WET News

2 WET NEWS June 2014 COMMENT "A fairer playing eld for ALL contractors... That's a good thing." NEWS+ June 80B Last year, 55 million tonnes of raw sewage was released into the tidal River Thames – the equivalent of eighty billion toilets flushing straight into the river. "We are continuing to improve the quality, reliability and resilience of our assets and increase capital investment in our network to £836M this year" Steve Mogford, CEO, United Utitlies United Utilities has cut its carbon footprint by 11% in the year to March 2014. UU has reduced its carbon emissions by 23% since 2005-6. Its CO 2 equivalent for 2013-14 was 449,042t. 11% 23% IN A NUTSHELL "#watermen is de n- itely the best TV programme ever. So wonderfully peculiar"@paulisbored 15,000 More than 15,000 custom- ers of Essex & Su™ olk Wa- ter in Billericay have been asked if they would like an audit of their showers, taps and toilets in a bid to prevent leakage. 200km More than 200km of new pipelines will be installed on Wessex's water supply grid "We have embraced lessons from the auto-motive and other sectors, in particular the need for standardisation and smooth transition into operations – an approach we call factory thinking" Tim Cooper, business development director - water, Costain "E™ ective supply chain management relies on good communication and a strong, collaborative working relationship, which are all central to our Engineering Tomorrow strategy" Martin Orrells, Costain general manager for Procurement & Supply Chain Management 1M One million businesses in England will be able to choose their water supplier from April 2017. A new report suggests households are less concerned about compulsory water metering, although opinions are split about their impact on water bills Urgent increase in public engagement on water needed I have to admit – I'm not a huge fan of the European Union (EU). However, I was pleased to see that the mighty power machine in Brussels is actually doing something useful for once, although it wasn't long before it lived up to my expectations. It is revamping the EU procurement directives to make them less cumbersome and time-consuming (see front page and page 6). The changes will also bene‚ t SMEs, which is a good thing. In other words, a fairer playing ‚ eld for ALL contractors and suppliers, no matter their size. That's a good thing. E-procurement But, typically, Brussels has to make life diˆ cult for some and in the case of the revamped procurement directives it will be for those that are hiring. Companies issuing tenders will be faced with an increased administrative burden – they will have to split contracts into smaller lots and assess a greater number of bids. E-procurement procedures are also being adopted, whereby tender publication and communication with bidders will be done electronically, adding more to the administa- tive workload of utilities. So, while the directives will bene‚ t SMEs, the Brussels red tape will move to the hand that feeds the supply chain. Wessex Water's amazing supply grid project I went over to Wiltshire recently to see how construction of Wessex Water's water supply grid is taking shape. What an amazing project it is, and you can't help but get caught up in the enthusiasm for it. The £225M scheme, when complete in 2018, will provide resilience and water supply security to Wessex Water's customers (see pages 8, 10, 11). The integrated grid will enable the company to move water to where it is needed, even if the supply is interrupted due to unforeseen events. Existing assets It will also enable Wessex Water to help out neigbouring water companies if needed. What's even better is that the company has weighed up the pros and cons of using its existing assets, or whether to build new local solutions. In the end it was decided go down the existing assets route. It is a project that that Wessex Water should be congratulated for especially as it is a sustainable approach that could, and dare I say should, be adopted by other water companies. There is a lot of discussion about whether the UK should have a national water supply grid or not to ensure water security. Regional supply grids would be one way of achieving that. Rigger boots are becoming a safety issue WECS recently banned sta— and visitors from wearing Rigger boots on their construction sites. There are safety issues over the boots' ankle support. It seems a case for the Health & Safety Executive to look into. their front doors, said the report, except perhaps when ™ oods hit the headlines. For this reason, the public sees the debate over the future of the water sector as being mainly about prices and billing rather than the other major challenges facing the country.