Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MAY 2021 | 41 Operational Excellence understand their actions have consequences on the environment the better. This is a responsibility for the industry but also needs a national message because it's as true of water as it is of energy and plastic consump- tion," he adds. "We don't need everyone living an austere life but being aware of consequences means people can alter their behaviours a little bit." Kelp bed forests Another project close to Willison's heart is the restoration of kelp bed forests along the south coast: "Kelp is magnificent. It seques- ters more carbon than trees do, it takes up huge amounts of nutrients, it is the breeding ground of loads of species of fish and sea- horses – it's a wonderful environment. If you could regenerate the kelp forests it would have all the carbon, nutrient, biodiversity benefits and moderate wave action to poten- tially have flood risk and erosion benefits." Bottom trawling on the Sussex coast- line led to the degradation of kelp beds but recently passed by-laws prohibiting this in certain parts of the country is a major step towards their restoration. Southern is work- ing with stakeholders including local author- ities to understand what needs to happen to regenerate these areas, including a novel use of wastewater treatment works. "One way we could get involved is with kelplets – baby kelp. They need a lot of nutri- ents to grow so we're exploring if we could grow these at wastewater treatment works where there are a lot of those nutrients. Imagine one of our works having a bed to grow kelp that is fed by materials from the processes to get the young plants growing." Restoring kelp forests is an area the com- pany is looking at to make an investment from its newly established £5 million envi- ronment fund. Southern has, of course, made environ- mental headlines for the wrong reasons in recent years, but Willison said this is not the driving force behind the company's efforts to improve. He feels changes made by MacAulay since those times have trans- formed the organisation. "That's really beginning to show in our confidence, ambi- tion and in the things we are doing," he says. "We are not impelled to do the right thing; we want to do it. It's good for our customers, for the environment and the local economy. There are reputational benefits which are then good for shareholders. We want to be the best company that we can be and believe we've got the vision, values, purpose and the people to drive that." Ruth Williams, water correspondent Smart water meters could cut emissions A new report calls for the mass rollout of smart water meters to help the UK meet its ambitious emission targets. Ruth Williams reports. I nstalling one million smart water meters each year could cut the UK's greenhouse gas emissions by 0.5 per cent over the next 15 years. The impact of smart water meters on reducing the UK's carbon emissions has been cal- culated in a new report by Water- wise and Arqiva that suggests a nationwide rollout would save one billion litres of water daily. The report, Smart Water Metering and the Climate Emer- gency, was conducted to empha- sise the link between water usage and emissions, with domestic consumption contrib- uting around one tonne of car- bon per household annually. Waterwise and Arqiva are calling for a mandated metering programme to fit all households in England with a smart device by 2035. It urged prioritisation of rapid rollout of smart metering. "We need the UK's devolved governments and regula- tors to recognise the role that smart meters can play in help- ing reduce carbon emissions alongside water usage and leak- age," the report said. "Given the impact and urgency of the cli- mate emergency, there is a strong argument for governments and regulators to encourage water companies to implement smart metering across the UK, at pace and with appropriate support in place for vulnerable customers." Nathan Richardson, head of strategy and policy at Waterwise, described the links between water usage and carbon emis- sions as a "hidden area" that is o˜en overlooked. Based on figures from a 2019 Water UK report, Waterwise and Arqiva approximated that a mod- est 5 per cent reduction in UK household water consumption could deliver more than a mega- tonne of Co2 (MtC02e) per year. A 10 per cent cut in household con- sumption could deliver around 2.2MtC02e annually, which is comparable to the total annual operational greenhouse gas emissions from UK water compa- nies' own operations – currently around 2.4MtC02e. An estimated 6 per cent of total UK carbon emissions are related to supply and use of household water, of which 90 per cent comes from household usage and the other 10 per cent through the supply, treatment and removal of water. Coordi- nated by Water UK, the sector published a route map to curtail its own emissions by 2030. Rich- ardson said it should next con- sider household usage as a more significant source of carbon. PR24 focus The report's authors are call- ing for the link between meter- ing programmes, charging and water-stressed areas to be removed to enable all companies to roll out metering regardless of region. Waterwise and Arqiva want to see investment planning for PR24 used to accelerate a roll- out. Richardson said mandating this would allow the rollout to be managed rather than done on an ad hoc basis. Laurie Patten, director of strategy and regulation at Arqiva told Utility Week one million smart meter installations a year was realistic and achievable and would cost around £10 a year for each meter over its lifetime. Ruth Williams, water correspondent Analysis

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