising potential issues because they know the alternative is ultimately much worse.

Good line Managers are excellent implementers and tenacious in tearing down barriers and ‘finding a way.’ PMs however, often get lost in the project management methodology or bureaucracyendlessly updating risk and issues logs that go nowhere or submitting change / scope alteration requests while nothing at the coal face is actually changing. Overall Line Managers Win 1-0

Review The end of a project is often a time of relief and celebration. All too often the project team disbands quickly missing a valuable opportunity to learn and improve. Take time to hold a proper post project review to reflect with your project team and key stakeholders on what worked and what could be improved on next time.

Once you have collected the output, don’t just file these insights away. Agree next steps that will internalise the learning points and drive a change in thinking with other projects/teams.

At a minimum, ensure they are understood by the next project team.

Is your project sustainable? Don’t move straight onto the next thing: Once a project has been delivered it is often tempting to move onto the next business challenge or opportunity. How long after delivery / ‘go live’ do you typically check

sustainability? In our view this should be for at least as long as the project lasted, so a 12 month initiative needs at least 12 months of sustainability reviews. This is particularly important if you have rolled out new ways of working or process change as part of your project. How are you going to ensure that employees don’t just revert back to the old ways that they know because they are easier and familiar?

Many a great project has stalled after the initial roll out because the team did not consider how the momentum would be sustained.

Pretty much everyone does this badly. Line Managers are already on to the next thing and PMs often go through the motions of a post implementation review but don’t really embed learning. Draw: PMs & Line Mgrs 0-0

Conclusion When viewed through the lens of Plan, Do, Review it is clear that comparing PMs and Line Managers is actually unhelpful. Even thinking about them as competing roles will only lead to unnecessary conflict. How much more useful to realise that every Line Manager would benefit from leading a big project through to conclusion.

Every PM should go back in to the line to live with and sustain the solutions they developed.

With so much change on the horizon across the industry, Water Companies will need every one of their very best people to use all their skills to deliver sustainable change, the job title is irrelevant.

instituteofwater.org.uk

63

PANTON MCLEOD

Using Robotic Technology to Simplify Projects and Maximise Outcomes Jim Panton, CEO of water quality engineers, Panton McLeod, explores the history and evolution of robotic technology, and its benefits to Project Management for UK water utility companies.

“If every tool, when ordered, or even of its own accord, could do the work that befits it, then there would be no need either of apprentices for the master workers or of slaves for the lords.”

Aristotle 322BC

The History

1400 BC

325 BC

1801 Mass Production

Babylonians develop the clepsydra, a clock that measures time using the flow of water.

It’s considered one of the first “robotic” devices in history. For centuries, inventors will refine the design. Around 270 BC, the Greek inventor Ctesibius becomes famous for a water clock with moving figures on it.

Greece began using water clocks by 325 BCE. And, just 25 years later, the second known advancement in robotics was invented by Greek mathematician Archytas. Archytas designed and built what’s now called The Pigeon, a mechanical bird that could be propelled into the air by using steam.

French silk weaver and inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard invents an automated loom that is controlled by punch cards. Within a decade it is being mass-produced, and thousands are in use across Europe.

The roots of the word ‘Robot’, itself, suggest an interesting theme. The word was first applied as a term for artificial automata in the 1920 play R.U.R. by the Czech writer, Karel Capek. The word ‘robot’ itself was not new, having been in the Slavic language as robota (forced labourer), a term which classified those peasants obligated to compulsory service under the feudal system.

Yet now, the term robot and nuances around its purported benefits, would suggest that robots provide a function to take away the need for basic level human labour within an industrial setting.

For the purposes of this article we are not splitting hairs between autonomous and remotely controlled systems – they are all “robots” to us.

We even have names for them!

The Present So, how can the UK water industry benefit from robotic technologies and can we develop autonomous robots to replace human intervention in the monitoring and restoration

64

instituteofwater.org.uk

of infrastructure?

Responding to the needs of the industry, Panton McLeod has pioneered the use of robotic technology with the UK potable water market over the past 15 years. With our fleet of robotic vehicles, we can inspect service reservoirs, other storage tanks such as contact tanks and outdoor reservoirs that cannot be safely or easily accessed and robotically remove sediment from most of those, minimising network impact and costs involved.

These services have allowed our clients to clean and inspect these problem reservoirs and tanks, and therefore protect stored water quality across their entire asset base whilst minimising the risks of reducing available storage.

With more water companies identifying the benefits of robotic technology for reservoir cleaning and asset inspection purposes, Panton McLeod are proud to stand at the forefront of ROV technology in potable water storage assets.

Panton McLeod has been leading the use of robotic technology within the UK potable water market over the past 15 years, inspecting over 1300 service reservoirs and cleaning just under 500. For the Water companies involved this has mitigated the need for nearly 2000 confined space entries into these assets and all the associated health and safety concerns. It has also meant nearly 2000 instances when assets haven’t needed to be isolated, drained down and taken out of supply with all the associated cost and operational impact. With resilience being such a critical focus of the Water Industry as it approaches AMP7 it is important to take all possible steps to ensure water networks remain as operational as possible.

Live Condition Monitoring Using an ROV to inspect an asset live is now common place and gives a unique insight into the true condition of the asset and how it performs under real-time operational conditions and pressures. This is impossible to achieve once the asset has been drained which means that a

FEATURE: PROJECT MANAGEMENT a more predictive model for intervention or maintenance requirement. Our thanks to the Welsh Water Innovation Team and Abyss Solutions for the great partnership work on this capability.

Underwater ROV surveys now include the capability to generate interactive surveys, digital twins and 3D models

Future Objectives The ultimate solution would be to eventually eliminate confined space entry altogether and to carry out all required inspection and intervention maintenance on live assets that avoid any network disruption at all. We don’t yet have machines capable of underwater repairs but we are thinking about how that might one day be achieve.

holistic view of the asset health is only achievable using a live inspection.

The ROV can carry out a range of services including leak detection using dye injection, water quality sampling, dead spot monitoring, live flood testing as well as giving an HD quality view of the asset. This can have an additional benefit of streamlining the process for scoping and enabling routine repairs and maintenance. It is possible to use the live footage to scope certain repair work which can mean assets being taken out of service for a much shorter time period to carry out work.

ROV’s can also be employed in open reservoir inspections where a water company might currently use divers, which not only removes the health and safety risk of putting humans

into those environments, purely for inspection purposes, but also where physical repairs are required, then robotic inspections in advance can significantly reduce risks by highlighting any hazards before divers do the required work.

To conclude, pressure has never been higher on the water industry to improve water quality while also reducing overall cost. Key to this challenge is the ability to accurately prioritise investment.

In addition to providing the asset condition reports, we also use our 20+ years’ experience in the specialist field of Water Quality Engineering to help advise water company clients on the future investment decisions.

Our team can assist by providing standardised asset reports grading condition, all data is captured electronically and held centrally for later assessment.

Using HD cameras assets can be inspected while in operation, while fully loaded any stress related defects can be seen in their true state.

The removal of often lengthy and costly isolation planning means that large numbers of assets can be inspected within a short period allowing investment prioritisation ahead of a proactive funding period.

Latest Capabilities Underwater ROV surveys now include the capability to generate interactive surveys, digital twins and 3D models and we are also looking at how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning associated with that software can best be used to automatically fault find and support

Leaders in Underwater Robotic Technology

1350 ROV INSPECTIONS

493

1843 CONFINED SPACE ENTRIES SAVED

UNDERWATER ROBOTIC CLEANS

Improve Water Quality Increase Resilience Reduce Cost

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

instituteofwater.org.uk

65

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A SKILL FOR EVERYONE

by Jo Parker M.B.E.

Vice President Engineering, Institute of Water and Director at Watersheds Associates Engineers and IT specialists frequently have further training in project management. In my work I have managed major civil engineering projects such as the construction of sewage treatment works and trunk mains as well as a variety of research projects covering such diverse subjects as integrating the diversity of utility records and working out the safest way to replace asbestos cement mains. I have also managed major change projects including the merger of two water companies. However, most people do not receive project management training. Why should they? If they’re not working on major one-off initiatives then what good is project management?

I would disagree with this view. These days very little at work stays exactly the same and many water company and supply chain employees will have to participate in change projects although

66

instituteofwater.org.uk

they are not leading one. Even if they do not need these skills at work most people in their private lives undertake major one-off projects, even if they don’t think of them as such.

The school leaver attempting to find their first job, the tasks of buying a house and moving in, organising a wedding or attempting a major challenge for charity are all managing projects.

I’ve certainly used my skills in achieving qualification for the Triathlon Age Group World and European Championships.

So what are the skills of project management?

Below I’ve detailed some of the things which will help anyone accomplish a successful outcome for any venture.

1. Have a clear picture of what you want to achieve. I’m sure lots of people have heard of the term ‘SMART goals’ (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed) but how many of you clearly think through what you’re trying to achieve? You need to be specific about this – for instance, don’t just set a target of gaining promotion.

What is your next job step and by when do

[Jo Parker used her project management skills to help her qualify for the Triathlon Age Group World and European Championships.]

FEATURE: PROJECT MANAGEMENT you want to move? Where in the country do you want to work? Do you want to move organisation?

2. Be clear why you want to achieve this and what successful will look like. So you want to move house? Does successful mean you just get all your affects into the house any old how? Does it include unpacking? Do you want the experience to be stress free for you and anyone else involved? If you think about the why, that can be a useful motivator. This can be especially useful for a big challenge like a major sporting challenge for charity – does success mean staggering over the final line too exhausted to think about anything else or does it mean running over arms held high, knowing you’ve collected record amounts for your chosen charity.

3. You need to collect your team around you.

You’re unlikely to be able to achieve any major goal entirely on your own, even if all you need is someone to make sure you eat properly and make time for yourself. You may need specialist skills or people to keep you going when things get tough. People often talk about ‘networking’ and this is a great way to meet people who may, in the future, be able to help you. There’s nothing special about networking – just be interested in people and in whatever common activity brings you together. The Institute of Water is the perfect networking organisation.

4. Prepare a route map. Think through how you will get everything done. It can help to use some friends and just brain storm what needs to be done. If you write each idea on a post it note you can then organise these into time order so it’s clear what needs to be done next and where there are things which require something else to be finished first.

If you think through how long each task will take then you can start to get an idea of how easy it will be to complete the project by the target date. You can also identify intermediate goals which will help motivate you and keep you progressing.

5. Consider the risks. A good project manager will always prepare a thorough risk assessment and review it regularly. Whilst your own project may not always warrant preparing a full risk assessment, thinking about how things could go wrong – and then what you’d do in each case will help you cope when the crisis does arise. I am trained to do this when competing in triathlons – can I cope if I lose my goggles in the swim, if the zip sticks getting my wet suit off or if I get a puncture? Of course something can always happen which is entirely unexpected – I had not included breaking my ribs when an alpaca fell on me in my plans for qualifying for the European triathlon championships!

6. Monitor your progress and take action if required. It’s no good doing all this planning

if you don’t then use the plans to check your progress. Have you achieved the interim goal by the due date? If plans have slipped, don’t beat yourself up. Instead decide what you’ll do about it. Can you get someone else to help with other activities? Can some actions overlap? Do you need to rethink your overall timing? Life can and will get in the way, but the trick is to control the controllables.

7. Celebrate completing the project. In some cases you may not feel like celebrating immediately. You may be too exhausted immediately afterwards (if it’s moving house or running a marathon that may well be the case!) but make sure you really do give yourself a good pat on the back and celebrate the achievement at the appropriate time. In some cases you may have completed everything you could – for instance submitting an application for a professional qualification, but you are not successful.

In that case still congratulate yourself for completing the task and make sure you complete step 8. Remember it took Edison 1000 attempts to make a working light bulb!

8. Learn from the experience. Think through what went well and also what could be better. Of course if you’re planning your own wedding hopefully you won’t use the experience again directly – but maybe for the kids!

MSc Engineering Management MSc Management MBA

Fast-track masters with exclusive exemptions for IOW members With MDC you can complete a fast-track masters in as little as 12 months.

Proven success Since 1991 more than 1200 senior professionals have graduated with MDC. Minimum disruption to working week Exclusive exemptions for IOW members mean you only need to attend 2 residential weekends (near London) and complete a dissertation.

Corporate payback The dissertation, on an individual’s chosen topic, can equate to a large (and otherwise expensive) piece of consultancy work for an individual’s employer or company.

www.managementmasters.co.uk/engineering e: frances@mdc-ltd.co.uk t: 01429 839254

Apply now for April 2019

instituteofwater.org.uk

67

ITS Stonbury’s digital technologies strengthen client and customer communication and engagement.

If you manage several projects for a large

undertaken new build, refurbishment, repair and maintenance

infrastructure provider, every day you probably

They currently hold multiple framework contracts with 15

works within both the clean water and wastewater sectors.

face complex issues around the attendance of

of the UK’s leading water companies and carries out similar

site visits and keeping on top of the progress

engineering partners.

of the works. There really is just never enough time in the day and the logistics of a site visit can be costly, as well as time-consuming, before you even reach the busy motorways.

