WET News

6 WET NEWS NOVEMBER 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk NEWS+ Wessex Water using great crested newt detection dog Company pioneers use of springer spaniel to detect amphibians and cut works delays W essex Water has become the rst utility company in the UK to use an in-house great crested newt detection dog to assist in pipe installation projects. Three-year-old springer span- iel Freya has been trained to spot the nocturnal amphibians, with UK and European legisla- tion making it an o• ence to damage or destroy their envi- ronment without a licence from Natural England. The dog is owned and trained by ecologist Nikki Glover, who said: "The Wessex Water region is a stronghold for great crested newts and we come across them when carrying out construction works. "If works are within 250 metres of breeding ponds and we are likely to cause an o• ence under the legislation, we must apply for a licence from Natural England. We would then be required to fence o• the con- struction area and carry out pit- fall trapping [buckets sunk into the ground], which could take around 30 days to complete. "Having a great crested newt detection dog within a utility company is a massive bene t because they can nd the newts more eŒ ciently and e• ectively, and it's a non-invasive method." Glover has been granted a Natural England licence that allows her to keep four great crested newts in temporary cap- tivity from July to October for the purpose of training Freya. She has sought professional training from Louise Wilson, Great crested newts are the UK's largest newt species. They are found in breeding ponds from mid-March to mid-June, and the rest of the time they can be found commuting and forag- ing along hedgerows, grass- lands and woodlands. They are a nocturnal species so seek ref- uge during the day in stone walls, log piles and cracks in the ground. founder and director of Conser- vation K9 Consultancy, who has 15 years' experience within the detection dog industry and was the rst person to train a great crested newt detection dog. The type of container used for training is varied to avoid Freya 'scent imprinting' on the con- tainer material as opposed to the newt. She is now able to locate wild newts as well as cap- Yorkshire Water begins trial to make concrete from recycled wastewater Y orkshire Water has begun a trial that it hopes will inform the way water is provided to businesses. In a UK industry rst, the rm has reused treated water from a wastewater treatment plant by transferring it to construction solutions provider Tarmac to produce concrete. Water is normally returned to rivers aœ er it has passed through wastewater treatment plants and must meet strict Environ- ment Agency standards. Although below drinking water quality, it is nonetheless suita- ble for reuse in some industrial processes. Reusing water has the poten- tial to reduce pressure on York- shire Water's drinking water supply network, lower the costs of water treatment, and reduce carbon emissions. Tarmac used the water to cre- ate batches of concrete at its site in Bradford, which were then transported to Yorkshire Water's Esholt wastewater treatment site where it was poured into a series of 10x20m slabs. These slabs will be used as foundations for a National Test Centre for emerging water technologies. The concrete slabs will be tested over time to assess their strength, colour, and long-term weathering properties. These tests will con rm that the prod- uct is suitable for widespread use. If successful, Yorkshire Water will look to further develop reused water supplies for con- crete manufacturers, as well as other business users, across the region to sit alongside their existing clean water network. Yorkshire Water project man- ager Phillip Blaen said: "Water supply and protecting the envi- ronment are two of our 'Five Big Goals' so this is a priority for us. We are excited about this project and the bene ts it can bring to our customers." Shaun Davidson, Tarmac managing director for north and Scotland, said: "Water conser- vation is an important part of our resource eŒ ciency pro- gramme supporting Tarmac's commitment to embedding cir- cular economic thinking across the whole supply chain. We're really pleased to be working in partnership with Yorkshire water to see this innovative pro- ject come to fruition." Photo: Nick Upton/Wessex Water CONTRACT WINS Wrekin Products has won a tender to deliver a four-year framework of manhole covers and surface boxes for Scottish Water. Wrekin's Unite manhole cover is included in the contract which was won through competitive tender. SES Water has awarded a contract for the delivery of its non-infrastructure investment programme reported to be worth around £60 million. Bridges Electrical Engineers Ltd won Lot 1, for MEICA, and JT Mackley and Co Ltd won Lot 2, for small building and civils works. Thames Water has appointed Hugo and Cat as its digital supplier to improve customer experi- ence and will work on its website re-design. Bristol Water has become the " rst water company in the world to be awarded Lean Competency System (LCS) accreditation. LCS is an industry-recognised lean quali" cation framework for developing lean thinking, knowledge and practical skills in the workplace that was originally developed by the Lean Enterprise Research Centre at Cardi˜ University. Bristol Water, SES Water and Southern Water have been warned to improve their customer service by the Consumer Council for Water. CCWater issued a report that revealed households made more than 2.1 million calls to resolve problems last year, with nine out of 21 water companies in England and Wales showing an increase. Good monthT- Bad month Water industry to bene t from three new engineering research centres T he water sector is set to ben- e t from a £47 million investment into three new advanced engineering research centres opened in October at the University of SheŒ eld. The centres – the Royce Trans- lational Centre (RTC), the Labora- tory for Veri cation and Valida- tion (LVV), and the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR) – are located within the heart of the SheŒ eld City Region's Advanced Manufac- turing Innovation District, a key element of the emerging Global Innovation Corridor that stretches across the SheŒ eld City Region. Working with companies to help new technologies get o• the ground, the centres will aim to use the transformational power of research to cut costs and lead times and revolutionise industrial processes. ICAIR is a uniquely powerful experimental facility for investigat- ing both underground and above- ground infrastructure, using data, arti cial intelligence and advanced manufacturing techniques to increase productivity in the design, construction and operation of civil infrastructure. Given the challenges that water companies face it is clear that new technology and approaches to the inspection, maintenance and repair of our existing piped distribution and drainage net- works is needed. The UKCRIC National Distrib- uted Water Infrastructure Facility at SheŒ eld will enable full-scale experimentation of water and sewer pipes and ancillary struc- tures to study deterioration and failure mechanisms, in-pipe bio- logical/chemical and physical pro- cesses, ¬ ooding and corrosion pro- cesses and the assessment of asset condition under realistic full-scale environments. Paul Je• rey, director of research impact for UKCRIC and professor of water management at Cran- eld University, said: "This new National Distributed Water Infra- structure Facility represents a sig- ni cant leap forward in our abil- ity to explore the condition of our water distribution and drainage networks. "By better understanding the processes of deterioration, scien- tists and engineers can work col- laboratively to develop new and innovative inspection and repair techniques. "The potential impact, in terms of both the sustainability and cost e• ectiveness of our water and drainage networks, is enormous – and as yet untapped." ICAIR has worked in partner- ship with SheŒ eld's Environmen- tal Monitoring Solutions (EMS) to manage the increased risk of urban ¬ ooding caused by climate change. The arti cial intelligence- based technology, called CEN- TAUR, means that sewer ¬ ow control systems can be managed at a local level, providing better protection using the same infrastructure. The three world-leading transla- tional research facilities are each housed in custom-designed new buildings, creating 3,000 sq m of high-technology facilities at an investment of £47 million part- funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The work taking place at the three new centres builds on the experience and expertise of the nearby University of SheŒ eld's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), which works with partners such as Boeing, Rolls Royce and Airbus to help improve productivity, de-risk investment decisions, and accelerate the early adoption of industrial digital tech- nologies to improve performance and quality. tive ones. Wilson said: "Nikki came to me over a year ago to progress Freya's training and they have both been absolute stars. You can see how much Freya enjoys her work and the bond she has with Nikki is absolutely vital. "We've never worked with a water company before and it's been really rewarding. I think it's a brilliant idea."

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