Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1016624
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | SEPTEMBER 2018 | 5 WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT? Workers unearthed rare 260-year-old wooden water pipes during a dig in Edinburgh. Fi een pieces of the elm piping was unearthed during excavation work at George Square, where a new underground heating system is being built by the University of Edinburgh for its new student centre. The wooden pipes were part of an underground network of pipes to supply drinking water that was built in 1756. Welsh Water issued images of reservoirs, including Ffynnon Llugwy in Snowdonia, in early August to highlight how stocks had been affected a er a dry spell that brought just 24 per cent of the average rainfall expected. QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Ambitious action to reduce leakage is long overdue and the recent failure of some water companies to hit their undemanding targets suggests they haven't grasped how important this issue is to customers." Consumer Council for Water chief executive Tony Smith Irish Water has awarded the contract for the design, construction and commissioning of a new water treatment plant at the existing Vartry reservoir site to Veolia Water Ireland Ltd. Once completed, the upgrade will secure the long-term future of the water supply for 200,000 people in Wicklow and south Dublin and ensure it meets all drinking water standards. The construction of the new water treatment plant is part of a €200 million investment in the Vartry Water Supply Scheme. Construction of the plant is due to begin later this year and is expected to be completed in 2020. 3,183,000 Total leakage rose to 3,183 million litres a day in 2017-18, from 3,123 million the previous year, with Bristol, Cambridge, Essex & Suffolk, Hafren Dwfrdwy, Portsmouth, Severn Trent, South Staffs, Thames and Yorkshire falling short of their targets. Environment Secretary Michael Gove told water company bosses to "raise the bar on tackling leaks and agree ambitious new targets." 50% Thames Water has announced that it will re-consult on changes made to its draft WRMP. The company received more than 530 responses to its original dra and has now revised its proposals, including a new target to reduce leakage by 50 per cent by 2050. GOOD MONTH FOR... United Utilities, which was able to call off the hosepipe ban it had planned to implement on 5 August as the result of rainfall and customers' water-saving efforts. The North- West company had been the first in England to announce a Temporary Use Ban, although both Irish Water and Northern Ireland Water actually implemented bans. BAD MONTH FOR Southern Water, which has been fined £65,000, with £44,620 in additional costs, over an incident that affected water for customers and consumers in an area of the Isle of Wight. On 27 July 2018, Southern Water pleaded guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption from Cooks Castle service reservoir between 31 January and 12 February 2013. The site was known to be vulnerable to subsidence and the event occurred because of exploratory investigations into ground conditions around the reservoir involving on-site drilling. The outlet main was ruptured by the drilling rig on 23 January 2013, allowing soil and debris to enter the network. GETTING STARTED NUMBERS LIMITED LEVELS