Industry first Stonbury’s CEO James Stonor observed the challenge of keeping clients updated on the progress of their projects and how site visits were an inefficient use of time and resource. He also

works for all other UK water companies and their civil

A solution was required that would provide clients with the ability to monitor multiple sites from their desk, tablet or mobile. In 2004, Stonbury launched a brand new software system to do this, Client Portal. The results were profound. Clients are able to login to individual projects and access live updates of works on their sites. A commenting feature allows site staff and project management to communicate throughout the job. Other features allow the users to view and store audit, testing, quotation, safety and any other documents that may be important in creating a complete online project archive.

understood the impacts on loss of close client engagement and

Water industry clients found that communication cycles were

its effects on the high standard of customer service Stonbury

shortened, and project costs were reduced considerably. Soon

prides itself in.

companies were calling for additional innovative tools to manage

As a specialist contractor striving for continuous improvement, Stonbury has worked hard to transform the

projects and assets; they were also asking how they could acquire the portal for use with their own clients.

legacy of project management and communications. The

Stonbury did not stop there and it is believed that they were

challenges that Stonbury have developed technologies for, have

the very first water industry company to use and store site files

created an unparalleled complementary digital technology

electronically. No more messy paperwork and time consuming

stream to the business.

data entry. This software saw Stonbury reporting substantial

The strength of Stonbury’s tech solutions for engaging

cost savings and production efficiencies.

utility clients and local communities during project works,

Following the success of Client Portal, Stonbury were set the

is underpinned by decades of experience operating as a

task of creating another version of the portal, designed to

specialist contractor to the water industry. Stonbury has

communicate directly to Northumbrian Waters Customers,

68

instituteofwater.org.uk

COMMUNITY PORTAL

CLIENT PORTAL

ASSET MANAGEMENT PORTAL

“The introduction of ‘intouch’ takes our in-house engineering and digital technology expertise to the interface with utility customers, which will be of critical importance for water companies in hitting their regulatory targets in AMP7” James Stonor CEO

only improve customer experience, but to also address the issue around leakage targets. In collaboration with Northumbrian Water, a new feature within Community Portal was launched and their customers are now able to report leaks online. Customers can also follow the progress of the repair works related to any leaks that have been reported.

Making a digital difference

as a public facing portal. The success of this project ultimately

Digital technology is a fast-moving world and ITS Stonbury is

led to the creation of ITS Stonbury, a small company with a team

certainly not standing still. Another development in the pipeline

of experienced developers, dedicated to creating solutions for

is Stonbury World, an internal management system that brings

companies within the water and construction industry.

together all business areas to increase project management

Community portal

across the company.

The development of the customer facing portal ‘intouch’ for

The bespoke software will include functions for the management

NWG became known as ‘Community Portal’, which is featured

of all aspects of the business including records for human

on the Essex & Suffolk and Northumbrian Water website.

resources, clients, projects, sites, assets and equipment. It

Developed in collaboration with Northumbrian Water and

will also include the Stonbury World App which replaces their

another first for the water industry, ‘intouch’ enables water

electronic site files system – eSite. This will be a cloud service

companies to share project information and progress with

that stores details, including health and safety records ready for

their customers and local communities.

download as required.

Affected residents, business owners and commuters all have

As with all ITS Stonbury software, security is of the utmost

easy access to the project information along with real-time

importance and the usual security processes for encrypted data

diary updates for the progress of the works and a schedule of

in cloud software are in place, with additional access control and

expected completion dates. Water companies are also able to

permissions, where required.

notify customers of any potential disruptions. Customer contact centres and social media managers can quickly divert enquiries to the portal, where any questions or concerns can be posted using the comments function. For those who may be affected by site works, the portal allows customers to follow and engage in project progress. Many other benefits can be seen from the use of Community Portal, including substantial cost savings for

James Stonor said, “Through the commercialisation of ‘inprogress’ and eSite we are using over a decade of experience in digital site management to benefit utilities and other engineering companies. Modern cloud-based systems make firms still using only paper-based site files old fashioned in the digital era.”

reducing both the time spent on each enquiry and the multiple

“The introduction of ‘intouch’ takes our in-house engineering and digital technology expertise to the interface with utility customers, which will be of critical importance for water companies in hitting their regulatory targets in AMP7. These are exciting developments,

contacts that expose utilities to regulatory penalties.

not only for ITS Stonbury, but for the whole water industry.”

With PR19 being next in line to create challenges within the

If you think your company would benefit from these technologies,

industry, ITS and Northumbrian Water Group are continually

you can contact the ITS Team on info@itsstonbury.co.uk or visit

developing solutions within the Community Portal, to not

their website on www.itsstonbury.co.uk.

the water company. It also allows utilities to be proactive, which consequently drives up customer satisfaction, whilst rapidly

instituteofwater.org.uk

69

SAINT-GOBAIN PAM UK

COLLABORATION IS KING: HOW EFFECTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT COULD SAVE MILLIONS

It’s estimated that the reinstatement of failed street ironwork installations costs the industry a staggering £200 million per year.

Paul Thompson, from Saint-Gobain PAM reflects on this cost and considers how a better understanding of whole-life-costs, across the supply chain, could be the answer to saving millions.

First and foremost, it’s important to recognise that only 20 per cent of the total cost of installation is the ironwork and bedding. And yet, we’re still seeing a concentrated effort to reduce costs at specification level by considering an ‘initial’ lower-cost, quick-fix solution.

The harsh truth is that the entire industry needs to improve. Over the last decade there have been many independent studies on how typical carriageway installations behave when subjected to traffic flow. One of the more recent studies, conducted by a major customer of ironwork, surveyed 1,000 installations to discover that the failure rate was over 10 per cent. The failures

70

instituteofwater.org.uk

were attributed to poor specification and a neglected consideration on what is actually the right solution for each individual application.

It’s a common phrase across our industry – but ‘supply chain management’ and improved collaboration really is key in delivering a better solution across our road networks. The final customer needs to understand the specification, the installers need to adopt best practice and product providers need to lend their expertise in developing solutions. A refocus on longevity is required to ensure a ‘right-first-time’ approach and to ensure whole-life-costs are transparent.

Really, it’s about providing a better education across the supply chain. There’s a lot of pressure on main contractors to get the installation of ironworks right, but this responsibility should be shared.

In order for this to happen, businesses need to work together better. From product providers and specifiers right down to the final customer, there needs to be consistent support for best practice procedure. This can massively impact whole life cost, as only 20% of installation costs are actually ironwork & bedding; the larger expenses of labour and time are only reduced through correct first-time installation and choosing the right product.

The whole supply chain needs to take responsibility for solving this problem, not just the installers. Manufacturers can help by providing training and developing knowledge bases with easily understood content, Specifiers and Installers can become independently responsible with enhanced quality assurance and final customers can monitor the supply chain to ensure that everyone gets the support they need.

FEATURE: TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

ANGLIAN WATER UTILISES STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAFFIC MODELLING TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE DISRUPTION FOR ALL As the UK’s largest water company by geographical area, Anglian Water is no stranger to the challenges of undertaking repair work, and trying to mitigate the disruption that the resulting traffic management can cause.

However, in utilising innovative, state-of-theart traffic management modelling technology, the water company is working hard to reduce disruption for their customers at every turn, as James Worthington, Water Services Programme Manager at Anglian Water, explains: In a world where social media has increased the speed of feedback, customer expectation is higher than ever, and public reaction is instantaneous, ensuring an exceptional level of customer service has never been more crucial.

One of the areas where we are most visible to our customers is during repairs and roadworks. With our customers’ high standards and expectations, it is important that we do all we can to minimise any disruption we might cause in their day-to-day lives.

We want to be associated with making lives easier, and providing an excellent seamless service, not be the reason our customers are late for work or can’t get parked outside their homes. It’s the little things that can make the biggest difference.

That’s why we are trialling state-of-the-art traffic modelling technology with the aim of finding the solution which best enables us to reduce the impact of our work. The technology helps us to minimise road disruption by visualising the impact traffic management would have on a local area.

By utilising real-world data during the planning process, the programme can run simulations of our works to ensure that traffic management is being applied in the smartest and most effective possible way; working to alleviate the concerns of local residents, road users and Highways colleagues.

We want to keep our customers informed at every step of the journey which is why we will use the modelling technology to inform customer

engagements, giving the public a better understanding of the work we do and notifying them about our work. We can then utilise their insight to inform our decision making processes and foster positive relationships with local communities. A reduction in customer complaints would also have a positive impact on the call volumes received by our customer service teams.

Furthermore, on the road, driver safety is of utmost importance and the modelling techniques not only provide the least disruptive route possible, but also the safest, which means less time wasted, less frustration and less chance of accidents.

The technology brings about other benefits not just for drivers. Less disruption means fewer stationary cars which contribute heavily to air pollution; this means we can reduce the amount of carbon emissions that are produced in any area, playing a part to reduce our impact on the environment too. And by always selecting the best possible approach, we will see a reduction in permit and traffic management costs due

to more effective processes being in place, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness within our business.

We are also seeking ways to improve the capability of the physical equipment used in traffic management. From ‘smart’ barriers that help guide those with hearing or sight difficulties, to real-time traffic management that adapts to the changing flow of traffic to reduce delays. We believe our work should have as little impact as possible, whether you’re on foot or on the road.

This technology will not just improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our traffic management, but it will work to ease the disruption, and ultimately stress, for road users, our staff and local residents alike.

As a company, we are committed to ensuring that we use technology to improve our processes and customer service at every single opportunity and this is another positive example of Anglian Water doing just that.

instituteofwater.org.uk

71

AN INCREDIBLE EFFORT TO CLIMB THE POLLUTION PERFORMANCE LADDER Our vision at Northumbrian Water (NW) is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services.

by Simon Cyhanko

Sewerage Operations Manager, Northumbrian Water Limited and National Chair, Institute of Water Our pollution performance in 2016 meant the Environment Agency (EA) ranked our category 1-2 (most serious) pollution performance as worst in industry and category 1-3 (also includes less serious incidents) pollution performance as 7th out of 9 water and sewerage companies in England. Such overall pollution performance is towards bottom of industry and is clearly not consistent with our aim of being ‘national leader’.

Given that NW takes its environmental responsibilities seriously, pollution performance therefore had to improve if NW is to achieve its vision.

[Skype technology has been used to allow effective review of every single incident by operations personnel across the north-east.]

What did we do?

In autumn 2016 the wastewater pollution reduction project was instigated to generate a step change in company pollution performance.

The project was focussed on developing and then implementing ideas to improve pollution performance across the whole wastewater network and its various assets, including 30,000 km of sewers, 1,200 combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and 413 sewage treatment works (STWs).

By November 2016 a ‘mind map’ was developed detailing new ideas that would drive pollution performance improvement. The ideas were based on input from operational teams, a root cause review of historical failures and learning from other companies. The ownership and timescales for delivery of actions was allocated to various operational managers. On the whole the improvement initiatives could either be described as ‘people focussed’ or ‘asset focussed’.

People focussed improvements Having briefed all the relevant operational teams on the scale of the challenge in December 2016 a restructuring exercise was completed by March 2017. This exercise formed focussed and dedicated reactive and proactive pollution teams that had previously had responsibility for other sewerage activities including sewer flooding and

72

instituteofwater.org.uk

other network defects. The reactive pollution team were quickly to become experts in pollution incident response, mitigation, evidence collection and writing reports for reviewing incident categorisation with the EA. The proactive team were to become fully focussed on stopping unwanted spills from the network by focussing on our highest risk assets.

Alongside the structural changes, every incident began to be reviewed in detail. Weekly telephone conferences were introduced alongside a biweekly management video-conference to look at every single pollution incident in detail; what we did well, what we could have done better and agreement on what incidents we wanted to review with the EA and whether or not we had the appropriate evidence.

Other support mechanisms were also improved including out of hours support for front-line sewerage teams and a more robust escalation protocol so that more people became involved in supporting the potential category 1 and 2 pollution incidents as soon as they emerged.

Asset focussed improvements Two thirds of all NW’s pollution incidents

came from either sewers near watercourses or combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The proactive pollution team therefore began to focus on reducing unwanted spills from these highest risk assets.

For the first time NW began to proactively inspect its highest risk sewers near watercourses.

The risk of polluting was determined working with the Asset Information team and considered blockage risk, proximity to a watercourse, local vegetation and local topography. Working with contract partners, CCTV surveys were followed by a significant volume of remedial works including sewer cleansing and root cutting, all of which ultimately would reduce future pollution risk.

Significant additional effort was also placed on reducing pollution incidents from our CSOs. Whilst traditionally high, our sewer level monitor coverage was further extended to 97% thus allowing us to identify blockages before a pollution incident emerged. Further improvements were also made by completing detailed CCTV investigations both up and downstream of our highest risk CSOs along with the necessary remedial works. Our standard operating procedures for CSO maintenance were

FEATURE: POLLUTION (compared to 7th in 2016) and 3rd place in category 1-2 pollutions (compared to 9th in 2016). More specifically, the number of category 1-2 pollutions had been reduced from 9 to 2 and category 3 pollutions reduced from 102 to 48 within 1 reporting year. A step change in environmental performance had therefore been achieved.

