WET News

2 WET NEWS JUNE 015 COMMENT "There must be investment to ensure having the right people for the job" JUNE 860 The number of golf courses in California ripping up turf in a scheme being run by the state's water agencies. The courses can earn US$2-3 per square foot of turf, saving 12 million gallons of water a year. "With its rich heritage of innovative solutions, ability to self-deliver and entrepreneurial culture, Murphy is ideally positioned to capitalise on the growing opportunities in the market" Murphy's new chief executive officer, Steve Hollingshead. Output growth among civil contractors fell from 52% to 29% in the Œ rst quarter of 2015, says CECA's latest workload trends survey. The order balance is at 59%. 29% 59% "The internal focus on cash is vital to maintain a strong balance sheet through self-help" Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty CEO. £150M The cost of Essex & Su" olk Water's project to enlarge its Abberton Reservoir. O• cially opened earlier this month, the reservoir is 58% bigger and has capacity for 41 billion litres of water. It serves several areas including Chelmsford and Southend. 40K The number of jobs lost in the water sector as a result of the boom and bust aspect of the AMP cycle "What has been both learned and delivered by our team during AMP5 will challenge us to do even better in AMP6 " Ilya Savva, BAM Nomenca framework manager, on the JV being awarded South East Water's AMP6 framework. "Environment Agency data shows that over 30 new major schemes were proposed for the 2015-20 AMP6 period, with capacity to transfer up to 200Ml of water per day" Ben McAlinden, ICE £62M Severn Trent is divesting its Water PuriŒ cation business to its joint venture partner Industrie De Nora in a transaction worth almost £62M. The move enables Severn Trent to focus on delivering growth in its water and wastewater services in the UK and internationally. W ell, wasn't that an exciting, jaw-dropping General Election, and now the hard work begins. The reshu ed Defra ministerial team has been put in place to deliver and implement the new government's policy. The team comprises Liz Truss, George Eustice and Lord de Mauley, who are continuing in their roles as environment secretary, Defra minister and junior minister respectively, as well as Rory Stewart, the new junior minister. All well and good. The only problem is the heavy slant towards the agricultural side at a time when there is a lot to be done in the grand water scheme of things – for instance, issues with implementing the Water Framework Directive; the opening up of the retail water supply market for commercial users. Let's not forget either all the work that needs to done to improve and maintain the country's ‡ ood defences. Truss' responsibilities include common agricultural reform and biodiversity; Eustice comes from a farming back- ground; and Stewart has made a point of focusing on rural; and upland farming policy. During the coalition government's time in oˆ ce, the water sector moved into the limelight as the Water Bill passed through Parliament. While agriculture is important I hope the water sector does not slide back down the political agenda. A lot of work still needs to be done to transform it into one that can cope with the challenges and demands of climate change. Invest in training to beat skills shortage Yet again the skills shortage is high on the agenda. What's worrying, though, is the fact that the shortage is cited as a reason for some contractors not being able to bid for work (see p4). According to research by the National Specialist Contractors Council (NSCC), which has just published its latest State of Trade Survey, more than a quarter of respondents said they were unable to bid for work – higher than at any time since the recesssion. This is at a time when more than half of specialist contrac- tors are reporting an increase in enquiries. The NSCC says the skills crisis needs to be tackled head-on. It's absolutely right. This skills shortage is not new. Just take the water sector, almost 40,000 jobs have been laid o˜ as a result of the cyclicality of the AMP cycle. Why would these want to come back to an industry when the same thing may happen to them again? With the skillset changing in the industry as digital engineer- ing techniques and o˜ site manfacturing increasingly come into play, there must be investment in training if contractors are to have the right people for the job. Failure to do so could lead to more work being lost through sta˜ not having the right skills. Water and waste- water network market to double š Ageing infrastructure worldwide will provide a lucrative market as bulk opportunities open up, says new analysis. T he global water and wastewater network market earned revenues of US$89.86bn (£57.01bn) last year and the ¦ gure is set to reach $156.04bn (£99bn) by 2020, new analysis by Frost & Sullivan has revealed. The growth is because of increasing connectivity and rehabilitation needs, caused by ageing water and wastewater networks. The analysis, CEO 360 Degree Perspective on Global Water and Wastewater Network, highlights that less than 60% of the world has pipe water connectivity and about 65% has access to proper sanitation. A cumulative investment of $0.75 trillion (£0.45 trillion) is expected to be made by 2020 to establish and maintain water and wastewater networks, taking access to pipe water and improved sanitation ¦ gures up to 70% and 75% respectively. Frost & Sullivan Energy & Environmental Research analyst R Ramkumar said: "Most challenges facing utilities such as the lack of ¦ nancing infrastructure, non-revenue water losses, and pipe blockages have their root cause in ageing infrastructure. With more than half of the world's networks nearing the end of its useful life, systematic replacement and rehabilitation activities will account for the bulk of opportunities in the market." According to the report both the developed and developing regions will be lucrative markets, with the former likely to move towards smart systems while the latter leapfrogs to smart networks. Smart systems, automation and control, and trenchless technologies will address the requirements of a large segment of the global market and outpace the growth of other network components The report said network infrastructure providers should focus on supplying these products at an a˜ ordable price to attract cash-strapped utilities. www.teekaycouplings.com tel: +44 (0)1494 679500

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