Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2015 | 27 In the know Environmental charity CHEM Trust is calling for improvements to sewage and wastewater treatment to prevent river pollution caused by human and vet- erinary medicines. In a report, Pharmaceu- ticals in the Environment: A growing threat to our tap water and the environment the organisation says treat- ment options to be consid- ered include activated car- bon, advanced oxidation or UV. According to the re- port, medicines are pollut- ing rivers and have harmed wild birds and fish, while dozens of drug types have been found in samples of drinking water in EU coun- tries with larger monitor- RESEARCH ROUND UP £8M funding for smart networks R&D i2O Water, the smart water networks company, has se- cured additional funding of £8M to expand its research and development (R&D) ac- tivities in Southampton and provide additional commer- cial and technical support for its global network of partners and resellers. The financing round was supported by existing inves- tors Naxos Capital Partners and Nemadi Advisers, as well as new investor Ombu Group. i2O Water's Smart Pressure Management technology enables water companies to optimise the performance of their water distribution networks, and is currently used by 66 wa- Report warns over drugs in river water ing programmes. However, legal stand- ards for residues of medi- cines in rivers and drink- ing waters are lacking. Gwynne Lyons, director of policy at CHEM Trust, said: "Most people would probably be surprised that in general they excrete be- tween 30-90% of any medi- cine they take. With so many medicines now being found in our riv- ers, action on all fronts is needed to protect wildlife and drinking water. "The long term implica- tions of many highly ac- tive medicines in our en- vironment may come back to haunt us. The current situation is mind-boggling with fish contaminated with the birth control pill, antidepressants (such as Prozac), sedatives, anti- biotics, painkillers, anti- cancer drugs and goodness knows what else." The report emphasised that improvements of sew- age treatment works would be mandatory in some areas if the three pharma- ceuticals on the EU priority watch list were accepted as priority substances under the Water Framework Di- rective (WFD). It added that continued research and development is also needed to "optimise water treatment technolo- gies" and to ensure they are as energy efficient as possible. Where highly toxic drugs are required for pa- tients, the report suggest there should be regional specialised hospitals with additional sewage treat- ment, or excretion col- lection schemes might be needed. wwtonline.co.uk ● 29 Digging deeper: pump starters ● 32 Getting to grips: blowers ● 35 Technically speaking: phosphorus removal ● 37 Nuts & Bolts: products, solutions and services ter companies and utilities around the world to save 235 million litres of water every day. 'Ice pig' pipe cleaning firm bought by Aqualogy A Bristol-based company that developed a technique for cleaning the inside of pipes with ice has been ac- quired by water manage- ment specialists, Aqualogy for an undisclosed sum. PCIP Ltd, a University of Bristol spin-out company, developed and patented the process known as 'ice pig- ging', which uses slush ice to clean pipes walls with- out the use of disinfecting chemicals, with little risk, and with much improved ef- fectiveness. The technology is expected to find applica- tions in the food and bever- age industry and the energy sector as well as the water industry. Aqualogy UK, who are also based in Bristol, have been licensed users of ice pigging for more than five years and have successfully introduced a commercial service in the water industry in many parts of the world. Joe Quarini, Professor of Process Engineering and the University of Bristol and the inventor of ice pigging, said that Aqualogy is the right firm to take the technology forward. "Aqualogy are the world's best organisation to make the ice pig fly," he quipped. RISING UP Imtech Water, Waste and Energy has appointed Richard Ho on as Operations Director. With over 25 years' experience in civil engineering and leadership, Ho on has spent the last five years working on large infrastructure projects in Australia, and prior to that was Operations Direc- tor at Galliford Try, in both the Water and Highways sectors. His principal focus in his new role at Imtech will be the accountability for the successful mobilisation and delivery of all projects and frameworks within the UK business. Stanton Bonna Concrete Ltd has recruited Colin Richardson to the role of Commercial Director. His previous career has included roles at Hanson, Bison and Tarmac Concrete Products, and most recently he was Business Development Director for Charcon. i2O Water has appointed Stephen Bold, formerly of BP and Sharp Labo- ratories, as its new Chairman. Bold is a technology management specialist with an extensive engineering back- ground and has been a non-executive member of i2O's board since 2006. Inlet works specialists M&N has an- nounced three key staff appointments as the firm expands its operations. Col- in Grewcock has joined as Engineering Services Account Manager to oversee all aspects of the company's framework agreement with Severn Trent Water. Ben Latter joins from Morrison Utility Services to become Engineering Ser- vices Area Manager covering the South of England; while Ian Drummond joins as Operations Manager. 20 January British Water will hold their latest Innovation Exchange event with Severn Trent Water at The TechnoCentre, Coventry University. 19-22 January The International Water Summit takes place in Abu Dhabi, UAE. 21 January Utility Week's Water Customer Confer- ence – Holiday Inn, Birmingham. 28 January WWT's Water Industry Innovation Conference takes place in Birmingham. COMING UP

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