WET News

NOVEMBER "One of the difficulties in the whole regulated sector is that the very existence of the regulator infers that there is a need for a policeman to hold to account or, if necessary, arrest the offenders – who are the utility companies. That creates an environment in which there is a natural presumption against utilities." National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) chair Sir John Armitt at the Utility Week Congress in October £5M Severn Trent is investing £5 million to build a new service reservoir in Nottinghamshire. The new underground reservoir, which is currently being built on land in Kirkby-in- Ash eld, will replace the existing reservoir in the same area £240M Northern Ireland Water has announced it is releasing contracts to a value of £240 million over the next 18 months, with a particular focus on mobile work management, water and waste residuals and networks maintenance "Thames Water is undergoing a major period of change and I am delighted to be joining the board at such an important time in the company's evolution." Thames Water's new independent non-executive director, Jill Shedden, joins as the company reviews its corporate structure and governance to boost transparency for customers and stakeholders "We are pleased to announce the sale of the access and hard services business as part of Interserve's strategy to focus on core customer segments." Interserve CEO Debbie White on the agreement to sell its infrastructure and industrial access and hard services business to Enigma Industrial Services for an initial £3.6 million IN A NUTSHELL 2 WET NEWS NOVEMBER 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk 64 United Utilities has appointed 64 new 'leak detectives' as the company tries to meet its 15 per cent leakage target for the end of AMP7 T hames Tideway Tunnel chief executive Andy Mitchell has been named as the new co-chair of the Con- struction Leadership Council (CLC). Mitchell, who will chair his ƒ rst meeting of the CLC in early November, replaces Andrew Wolstenholme, who departs a… er three years in the role. Mitchell joined Tideway full time in early summer 2014. He was previously programme director and a board member at Crossrail and has a wealth of experience both from projects in the United Kingdom and overseas. A… er 12 years working in the United Arab Emirates, France and South Africa, as well as on major developments such as Hong Kong Airport and the Hong Kong West Rail, he joined Network Rail in 2001. He was project director for Network Rail's Southern Power Upgrade project, and was also the major programme director of the Thameslink Programme. Mitchell is a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, former chair of the Infrastructure Industry Innovation Platform (i3P), and a… er four years has recently stepped down as chairman of the Infrastructure Client Group (ICG). He has been awarded the ˜ Tideway chief executive to replace Andrew Wolstenholme Construction Leadership Council names Mitchell as its new co-chair CBE for his services to Civil Engineering. "I was honoured to be approached for the role as CLC co-chair at what is an exciting and challenging time for both the council and the sector as a whole," he said. "Securing a sector deal was a huge achievement, and I look forward to building on the strong foundations laid by Andrew and the team as we move into implementation." Hannah Vickers, chief executive of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), welcomed Mitchell's appointment. She said: "I'm delighted to see that Andy Mitchell has been appointed as co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council. "His experiences leading Thames Tideway mean he is the ideal person to help the entire construction industry deliver greater eœ ciency, productivity and growth. "Tideway's outstanding work supporting apprenticeships means Andy is well placed to co-ordinate ež orts between the sector and government to bridge the industry's skills gaps." The CLC also thanked Wolstenholme for his time as co-chair, which culminated in the publication of the landmark construction sector deal earlier this year, and added: "We wish him all the best in his new role at BAE Systems." The CLC's other co-chair is Richard Harrington, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 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 COMMENT New ideas and collaboration vital to tackle industry's new challenges Robin Hackett, deputy editor, WET News 3,183 Millions of litres of water lost daily to leakage in England and Wales from April 2017-March 2018 I t remains a diœ cult time for the water industry, and there is little sign that things will get any easier any time soon. Even the regulator has been thrust into the spotlight. Ofwat last year announced it was setting its toughest ever leakage reduction target – at least 15 per cent by the end of 2025 – but the EFRA Select Committee believes the regulator has not gone far enough, suggesting a 50 per cent reduction by 2040 would be more appropriate. With growing scrutiny from politicians, public and press – and a… er a summer that saw hosepipe bans back under discussion – modest improvements to the loss of 3,183 million litres of water a day to leakage might not pass muster in the court of public opinion. Even so, actually cutting leakage down to levels the country deems acceptable may be a less straightforward task. Leakage has dropped by 38 per cent since its peak in the mid- 1990s and there is less scope for easy ƒ xes now. Companies are inevitably having to embrace new ideas to meet the challenge. On page 4 of this issue, for example, there are stories about Anglian Water's use of an adapted form of naval technology to locate leaks and Severn Trent's collaboration on creating and trialling a UK-speciƒ c leak- ƒ nding robot. Many UK companies have now adopted satellite technology, while Thames Water is using satellites, drones and an aeroplane to spot leaks, in addition to the insights from its smart metering programme. Not all the recent leakage initiatives involve brand-new technology – United Utilities brought in a sniž er dog to detect chlorine in rural areas earlier this year – but there are deƒ nitely growing signs of new ideas. A year on from derisive national newspaper headlines about water companies persisting with the medieval practice of dowsing, the emphasis looks to be shi… ing. New ideas will be required in many other areas too. To thrive in an era that demands more from the privatised industry, water companies will need to look to outside sources for inspiration. The supply chain has an important role to play here. As Daressa Frodsham, Atkins' new head of UK water, says in our interview on page 8, there is a need for companies to work collaboratively with their partners to identify the solutions that can meet their needs. Meanwhile, our Alliances supplement returns this month, focusing on another area that relies on good collaboration. As with the industry itself, the list of alliances is approaching a period of change as AMP6 draws to a close, with some water companies having already signalled plans to refresh their approach for the substantial challenges ahead. As Ofwat chief executive Rachel Fletcher has said, the last 12 months can be viewed as "a turning point in the history of the water sector in England and Wales". New thinking may be necessary from all parties.

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