WET News

2 WET NEWS NOVEMBER 2017 COMMENT "It's about the use of a better and novel idea. Doing something di• erent..." NOVEMBER 3 Thames is recommissioning three water works to help with the capital's water supply following the dry spring and early summer period. Sites in Brixton, Streatham and Battersea, surplus to requirements, are being switched back on. "I'm delighted to receive this opport- unity to contribute to the Society" Mott MacDonald's technical director for hydrology, Peter Ede, on being elected president of the British Hydrological Society for the next two years. He specialises in catchment yield studies, and WRM modelling. 14% 40% 2,200 The number of vans, cars and tankers that Severn Trent Water has pledged to replace with alternative fuel vehicles. The company's ‰ rst fully electric vans will hit the roads next month. 12 The Water Industry Awards, being held on May 21, 2018, are now in their 12th year. "We now move to linking the tunnel to the existing Glasgow wastewater network and bringing the whole new system into operation next year" Douglas Millican, Scottish Water's chief executive, on the construction phase of the Shieldhall Tunnel having been completed. "We want [water companies] in particular to do three things: ensure their own environmental performance is excellent" EA chief exec- utive James Bevan, on actions the EA wants to see from companies as they plan for the next regulatory cycle. £20M Interserve is starting work on a £20M project that will see Yorkshire Water's Lundwood sewage treatment works in Barnsley become one of the most e— cient wastewater treatment works in the region. Get those Water Industry Awards entries in Y es, they're back for the 12th successive year – the Water Industry Awards, organised by WET News and WWT, are now open for entries. As you know, the awards celebrate and reward forward thinking and best practice in the water industry. There are a variety of categories to choose from including four new ones: Water Company of the Year, Water Industry Contractor of the Year, Sludge & Resource Recovery Initiative of the Year, and Water Resilience Initiative of the Year. Check them out wwtonline. co.uk/awards, where you can also see our fantastic judging line-up; get a downloadable entry pack; and Š nd details of sponsors Concrete Pipeline Systems Association (CPSA), Nomenca Group, and Asset International (Weholite) All companies can enter – large or small – as the awards recognise outstanding innovation and best practice across the industry, no matter the size of the business or the scale of the project, with the winners crowned at a prestigious gala event on May 21, 2018 at The Vox, Birmingham. Innovation is about the use of a better and novel idea. Doing something diš erent, rather than the same thing. So to those companies, teams and individuals that are innovative, full of ground- breaking ideas and all-round excellence – shout about them by getting those entries in. The closing date is Thursday, December 14. Best of luck! Thinking ahead is a positive thing Keeping on the subject of forward-thinking companies, Trant Engineering should be congratulated on its latest strategic move. The engineering and construction company has formed a collaborative partnership with SFC Umwelttechnik, an Austrian- based Š rm specialising in advanced technologies for water and wastewater treatment. Why? Because Trant expects AMP7 will see increasing regulatory pressure for water companies to remove or signiŠ cantly reduce pollutants which are not currently being targeted. "Industry regulators will be rightly looking for ever-higher water quality standards because of advanced new technologies which could not be imagined only a few years ago in a sector where some infrastructure dates back to Victorian times," says Wayne Broadbent, engineering manager at Trant. It's against this backdrop that Trant and SFC have signed the strategic partnership. The two are already rolling out a pilot plant testing in south-east England in order to study local contamination issues. Now that's planning ahead. IN A NUTSHELL Around 40% of rivers in England and Wales are polluted with sewage, says research published by independent conservation organisation WWF. The research provides a river health check and reveals 55% of failing rivers are polluted with sewage – 40% of all our rivers in England and Wales. It cites constant discharge from outdated sewage treatment plants as being the main problem. U nited Utilities (UU) has stated that rainwater running oš agricultural land grazed by livestock was the cause of the cryptosporidi- um contamination that aš ected the water supply for more than 300,000 homes and businesses in Lancashire in August 2015. Lawyers acting for the com- pany told Preston Crown Court that a small amount of the rain- water was able to enter an underground treated water tank through a joint in the structure. Despite regular inspections in line with industry best practice, it is likely the joint was aš ected by small ground movements in the tank structure over time. This, coupled with severe weather and signiŠ cant rainfall on July 27, led to rainwater run- oš entering the underground storage tank at Barnacre, Š ve miles from Franklaw Water Treatment Works. The revelation came as the court hearing into the incident concluded with UU being Š ned £300,000. The Š rm also agreed to £150,000 additional costs. ª Utility ‰ ned as court case concludes over the water supply contamination caused after cryptosporidium was detected at the Franklaw treatment works. Rainwater run-o was root cause of crypto contamination, says UU On July 19, 2017, UU pleaded guilty to the supply of water unŠ t for human consumption in a case brought against it by the Drinking Water Inspector- ate (DWI) under Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (as amended). The incident came about fol- lowing problems with work by UU to repair a leak in a major aqueduct that supplies water from Franklaw WTW. A planned change in operations allowed the entry of contaminated water to the treatment process. This contaminated water came from a service reservoir whose condition allowed the ingress of water containing cryptosporidium. Marcus Rink, chief inspector of Drinking Water, said: "This prosecution was brought about because the company failed to follow nationally recognised and published good practice in assessing the risks of returning stored water to critical stages within the treatment works and to take appropriate and rapid action to protect consumers when the contamination was known." UU has since enhanced its risk management processes at treatment works, tested sup- plies in all 364 water storage tanks, and introduced more rig- orous structural inspections for storage tanks. It has also installed state-of-the-art UV treatment at its Franklaw site. Steve Mogford, UU chief executive, said: "We are very sorry for the impact this had on our customers. I know from Š rst-hand the inconvenience this incident caused... "We have learned valuable lessons from what happened and have put technology and processes in place to guard against a repeat of this type of incident. "Incidents of the kind that aš ected Lancashire in summer 2015 are thankfully extremely rare. The fact that we spotted the bug quickly, through our routine sampling, and immedi- ately issued precautionary advice, minimised the risk of any customer falling ill." PRECAST DRAINAGE SOLUTIONS SALES@FPMCCANN.CO.UK FPMCCANN.CO.UK/DRAINAGE ELLISTOWN OFFICE WHITEHILL ROAD | ELLISTOWN LEICESTERSHIRE | LE67 1ET 01530 240000 MAGHERAFELT OFFICE 3 DRUMARD ROAD MAGHERAFELT | BT45 8QA 028 7964 2558 The benefits of drainage and water management may be measured through a variety of elements. It has the versatility to meet project challenges head-on and can easily handle heavy-duty applications, detailed streetscape designs and sympathetic conservation schemes. In addition, advantages include excellent physical performance, pleasing aesthetic appearance, reconstitution abilities and overall life-long cost- effectiveness. 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