Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | NOVEMBER 2021 | 37 Northumbrian Water, for instance, has collected more than 600 million data points via its long-running sewer level monitoring programme since 2012. "Our wastewater teams review the data from our storm over• ows weekly and inves- tigate where we have any that are frequently spilling or have repeated issues [such as blockages]," MacLean says. "In addition, we carry out planned inspections of all storm over• ows by using the monitoring data dynamically to focus on the risk and vulnerability of our assets. Proactive activities, such as investigating top blocking/spilling CSOs and pre/post bathing season checks, have also been tar- geted at particular sites to prevent incidents occurring." As a consequence of the scale of said data challenges, Yorkshire Water's Harrison explains that investment allowing greater automatic analysis and support for internal processes for targeting data anomalies, lead- ing to increased action to improve overall data conŽ dence and accuracy of reporting, is afoot. "We are continually looking to improve our process and the data we collect, par- ticularly as we gather more information on the performance of the network in a vari- ety of conditions," he says. "Ultimately, the increased focus and use of data will lead to signiŽ cant improvements in storm over• ow performance and help to deliver positive impacts on river water quality." What's more, the sharing and transpar- ency of said data is a key focus. "Thames Water, along with other water companies, is publishing annual EDM data online, and areas with designated bath- ing water status which were receiving sea- sonal notiŽ cations can now expect to see alerts shared throughout the year," Thames Water's de Garis says. "The company will also accelerate work to install monitoring devices to create a complete picture by 2023. "Thames Water has also agreed to pub- lish annual monitoring data on its websites about the use of storm over• ows so that pro- gress in reducing their use can be tracked," she adds. "The EA will compile this data and that from other water companies into an annual report that is easily accessible to the public." Fast facts: Thames Water • 25km. Length of the "super sewer" beneath the Thames that will intercept sewage overflows. Expected to be opera- tional by 2025. • 10%. Reduction in pollution incidents by Thames Water during the year ended 31 March 2021. • 745km. Length of rivers in Thames Water's region to receive environmental improve- ments between 2020-25. • 144. Number of MPs briefed by Thames Water on eˆ orts to stop pollution into streams and rivers from sewers. Increased investment and ongoing collaboration In keeping with comments from environmen- tal groups and stakeholders, who have called for increased investment to end river pollu- tion and phase out CSOs, De Garis says she believes discharges of untreated sewage are "simply unacceptable", even when they are legally permitted. As such, she explains that Thames Water will work with the government, Ofwat and the EA to accelerate work to stop them being necessary and to deliver a Ž ve-year business plan featuring environmental improvements to 745km of rivers across its region. "We have a long way to go – and we cer- tainly can't do it on our own – but the ambi- tion is clear," she says. Yorkshire Water's Harrison adds that the Ž rm has pledged £137 million in invest- Utility Week Live 2022 See this content brought to life at Utility Week Live, 17-18 May 2022, NEC Birmingham Delivering smart water networks is one of the frontline challenges at the heart of Utility Week Live 2022's live content programme. View the challenges and be alerted for tickets to the industry's most eagerly awaited reunion at utilityweeklive.co.uk. ment by 2025 in over• ow improvements, investigations and further monitoring, while Northumbrian has earmarked more than £80 million over the same time period. "We are also piloting an innovative AI pollution prevention solution in collabora- tion with Siemens, and developing SMART network innovation pilots that will use data to identify problems before they cause envi- ronmental harm," Harrison says. "These spe- ciŽ c projects are examples of an increased focus on analytics and machine learning to identify patterns and trends to respond to developing trends. "Ultimately, we will be using the data to take a systematic approach to the network from sink to sea." He adds that Yorkshire is also support- ing the government-led Storm Over• ow Task Force by providing detailed asset informa- tion and representation on working groups. "Our storm over• ow strategy is closely aligned to the task force objectives to elimi- nate harm from over• ows, reduce spills and increase data transparency," he explains. On top of this, Wessex Water's Jody Knight, says that her Ž rm will be completing an EDM programme for all storm over• ows by December 2023 in line with EA expecta- tions, but caveats that CSO improvements are part of a far broader environmental picture. "While there is lots of focus on the opera- tion of storm over• ows, there is little on the impact they do or don't have on the environ- ment or public health risk," she says. "Current data from the government web- site indicates that only 4% of the reasons for water bodies not achieving good ecological classiŽ cation are down to storm over• ows. "As a society we need to invest in a greater network of water quality monitoring so that investment decisions can be targeted in the best place. As a member of the Defra Storm Over• ows Taskforce, we have been pushing Defra, EA, Ofwat to recognise this – and they have subsequently just announced such an initiative." Stuart Stone, UW Innovate editor picture of what is happening in the network in real time

• Cover