[Discharging manhole in County Durham.

The blockage was caused by manhole brickwork that was damaged by agricultural equipment.] also reviewed and rebriefed to our front-line teams.

Be it reactively or proactively, pollution incidents and our approach to pollution became a daily talking point as we adopted a zero tolerance and continuous improvement mindset.

What did we achieve?

The Environment Agency’s performance report for 2017 showed how NW achieved an industry leading 1st place for category 1-3s in 2017

Pollution performance for 2018 has again improved over 2017 levels with YTD performance standing at 0 category 1-2s (EOY forecast 0) and 32 category 3 pollutions (EOY forecast 40).

This suggests the changes made in 2017 and performance improvements have been sustained.

Celebrating success and continuous improvement It was incredibly hard work to achieve the results that we did in 2017 and one of the most important things was to celebrate success and give something back to those ‘superstars’ that made it all happen. From entering different utility awards to more localised celebratory events we have tried hard to thank people and maintain their energy and enthusiasm in an attempt to continuously improve.

One of our largest concerns was how to keep people fresh, motivated and performing to such a high standard, particularly in the reactive

[Bollards have been installed to reduce agricultural damage risk to manholes by the proactive pollution team.] pollution team that was under significant scrutiny throughout 2017. This has been partly achieved by rotating some of the personnel with members of the broader operational team whilst still keeping a core of experienced team members. Some of the team have also become professionally registered (Registered Environmental Technicians) and this has helped recognise their skills, experience and achievements.

As a business we are delighted to have achieved industry leading pollution performance within such a short space of time and by continuing to focus on our people and our assets we have every intention of maintaining our industry leading position.

MASSIVE STOCKHOLDING

of

We’re Your Leading UK Viking Johnson Stockist FWB is a leading stockist and distributor of Viking Johnson couplings, flange adaptors, repair and tapping products.

Viking Johnson is the market leader for such product in water, waste water, and building services applications, and we work closely with them to maintain one of the largest stockholdings in the UK.

Unrivalled service, unrivalled product offering FWB stocks an extensive product range covering eight core product groups: Pipeline & Fittings Tools l Site Safety & Janitorial l Pneumatics, Fluid Power & Instrumentation

Fasteners & Ironmongery PPE & Workwear l Electrical l Metals, Rubber & Plastics

l

l

l

l

Whatever your requirements, we offer a suitable and competitive solution with the very best product and technical expertise.

Stoke - 01782 744333

Email: sales@fwb.co.uk

Wrexham - 01978 720720 www.fwb.co.uk

Truro - 01872 243500

instituteofwater.org.uk

73

IDEXX

DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE WATER MICROBIOLOGY TEST FOR PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

Dr Philippe Rousselin of IDEXX Water describes how the company developed the PseudalertÂŽ test for the rapid detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and how the product has become the new ISO 16266-2 water quality standard.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium and an opportunistic pathogen that is found widely in natural and man-made environments, especially those associated with water. The organism is nutritionally very versatile and can use a wide range of organic compounds as sources of energy, thereby enabling it to survive in nutritionally poor environments. P. aeruginosa is a common cause of infections of the ear, eyes and skin associated with swimming pools and spas. Additionally, the bacterium is a leading cause of nosocomial infections in at-risk groups, while also being a good indicator of systemic contamination within water distribution systems. Furthermore, in hospital and healthcare environments, there is a significant risk to vulnerable populations such as neo-nates, patients undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplants and the immunocompromised, where the presence of the bacterium can lead to life-threatening infections.

74

instituteofwater.org.uk

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) officially established standards for the microbiological analysis of water, including testing for P. aeruginosa, when it introduced ISO 16266 in 2006. This standard remains in place today, however, some countries, including the UK and Italy among others, are unable to apply the standard because it includes the use of toxic reagents such as mercuric chloride and acetamide, some of which are now banned in these jurisdictions. To overcome this, a new standard was required, and in 2012 the process to revise the ISO 16266 standard commenced.

It became apparent to the ISO committee that it was not a trivial task simply to make a revision to the standard, and it would be necessary to adopt a completely new approach. This led to the introduction of ISO 16266-2, an alternative standard that also had the benefit of including a new test method, Pseudalert.

New developments This new, ISO 16266-2 standard came into effect in 2018 after four developmental stages involving consultation and voting on the proposed test procedures. IDEXX Water had already developed and launched the Pseudalert P. aeruginosa testing method, which did not involve the use of the toxic reagents. Pseudalert was therefore a good match with the requirements of the new ISO 16266-2 standard. The ISO 16266 standard is a method in which the bacteria are isolated by a membrane filtration technique followed by culture on a solid media and the generation of estimated counts based on colony forming units. The Pseudalert method is based on the culture of target organisms in a liquid medium and the generation of estimated counts based upon most probable number (MPN).

In September 2018, Pseudalert became accepted as the worldwide standard ISO 16266-2, marking

FEATURE: POLLUTION the culmination of a multi-year process involving the scrutiny of experts from all over the world.

The process of gaining recognition as an ISO standard is challenging, and for IDEXX was more so, as the submission and acceptance process is very rigorous, especially for a proprietary method.

To achieve the acceptance of a method as a new standard, there must be demonstrable benefits, in terms of accuracy, speed, simplicity or the elimination of hazardous steps and reagents.

The ISO committee for water quality has 31 member countries working on a one member, one vote basis. If a draft proposal is to gain approval, it needs a two-thirds majority. No more than one quarter of the votes cast can be against the proposal, although abstentions and negative votes with no technical reasoning are not counted.

This voting procedure is repeated four times at yearly intervals, and comments from the individual member countries are incorporated into each iteration of the draft proposal. Although this makes the process somewhat slow, it does increase the likelihood of a consensus document with widespread buy-in being achieved.

For IDEXX, this procedure was not unfamiliar. The challenges and requirements of the ISO committee were well understood as IDEXX successfully had its Colilert®-18 product assigned ISO status in 2012.

This testing method, for the enumeration of E. coli and coliform bacteria in both drinking and waste water, is now the ISO 9308-2 standard.

Main markets The Pseudalert test is used in three main market areas: in hospitals, where the bacterium is a major cause of disease, in bottled water products, even though there is a very low risk of contamination

(less than 1% of tests produce a positive result); and in water used in swimming pools and spas, where the presence of the bacterium may cause infection of a person’s skin, ears or eyes. Water analysis with Pseudalert is typically performed in a laboratory by a qualified technician, however it can be performed by trained personnel outside of a laboratory environment, and there are hospitals in the UK where the estates management team use the method on site as a routine part of the facilities’ water management plan. There are a number of advantages offered by the method including approximately two minutes of hands-on sample preparation and clear detection of P. aeruginosa contamination based on a simple fluorescent signal. Importantly, there are no further confirmation tests making the test rapid, simple to perform and notably, safe.

The science behind the Pseudalert method is a pre-weighed reagent in a sachet, which is added to a water sample then incubated for 24 hours.

The reagent is a complex mixture of amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients to promote growth of the P. aeruginosa bacterium, which, if present, releases an enzyme which reacts with a nutrient indicator within the reagent.

After incubation, contamination with P. aeruginosa will be apparent as the sample will fluoresce under ultra violet (UV) illumination.

Bacterial contamination can also be quantified using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray®. Once the water sample is collected, the pre-dosed powder is added to the sample container, mixed and poured into the Quanti-Tray which has wells specifically designed to enumerate bacteria in water. The Quanti-Tray is sealed to create a number of discrete compartments where, in the presence of P. aeruginosa, the reaction will take place during incubation.

After 24 hours of incubation, the number of wells which fluoresce under UV light are enumerated.

This number is used to determine the level of contamination via the MPN method in conjunction with a comparison table or bespoke software.

Alternatively, if a simple presence/absence determination is required, this is also possible.

Test validity The validity of the IDEXX test is now recognised by a number of regulatory authorities and is seen to comply with several national and international water quality regulations. In 2017, the method was recognised by the UK’s Standard Committee of Analysts and specified as a recommended method in the Committee’s “blue book” publication of “The Microbiology of Drinking Water Part 8 - Methods for the isolation and enumeration of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas aeruginosa” and “The Microbiology of Recreational and Environmental Waters: Part 7 - Methods for the isolation and enumeration of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.” This is the latest acceptance for Pseudalert/Quanti-Tray, having previously been approved as an alternative method for the testing of drinking water in Germany and receiving both NF validation certification by AFNOR in France and inclusion in the Italian Rapporti ISTISAN 13/46 list of methods for swimming pool monitoring.

The progression of Pseudalert is an excellent example of how a method can become ISO approved, giving customers the confidence and assurance that its use is not only safe, but has the backing of the international community, leaving no doubt as to its efficacy. For IDEXX, having Colilert-18 and Pseudalert both accepted as ISO standards, underpins its standing as the global leader in the water microbiology testing arena.

All ®/TM marks are owned by IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. The IDEXX Privacy Policy is available at idexx.com.

instituteofwater.org.uk

75

A NEW COLLABORATION ADDS TO THE COMPANY PORTFOLIO Eliquo Hydrok have agreed an exclusive distribution association with Biogest AG from Germany to bring together their combined expertise from national and international markets for storm water solutions to the UK and Eire.

David Armstrong, MD of Eliquo Hydrok said “with our expansion and ongoing development within the storm water market, there has been requirement for our company to strategically seek to expand and advance our product solutions portfolio. To this end, we are delighted to have formed a new agreement with Biogest AG from Taunistein in Germany. This new partnership enables Eliquo Hydrok to offer a technically advanced range of storm water solutions including flow control units, storm tank cleansing systems and associated hardware.

These technologies, coupled with Eliquo Hydrok’s “in house” storm water management portfolio, will enable the delivery of complete solutions to existing and new clients. We now look forward to a strong future with Biogest and to a relationship of ongoing product developments”.

Speaking on behalf of Biogest, Thorsten Neuerer, Sales Director said, “With many years of experience within the UK, we were looking for improving and expanding our UK market, we were looking for the right partnership to help us distribute our storm water solutions in the UK and Irish market places. The meetings with the Dave Armstrong have been very positive which has led to a new sales agreement starting in November this year.

The combining of the expertise of the two companies, with their strong product portfolios, brings a single point contact for UK and Eire clients to a comprehensive range of internationally acclaimed storm water solutions from both companies”.

To discuss the available wastewater management solutions that Eliquo Hydrok now offer then visit the website or email sales@eliquohydrok.co.uk to set up an initial discussion, or call 01326 861900.

WASTEWATER TECHNOLOGIES An extensive portfolio for the management of wastewater systems Storm tank and sewer cleansing Flushing gates, channels and tanks

MecMex Mechanical CSO screen manufactured

by ELIQUO HYDROK

Screening and water treatment Static and mechanical CSO screens, screw screens, grit and grease removal Flow control Powered and non-powered solutions

ELIQUO HYDROK LTD I T 01726 861 900 I sales@eliquohydrok.co.uk

76

instituteofwater.org.uk

www.eliquohydrok.co.uk

RADIO DATA NETWORKS

FEATURE: POLLUTION

POLLUTION REDUCTION THROUGH RETROFIT REAL-TIME CONTROL TO SEWER NETWORKS

Fig 2. Sewer Flow Regulator During Installtion into a Plastic Chamber on a New Housing Estate

Fig 1. CSO Containment Valve

Speaking with a degree of authority, having spent circa 40-years as an Engineer across the electricity, gas, rail and the water distribution sectors, I can testify our wastewater networks, i.e. sewers and drains pose a unique challenge to control engineers when it comes to implementing real-time control [RTC].

In a perfect world we would rip up the existing sewer networks and re-lay them separated, with control and measurement points every few tens of meters in both the foul and the surface water, the latter of which would feed SuDS chambers and swales. However, we cannot as it would cost hundreds of millions, be highly disruptive and possibly take the rest of this century.

(actuator) and real-time feedback from the output.

The only way forward is to “sweat the assets” simply get more out of what is there by taking control, focusing on the known “hot spots” and the “new builds” by applying retrofit RTC.

Retrofitting control to a sewer network to create an RTC comes with its challenges; there is no power for sensors, no communications media, limited network storage, plus the system has to cope with dry weather and storm flow, FOG, rags, must fail safe (make the situation no worse that it would have been without control), and finally include the ability to operate both autonomously and securely without the need of outside influence and fear of cyber-attack.

Basic Requirements of for RTC

RTC Network Elements:

In any control system there is an input, in this case raw sewage and rainwater, a control point

■■

Control Points: Valves, sewer regulator [SRU] units and pumps

■■

Storage: Maximise the utilisation of existing capacity in pipes and wet wells

■■

Sensors: Simple interfaces compatible with existing legacy controllers (binary sensors and with relay contact interfaces)

■■

Communications: Direct link, low latency, real-time, without 3rd parties

■■

Autonomous: Must be independent & 100% cyber secure

■■

Fail Safe: Must not compromise the network under fault conditions

■■

Adaptable: Cope with dry-weather and storm flows both now and in the future, growth in network loads.

instituteofwater.org.uk

77

RADIO DATA NETWORKS

RTC Using a Sewer Flow regulator and BDT Level Sensor

Control Points for RTC The easiest networks to retrofit with RTC are those that include rising mains. These networks naturally include storage, pumps (control point) that normally are under local control typically using level switches in the wet wells.

