Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1223154
The Talk: April 4 | APRIL 2020 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Water sector responds to coronavirus outbreak Water companies are continually review- ing their business continuity plans in response to the coronavirus outbreak. At the time of going to press, a total of 1,372 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the country since the outbreak began with the virus death toll at 35. In a statement, SES Water said: "We are continuously monitoring the Govern- ment's updates and guidance regarding COVID-19 and are also taking precau- tionary steps to protect the health of our workforce. We have shared with our employees the preventative measures they need to take as guided by NHS and Government advice. "We're continuously reviewing our business continuity plans that include the possibility of dealing with a pandemic. We will continue to update these plans as necessary as we learn more about the COVID-19 situation, to meet our service obligations to our customers, communi- ties and the environment." South West Water said it is continu- ously reviewing its contingency plans in relation to coronavirus. A spokesperson said the company is "confident" it will continue to provide the level of service its customers expect. And a spokesperson for United Utili- ties told sister publication Utility Week that it has enacted its pandemic response plan to ensure frontline services remain uninterrupted if the scale of the coronavi- rus outbreak significantly worsens. A spokesperson said this is the first time the company has had to use the "well-rehearsed" plan, which includes an "extendibility plan" looking at resourcing for a three-month period mapped against worst case scenarios. Meanwhile, Ofwat and other water companies across the country are closely following government and Public Health England advice on protecting the health of staff and customers. CONTRACT WINS Barhale has been awarded a contract for the design, supply, construction and commissioning of sewer diversion works at an energy from waste project in Edmonton. The North London Waste Authority has confirmed that under the £4.9 million (€5.8m) deal Barhale will carry out the works on the existing Angel and Chingford sewers as part of the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) at the Edmonton EcoPark. When fully operational, the 78MWe facility is expected to process up to 700,000 tonnes of waste per year. It will provide enough power for up to 127,000 homes and enable heat to be supplied locally. The sewer diversion works include: tunnelling works for the installation of a 1,200mm diameter sewer along a stretch of approximately 115m to divert the Chingford sewer and the installation of a 1,200mm diameter sewer along a stretch of approximately 165m to divert the Angel sewer; installation of drive sha s at the confluence of the two sewers; installation of reception sha s; and connection of the new sewers to the existing network. Yorkshire Water is tendering five new lots as part of a £800 million clean water reactive R&M contract which it says will help transform its processes and lead to a greater customer experience. The eight-year deal will commence from April next year and will drive several Ofwat performance commitments. The tender will cover a range of services including reactive repairs, metering and new connections. The five lots are: Lot 1 - an urgent rapid response service focused on mains bursts Lot 2 - a planned reactive service focused heavily on proactive leakage repairs Lot 3 - a bespoke service for new connections Lot 4 - a metering service covering both domestic and non-domestic work Lot 5 - an innovation marketplace to be used to procure new, innovative approaches to delivery of R&M services.