WET News

2 WET NEWS FEBRUARY 2014 Pump Hire Specialists The ideal way to pump water across a road or pathway while maintaining vehicle access sales@marispumps.com www.roadramp.co.uk 01246 201111 24/7 Ramp & Pump Hire Service - Guaranteed! Call 01246 201111 Road Ramp & Pedestrian Ramp - Reliable & Durable Pipe Ramps TM TM Road Ramp & Pedestrian Ramp TM TM • Unique patented design offers strongest ramp on the market! • Available for sale or to hire plus bespoke options available. • Load tested up to 70 tonnes - suitable for all vehicle sizes. • Does not block - even on the heaviest sewerage jobs. • Low profile apex of just 75mm - that's less than a speed bump! • Cost-saving and causes minimal traffic disruption. • Call us on 01246 201111 for more information. COMMENT "There's a lot more collaboration than there used to be" NEWS+ May 750 The number of hours of footage shot for the six episodes of Watermen: A Dirty Business, BBC2's documentary following United Utilities' workforce. "The UK Regulators Network is a positive move that could bring consist- ency of application to regulation across the UK" Steve Bromhead, EC Harris Scottish Water says 50% of its assets (treatment works / pumping stations) were built in the past 20 years; and 30% of the 2,700 sewer flooding incidents a month will recur within 12 months. 30% 50% IN A NUTSHELL "You wouldn't think a — sh this size would — t down the toilet..." Severn Trent Water £140M "The £140M announced in ttoday's Budget for repairs to UK flood defences is a sticking plaster approach and simply does not go far enough" Dr Colin Brown, IMechE £440M The water companies expected transition spend in the run-up to AMP6 "We are making excellent progress with the tender process and we are confident that well will receive competitive bids that will result in the best value for our customers" Mike Gerrard, Thames Tideway Tunnel "As the economic upturn gathers momentum, ensuring we have a workforce which has the training and skills to enable us to be a leader on the global infrastructure market remains our priority" Andrew McNaughton, Balfour Beatty £4.4M The government fund- ing received for Balfour Beatty's nationwide skills academy. I nvestigative work in and around the River Clyde in Glasgow is to be carried out by Scottish Water ahead of its planned infrastructure invest- ment to improve the natural environment of the river. The investigation work, which is about to start, will involve Scottish Water contrac- tor ESG carrying out detailed surveys of ground conditions at various locations as part of the planning work for the £250M investment, which is the largest in the Greater Glas- gow area's wastewater network in more than a century. The investment will improve river water quality and the nat- ural environment of the River Clyde and its tributaries, ena- ble the area to grow and develop, tackle sewer „ ooding and deal with the e… ects of increased rainfall and climate change. The site investigation work will include the use of a rig on a barge that will take samples of rock and subsoil from the bed of the River Clyde to the south of South Street and north of the Shieldhall wastewater † Scottish Water and ESG to carry out detailed surveys in preparation for The planned £250M investment in Greater Glasgow's wastewater network Investigative work to start on River Clyde NEED TO KNOW Scottish Water announced in February 2013 its plans for the £250M, — ve-year project The upgrade will improve river water quality and the natural environment of the River Clyde and its tributaries The scheme includes building a £100M stormwater storage tunnel between Queen's Park and Craigton Industrial Estate I t's great news that the water companies are planning to bring forward £440M of in- vestment from AMP6 into 2014-15 to help tackle the peaks and troughs experienced with the Ž ve-yearly cycles (see front page). Ofwat and the cross-industry Cyclicality Working Group should be congratulated for their hard work in making this transition spend happen. It really does show what can happen when the industry as a whole works together. I welcome this transition spend because it will go a long way to lessening the negative impact of the cyclical AMP period. Construction staff However, I also hear the shouts from the parts of the industry's supply chain that will not beneŽ t from this investment now. Contractors tell me that the transition spend is great for design sta… but there are still issues surrounding the retention of site-based and construction sta… . A spokesman for the Cyclicality Working Group does not disagree with this state- ment, but he is quick to reassure that implementing the design side early will mean the rest of the supply chain will see movement much sooner than if everyone was starting from April 2015. I suppose the Cyclicality Working Group's work so far was never going to please everyone. But its work is ongoing, and will require the input of all concerned to ensure the AMP cycle peaks and troughs are eliminated once and for all. Anglian Water's innovative thinking With next year's arrival of AMP6, innovation is thriving among the water companies, as can be witnessed with Anglian Water's appointment of six capital delivery partners for the next AMP cycle. Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Grontmij, Mott MacDonald and JN Bentley joint venture MMB, MWH and Skanska are the chosen six to deliver Anglian Water's £1.3B capital delivery programme as part of the new Integrated Main Works Capital Alliance. What makes this appoint- ment so innovative are two things. Firstly, Anglian Wate put every aspect of its capital investment out to tender at the same time, ranging from large new treatment works to small leakage repairs and new property connections. Secondly, each contractor's deal is for 15 years and reviewed every Ž ve years. Taking the Ž rst point, this must o… er huge savings all round in terms of time taken for each tender submitted. Then there is the Ž nancial saving from what is a very costly process by only having one submission. The 15-year contract is great, and I'm sure will go along way to smoothing out the AMP cycle peaks and troughs, as well as ensuring one of the longest collaborations in the industry. Do you agree? Let me know at maureen.gaines@fav-house.com treatment works. The information obtained will create a proŽ le of the depth of the river bed and the geologi- cal conditions around Glasgow as part of the widespread inves- tigation work. Also, a small boat will use radar to survey parts of the River Clyde to iden- tify any obstructions. Ballast will be lowered into the River Kelvin to form a tem- porary platform from which the rig will be also be used to per- form survey work. There will be further site investigation work on land near the north bank of the River Clyde that will involve the drill- ing of boreholes on land at various locations near Partick Pumping Station, Clydeside Expressway, Castlebank Street, South Street and Clydeholm Road. This work will establish ground conditions and locate services in these areas. Mark Maclaren, Scottish Water's regional communities team manager, said: "Scottish Water's planned investment in the area will deliver major envi- ronmental beneŽ ts for years to come and details of this work will be made available when we are about to start the pro- ject. This investigative work we are starting now is a key part of our preparations for the project." The work is expected to be completed by the end of May or early June. SHARE YOUR OPINION... yoursaywn@fav-house.com May 2014 WET NEWS 3 T he company will more than match the funding, through cash and in kind investment with a further £9M to be in invested into creating the academy and new training opportunities. The focus will be on up- skilling the company's exist- ing workforce in the construc- tion and engineering sectors and will provide the young and unemployed with oppor- tunities that lead directly to jobs. The academy will bring together all of the company's current training provision under a single umbrella to offer a wider range of skills and professional qualifications. The more standardised approach will mean that these qualifications are transferable across the business and the industry. U nited Utilities (UU) has announced a £114M over- haul of its wastewater treatment works in Chadderton and Royton to improve river wa- ter quality in the River Irk as well as meet obligations under the Freshwater Fish Directive by im- proving the standard of treat- ment and reducing stormwater overflows. The three-year project will Government nding for Balfour's academy • Balfour Beatty is establishing a national UK training academy having received £4.4M of funding through the government's Employer Ownership of Skills pilot scheme UU plans Oldham WwTW overhaul involve decommissioning the treatment process at Royton and building additional storage tanks there to contain more of the storm flows. An underground pipeline will be laid to transfer sewage around 4.5km to the Old- ham WwTW at Chadderton. At Chadderton, the plant will be upgraded, using improved treatment processes to clean the wastewater. At Oldham, the