In its simplest form RTC can be retrofitted by adding network sensors up and/or downstream to override local controls, to empty wells in advance of rain (rainfall detectors) and to inhibit when the network is full (level sensors). On top of this are safety overrides such as “dribble mode” when both the wet well and network are full.

Similarly, pump stations can be cross-linked across a catchment, using RTC radio networks to ensure that operations are staggered /or flows are “modulated” to reduce peak flows at pinch points.

In the absence of control points/actuators, then valves can be added to CSO overflows and controllable valves such as penstocks or Sewer Regulator Units [SRUs] can be installed in-line with sewer networks. In FIG 1 a CSO overflow weir is fitted to a CSO in order to contain “dry spills” caused by network blockages operating under RTC using network level sensors. In Fig 2, a retrofit SRU is installed to help regulate flow from a new housing development to prevent overload of the existing sewer network, again under full autonomous RTC.

Binary Network Sensors and Relay Interfaces Simplify RTC Due to the predominantly binary nature of

78

instituteofwater.org.uk

control, i.e. start/stop, inhibit/normal or rain/ dry it logically follows that 1/0 binary sensors and relay interfaces are more than adequate for basic RTC. The use of binary has a significant advantage as it eliminates the need for complex interfaces, the programming of trip points, all essential for retrofitting of RTC to “dumb” legacy pump controllers and valves. Further, it has been found in general that binary systems are much easier to test, fault find and commission in the field without the need for expert teams from a manufacturer.

The BDT manufactured by Radio Data Networks is a classic example of a binary high-level detector with relay output that has been deployed on numerous RTC systems. With up to 10-years battery life the BDT is capable of reporting at rates as fast as every 2.5 seconds, locally or across a city with the aid of a repeater at rates of between 1 and 5-minutes.

Local Communications & Autonomy Key for Effective RTC For effective RTC you must have a direct feedback path from the output to the point of control. This must have maximum availability, low power consumption (battery powered), low latency and the ability to communicate simultaneously with a single or multiple points in the network. For autonomy the communications should not go via a 3rd party or remote cloud-based server which really precludes both cellular and IoT. In the absence of a cable, I personally believe radio telemetry is the optimum communication

medium for the industry. Further, for RTC radio telemetry need not be complex, it can be kept simple and battery efficient using “data lean” non-IP simplex protocols, over preferably licenced narrow band radio channels, with sensor inputs in and relay switch contacts out.

Conclusion Without a doubt if we are to reduce pollution and to improve efficiency, the wastewater industry as a whole will have to embrace retrofit RTC. Numerous practical installations by the likes of Anglian Water have already demonstrated that existing control points such as pumps can be upgraded with relative ease and at minimal cost to include RTC. Further, where control actuators do not exist SRUs, CSO containment valves can be inserted to introduce points of control within the networks.

In the area of communications, simplex non-IP radio telemetry (preferably operating on a licenced radio channel) with relay outputs have been demonstrated most cost effective, permitting pumps to be de-synchronised and feedback signals to be sent to control valves, regulators or actuators with total autonomy.

Finally, binary sensors with relay outputs, through their simplicity of use, have a natural ability to interface with legacy controllers, hence have become the sensors of choice for numerous RTC retrofit deployments.

instituteofwater.org.uk

79

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

FLUORIDE-FREE WATER TO EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITIES

A researcher from the University of Bath is leading the way in developing a safe and affordable way of removing harmful excessive fluoride in the water supply used by communities in East Africa.

Dr Junjie Shen from the University of Bath’s Department of Chemical Engineering has been awarded a five-year Engineering for Development Research Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering to develop Capacitive Deionization technology as a way of providing poor and vulnerable communities in East Africa with fluoride-free water.

Dr Shen is one of just two recipients to be awarded this prestigious Fellowship in the current round. His project ‘Safe Drinking Water using Capacitive Deionization for East Africa’ will work on developing technology capable of removing fluoride from water with minimal energy consumption.

Capacitive Deionization (CDI) is an emerging technology used to de-ionize – the process of removing fluoride from water by applying a low DC voltage (about 1.2 V) to a water source, over two electrodes. Water passes between the electrodes and the charged ions are adsorbed by the oppositely charged electrodes, resulting in pure water free from fluorides.

Dr Shen is intending for this technology to be used as a Point-of-Use (POU) water treatment solution in developing countries, treating water directly from natural sources such as rivers, wells and boreholes.

80

instituteofwater.org.uk

This CDI technology is highly modular and scalable, making it suitable to be carried considerable distances to the nearest water source. It is envisaged it will cost £10,000 for a community-scale system capable of supplying clean water for around 200 people. This equates to an estimated water price of less than £3 per cubic meter, 20 times cheaper than the cost of bottled water in a local market.

CDI is also a sustainable and environmentallyfriendly solution for water treatment due to its very low energy consumption, no use of chemicals and its ability to regenerate its electrodes by reversing or removing the voltage.

This means such technology should provide a long term solution to treating water in the developing world.

Fluorine is abundant in the Earth’s crust as a result of volcanic activity and fumarolic gases.

Fluoride is naturally released into water by the dissolution of fluoride-containing rocks and soils.

FEATURE: POLLUTION The East African Rift, as an active volcanic zone, is a typically high-fluoride area and excessive fluoride in drinking water causes large-scale health problems in East Africa such as crippling bone disease, skeletal fluorosis. In Tanzania, a study found that in communities where fluoriderich groundwater is used as drinking water, more than 90 per cent of children had dental fluorosis and over 25 per cent of children had skeletal deformities.

In many parts of East Africa, urban water infrastructures are either not available or unreliable in remote villages. Current defluoridation technologies applied in East Africa - including adsorption and membrane separation - are largely ineffective due to their insufficient capacity to remove fluorides as well as the associated costs preventing greater use of these technologies.

Research Fellow in the University of Bath’s Department of Chemical Engineering, in particular in the Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE) and Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC@Bath), Dr Junjie Shen, said: “I am extremely excited about this amazing opportunity, and am thankful to the Royal Academy of Engineering, the University of Bath, and my collaborators in Tanzania for their support. This fellowship will allow me to develop my academic career and to also contribute towards the sustainable social development of East African communities.

“Drinking water decontamination in the developing countries has always been a scientific challenge due to the complexity of water chemistry and various drawbacks of current technologies. My research will look for a new approach to produce safe drinking water in a cost-effective and environmental-friendly manner. This will advance our current knowledge and create ground for future studies.”

Director in the Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering (CASE), Professor Semali Perera, commented: “This new technology has the potential to directly benefit a large population of people living in rural and remote areas in East Africa. Access to safe water means opportunity for improved health and the ability to prevent disease. Access to safe water also gives families more time to pursue education and work opportunities that will help break the cycle of poverty in these areas. He is a core member of CASE and we are very proud of his work.”

Head of the University of Bath’s Department of Chemical Engineering, Professor Tim Mays, added: “Dr Shen’s RAEng Fellowship is a perfect fit to the Department’s research profile especially in CASE and WIRC, and to our international ambitions. Dr Shen’s work will have lifeenhancing impact in East Africa, and beyond, via improved water quality. We are very proud to host his Fellowship in the Department.”

We can help you reimagine your water R&D

As part of this project, Dr Shen hopes to conduct a pilot study in Tanzania whereby he will be able to test the technology in the field, working in collaboration with colleagues from University of Dar es Salaam. He will also assess the sustainability of the technology including its environmental impact and the socio-economic acceptance by the communities in Tanzania.

Funded through the government’s Global Challenges Research Fund, the Engineering for Development Research Fellowship is awarded to research projects that directly tackle the challenges faced by developing countries and highlight the vital role of engineering in achieving sustainable global development.

Water Innovation & Research Centre

Through the Water Innovation and Research Centre at the University of Bath our experts work with industry, academia, and other stakeholders to tackle the fundamental issues surrounding sustainable water. Through WISE, our Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Informatics: Science and Engineering, we work with collaborative partners to train the next generation of skilled water scientists and engineers.

To explore a partnership with water research experts and students at the University of Bath for your organisation, contact water-research@bath.ac.uk.

go.bath.ac.uk/water-research

instituteofwater.org.uk

81

82

instituteofwater.org.uk

FEATURE: POLLUTION

instituteofwater.org.uk

83

CDENVIRO

SEWAGE SLUDGE A SOUGHT-AFTER COMMODITY

When we think of the word ‘quality’, good food and expensive cars might spring to mind.

‘Sewage sludge’ and ‘high-quality’ are phrases that you’ll rarely, if ever, find together - even if you work in the water industry!

However, with changes in the water industry and the opening up of the bioresources market, highquality sludge is set to be sought-after by even those outside the water industry. Matt Bunting from CDEnviro discusses the size of the sludge industry and how contaminants removal is crucial for water companies facing increased demands.

The size of the industry It was estimated in 2012 that the UK produces about 11 billion litres of wastewater each day, from homes, businesses, and water collected via sewer networks1. This results in around 3,800 tonnes of dry solids being produced across just over 9,000 sewage treatment works every day.

This is the equivalent to over 1.4 million dry tonnes of sewage sludge or 21 kg per person per year. Nowadays, we recognise the environmental impact of disposing of sludge in landfill or at sea, and instead sewage sludge is used mainly for agricultural purposes such as fertiliser or is used to create energy through anaerobic digestion or incineration.

Currently, there are companies that bid for food waste from households and supermarkets so that they can use the waste in anaerobic digestion (AD) processes. The question is then, can a similar market exist for sewage effluent?

Ofwat’s plans to open up the market for sludge by 2020 coupled with the sheer amount of sewage effluent produced every year in the UK

84

instituteofwater.org.uk

means that the size of the industry cannot be denied.

High-quality product As with any industry, the best quality products cost the most- and sludge will be no different.

It is thought that sludge trade will happen in two ways: either the buyer will buy low quality sludge at a low price and treat the effluent before processing or the seller will treat the sludge and sell it at a premium price. In both scenarios, there is a demand for high-quality sludge in order to carry out the most effective and efficient AD processes. A high-quality product will be one that is free of plastics, metals, rag and grit.

Contaminants removal Plastic is perhaps the most documented contaminant in the world at the moment, and its harmful effects on the environment shouldn’t be ignored. Grit and rag are two other harmful materials found in effluent that are less known and less discussed. However when it comes to anaerobic digestion, the removal of grit and rag are just as important as plastics removal. When the volume of rag and grit passing through pumps, tanks and centrifuges is reduced, unnecessary maintenance costs and downtime are eliminated; providing a financial boost for the processor. Decanters - the common dewatering method for sludge - are prone

to damage from grit which is known for its highly-abrasive nature. Meanwhile the removal of grit, sand and plastics at the pre-treatment stage means that these materials will not take up valuable tank capacity when sludge is processed via anaerobic digestion. If maximum tank capacity is maintained, maximum biogas production can also take place.

Thinking ahead With sludge trade set to open-up in 2020, now is the time to prepare. With just over a year to go, wastewater treatment works (WwTW) need to consider their sludge quality now. Not only that, but with population only set to increase significantly in the next twenty years, and climate change due to bring only more problems, thinking ahead in terms of efficiency is crucial.

Only by investing in sewage effluent, and the technologies needed to process it effectively, will water companies be able to deal with more pressure and demand than ever before.

For more information on CDEnviro’s sludge treatment technology, contact info@cdenviro.com or visit www.cdenviro.com 1 DEFRA (2012) Waste water treatment in the United Kingdom: Implementation of the European Union Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, Nobel House, London

FEATURE: WASTEWATER SOLUTIONS

HUBER TECHNOLOGY WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WESSEX WATER Since winning the inlet screen and screenings handling framework with Wessex Water, HUBER Technology have completed several installations across the Wessex Water region. Working very closely with the design and delivery teams within Wessex Water we were able to complete the projects on time and within budget.

Working within the Wessex Water framework provided HUBER with some challenges and one of these was to reduce the amount of site civil works. This allowed HUBER to adopt the use of launder and conveyors to transport screenings to skips, which were located a distance away from the inlet screens.

The projects varied in size and flow rates from as low as 33 l/s up to 500 l/s. HUBER’s Ro9 combined spiral brush screen is suitable for the smaller sites up to 100 l/s and then for the larger sites above 100 l/s the HUBER Belt Screen Escamax® and Screenings Handling unit WAP®/L were supplied.

The next round of sites are now in progress with the aim to complete before the end of a very successful AMP 6.

To meet the framework requirements, HUBER removed the screenings wash element of the screen, providing compaction only, flush water used to keep the compaction area clean was sourced mainly from screened effluent, which was pumped from a downstream sump controlled by a HUBER control panel. This helped to reduce the wash water requirements.

