WET News

COMMENT Large and small solutions to flooding James Brockett, Editor, Wet News SEPTEMBER "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 after figures showed the industry as a whole lost more than 3.1 billion litres of water a day last year – an increase of almost 2 per cent £65,000 Southern Water was ned £65,000, plus £44,620 in costs, after pleading guilty to supplying water un t for human consumption from Cooks Castle service reservoir in the Isle of Wight in 2013 €12M Irish Water, working in partnership with Donegal County Council, will spend €12 million on works to replace approximately 40km of ageing water mains across 13 priority sections in Co Donegal. 5,690 The number of properties that were flooded with sewage in England and Wales in 2016-7 "With the onset of climate change, better understanding of the risks trees pose for buried water utility assets is vital to asset maintenance" UKDN Waterfl ow director Richard Leigh on the white paper Drain Maintenance: Getting to the root of the issue, which shows tree root ingress causes hundreds of blocks and leaks in drainage systems each year "The commercial momentum that began two years ago continues" Veolia chairman and CEO Antoine Frérot on the company's 2018 fi rst-half results, which saw group consolidated revenue up 6 per cent at €12,565 million A s was predictable a er such a long, hot and dry summer, this month has seen the threat of localised ooding as heavy showers and rain returned in force to the UK. It's a reminder that drainage and ood resilience remains one of the foremost challenges for the water industry to address as we head into the 2019 price review and the AMP7 period. With the „ rst iteration of water company business plans due out any day now, it's certain that big infrastructure will have its part to play in tackling this central concern. In this issue of WET News we take a look at the Shieldhall Tunnel in Glasgow, a newly completed major project for Scottish Water and its partners which should make all the di‹ erence in preventing sewer ooding and river pollution on Clydeside. It's likely that all of the UK will see many more projects of this type in the years to come, with direct procurement representing an exciting new avenue for stimulating investment in sewer networks. However, in tandem with this, it's hoped that we will also see signi„ cant investment in sustainable drainage, and smaller scale solutions that take the burden of stormwater away from the sewer network. Water companies are not the only stakeholders when it comes to SuDS and the planning departments of local authorities also have a particularly important role to play in promoting green options which do the best for local communities as well as the water assets beneath them. But water company funds and co-ordination could do wonders for many areas as retro„ t projects spark local partnerships into action. Thinking back to the initial planning stage for the Thames Tideway Tunnel in the „ rst half of this decade, there was endless public debate and some vocal protests between those who wanted to see large scale infrastructure solutions and those who favoured smaller scale sustainable approaches. However, the truth is that both are necessary if the UK is to be as resilient as it can be in the face of the threat from climate change. In this issue of WET News you can get a sense of how big contractors can help support water companies achieve this varied programme by reading our interview with Jacobs's Bryan Harvey (p12-13) who talks about presenting a truly 'connected' o‹ ering to the water sector. With resilience being one of Ofwat's four central themes for the coming price review – with innovation, a‹ ordability and customer service the others – it is set to be a leading touchpoint in all the water companies' business plans. The key will be not just preventing ooding that might happen tomorrow, but reducing the potential impact of a 1-in-50-year or 1-in-100-year storm. And money needs to be made available for this investment: it is a classic case of „ xing the roof when the sun is shining. IN A NUTSHELL 2 WET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk 59% A majority of Britons would not support a Government ban on disposable wipes, despite 93 per cent agreeing that the British public needs more education on the dangers of fatbergs, according to new research from Lanes Group plc Founded in 1975 Call 01664 567226 for more information www.dualpumps.co.uk 35,000 square foot distribution centre located in rural Leicestershire Call 01664 567226 for more information UK Official Distributor Since 1983 High Pressure Plunger Pumps UK Distributor since 1991 www.dualpumps.co.uk Dual Pumps 185x131.indd 2 20/07/2018 14:23:54 ADDING VALUE TO INDUSTRY THROUGH SAFETY AND TRAINING Key Benefits City & Guilds Accredited WJA- Approved Instructors New Recruits & Refresher Written Compliance Test Certicate & Photo ID Card Courses Offered Safety Awareness Drain & Sewer Cleaning Pressure Washing Tube & Pipe Cleaning Surface Preparation Hydrodemolition Contact us for details of WJA-Approved Instructors in your area info@waterjetting.org.uk +44 (0) 208 320 1090 www.waterjetting.org.uk Water Jetting Association – Thames Innovation Centre, Veridion Way, Erith, Kent, DA18 4AL, UK WATER JETTING TRAINING FOR THE DRAINAGE INDUSTRY For SAFE and SKILLED use of water jetting equipment High pressure (140 bar | 2000 psi) to ultra-high pressure (3,000 bar | 43,500 psi)

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