Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/515382
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JUNE 2015 | 5 Polluters pay 25 English beaches to fail BWD standard The revised EU Bathing Water Directive coming into force this year is set to mean 25 English beaches fail the new standard, the Environment Agency has warned. From November 2015, the allowed concentrations of bacteria such as E.coli and intestinal enterococci to obtain the directive's 'excellent' rating will be cut by half. Beaches including Blackpool, Ilfracombe, Hastings and Margate could fail to meet the tighter standards, says the agency. Large firms 'should report on water use' Environmental NGO Friends of the Earth is calling for legislation to require all large companies to report on their use of natural resources, including water, and their carbon emissions. The call comes with the publication of a new report 'Mind Your Step' report from FOE which estimates for the first time the environmental footprints of many major companies and brands. Ink pollution turned NI river red A packaging firm in Belfast has admitted causing pollution that made the River Blackstaff turn bright red. Delta Packaging said that 'human error' was responsible for the spill of around 20-30 litres of ink, which when it was diluted in the watercourse turned the whole river a shade of scarlet. The company said the pollutant was a water-based, food safe ink and did not pose a threat to animal or plant life. The Department of Environment and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) are investigating. Totex 'provides biggest opportunity to outperform' Minworth project scoops top award LORImtech, CNG Services and Severn Trent Services were triumphant last month when they were crowned outright winners of the Water Industry Achievement Awards 2015, jointly organised by WET News and Water & Wastewater Treatment. The companies won the Outstanding Innovation Using Totex in the right way presents the biggest opportunity for water companies to outperform in AMP6 and it will require a significant change in mindset to achieve this, delegates at Utility Week Live heard. Richard Price, Director of Engineering and Construction at Southern Water, told the conference in Birmingham last month that the company has a clear focus on customer outcomes in its business plan, and 15 performance commitments within them. However, making the best use of Totex to achieve these outcomes is the main challenge and is the key to unlocking value for the customer, he said. "If we want to unlock value we can't keep doing the things we've always done – that isn't going to work," said Price. "Substantial changes are required, and there can no longer be a point solution to a point problem. There are a whole host of solutions to consider rather than just going straight for the capex solution." Southern will apply a five- step hierarchy of solutions when determining the best way to tackle a problem, said Price. They will first look to eliminate the root cause of a VOX POP "Either we have early intervention in the catchment or we end up investing in assets downstream to cope with it. By having these interventions customers end up paying less." Susan Davy, Pennon Group (see story, le ) "The shi to Totex has the potential to make AMP6 the most financially costly AMP period to date, but in the long- run it will save the consumer money." Simon Thomas, Asset International "The new plant stacks up some major benefits, at 25% of the size of a conventional ASP plant." Teresa Jeffcoat, NMC Nomenca (see p14) award 2015 with their Minworth Gas-to-Grid project, which featured several industry firsts, including being the UK's first high-pressure gas injection into the National Grid. It was also recognised in the Carbon Reduction Initiative of the Year category. The awards saw more than 500 guests descend on the Hilton Birmingham Metropole to celebrate the achievements of the water industry's innovators. problem (e.g. by catchment management); then look to reduce the need for new assets (e.g. by improved maintenance); then consider the approach of encouraging and educating water consumers; then look to collaborative solutions; and only finally look at a build solution where the other approaches have been exhausted. This way of working will require a change in mindset, though, because of the additional risk that is perceived to be present in the non-traditional solutions. "We have spent years saying that the answer to our problems is capital," said Price. When we start looking at some of these other methods there is more risk; but that's a balance that we need to embrace effectively. We need a real shiž in mindset to make this work." Price was speaking in the session alongside Greg Bradley of EC Harris, who called upon the water sector to take a broad a view of the Totex challenge: not just making Totex-optimised decisions about individual assets, but across the whole business, and 'future proofing' operations so they represent the best value over long time periods.