The key benefits achieved: ■■

Fully automated machines

■■

Reduced maintenance

■■

Power consumption reduced from 15KW to 1 KW on some sites

■■

Compacted screenings reducing transport costs on skip collections

Adrian Heneghan (HUBER’s Area Manager) said “I was extremely pleased with how we overcame some of the challenges on a couple of the sites

[Warminster STW] and I felt that we worked extremely well as a team and found some great innovative solutions.

I think every new installation we have done with Wessex has achieved what was set out originally.”

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

instituteofwater.org.uk

85

TARGET 100 - SOUTHERN WATER’S NEW WATER EFFICIENCY STRATEGY Southern Water has recently unveiled its new Target 100 campaign, one of the UK’s boldest water efficiency initiatives. switched on to a meter and 60% of these better off compared with deciding bills on rateable value, an important first step has been reached designed to challenge some of the experience outlined above.

by Ben Earl

Water Efficiency Manager, Southern Water It is the next stage in its water saving journey and is designed to enable customers to reach an average water usage of 100 litres per person per day by 2040, making significant savings in water, energy and money in the process.

Despite a widespread perception that we live in a wet country, the South East has been declared as a water-stressed area. Add to this significant new development and the projections for population growth and climate change and you have a recipe for water resources coming under greater pressure in future.

A number of studies have identified several key barriers to water efficiency. These have shown that while the public intuitively recognise water as a precious resource, it continues to be hindered by a lack of understanding. So while water is considered precious it is simultaneously considered abundant; likewise, although individuals are conscious of the issue they are not overly concerned of the potential threat to their daily lives of restraints on water use.

The value of water is currently not adequately reflected by consumers and this in turn is feeding through to a lack of engagement because households do not feel impacted or threatened by water restrictions.

Our Universal Metering Campaign was an important intervention carried out across our region that is the first step in trying to address this. With 88% of our customer base now

86

instituteofwater.org.uk

A next step has been free water saving home visits which provide practical support for households across our region and are incredibly well received by our customers. The visit which includes a bespoke household assessment, behavioural change advice and the fitting of free water saving products is intended to switch on a consumer to the potential and reality of demand savings. But we know we need to go further and go beyond a ‘one size fits all approach’ through the design of a made-to-measure plan for each of our 2.5 million water customers which is smart, responsive and most of all targeted. Recent innovations include a free fix of a leaking toilet, a written customer report provided by email and an installed water butt at the time of visit.

A second lesson from our programme is that the link between water saving and affordability issues is very close. Customers who are struggling to afford their bills are often also those with high water consumption. By working closely with social housing providers or local authorities we can combine the benefits of targeted water efficiency measures and the assessment of affordability - something we are already doing in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council.

Thirdly, the evidence is building that targeting water efficiency towards specific catchments or localised areas can help to keep bills down. We commissioned an independent report from the Green Alliance that stated how important this is and this understanding has been the main reason for following up with a Hampshire wide demand study to set future water saving targets and strategy.

The fourth lesson is that incentives can play an important role in changing customer behaviour.

We know how dramatic the changes have been since the introduction of the 5 pence plastic bag charge was introduced across the UK. Single plastic bag use has plummeted and the race is now on to find that all important equivalent in the water industry. To test this we trialled the introduction of a community incentive - The River Itchen Challenge - to share the proceeds of water savings at a community scale. The River Itchen area around Cheriton to the east of

Winchester through this new way of engaging saw an eight per cent in water usage.

Finally, customers need to feel more connected with how much water they are using. We now need to go further and help those who want it to understand just how much each customer is using through real time displays, bespoke information and new technology - we currently have a project underway to enable more frequent readings to be communicated, crucially with the customer being able to relate to real time information, linked to any meter and technology.

If this can produce a cost effective, versatile solution that can be rolled out then it has the power to transform the customer experience.

The implementation of universal metering brought estimated savings of 27 million litres of water a day, which is equivalent to the needs of several substantial urban areas in Southern Water’s region combined. Furthermore, following installation of a meter, customers reduced demand by around 16 per cent on average, compared to a national average for the impact of metering of around 10 per cent. These findings were confirmed in a four year study by Southampton University.

One piece of good news is we are now taking less water out of supply in our region compared to when the utility was privatised in 1989, despite population growth and changes to patterns of living.

Southern Water has been pursuing other actions to help reduce demand across its region. For example, it has worked with schools. In this case the most effective approach was found to be a combination of physical retrofit measures coupled with educational activity undertaken by the school itself but supported with information

FEATURE: ENERGY EFFICIENCY provided by Southern Water. It has also been supporting small businesses with bespoke visits.

The other main activity is around new developments. The growth in the number of homes, especially in the southeast of England, represents one of biggest pressures on long term water security. Water use requirements for new homes are included in building regulations, stipulating a requirement for fixtures and fittings that achieve use of 125 litres per person per day. In water-stressed areas, such as Southern Water’s area, local authorities can stipulate that developers target a lower figure, down to 110 litres per person per day.

It is not possible to block developments on the basis of availability of water supply, however it is possible to encourage developers to do more in terms of the water efficiency measures that they build into homes. Working with the local planning authority, Southern Water is trying to use incentives to influence developments such as a 2,000 home scheme in Horton Heath, close to Southampton. We are working with the developers to deliver a Target 100 housing scheme.

one of those fees in exchange for the developer aiming for greater efficiency. If that goes well the scheme will likely be extended.

Combining all these features means that together Southern Water’s efficiency actions come together as an effective and innovative programme. Following on from the River Itchen Challenge and with strong support from customers and stakeholders for rewards or incentives, a larger scheme is in the offing.

A personal and community scheme for all 53,000 residents in the borough of Eastleigh is to be rolled out in early AMP 7 followed by the rest of Hampshire and Sussex, offering rewards for water efficiency and each month every participating resident will be shown whether higher or lower usage has occurred.

Working together, Target 100 is about showcasing new ways of working to ensure that our customers can move to the next stage of the water efficiency journey. It promises to be a really interesting time for Southern Water.

Southern Water is doing this by discounting the charges developers normally have to pay to connect to the utility’s networks. There is usually a fee of £350 for a supply and for a sewer connection. Southern Water is offering to waive

THREE WAYS TO WIRE Electrical interconnection specialist WAGO introduces push-button and lever-actuated variants to its TOPJOB S® terminal block family. Integrators can now choose between push-button, lever and push-in connection methods for additional flexibility in DIN rail electrical installations.

The lever-actuated variant, a world first from WAGO, is equipped with a lever on the field side, and a push-button or operating tool-actuated connection on the factory side. The clamping point on the field side is opened and closed by hand using the lever, allowing installers to tell at a glance which wires in an assembly are terminated.

The lever can also be left open, freeing both hands to connect difficult-to-bend conductors with large cross sections.

Versions are available for nominal cross-sections

of 2.5 mm², 6 mm² and 16 mm², and in 2- or 3-conductor configurations.

orange in colour, making them clearly visible for easy identification.

The clamping point of the push-button mechanism is opened with any screwdriver or similar operating tool. Feed-through terminal blocks with pushbuttons are available for wire with a cross-section between 0.14 to 25 mm². The push-button terminal block is available in 2-, 3- or 4-conductor variants, which allow push-in connection of solid, seven strand and ferruled conductors.

Both the push button and lever actuators are

All TOPJOB S rail mounted terminal blocks feature Push-In CAGE CLAMP® spring pressure connection, which is 50 percent quicker to wire compared to screws, and immune to loosening over time.

The terminal blocks are also resistant to vibration and overcurrent, and free from maintenance, eliminating the need to periodically check and tighten loose connections while improving overall reliability.

instituteofwater.org.uk

87

THE JOURNEY TOWARDS A SUCCESSFUL ENERGY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

We’re all searching for the Holy Grail of a truly successful energy management strategy; one that works for our business, for the environment and for our customers. still achieving the best possible outcomes?

How can we get the best possible deal, for our business and the environment, when it comes to purchasing the energy that we do use?

These three elements, optimising usage, maximising opportunities and buying better, are at the heart of any successful energy management strategy.

by Graham Southall Commercial Director Northumbrian Water

In recent years, developments in technology, shifts in thinking, government incentives and a growing awareness of the importance of sustainability have driven us to a point where the way we use, and even purchase, energy has become a key focus of many businesses.

How can we use as little energy as possible and get the best out of what we do use, while

88

instituteofwater.org.uk

Having been responsible in my previous job for the first solar PV development in the UK Water industry, I found myself adopting an already well-developed strategy when I arrived at Northumbrian Water. However, it was clear that there was – and still is – room to do even more.

I don’t believe any business or organisation can honestly say there isn’t an opportunity to get even better at energy management.

But how do you do it?

Well, nobody has all the answers, which is one of the reasons we put a great focus on partnership working, sharing experiences and bringing ways of working from different fields, and working out how we can learn from one another to use this knowledge and these skills to solve problems.

But there are some things – and we have used many of them at Northumbrian Water – that we can all consider.

Minimise your costs.

The cheapest unit of energy is the one you don’t use. So minimising consumption and maximising efficiency is the best starting point.

However we can also minimise cost, in particular the times we use power. We all know from our home energy bills that there are different times of day when using energy is cheaper, and the same can be said for energy consumption within our businesses.

At Northumbrian Water we have a series of cost minimisation projects. At our Water Treatment Works we have SCADA controls which minimise energy use during the daily DUoS and Capacity Market peak periods. Colleagues from our Energy and Business Intelligence teams have worked together to deliver a robust Triad warning system, where the warnings are not only accurate but scheduled in a way that allows operators the best chance of a response that doesn’t compromise our core business activities. Alongside this, we have been working with our supplier to move our most flexible sites onto day-ahead markets, allowing us to take advantage of the daily volatility in electricity pricing using automated pump scheduling software.

FEATURE: ENERGY EFFICIENCY It is important not to forget the people element in this – we have built a Power BI platform that measures the success of this cost minimisation in order that the teams doing the implementing are able to understand the value of their hard work.

Maximise your opportunity.

Technology alone is not sufficient to meet our energy and sustainability goals. Success lies in the adoption, implementation and maintenance of that new technology.

This, again, is where people come in. Having people with the desire and the knowledge to do those things that get the best results, as well as the creative thinking to conceive and bring in new ways of working, is vital.

People, like energy management, are at the heart of our innovation story. Design Sprints, focusing on finding new ways of working, and data hacks are now business as usual for us. One sprint per month is the norm, but we have also made our Innovation Festival an annual event, bringing hundreds of people from all over the world together to develop new thinking.

At the first Innovation Festival we looked at how businesses can improve the environment, how people will live and work in 2030, how we can develop mobile workforces, and how to develop infrastructure that is fit for 21st Century. All of

these areas create opportunities to use energy smarter.

Such partnership working is also at the heart of our innovation activity, with another great example being our work with Newcastle University on the Be:Wise facility in Gateshead. Together, we are working to fill a gap in the way sewage treatment is developed, with a unique facility that allows us to trial scalable ideas at minimal cost.

And we work with partners to create hydro energy at sites including Kielder Water, the largest manmade lake in Northern Europe coupled with the largest hydro scheme in England, and at Grassholme, while solar and wind are a growing part of our energy mix.

Working with Lightsource, we are looking to deliver more than 7MW of power from solar, increasing our self-supply by 10%, and our plans to partner with specialists to store energy on our sites not only supports this strategy, but also makes us more resilient.

Some of our own innovations are also making a big difference. We remain the only water company in the UK to use 100% of its sewage sludge in advanced anaerobic digestions at our sites on Tyneside and Teesside, and we’ve taken that a step further with the implementation of gas to grid at Howdon, the Teesside plant. Another advancement on this is at our Ridge Road facility in Yorkshire,

which is a dedicated renewable energy business using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas from agricultural waste.

Get the right deal.

Purchasing energy is the third part of the mix, when it comes to creating a sustainable energy strategy.

Getting the right type of contract, with the right partner, is so valuable, which is why our relationship with Ørsted is important to our future energy mix. This four-year contract between two flexible, innovative partners, will see us power all 1,858 of our sites using renewables, and is 100% REGO – Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin certificated. This will allow us to achieve 125,000 tonnes of CO2 savings each year.

The way the agreement is shaped also allows us to make the most of hourly price fluctuations at sites where we can manage demand and to protect against over and under use where this isn’t possible.

Furthermore, using Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), we can agree a price for the long-term, giving price certainty AND savings.

The original Holy Grail may be a thing of myth and legends, but we are now light years ahead of the days of Arthurian legend!

MAKING SURE EVERYTHING FLOWS SMOOTHLY Wolseley Infrastructure is a leading provider of Civils and Utilities solutions. We supply the essential products and services that enable our communities and businesses to function.

And keep the country connected.

For superior technical expertise, unrivalled range and availability and friendly and responsive service, speak to us today.

Tel: 0344 2511 999 fusion-utilities.co.uk

Our Utilities Products Include: • Gas pipe • Water pipe • Valves • Hydrants • Metering • Fittings • Fabrication • Chambers and sections • Consumables

instituteofwater.org.uk

89

EMBRACING THE ‘DIGITAL REVOLUTION’ DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLEX, OR COSTLY

A brief case study on why the ‘Digital Revolution’ should be embraced and how digital plant data can be used for optimisation.

