Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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14 | AUGUST 2019 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk In Focus: Abstraction " UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) has been undertaking common-voice research projects for the water industry for more than two decades. While some of this research has been strategic, much of it has been in response to current and emerging issues. A desire to help shape the future, rather than responding to it, has led UKWIR to launch its Big Question programme. "The 12 Big Questions cover all aspects of the water industry, from clean to waste- water along with cross-cutting topics such as affordability and carbon. Together these questions provide an aspiration view of the industry that UKWIR want to help create over the coming decades. "One of these questions is 'How do we halve our freshwater abstractions in a sus- tainable way by 2020?' – but why halve ab- stractions, and why do it by 2050? It would be easy to over-complicate the answer but arguably the biggest impact our water re- sources activity has is through taking water out of the environment. So, halving what we take can benefit the environment, and doing it by 2050 is enough of a challenge to promote a change in thinking from the industry as it's not achievable simply by doing what we currently do better. "The problem is that as a standalone question it seems insurmountable. So, the first step is to break it down into a few smaller outcomes that contribute to its achievement, then develop research paths to meet these outcomes. That was the purpose of the gap analysis and routemap development project recently completed by Hydrologic Services, supported by Artesia and the Universities of Leeds and Exeter. "By quantifying current abstraction levels in the UK and Ireland and under- standing the demand reductions ambi- tions already included in water resources plans, the scale of the challenge becomes clear. The successful delivery of ambitious planned consumption and leakage reduc- tions will see abstraction fall by less than 10 per cent, albeit against a backdrop of rising population. Even meeting another of UKWIR's Big Question aspirations of zero leakage in 2050 leaves a reduction compa- rable to the total supply to non-household le– to find in other ways. "What are the other ways of achiev- ing this reduction? That question framed the second part of the gap analysis and routemap project, which identified five key outcomes to guide future research: • Deep reductions in consumption by household and non-household users • Minimising losses from water treatment and supply systems • Developed sustainable alternatives to freshwater abstraction • Joined-up governance for water, wastewa- ter and stormwater management • Evidence-based abstraction reductions "Clearly a reduction in customer con- sumption must contribute to any solutions, and this is the subject of the first research stream identified. The industry is channel- ling a lot of effort into this field already, but even with initiatives such as Southern Water's 'Target 100' – which aims to reduce per capita consumption to less than 100 litres per person per day, with the average in England and Wales currently over 140 – there's a lot more that will need to be done to meet the abstraction reduction ambition. Understanding and influencing customer behaviour plays a big part in this area. "The second outcome concerns the wa- ter industry's contribution to abstraction, through the water used or lost in produc- tion, treatment and distribution. The 'How will we achieve zero leakage in a sustain- able way by 2050?' Big Question research programme is already up and running and will contribute a lot to this outcome. The opportunities for reducing the industry's own use in treatment and distribution, and the contribution that this could make to the abstraction reduction aspiration, are not well understood. While likely to be small in quantity, being seen to do our bit will be vitally important when asking customers to make changes. "All the talk of reducing consumption risks losing sight of the important role that alternative sources of water could play in the future. Could recycled water replace freshwater abstractions? Will there be a breakthrough in low-energy desalinations before 2050? These technologies could be game-changers in water resources plan- ning, and our third outcome looks to help develop opportunities such as these. "Some of these technological opportuni- ties will be supported by the fourth out- come underlying this Big Question, which aims to promote a joined-up approach to water, wastewater and stormwater management. Realising opportunities that provide benefits across water management activities, and providing the evidence that Government needs to effectively legislate in this area, is an important part of achieving this outcome. "Evidence also forms an important part of our fi–h outcome, which looks to understand the benefits (and, in a few cases, problems) associated with reducing abstraction. It's this evidence that will en- sure reductions can be targeted to provide the maximum benefit, and the investment required to deliver them justified. "Halving abstractions is a worthy ambi- tion for UKWIR to take on, but one that's destined for failure if we try to tackle it alone. Success will require a collaborative approach across the industry, regulators, academia, environmental NGOs, and others, different delivery routes for the research contributing to the outcomes. Only by bringing together the expertise, drive and resources of all these groups will the ambition be realised – why not get in touch and see how you can contrib- ute to this vision? "If you'd like to find out more, please contact me (pmerchan@southwestwater. co.uk) or Oluseyi Onifade, UKWIR's strategic programme manager overseeing the research." "Halving abstraction by 2050 is enough of a challenge to promote a change in thinking" • WATER COMPANY VIEW PAUL MERCHANT, SOUTH WEST WATER SUPPLY DEMAND PLANNING MANAGER AND UKWIR PROGRAMME LEAD ON WATER RESOURCES WATER RESOURCES Lustleigh in the Dartmoor National Park