WET News

Awards tickets go on sale TickeTs are on sale for the Water Industry Achievement Awards 2014, which will take place on April 1 at a glittering extravaganza held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, NEC, Birmingham. The awards, organised by WET News and Water & Wastewater Treatment, reward innovation and best practice in the industry. Tickets are available for the awards ceremony and gala dinner, the major highlight in the water industry's calendar. Join in the celebrations and book a table now! Find out more by contacting Danielle Wood at danielle.wood@ fav-house.com or visit www. waterindustr yachievement awards.info. an £11.9M upgrade of Cumbernauld's Dunnswood Wastewater Treatment Works has been com- pleted by Scottish Water. The project has involved a new wastewater treatment process being introduced alongside the existing sys- tem to comply with new standards for wastewater treatment, and to provide for future population growth in the area as a result of development in and around Cumbernauld. Bill Elliot, Scottish Water's Community Team manager for Lanarkshire, said: "We have ef- fectively constructed a whole new waste- water treatment works alongside the existing one. This involves pumping stations, a sampling cham- ber, giant underground tanks, a sludge treatment and storage facility, electrical controls and maintenance of existing kit on site as well." A number of sustainable urban drainage scheme systems have also been in- troduced, with a new pond near Wardpark Industrial Estate and several more ponds on the other side of the road. Scottish Water is invest- ing heavily in North Lanark- shire in the 2010-15 pe- riod. Improvements totalling £87.2M are being made to water and wastewater infra- structure to enable growth in the area. Dunnswood WwTW upgrade completed GovernMenT grants go untouched as construction firms are slow to innovate and diversify, the latest report by Constructionline and Capita Property and Infrastructure suggests. According to the report more than 80% of construction firms are unaware grants are available to support innovation and only 4.1% have actually applied for grants. The survey, based on responses from nearly 400 firms, ranging from architects to engineers and main contractors, asked a series of questions designed to gauge the construction industry's appetite for innovation, diversification and research and development (R&D). Compared to architects and engineers, contractors are the least innovative, suffer the lowest levels of R&D spend; the lowest levels of awareness of government funding stream and are least likely to diversify their services. Ganey Bond, business support manager at Constructionline, said: "According to our research, last year's annual spend on R&D was around £66,250 among high scoring firms, but just less than £16,000 on average. In addition, more than eight out of ten construction firms were not aware of funding for innovation, including schemes like Technology Strategy Board grants, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and R&D tax relief. "The news on diversification was healthier, however, with 63% of firms having diversified their services and 71% having a defined approach to the development of new ideas." Richard McWilliams, director of Innovation at Capita Property and Infrastructure, which co- sponsored the survey, said: "Innovation is vital for economic growth and, with an ever increasing frequency, buyers are seeking an innovative approach to ensure continuous improvement and more cost effective products, processes and services from the supply chain. Often, this translates into a requirement within tender questions for bidders to demonstrate how they are innovating. "A handful of companies thrive on an opportunity to broadcast their cutting edge approach, but for many, it prompts a troublesome scrabble for a response that fits the bill." Contractors are least innovative, claims report THe neWsPaPer For WaTer inDUsTrY conTracTors www.wwtonline.co.uk volume 20 • issue 2 • February 2014 NEWS WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS WET Models From 50mm To 300mm Selprime Auto Self-Priming Super Silent From 58db(A) Hydraulic Submersibles Electric Submersibles 24/7 Callout Branches Nationwide Selwood has been manufacturing, hiring and selling pumps for over 60 years. Please call for expert advice on all pumping applications. 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Call 01246 201111 Pump Hire Road Ramp Inflatable Pipe Stoppers Approved Vetter Distributor www.marispumps.com 01246 201111 The new treatment works has been built alongside the existing one oLDHaM-baseD DCT Holdings, parent group of DCT Civil Engineering, has gone into administration with the loss of around 100 jobs. The legal costs incurred as a result of a long-running dispute with Liverpool City Council has been blamed for the group's insolvency. Ernst & Young has been appointed administrator for the business, which had three trading activities − DCT Holdings, DCT Civil Engineering and DCT Plant. The joint administrators are seeking offers in respect of the group's contracts and freehold property. Administrator Tom Jack said: "DCT Group was a long-established engineering business that has been impacted by the outcome of a legal dispute. Despite this being settled in the group's favour, the group is now required to pay substantial legal costs which have been incurred by the other party over a number of years." He said that as a result, the group had insufficient cashflow to fund continued trading. cosTain plans to deliver even greater efficiency savings to Severn Trent Water. The company's pledge came as its framework contract with the water company was extended for a further five years. Severn Trent has appointed Costain to its AMP6 2015 – 2020 investment programme. The contract to carry out upgrades to infrastructure networks and treatment facilities was initially set up in 2009 for five years, with the potential to extend further. AMP6 will be worth an anticipated £50M a year to Costain, subject to Ofwat approval of Severn Trent's business plan. The previous contract, AMP5, was worth £35 million per annum to the Group. Costain is already working with Severn Trent on preparations for the new contract, said Matt Crabtree, Costain's Water Sector director. He said: "We now have a team working with Severn Trent managing the anticipated AMP6 programme." Council dispute leads to DCT's liquidation £50M/yr extended deal for Costain

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