With a brief case study, he explains why the ‘Digital Revolution’ should be embraced and shows how digital plant data can be used for optimisation.

Resistance to Digital Over the past few months, I’ve noticed phrases such as “Digital Twin”, “Big Data”, “Artificial Intelligence” and “Machine Learning” appearing in water industry conversations and articles on an ever increasing basis, and, perhaps, rightly so! Computerised modelling and simulations are nothing new, yet the water sector has not yet fully embraced this digital revolution.

by Harry Laing

a PhD Student at Newcastle University, working with Northumbrian Water (NW) to investigate optimal control and operation strategies

90

instituteofwater.org.uk

That’s not me taking a dig at the sector, please don’t misunderstand. There are several reasons why I can understand a slow progression, most likely that any failures for Water Companies can have extremely severe consequences; thus the sector is inherently risk averse.

But it is this risk averse attitude that makes me question the resistance to computerised technologies. For example, a “Digital Twin” (a computer ‘twin’/model of a physical piece of equipment or asset) can be used to simulate abnormal operating behaviours, so operators can plan to prevent catastrophic consequences.

Why wouldn’t you want this aid?

New pieces of equipment can be expensive, but computer models and decision making tools don’t necessarily mean huge investments. Developing a ‘bolt-on’ decision making aid to improve plant robustness for NW’s Wastewater Treatment Plant on Tyneside would be a good summary of my current research.

An Overview of the Plant The Advanced Anaerobic Digestion (AAD) facility was designed to achieve higher biogas (a combination of biomethane and CO2) volumes by pre-treating the sludge in a thermal hydrolysis

FEATURE: ENERGY EFFICIENCY plant (CAMBI). This biogas can be burned in on site ‘gas engines’ to produce electricity, or steam boilers to generate steam for the CAMBI process.

A later addition was a biogas ‘up-grading’ plant where CO2 is removed from the biogas via a stripping column and the biogas quality (calorific value) is raised such that it is suitable for injection into the gas grid; that’s right, part of the Tyneside gas network is powered by Poo! Current operational decisions revolve around sludge levels and subsequently what to do with the biogas they produce: do we use it to make steam, to generate electricity and heat on site, upgrade it and inject into the gas grid for use in our homes, or should we buy it back from the grid to generate electricity?

Optimisation Strategy So, how can we find the optimal biogas distribution on site? I decided against using highly complex non-linear equations or training a Neural Network to mimic plant operation, as these methods can take a long time to formulate and can be extremely computationally expensive.

Instead, I tried a less computationally taxing approach – Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). MILP takes a series of linear equations and inequalities and, when passed through an

optimisation cost function, calculates the best way of running the site.

The tricky part comes in trying to model the plant in a series of linear equations only.

Remember the equation for a straight line (y=mx+c)? That’s essentially all I can work with to create the plant model, just with a few more variables.

Luckily, NW collects and stores thousands of data points every minute. This large database could be seen as a plant logbook, and is often referred to as “Big Data” – literally millions of data points that can be analysed.

It’s still in the early stages of development, but so far the model for biogas distribution alone has over 500 parameters, 20 variables and 24 different linear equations; the MILP model provides the operator with an ‘optimal biogas distribution’ to minimise costs and avoid flaring off biogas, and currently takes only a few seconds to produce results. Operators can now compare how they actually run their plant to the optimal solution, which helps in decision making and operation justification.

“Machine Learning” to the model in the near future, taking historic and fresh plant data to constantly update and validate the model.

Optimisation doesn’t mean spending money Honestly I could write pages on my work, but the point I’m trying to make is that embracing this new digital revolution won’t always cause drastic physical change to your process, or require you to spend much money either. Computer models come in many varying forms, and not all of them are so complex, scary or costly; most can be generated with a little plant expertise, and the data you already have stored away.

Optimisation and innovation doesn’t mean having to spend loads of money on new pieces of equipment. Instead, we can take information we already have and use it to make informed decisions on how we view and operate our existing plant to make savings and efficiency improvements. It’s all just a matter of perspective really.

Currently, the model parameters are fixed, which means if the plant changes the model won’t adapt. I’m going to introduce some

Providing trusted performance Before It is the duty of Scottish Water to provide 1.34 billion litres of drinking water every day, a serious challenge particularly with the diverse landscape for an area its size. So when Water Process Solutions were asked to assist in an upgrade project for a treatment facility in Rawburn, Duns, we were very pleased to get involved.

Scottish Water were looking for a smart approach to replace lime feeders coming to the end of their working life with a proven, robust, reliable and supportable system - ideally with increased capacities but most importantly the ability to operate within the existing site control and global monitoring systems.

Working closely with Scottish Water and their nominated contractor, Ross-Shire Engineering, (RSE are a large and very well respected contractor based in Scotland) WPS were able to provide two complete replacement batch

make-up systems to suit not only the larger feed and storage requests but retain much of the existing pipework, installation support structures and the existing control and monitoring systems, therefore enabling the project to be completed at a faster rate and reduced cost.

After

The supply and overall execution was quick, without any delay or issue, with final commissioning and switch over going without a hitch to leave Scottish Water with a clean, tidy and fully functional system with ongoing support from WPS. For further details please contact Aran Bray on 07557 363 728, 01622 719 945, or email aran.bray@waterprocesssolutions.com

01622 719 945 | enquiries@waterprocesssolutions.com

www.waterprocesssolutions.com

instituteofwater.org.uk

91

SELWOOD

WINTER HOME FOR MIGRATING BIRDS PROTECTED BY ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE SOLUTION

Selwood’s pumping solutions specialists rose to an environmental challenge when they were tasked with installing more than 2km of pipework at a protected site that is the winter home for migrating birds.

The 13-mile Swale Estuary in Kent is a key RPSB reserve for birds for overwintering birds, and protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest – meaning any infrastructure work can only be carried out between July and October.

This presented a challenge when work was needed to re-line a length of outfall main piping at a wastewater treatment works at Eastchurch, on the estuary.

While this work was carried out, wastewater that would normally go through the main needed to be overpumped a distance of more than 2,000 metres. There was a need to find a solution that was as efficient as possible, to keep running costs and environmental impact as low as possible.

Following a full on-site assessment and calculation of the flows and pipeline efficiency, Selwood’s team sourced 2.3km 500mm flanged steel pipework which reduced friction loss, resulting in lower running costs for the client and therefore improving the whole life cost of the scheme.

Two pumping systems were required to manage the site as flows varied dramatically, from 160 litres per second in normal flow, to 410 litres per second in storm flow.

A set of 30kw pumps was installed for the dry weather flow, while a generator set-up was configured to start and run only in the event of storm flows to power 70 KW submersible pumps.

92

instituteofwater.org.uk

This intelligent approach was supported by Selwood specialists who managed flows via ultrasonic-level controls and variable speed drives.

James Sinnock, Strategic Account Manager for Selwood, said: “Minimising environmental impact was key to the success of this demanding application. Our expertise came to the fore in designing a variable pumping set-up which resulted in a significant reduction in both the running costs and carbon footprint of the scheme.

“This project demonstrates Selwood’s commitment to environmental excellence and was also an example of collaborative working between partners.”

Selwood is the number one pump rental solutions provider in the UK , offering outstanding service from a national network of branches. Selwood offers site visits, installation and maintenance services backed by a 24/7, 365 days-a-year emergency callout system.

Selwood’s status as both a rental provider and a renowned manufacturer of pumps gives it a unique position in the water industry market.

A global leader in pump innovation, this year saw the company expands its market-leading S range of solids handling pumps with the introduction of the new S160Eco solids handling pump, which delivers increased performance and near-silent operation from an environmentallyfriendly engine.

The S160Eco, housed in Selwood’s renowned Super Silent canopies, is the quietest pump on the market as tested against EU directive 2000/14/EC and is designed to meet stringent EU Stage IIIB emissions regulations.

The S160Eco complements other Selwood units that are known across the sector for their quality and environmental compliance, including the S150 Electric. Available with an environmentallyfriendly 30KW IE3 electric motor, the unit has been developed for large infrastructure schemes and major water providers are now renting the pump.

Chris Garrett, CEO of Selwood, said: “Customers in the water and wastewater sector are increasingly seeking to reduce emissions, and ever more stringent regulations make it paramount that Selwood remains at the forefront of environmentally-friendly technology.

“Our customers expect quality, performance and innovation, and we are very proud of our new additions which offer more choice from Selwood’s market-leading solids handling range.

“As a long-standing and trusted provider of quality pumps to the water industry, we have already seen significant demand for our newest units across both rental and sale.”

For more information about Selwood pumps, visit www.selwood.co.uk

VEOLIA

FEATURE: ENERGY EFFICIENCY

ARE WE ON THE VERGE OF A CARBON NEUTRAL WASTEWATER INDUSTRY Energy costs can be one of the biggest overheads in the wastewater treatment process.

Making savings through improved energy efficiencies not only has environmental benefits, but considerable economic benefits, too. What is just as important to consider is that a raw product required to generate energy is biogas, a by-product of the wastewater process that is in plentiful supply on site, right where it is needed.

year, Seafield generated 56% of this on site.

This, of course, meant that the site was buying in 44% of its electricity. Through targeted energy efficiency interventions and a focus on increasing energy production and greater optimisation in the treatment process, energy generation on site increased to 82% in 2016 and 84% in 2017.

Wastewater treatment works can be energy intensive operations, requiring a continuous and voluminous supply of energy to power the many pumps, motors, engines and plant required to treat the waste produced by the thousands of homes and businesses in their catchment. The process must run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, such is the amount of waste being produced by human activity in towns, cities and rural communities. With environmental standards becoming increasingly stringent, there is no capacity in the system to reduce output or limit the wastewater treatment process as a means of saving energy.

Thus far in 2018, the interim energy generation figure has broken in to the ninety percents, (93% as of October 2018).

Therefore the challenge in the wastewater industry is to lower its carbon footprint by improving energy efficiencies on site. This can be achieved by adopting circular economy principles in to the process and turning what was a discarded waste in to a reusable asset.

The daily flow that arrives at a treatment plant contains energy waiting to be captured and converted. Extracting the energy in wastewater by utilising anaerobic digestion to produce biogas to fuel a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) facility, allows wastewater plants to produce some or all of their own electricity, potentially heading towards the point of becoming zero net consumers of energy.

The goal of energy neutrality has been achieved in various parts of the world. At Sofia, Bulgaria, one wastewater treatment plant, operated by Veolia, already generates 120% of its energy requirements.

Closer to home, one such facility that has risen to the energy production challenge is the Seafield Wastewater Treatment Works in Edinburgh, also run by Veolia.

Over the past few years, Veolia has targeted energy efficiency coupled with renewable energy production and optimisation and the results speak for themselves.

Back in 2015, from the total energy used in the

This is edging ever closer to the point of complete energy self-sufficiency, and the energy savings over time are hugely significant both in terms of carbon reduction, and in economic terms too, with hundreds of thousands of pounds being saved from buying in energy from the grid.

At Seafield, the treatment of wastewater sludge relies on a combination of anaerobic digestion of the organic matter, combined with thermal hydrolysis (TH), this means two valuable byproducts – biogas and biomass are produced.

The biogas fuels the onsite energy needs, whilst the dewatered digestate (biomass), which is pasteurised through the TH process, can be used by local farmers as a nutrient and phosphorus rich soil additive.

Both the biogas and biomass products are valuable income generators that have the potential to save on-site costs and create new revenue streams. And to think that up until recently, sites such as Seafield were doing the reverse, importing the majority of their energy needs and paying for sludge disposal!

This has all come about through a shift in how the industry views sludge, and how firms like Veolia are tackling the challenges of the circular economy head on. With around 1.6 million tonnes of municipal wastewater treatment sludge produced annually, there is great potential to revolutionise the environmental impact of wastewater treatment throughout the UK and create an additional revenue stream for operators whilst focusing on green sustainable solutions.

Companies like Veolia are charging forward with thermal hydrolysis reactors, such as Veolia’s Bio Thelys™ or Exelys™, which improves the biodegradability of the sludge (improving the yield of biogas) which also generates a significantly more cost-effective enhanced biomass product. This leads to an overall decrease in sludge volume as a result of

hydrolysis, which effectively doubles the capacity of the existing digesters. This increased capacity could then allow for the importation of material from nearby treatment works to be accommodated, reducing the cost of sludge treatment across a number of sites, rather than just at one facility.

The water industry is already gaining from the best practices developed in other sectors and this approach also has reciprocal advantages.

Advances in CHP technology, both mains gas and biogas fired plant using farm slurry or other organics, are now driving the efficiency and availability of this type of plant with Veolia alone now delivering 560 GWh a year of renewable electricity from biogas. Other innovations include injection of cleaned biogas on to the gas grid from plants such as Leeming Biogas - a site using 80,000 tonnes of processor food waste and by-products to provide enough gas for the equivalent of 4,000 homes as well as generating all its own power requirements.

As both a technology provider and an operator, Veolia has a clear understanding of the operational requirements and challenges of sludge processing and renewable energy generation, with a strong track record across its different business divisions - water, waste and energy. With the ability to design, build and operate sludge treatment assets and biogas-fired plants, Veolia is perfectly positioned to lead the way in energy efficiency improvements which in turn will lead to substantial environmental benefits and a greater economic return.

