Water & Wastewater Treatment

The Talk: May 4 | MAY 2020 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Water companies reach out to help NHS staff and struggling customers Water companies are stepping up ef- forts to ease financial pressures on their customers with a range of relief measures, including rebates for NHS workers and community funds. The initiatives were being rolled out across the sector as the country entered its fourth week of lockdown and the number of lives lost from Covid-19 in the UK passed 13,000. Bristol and Wessex have both offered a rebate of £50 for NHS frontline staff, who have had to increase their laundry loads during the outbreak. The moves came as Ofwat's chief executive warned suppliers they will be judged on their actions, and how they serve the public during this time. Wessex was the first to launch the deal, which will apply to water and waste- water services from 1 April for 12 months and is available to frontline staff who are required to wash their own uniforms. "You spend all day worrying about other people, so if you've been instructed to wash your uniform, we don't want you to worry about your water bill too," the company said. Anglian has pledged £1 million for a fund to support community organisations. The Positive Difference Fund will be dis- tributed via a local partner to assist areas and people most in need. Half the funds will be dedicated to support organisations helping households and individuals during the coronavirus outbreak, while the remaining half will be used to meet needs that emerge later in the year. Peter Simpson, Anglian Water Chief Executive, said: "This business is built on the communities it serves, so it's abso- lutely right we extend our support back to them during this time of need. Severn Trent and United Utilities have also announced community fund- ing schemes to help those affected. Severn Trent has pledged £1 million to help community groups and charities working to help families through the current crisis. And United Utilities has committed £3.5 million to a trust fund for people who struggle to pay their water bills. The mon- ey will be offered in the form of grants to help people out of water debt, and to sup- port local money advice organisations. Ofwat's chief executive Rachel Fletcher told the sector, "The public is watching and judging how companies respond during this crisis". She said the meaning of being a "responsible business" in these circumstances – including decisions over executive pay and dividends – was "front and centre of people's mind". Fletcher praised the sector's response and said its resilience had held up well. Former Ofwat director Trevor Bishop told sister title Utility Week the current situation could be a catalyst for change in perceptions but stressed there is more at play than just the relationship with the public. He said: "The unique and dread- ful nature of this incident will test the maturity of the professional relationships Yorkshire pilots 'digital twin' to reduce leakage Yorkshire Water has launched a major new industry pilot to advance the creation of smart water networks in the UK. The collaborative initiative will com- bine the expertise of fišeen companies, including Stantec, BT, Xylem, Itron, ATi, Inflomatix, HWM, Gutermann, Tech- nolog, Primayer, Connexin, Arqiva, MUS and Syrinix. It aims to create a ground break- ing "digital twin" of Yorkshire Water's asset base in the West Sheffield area by combining data from its acoustic, flow, pressure and water quality monitors. This intelligent system model should help Yorkshire Water to significantly reduce leakage and burst levels in the lo- cality and provide a foundation for more sustainable water abstraction and usage across the company's entire network in the future. Speaking about the pilot, Yorkshire Water innovation programme manager, Sam Bright said: "Technology has pro- gressed so much over the past few years that we are now able to combine more data streams than ever before and push the boundaries of what is possible using artificial intelligence. It really is an excit- ing time to be at the forefront of translat- ing these advances into real value for our customers." The Smart water network pilot will integrate the rich data from multiple new and existing sources and present it in a

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