› M ore than 40% of the gen- eral public is unaware of the wider social and en- vironmental bene‚ ts of water companies, such as monitoring and reporting on pollution and helping to mitigate ™ ood risks and preserving open water areas. That is according to a new in- depth study by valve, meterbox and water ‚ tting specialist Talis UK. The study, titled Talking Water, looks into customer atti- tudes towards the water industry ahead of the major changes tak- ing place within the sector. One thousand households nation- wide were asked a range of ques- tions relating to issues a— ecting water supply and management. The report highlighted that while the public is appreciative of its water supply and the recrea- tional facilities open water areas provide, in the majority of cases people "are blissfully unaware" of many wider challenges. Its ‚ ndings, said Talis, sug- gest that there needs to be an urgent increase in public engage- ment and education about some of the major decisions being taken in their name. The issues of which most households are aware stop at NEED TO KNOW Flooding, abstraction and low investment are the three highest areas of concern for households Managing the wider water infrastructure, such as maintaining pipes, was the second most visible role of water companies behind clean water supply and waste removal The majority of respondents would like the water sector to operate more like the electricity and gas suppliers Mandatory water metering is less important to households than higher bills and confusing tari™ s Customers would be happy to pay £1.28 a day for their water supply. The average cost across the UK is £1 a day Currently, people felt water bills represented value for money, but many feared that change in the sector would result in higher bills (71%); confusing tari— s (65%); or worsening ser- vice (60%). However, there is much less concern for the intro- duction of mandatory water meters, although opinions are split about their potential posi- tive impact on bills or water usage. Commenting on the results of the study, Mark Hodgens, manag- ing director of Talis UK, said: "It's important for us to have a thor- ough understanding of the water industry so that we can ‚ nd out what makes our customers tick. Our Talking Water report helps to further this understanding, by highlighting public attitudes and awareness of the upcoming chal- lenges and diˆ cult decisions that face the UK water sector in years to come. "Water is the most vital resource we have, but wider pub- lic involvement in the debate of how to change the sector is mini- mal. We're hoping that this research will act as a catalyst for the UK water industry to work together to build awareness of the choices and implications." JUNE 2014 WET NEWS 3 U nited Utilities (UU) has revealed it is bringing for- ward £40M of capital in- vestment into 2014-15 to aid a smoother and most effective start to AMP6. The transitional spend will form part of the water company's capital investment programme for its current finan- cial year. The company reported a £37.1M increase in underlying operating profit to £641.3M for the year to March 31, 2014. Reve- nue was up more than 4% to £1.7B over the same period in 2013. United Utilities invested £836M in its capital investment programme during the year which was £49M more than for 2012-13. It expects to deliver a similar level of investment for 2014-15, including the transi- tional spend. The regulatory capital C onstruction of Thames Wa- ter's first new reservoir in London for more than a century is now nearing its peak with structures taking shape. Located in a royal park at Primrose Hill near Regents Park, the £10.8M facility is being con- struction by GBM, the joint ven- ture between Galliford Try, MWH Treatment and Mott MacDonald. UU plans £40M transition spend • United Utilities is to invest tens of millions of pounds to lessen the impact of moving from one five-yearly cycle to the next New London reservoir takes shape The facility is being built on the site of a former reservoir that was decommissioned in 2002 a™er ground movement caused damage to the roof. Since then water has been pumped into the area from other zones using the ring main beneath London. The new reservoir occupies the same footprint as its prede- cessor but will have a slightly larger capacity of 28.4Ml serving 280,000 people. The roof will be grassed over to blend in with the parkland surroundings. The reservoir, which will pro- vide Thames's customers with supply security as well as consist- ent water pressure, is schedule to be in service by January 2015. Built off-site for rapid delivery and start-up, Ovivo's new standard range of