The future of a carbon neutral wastewater industry might be closer than you think.

instituteofwater.org.uk

93

BUSINESSCARDDIRECTORY MaNuFacTuRERs & suppliERs OF valvEs, FiTTiNgs & siTE sOluTiONs FOR ThE uk & glOBal waTER, wasTE waTER & gas iNdusTRiEs

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

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

Northampton Office 8 Rushmills, Northampton, NN4 7YB, England T: +44 (0) 1604 601188 F: +44 (0) 1604 604818 E: customerservice@avkuk.co.uk

www.avkuk.co.uk

Tel: 07884 004 802 E-mail: u.d.s@live.co.uk Web: utilitydesignservices.com Web: utilitydesignservices.co.uk Proactive and professional civil engineering design consultancy services.

We have extensive experience and expertise within the design of water network distribution & water network trunk mains. From initial overview through to detail civil design, while also equipped to provide planning, project management and construction support services.

We would welcome the opportunity to visit you for an initial consultation to discuss your aims and needs. We would endeavour to incorporate our design and engineering solutions to match your business requirements.

UK distributors and Technical Support of Dorot Flowcontrol valves.

Surge control systems and compressed air engineering from Quantum Engineering Developments Ltd

Tel: 01527 577888

www.surgevessels.co.uk

Unrivalled service, unrivalled product offering

EK Business Centre, 14 Stroud Road, East Kiride, Glasgow G75 0YA T: 01355 246235 E: info@mccraetraining.co.uk www.mccraetraining.co.uk

As experts in procurement with single-source capability, FWB provides an expansive range of products to suit water industry requirements.

CABWI / SQA / EUSR Accredited Centre offering a comprehensive range of training services: • Water Industry Registration Scheme (WIRS) - Training Packages • Network Construction Operations (Water) • SW DOMS (Modules 1-13) National Water Hygiene • Utility SHEA (Water & Waste Management & Core) • Safe Control of Mains Connections (Water) • NRSWA Street Works Courses for Supervisors and Operatives • Water Industry Modern Apprenticeships

Whatever your requirements, we offer a suitable & competitive solution with the very best product and technical expertise.

Whieldon Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 4JE Tel: 01782 744333 Fax: 01782 744577 www.fwb.co.uk email: sales@fwb.co.uk

SPRING EDITION 2019 - PUBLISHED END FEB

JimJam Media is a specialist contract publishing company with particular expertise in compiling and publishing industry specific journals, magazines and other publications for professional industry bodies as well as industry and business support organisations.

Martin Jameson Tel: 07342 850 289 Email: martin@jimjammedia.com www.jimjammedia.com

94

instituteofwater.org.uk

Publisher to the

■■

Risk

■■

Customer Experience

■■

Environment

■■

Sewerage Solutions

To advertise your company contact Martin Jameson on 07342 850289 or martin@jimjammedia.com

EASTERNAREANEWS

CONGRATULATIONS BEN TAM The Eastern Area would like to congratulate Ben Tam on being the Eastern Area Committee Member of the Year, 2018.

A great achievement which is due to the consistent support and effort that Ben has put into the Institute of Water over his time as a member. Well done Ben.” “We would also like to congratulate Graham Powell who was awarded the Environmental Professional of the Year 2018 by the Society of Environment (SocEnv) and the Institute of Environmental Scientists (IES). This is a great achievement, well done Graham.

SIZEWELL B VISIT On Thursday 27th September we were lucky enough to join a touring party to Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station on the Suffolk Heritage Coast.

Not coming from an engineering background but rather an agricultural one, it was a privilege to not only tour and be guided around a nuclear power plant by hugely knowledgeable guides but also to be part of a group whose day to day business activities were more related to the Energy Industry.

Some of the things that I have most notably taken away with me include just the enormous scale physically as well as financially and the responsibility this brings. Be it socially, corporately and environmentally.

In the agricultural industry there is often much loathing of ‘red tape’ but it appeared to me that not only is it embraced here but also internally added to, to ensure that all systems are as good as possible and work in an efficient manner.

The Health and Safety policy for the sight was an eye opener as well, as justifiably it should be, but the level of detail that everybody on site understood and adhered to the procedure was truly first class.

Overall, I felt that there was a number of cross sector industry learnings that could be taken from the visit and implemented in to a farming business, although I think we would be hard pushed to argue that we should hold £50

million worth of parts in the workshop to keep us rolling!

We would like to thank The Institute of Water, Claret Civil Engineering Limited, Anglian Water particularly Graham Powell and finally EDF Energy for the experience and insight into

nuclear power production and we can safely say we thoroughly enjoyed it and both took a lot away from the day.

By Charlie Trembath and India Gibbons, attendees of the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station visit.

instituteofwater.org.uk

95

NORTHERN IRELANDAREANEWS

A FISHING TRIP

By Sean Milligan, Northern Ireland Water The IWater fishing trip offering was intriguing me as the most recent fishing I had done was getting the last bit of battered scampi out of the middle of a pile of chips or retrieving the kids upside down goldfish from the top of the bowl to dispose of in an environmentally friendly way and that definitely does not mean flushing him off down the toilet. This was billed as a much more authentic experience.

We arrived up at Portrush harbour on a fresh sunny morning to be greeted

by Keith Hunt and Lilian Parkes (thanks for organising). More arrived, nine in total, and then the boat pulled in and moored and the skipper got us all safely on board. So that was the first test passed. I remarked that the boat was akin to the one that Hooper and Brody chartered in the film Jaws, called the Orca. As we sailed out of the harbour and into deeper waters the skipper, Quint briefed us on fishing methods using the supplied equipment as we all appreciated the views of the coastline from the sea. We arrived at our first location and all started fishing in approximately 100m depth of water according to the Orca’s depth finder.

The fish were slow to start biting but once they did it was a mass frenzy of fish landing. How cruel it was to see those impressive mackerel being dehooked and gasping for water/oxygen. Between people getting inadvertently clobbered by mackerel being swung around to the fish crate, lines getting

tangled, Derek Crabbe laughing, Lillian landing the weirdest looking fish of the day, feeding the gannats and gulls with bits of fish, Michael Bergins enthusiasm and the craic and banter it was the best days fishing ever.

At the end of the day the skipper got us back to port in the Orca without needing to get a bigger boat and the big shark remained elusive. Off we all went that Friday with loads of mackerel in the boot of our cars after a bit more networking in the harbour bar. I forgot about the fish in the boot over that warm weekend until Sunday morning when my wife and kids got into the car to quickly get out again after almost being sick. Such laughing I did from the driver’s seat and reminisced again about Friday. Brilliant day and memories.

LUNCH AND LEARN

by Gordon Johnston On the 28th September, the Northern Ireland Area hosted a lunch and learn at AECOM Belfast’s offices. The topic was the Jeddah Spillway project and was presented by David McKillen and David Leemon. The project involved the upgrade of several dams in cascade to allow them to pass a probable maximum flood event. Through AECOM’s design team the project was computationally and physically modelled to come up with the optimum design solution which also saved the client a significant amount of money. The challenges faced throughout

96

instituteofwater.org.uk

WATERAID BALL

the project included a language barrier and cultural differences as well as a tight time frame for the project to be delivered. David and David clearly presented the design and challenges on this unique project and gave a very interesting overview of a project from a country which faces very different water demands than us.

It was interesting to hear how the design team were able to save the client significant amounts of money by coming up with an online solution instead of using the anticipated offline solution.

The Northern Ireland Area Committee supported the WaterAid Ball, held in Belfast City Europa Hotel. This was a great chance to socialise with colleagues from across the water industry. A great night’s craic all for a worthy cause.

MIDLANDSAREANEWS

2018/19 EVENTS CALENDAR Led by new President Bob Stear, the Midlands Area has published their events calendar for the next 12 months.

The committee has worked together to create a fun and engaging events calendar that will appeal to a variety of members. “Meet the

committee” was the first event of the year and took place on 27th November. This was an opportunity for those interested in the Institute of Water membership, professional development, or wanting to know more about the Midlands events, to come down and have a chat with the committee. If you would like to know more about any of our events, please get in contact with Rose Jolly via rose.jolly@severntrent.co.uk

The future of Bio-resources site tour Jan 2019 Supplier visit Feb 2019 Innovation Awards March 2019 Development Day April 2019 President’s Party April 2019 Football golf day May 2019 Lunch with AMP7! June 2019 Annual golf day June 2019 President’s festival day Sept 2019 Spernal Model Area - site visit Oct 2019

Meet the committee Nov 2018 Water Industry Tinder (Networking) Dec 2018

WELCOME NEW COMMITTEE MEMBERS Bob Steer, Area President Our new Area President, Bob Stear is currently the Chief Engineer at Severn Trent Plc. His career splits into two halves; the first in operations management of sewage treatment and water production facilities serving circa two million customers and the second in strategic planning and innovation. His current role includes overseeing Innovation, Standards

Gary Cox, Area Forum Rep Gary is from South Staffordshire Group Plc currently working for Onsite Ltd – Pipelines Division. His work involves contract managing a number of departments/contracts within the division particularly concentrating on works for AMEY Utilities and specialist works that include under pressure valve installations, line stopping and keel cutting.

Heidi Knapton, Committee Member Heidi Knapton has just started a new challenge as Metering Strategy Manager at South Staffs Water.

She began her career at Severn Trent Water for five years, starting on the Graduate Scheme. Her last role was in the post of Alarm Optimisation Lead within Network Control. She’s now looking forward to getting stuck into the metering world, helping customers embrace a fairer basis of charge that will also feed

Naval Phandey, Committee Member Naval is another new Area Committee Member.

Naval currently works as a Sales Manager at Teekay Couplings. He has a keen interest in creating an events plan for the Midlands Area that will be both engaging and relevant to suppliers and SMEs.

(operational and design) and Health, Safety and Wellbeing. Bob is a chartered Environmental Engineer and has a PhD in the glamorous world of sewage treatment processes. Bob has several interests including football, golf and music but his latest exciting news is that he has just bought a small fishing boat – so expect to see him practising his knots!

Gary said: “I joined the Institute of Water with an intent to help with development and transformation within my own business focussing on all employees understanding of what the industry is and what it touches. The Institute of Water offers the chance for non-operational people or developing supervisors and managers to attend events that can help them understand how the water industry works and interacts with everyday life that they may have previously overlooked.” into the current challenges we face as an industry around our leakage levels. When not at work, she can be found in her regular insanity classes at the gym, or running in the countryside.

Heidi Knapton said “I’m honoured to be joining the Committee as I am keen to meet new people and contribute to the wonderful events calendar – exciting times ahead!”

For example, Naval will play a key role in organising the Midlands area networking event in December and also a supplier visit in February.

instituteofwater.org.uk

97

NORTHERNAREANEWS

NORTHERN AREA AUTUMN SEMINAR Set over two days, the 22nd and 23rd November, the Northern Area Committee hosted their flagship event, the Northern Area Autumn Seminar.

Held at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, Northern Area President, Alex Bolton (Network Business Manager at United Utilities) opened the seminar with the burning question – how do we make the water industry more attractive to the next generation? The two days also discussed technological advancement, digitalisation and robotics, and Privatisation vs. Nationalisation.

Each water company in the Northern Area were represented, with talks on attracting new talent from Sophie Pickup (Northumbrian Water), and digitalisation from Neil Dewis (Yorkshire Water) and Simon Kirham (United Utilities).

Both days were concluded with a lively debate on Robotics and Privatisation vs Nationalisation.

A number of water industry experts joined re, including Nick Ellins (Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills Group), Prof Ian Barker (MD at Water Policy International), Wez Little (Innovations Director at Synthotech) and Noela Fitton and Colin Jellicoe (Morrison Utility Services).

Joining the speaker line-up from outside the water industry were intelligence led consultants from Datatecnics, Geek Talent, +ADD Strategy and i2i.

The event was a lively and interactive learning experience and a great networking opportunity.

Thursday was rounded off with a social night at

98

instituteofwater.org.uk

TECHNICAL VISIT TO UNITED UTILITIES’ United Utilities organised a technical visit around United Utilities’ Nereda plant at Kendal Wastewater Treatment Works, South Lakes, Cumbria.

By Krishnan Narayanan Nereda is a new technology to the UK Water Industry and is an advancement of the conventional activated sludge process. the local Griffin pub with a challenging pub quiz, followed by a local karaoke bar.

There was even time to present an award.

Paul Henderson, Northern Area Chair and seminar attendee said: “This was a great event, and my last as Area Chair, at which I was delighted to be able to present our Committee Member of the Year Award to Victoria Ross, who is current Vice-Chair, and will take over as Chair in May 2019. Victoria was credited by her fellow committee members as consistently the most active individual on the Northern Area Committee and described as the “engine room” within the team.” A well-deserved award Victoria. Well done and thank you for fantastic support again this year!

The investment at Kendal follows on from two years of trialling this innovative technology which offers a low carbon footprint solution. The investment at Nerada will allow United Utilities to treat Kendal’s wastewater in a more sustainable and cost-effective way – good news for customers and good news for the environment!