plant will be fully rebuilt, using the lat- est treatment processes to remove more ammonia. The new plant will also be able to handle much larger volumes of wastewater. UU will be increasing sewer capacity with the addition of 12,000m 3 of stormwater storage. Introducing www.evoqua.com Evoqua Water Technologies continues a 100-year tradition of helping consulting engineers, municipalities and industries respond to market needs and evolving water standards. Evoqua offers high performance primary, secondary, and tertiary, as well as filtration and disinfection technologies with brands you know: WALLACE & TIERNAN • MEMCOR ELECTROCATALYTIC • IONPURE Our experts are ready to respond with solutions for new plants, upgrades, refurbishments and service solutions. For more information or to speak to a member of our team call 01732 771777 or e mail enquiries.uk@evoqua.com WET News is registered at Stationers' Hall. Origination by Faversham House Group, and PH Media, Roche, Cornwall. Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6AE. Copyright 2014. Faversham House. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in WET News. However, Faversham House will not be liable for any inaccuracies. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. Text paper is printed on PEFC accredited paper. For more info see www.PEFC.org. License number PEFC/16-33-141. Technical articles of full page, or more appearing in this journal are indexed by British Technical Index. Editor Maureen Gaines: maureen.gaines@fav-house.com Production editor Mike Smith: mike.smith@fav-house.com Ad sales Deborah Lilley: deborah. lilley@fav-house.com Classified sales Danielle Wood: danielle.wood @fav-house.com Team administrator Clare Klos: clare.klos @fav-house.com Production controller Sharon Miller: sharon.miller@fav-house.com Publisher Angela Himus: angela. himus@fav-house.com Published by Faversham House Ltd, Faversham House, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1UZ Call: 01342 332000 Publisher's note: This issue includes editorial photographs provided and paid for by suppliers. 1yr: UK £99 Overseas (airmail) £113/$198 2yr: UK £171 Overseas (airmail) £199/$349 Call: 020 8955 7045 Email: fhcustomerservices@ abacusmedia.com SubScripTioNS: oNliNE: Search WET News' archives for more jobs, news, features, products and services, events and training courses. www.wwtonline.co.uk Wet NeWs Andrew McNaughton, Bal- four Beatty CEO, said: "As the economic upturn gathers momentum, ensuring we have a workforce which has the training and skills to enable us to be a leader on the global infrastructure market remains our priority. "We are delighted the gov- ernment, through the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot, recognises that the academy approach will enable us to develop and retain some of the best qualified and most knowledgeable people in the industry. We are building a sustaina- ble and flexible workforce which can deliver the innova- tion and value customers are seeking. "It also enables us to fur- ther our commitment to help- ing young people and the unemployed get the skills that will enable them to get sus- tainable jobs." As a member of The 5% Club, Balfour Beatty is com- mitted to giving young people and the unemployed a chance to get on the career ladder in those areas where skills are most short. The academy will offer pre- employment programmes to give young people and the unemployed a taste of the industry and then onto apprenticeships or jobs. "I spent six weeks writing a WwTW #tender last year but suddenly have a new found understanding and respect for the #watermen" sarra@sheep_tweets "Whatever these guys who handle the drains and sewers are being paid, pay them double!" #watermen #BBC John Wallace@johnwallacedrum You WHAT? "Properly enjoyed #watermen. Might scrub it off my list of career change options though. -pc.@paulcarruthers #watermen is weirdly compelling cherry healey@cherryhealey rEAliTY cHEcK British Water says at least 40,000 staff are laid off as a result of the troughs in the five-yearly AMP cycles EU Skills statistics reveal that 139,500 people work in the water industry in England, 28,500 of which are employed by the regulated water companies and utilities The industry is facing an aging workforce, which is expected to worsen over the next 15 years Skills are integrally linked to innovation Historic investment in skills in the industry has remained relatively low The Oldham WwTW will be upgraded, using improved treatment processes to clean the wastewater SHARE YOUR OPINION... yoursaywn@fav-house.com

• Cover