RBC's offer a competitive alternative in wastewater treatment. The Ovivo standard RBC's are based on serving Population Equivalents: 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 based on 180l/hd/day for 95%ile 20:30 (BOD:SS) assuming 30% BOD reduction in primary settlement. Units can be added for larger populations or to achieve tighter discharge consents. CONTACT OVIVO TO FIND OUT HOW THE NEW AFFORDABLE OVIVO RBC TECHNOLOGY CAN BENEFIT YOU. DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR NEEDS... • Low capital cost wastewater treatment • Reduced operating cost • Simple maintenance • Built off-site • Reliable process WE FOUND THE RIGHT SOLUTION TO MAKING OUR HIGH QUALITY RBC'S COMPETITIVE. Call: 01249 705 350 or visit: www.ovivowater.co.uk/rbc © 2014 GLV Inc. All rights reserved. SYSTEMATIC INNOVATIVE THINKING Ovivo ® RBC DESIGNED TO MEET YOUR NEEDS... • Low capital cost wastewater treatment • Reduced operating cost WE FOUND THE RIGHT SOLUTION TO MAKING OUR HIGH QUALITY SYSTEMATIC INNOVATIVE THINKING THINKING C M Y CM MY CY CMY K RBC Launch Ad 0514_PRINT READY.pdf 1 27/05/2014 11:55:25 AM 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 investment in the year included £165M of infrastructure renewals expenditure, said the company. Commenting on the results, UU chief executive officer Steve Mogford said: "Customer satis- faction continues to improve, underpinned by strong opera- tional and environmental performance, and we believe there is scope to deliver further improvements. We are continu- ing to improve the quality, relia- bility and resilience of our assets and increased capital invest- ment in our network to £836M this year." He added: "We are reinvest- ing around £280M of our outper- formance, providing benefits for customers and the environment." The company said it will sub- mit its revised business plan for 2015-20 by the end of June, and it is working closely with regulator Ofwat on that. United Utilities said two key areas it has been focusing on are wastewater total expenditure (totex) and retail average cost to serve. It said: "Ofwat's initial view on wastewater totex indicated a £1.1B difference, compared with our business plan submission. In our submission, we asked for around £1B of wastewater totex to be given specific consideration. "We are in detailed dialogue with Ofwat to understand this difference and provide any fur- ther evidence required to sup- port our submission. We are also revising our outcome delivery incentives to include more sym- metrical reward / penalty mechanisms." The company has extended its presence in the Scottish water retail market and to ensure it is in a strong position as the busi- ness retail market opens up in England in 2017. In Scotland, the it now has 150 customers. "One of our chief concerns at CIWEM, and one that we raised when we gave oral evidence during the Bill's House of Commons Committee Stage, is that Ofwat's duties attain the correct balance." Dr Simon Festing, CIWEM chief executive "From a transactions standpoint, whilst we might expect some of the water companies to contemplate exits from their non-household businesses, the fact that the companies will retain a major household business, could impact the speed and effectiveness of M&A developing in the short to medium term" Andy Cox, head of energy and natural resources, KPMG "We welcome the provisions contained within the Act, particularly those which encourage innovation and sustainability. However, we recognise that delivery of the Act's provisions will require much closer collabora- tion between all the stakeholders involved." Dr David Smoker, chair, WISCN NEED To KNoW Ofwat is allowing the water companies to bring forward investment from AMP6 into 2014-15 to help eliminate the rollercoaster-like peaks and troughs of the five-yearly cycles Around £440M-worth of capital spend is expected to be brought forward by the water companies, according to water minister Dan Rogerson United Utilities was one of 16 water companies that are having to re-submit new or improved business plans to the regulator UU and Ofwat have a difference of opinion on the company's wastewater totex for 2015-2020 The company is now the second largest water retailer in Scotland, with 150 customers spread over 2,000 sites The reservoir has the same footprint as the former facility despite having a larger capacity "This shouldn't be about Royal Assent and then nothing for three years. We've spoken to lots of customers who don't feel as if they're getting value from their regional suppliers, but can't do anything about it because they don't use enough water to switch right now" Mark Powles, Business Stream chief executive You WHAT?

• Cover