The afternoon was packed with exciting presentations, modelling and a site tour of the process. You can see photographs from the event, and hear some of the great feedback received from attendees in the next Institute of Water magazine.

SOUTHWESTAREANEWS

CHANGES TO OUR AREA COMMITTEE We are delighted to welcome two new Committee members and sad to say goodbye to one:

Tom Arnott joined us from Bath University.

He is linked with the Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC) and Water Informatics (WISE) programme and is particularly looking forward to extending our reach through links with other organisations.

Brandon Morris joined us from Wessex Water.

Brandon is one of the 2017 cohort of apprentices that joined IWater South West earlier this year.

Jason Harvey from South West Water has stepped down from the Committee but remains a member.

ASSET MANAGEMENT EVENT On the 10th September we held an event jointly with Pipeline Industries Guild (PIG) “Asset Management – What does the Future hold”.

We heard perspectives from Bristol Water and Wessex Water, before the evening concluding with Andrew McArthur, of RSKW Ltd, sharing thoughts from other sectors.

UPCOMING EVENTS It’s been another busy events season for the South West Area and we are excited to have mastered our new webinar software, so people from across the country can also take part in our events.

It also means we can circulate the recording for those unable to make the event on the day. We have more events planned each month in 2019 on a variety of technical and skills based topics to a spring weekend school on Jersey, watch out for details of this soon!

As always thanks to our sponsors for their support.

FUTURE OF WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT EVENT On the 18th October the Environment Agency (EA) hosted a half day event focused on the future of water resources in the South West.

This fully-booked event looked at all the different pressures and drivers on water resources, and demonstrated how many different parties including regulators, water companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and industry abstractors are working together to manage our environment.

We were delighted to welcome a number of new faces and potential new members, particularly from the EA and NGOs. Jonathan Dennis of the EA told us: “This was a lively and thought-provoking event on the future of water resources management generally with a focus on the south west. I always find these opportunities to meet colleagues from other organisations and share perspectives rewarding and this was no exception”.

instituteofwater.org.uk

99

SOUTHEASTAREANEWS

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WASTEWATER TECHNICIAN

In October a group of South East members visited Southern Water’s Motney Hill WwTW/STC in Kent to learn more about life on the front line of wastewater treatment.

The day started with the Field Performance Manager, Senior Process Scientist and Site Operators all giving an explanation of their job roles and how they contribute to successful running of the site. They also talked everyone through the processes, explaining how they work and their purpose.

This was followed by a detailed walkover of the plant itself from the inlet main to the discharge point, looking at both the wastewater treatment works and sludge treatment centre.

100

instituteofwater.org.uk

After the tour everyone adjourned to the office for vigorous handwashing and a sandwich lunch, where informal discussion continued. The site team were a mine of information and anecdotes and feedback on the event was very positive.

“I really enjoyed the day and it was a good opportunity for me to learn more about treatment work processes, as well as the roles of site operator and scientist. The tour itself was very informative. We had visited all the key areas of the treatment works and all my questions were answered. This is especially useful for me since

I rarely get the opportunity to leave the office, and to be there in person rather than looking at it as a model on my screen. I would definitely go again if similar opportunities come up in the future, and would recommend others to do so as well.” Jack Chen, Southern Water Our thanks go to Southern Water for hosting this event, and in particular our guides Brian, Alex, Bob and Mark for an incredibly informative trip.

SCOTTISHAREANEWS

SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT LUNCH BYTE

By Flora Duff, Scottish Water The Lunch Byte discussion, led by Dr Fraser Leith, provided insight into the vital work being carried out by the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) team in Scottish Water. From catchment investigations to planning and collaborative research, the team is protecting and improving water quality.

Catchment scale analysis is a key tool for assessing water quality and identifying sites at risk from a number of water quality pressures.

For example, long term trends in seven core parameters (colour, iron, manganese, total carbon, turbidity, coliforms, pH) have been assessed from 2013-2017. The analysis highlights that in many areas across Scotland water quality is deteriorating, with colour concentrations increasing in many sources. The cause of increasing colour trends in many places is related to the current state of Scotland’s peat soils. Many peatlands are in a degraded state

due to land management activities, atmospheric deposition and artificial drainage. Dissolved organic carbon and colour is entering into water sources as a result.

To assesses areas of degrading peatland and the impact on water quality, a natural organic matter (NOM) catchment risk assessment was carried out, combining catchment data (land cover and soils data) with water quality data to create a NOM Risk Index. This highlighted that the highest priority is within the north and west of Scotland, and sites, where applicable, will be explored further for peatland restoration. Sandy Loch in Shetland is a key example of a successful peatland restoration carried out by Scottish Water.

A similar risk assessment was carried out for algae to assess taste & odour risk across Scotland. The catchment risk (land use & runoff

ANNUAL FISHING COMPETITION

risk) was combined with a public health risk, water quality data and customer contacts to create an Algae Risk Index. This tool is being used to inform sampling requirements for the two main taste and odour compounds (geosmin & 2-MIB) across Scotland.

The catchment based assessments discussed highlight a shift within the SLM team, and within the wider UK water industry, to more detailed catchment analysis/research to ensure that decision making is evidence-based.

This type of analysis can then inform land management and wider business decision making in drinking water supply catchments.

Look out for details of our next Lunch Byte sessions! Remember, attendance at Lunch Bytes contributes towards your CPD.

CONGRATULATIONS VIVIENNE DELL!

Sponsored by Ecotec and WGM Engineering, two boats left from Oban to Loch Etive at 9am on 25thAugust. The boats were at capacity as 22 members and family embarked on a day of relaxation and banter. Robbie Vennard kindly donated the French Brandy for the Tight Line toast before we set off.

After scores were altered according to the rules (no crabs or anemones – nice try!) there was a change in the title as Scott McCrae emerged as the winner with Heaviest Catch going to Andy Spiers 4 3/4lb Spurdog. Alan Dick donated a bottle of whisky for the Heaviest Catch. This year there was competition for Junior Winner, which went to Ross Chambers. The winning boat was the Laura Down with 11 more fish caught, but the crew of the Creagallan agreed they were there only for the BANTER!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD Congratulations to Scottish Area Committee Member Rachael Picken on the birth of her beautiful baby boy! Fergus Alexander Picken arrived on Saturday 1st September at 20.45 weighing 8 pounds 3oz and big brother Arthur is slowly getting used to him now…

Baljit Mann of Ecotec and Willie Mackay of WGM provided lunch, refreshments and goodie bags to all. Thanks goes to Ecotec and WGM for their continued support of sponsorship and of IWater. As always thanks to Jack MaGregor and Ronnie Campbell, skippers of the MV Creagallan and Laura Dawn.

Another great day was topped off by a slap up meal in Oban for those staying over. For those camping, it was a rainy night and Sunday morning. Give it another go Caroline!

This year the Institute of Water introduced a new award to recognise outstanding Area committee members from across the UK. We are delighted to announce that Vivienne Dell, has been awarded the Scottish Area Committee Member of the Year.

Vivienne was nominated by her fellow committee members which is a great reflection of the impact she has been making. Her nomination said: “There are a few committee members who do a really good job but over the past year, Vivienne has been exceptional. Often flying under the radar she is a committed and trusted member of our committee.

She is a fantastic treasurer, ensuring our accounts and business plans are accurate and completed. She has developed an event spreadsheet for costing and recording accounts which is very useful. She also volunteers to organise events and be part of sub-teams. A real asset”.

instituteofwater.org.uk

101

WELSHAREANEWS

DOM SCOTT WINS REGIONAL & NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBER OF THE YEAR 2018 The Institute of Water Welsh Area would like to congratulate Dominic Scott on his recent win as Regional & National Committee Member of the Year.

Dom is a Drainage Policy Manager in the Waste Water Assets Team at Welsh Water, and current Chair and Area Forum Rep for the Welsh Area.

Dom not only won the Welsh Regional Committee Member of the Year, but also won the National Committee Member of the Year Award, with four other members from across the UK, after being nominated by his fellow committee members.

To be considered for the award, candidates must prove they have had a positive effect on members and membership in their area, have a positive impact on their own Area Committees, continuously engage with the Institute of Water and demonstrate behaviour in line with Institute of Water’s vision and values.

Dom has taken the helm as Chairman of the Welsh Area committee this year for the second time, with his first stint as Chair back in 2010.

His outstanding and ongoing contribution is greatly valued, which has now been recognised at a national level. Some quotes from fellow committee members include: “Dom has been the driving force behind all that this area has achieved these past few years and I believe that it is no coincidence that his period as chair has coincided with a time when our membership was highest and the area has been most successful.”

“Dom has done all this in the humble manner in which he always conducts himself, seeking

neither praise nor recognition for his efforts.

I can think of no better way to recognise his significant contribution to the area (and Institute) than to be the first recipient of Committee Member of the Year Award.”

To find out more about the Institute of Water, including membership see the IoW Website, and to enquire about joining the Welsh Area Committee contact Gemma Williams on Gemma.

Williams2@ dwrcymru.com. There are lots of interesting and rewarding roles and events you can get involved in.

WELSH AREA AUTUMN FORUM - THE FATE AND IMPACT OF MICROPLASTICS On the 31 October, the Institute of Water Welsh Area Autumn Forum took place at Welsh Water’s Linea office in St Mellons, Cardiff, on the topic of “The Fate and Impact of Microplastics”.

Tony Harrington, Welsh Water’s Director of Environment, opened the event with a brief introduction to the day and an eye opening video created by City to Sea to highlight the need to stop flushing wet wipes.

Matt Hill, Lead Environmental Advisor for Yorkshire Water, took the first session and highlighted how strictly regulated the UK water industry is, in particular treating wastewater and recycling it back to the environment, whilst also protecting public health and the environment. With no specific microplastic regulations currently existing, his presentation gave an overview of the most common plastics and microplastics that are flushed into the sewers, and the impact that has on wastewater treatment. This was followed by Welsh Water’s Environment Strategy & Research Manager, Paul Henderson’s talk on the regulation of microplastics and how difficult it is to standardise and measure them.

Joanna Bradley from SDS Water Infrastructure Systems followed, who gave a passionate talk about microplastics that occur from road runoff (car tyres, road marking paint and ‘anti-skid’

102

instituteofwater.org.uk

surfaces) and the contribution these have to the overall accumulation of pollution of microplastics in water courses – over 50 %!

She highlighted the importance of identifying the source of the plastic fragments and the associated pollution, with quite shocking results. The last presentation of the morning was from Fred Windsor, of Cardiff University, discussing his PhD work on microplastics in Welsh river systems.

As the theme for the day was “The Fate and Impact of Microplastics”, it was important to us that this was also reflected in the catering arrangements. As a company, Welsh Water is doing a great deal of research on microplastics and supports the reduction of single-use plastic and promotion of alternative, compostable products. It was great to see a plastic-free event by catering provider at Welsh Water’s offices in Linea, Cardiff.

After lunch and an opportunity for networking, the afternoon began with an interactive session, looking at a series of questions surrounding the topic of microplastics.

Interesting discussions took place and innovative ideas were brought forward on how to tackle the issue of microplastics.

Further talks from Laura Foster from the Marine Conservation Society and Freya Radford from

the University of Southampton continued the afternoon session, looking at microplastics in the marine environment and in in-land and freshwater water bodies.

After coffee and cake, Lydia Makin, one of Welsh Water’s clean water Graduates, showed us a short video of her research trip to four cities, Bristol, Dublin, Paris and London, where she looked at how the different cities use water fountains and refill stations, how they’re tackling the excessive use of single-use plastics and what role water companies can have in this.

Susan Jay, from WRAP Cymru, presented on the importance of recycling and how we all need to continue to play our part in recycling.

There were two further presentations from Tom Stanton, from the University of Nottingham, and Amy Lloyd, from Keep Wales Tidy.

Tony Harrington brought the day to a close.

There was a good turnout and the overall feedback was that this was very a positive event and many felt it increased their awareness of microplastics in the environment and identified that it is an area that we will need to address in the coming years. Thank you to everyone who attended.

Securing National Infrastructure

LPCB Security Housings, Doors, Bar-sets, Cages and Access Covers Steel and GRP Buildings and Cabinets Tested to LPS 1175 SR2 and SR3 and SR4 Please refer to Red Book Live for full listings

Morgan Marine Ltd., LlandybĂŻe, Ammanford, Carms SA18 3GY

Telephone: 01269 850 437 Email: sales @morgan-marine.com Web: www.morgan-marine.com

Pumps setting the standards for environmental excellence

Selwood’s reputation as the UK’s number one pump rental provider is built on the quality, reliability and longevity of our range of pumps.

Designed for the most demanding applications, our pumps are trusted by water industry providers and set the benchmark for emission compliance.

Choose Selwood’s industry-leading solids handling “S” pumps for environmentally-friendly solutions for overpumping, long distance water transfer and dewatering.

For more information on our products call today on 03330 142000

www.selwood.co.uk

Available for rental and sale, all our pumps come with the Selwood guarantee of specialist support, unrivalled expertise and outstanding service.