WET News

6 WET NEWS DECEMBER 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk NEWS+ United Utilities signs artificial intelligence deal in UK first • Water company signs framework agreement with Canadian technology firm EMAGIN U nited Utilities has become the first water company in the UK to introduce large-scale artificial intelligence into its operational systems. The Warrington-based com- pany has signed a framework agreement with EMAGIN, a Canadian technology firm, to roll out AI across its entire water network in the North-West of England. The deal follows on from a successful trial that began in February a€er EMAGIN was selected as a finalist in United Utilities' Innovation Lab. The Canadian team were given access to the water firm's huge wealth of data, systems and expert knowledge to incu- bate their ideas and help shape their technology for the UK and European water markets. EMAGIN's artificial intelli- gence platform, called HARVI, can assess vast amounts of data on a wide range of factors such as weather, demand for water, pump performance and electric- ity prices. This is used to help make decisions on the most cost-effective and efficient way to run pumps, detect burst pipes and minimise the risk of discol- oured water. In the 12-week trial that took place across Oldham in Greater Manchester, HARVI demon- strated energy savings of 22 per cent. United Utilities now plans to deploy the artificial intelli- gence platform in phases across the whole North West region by the end of 2019. United Utilities' chief operat- ing officer, Steve Fraser, said: "Water networks are complex systems, and technology like this is going to play an integral their continuous drive to deploy technology that supports their customers. "This is an exciting time for us, United Utilities is one of the largest and most innovative water companies in the world and gives us a huge presence to grow in the UK and Europe." The two companies are now considering running further trials of the technology in other appli- cations such as wastewater oper- ations and leakage reduction. role in our drive towards 'sys- tems thinking', helping us make more sense and better use of big data. "It will free up our people to be more proactive and that's going to have a direct impact on levels of service. Water companies are going to have to start thinking in this way and embracing new tech- nology if we are to meet cus- tomers' expectations on value and reliability. Southern investing £30M to improve Thanet sewers S outhern Water is upgrad- ing Thanet's ageing sewers to help protect wildlife and the environment. The work will cost £30 million and is the second of three phases a€er Southern Water successfully carried out the first phase of works in 2014-15. Ground surveys and other works will continue this month, with the main construction tak- ing place towards the end of this year. This new scheme is planned to be completed in early 2020 and will be carried out by TPMD, a team of three specialists – Terra Solutions, Pfeiffer and Matt Durbin Associates. John Evans, head of delivery for networks at Southern Water, said: "We're doing this work to protect the environment and water resources in Ramsgate and the wider Thanet area, by renovating and replacing its ageing sewers. This is to ensure they are fit for future genera- tions and help prevent any pos- sible impact on the environment – which no one wants. "We're investing more than £30 million, which is a lot of money, and reflective of the kind of challenges we face with this unique sewerage network. "We're not sure there are any other sewers quite like this in the country and cer- tainly the nearest similar assets are in Paris." CONTRACT WINS Murphy Process Engineering has signed a contract with Irish Water for the design, construction and commis- sioning of three water treatment plants and additional treated water storage reservoirs. The €21.5 million investment is due to be completed by 2020. Engineering, environmental and advisory services company GHD has been awarded a place on a new £119.5 million YORConsult2 framework set up to serve public sector bodies and third sector organisations in Yorkshire. The scope of projects ranges from bridge work to flood prevention measures. Fujitsu has signed a new contract worth an estimated £7 million to provide a managed security service for Scottish Water's IT-related infrastructure and systems. The Environment Agency has announced that 97.9 per cent of England's bathing waters passed standards following tests this year. Water quality testing at 420 bathing spots carried out from May to September showed only 2.1 per cent were below acceptable standards, while 92.4 per cent of the beaches and inland lakes tested were 'Excellent' or 'Good'. Wessex Water has offered to pay £975,000 to achieve equivalent environmental benefits following a series of sewage spills in Swanage Bay, Dorset. More than 142,000 cubic metres of sewage was discharged into the sea during illegal spills in 2016 and 2017. The windfall will be used to fund environmental improvements in and around the coastal town of Swanage. Good monthT- Bad month Work begins on smart canal to help Glasgow become a 'sponge city' C onstruction of Europe's first ever 'smart canal' scheme, which will use the 250-year- old Forth & Clyde Canal and 21st century technology to mitigate flood risk as well as enable sig- nificant regeneration, is now underway in Glasgow. The pioneering new digital surface water drainage system will unlock 110 hectares across the north of the city for invest- ment, regeneration and devel- opment, paving the way for more than 3,000 new homes. The £17 million project, being delivered via a partnership of Glasgow City Council, Scottish Canals and Scottish Water under the umbrella of the Met- ropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Scheme, will use sen- sor and predictive weather tech- nology to provide early warning of wet weather before moving excess rainfall from residential and business areas into stretches of the canal where water levels have been lowered by as much as 10cm. This will create 55,000 cubic metres of extra capacity for floodwater. Officially named the North Glasgow Integrated Water Manage- ment System, the project to create a 'sponge city' – a term used to describe how cities respond to sur- face water flooding – will see North Glasgow passively absorb, clean and use rainfall intelligently. Advanced warning of heavy rain- fall will automatically trigger a low- ering of the canal water level to cre- ate capacity for surface water run-off. Before periods of heavy rain, canal water will be moved safely through a network of newly cre- ated urban spaces – from sus- tainable urban drainage ponds to granite channels – that absorb and manage water in a controlled way, creating space for surface water run-off. The scheme will unlock 110 hectares across the north of the city for investment, regenera- tion and development, will see the Forth & Clyde Canal con- nected to five new sites over the next 10-15 years, including Sighthill, Hamiltonhill, Ruchill Hospital, Cowlairs and Dun- dashill. The capital funding for the scheme comes from the Glasgow City Region City Deal, the Green Infrastructure Fund, and Scotland's 8th City – the Smart City. Catherine Topley, CEO at Scottish Canals, said: "Creating a dynamic urban canal which uses smart technology to move water safely about the city will not only reduce the flood risk impact of climate change, but act as a catalyst for new invest- ment, jobs, homes and busi- nesses in North Glasgow as well as help to create one of the city's top tourist destinations." As part of the project, Scottish Water will vest and maintain all underground pipes that are con- nected to a Scottish Water sys- tem and will maintain some of the sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS). Simon Parsons, Scottish Water's strategic customer ser- vices planning director, said: "This will help manage the impact of climate change on the sewer network. This is the sort of development that we are wanting to see more of and are working with local authorities across Scotland under our Storm Water Strategy to deliver." "The pilot scheme clearly demonstrated the huge poten- tial for efficiency and energy savings which will help reduce our operational costs. This is going to be vital over the coming years as we aim to reduce cus- tomer bills by 10.5 per cent in real terms from 2020." Welcoming the contract, EMAGIN chief executive officer Thouheed Abdul Gaffoor said: "The engagement at every level across United Utilities showed

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