Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JULY 2015 | 5 Polluters pay Thames appeal against £250K fine dismissed A £250,000 fine imposed on Thames Water for polluting a stream near Newbury with raw sewage was justified, a Court of Appeal judge has ruled. The fine, which was imposed in 2014 following a pollution incident at Chase Brook in Berkshire in September 2012, was "lenient" and could have been even higher, Mr Justice Mitting said as he dismissed Thames Water's appeal. He added that were it not for mitigating factors, such as the company's prompt guilty plea, the fine could have been "significantly into seven figures." West Bromwich firm fined for discharges West Bromwich firm Arrow Environmental Services has been fined £47,000 and £14,000 in costs for making illegal discharges into Severn Trent Water's sewer network. Between February and October 2014, the company allowed trade effluent to enter a public sewer that was above permitted limits on ten separate occasions. In the hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the judge ruled that the company had taken a "cavalier" approach in the release of phenol. EA investigate Darlington fish deaths The discovery of hundreds of dead fish in Aldbrough Beck, near Darlington, has prompted an investigation by the Environment Agency. A 14km stretch of the river was the subject of a suspected pollution incident on May 27. It is the second time in a year that the waterway has been marred by pollution after fish died in a 10km section of the beck last June. An investigation is ongoing. Veolia withdraws from eight2O alliance The SBWWi (Society of British Water & Wastewater Industries) has rebranded itself as the Future Water Association, promising to 'shape the future of the water sector' through a focus on innovation. The new identity was launched at the organisation's Water Innovation Forum event held in Belfast on May 28. The not-for-profit organisation, which represents companies across the water sector, has given itself the mission statement of "innovating Veolia has pulled out of Thames Water's eight2O alliance. A change in Veolia's long-term strategy in the UK has been given as the reason for the withdrawal. The group has embarked on 'a realignment' programme as it implements a new strategy of optimising assets and creating totex outcomes for clients. Design and build is not a part of that strategy. For Thames Water, Veolia was part of design and build joint venture CVA, along with Costain and Atkins. Thames Water said Veolia had decided not to proceed into the delivery phase of the eight2O alliance. It had remained part of the early contractor involvement phase, which concluded on March 31, 2015. A spokesman for Thames Water said Veolia will not be replaced within eight2O. "The consortium [CVA] will continue with two rather than the three. The consortium is still strong. VOX POP "The time's now come where we've got to think about making the assets that already exist operate a lot more, optimise them and make them work better". John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, Veolia (see story, le ) "This deal puts downward pressure on bills and means we will now be using 100 percent renewable electricity." Angus Berry, Thames Water energy manager, on its deal with Haven Power "We can be a catalyst for change in the water sector. It is an exciting time to be heading up a body that is leading the future development of the supply chain." Future Water Association CEO Paul Horton (see story, le ) for the future: to inspire the supply chain to think creatively, release their potential and develop innovative solutions to shape the future of the water sector." Beneath this, it has four objectives it will concentrate on: taking a leadership role with Government, industry, members and the public; focusing on innovation and education; increasing engagement throughout the membership and across the sector; and becoming the voice of the sector. It just doesn't have Veolia's input." The eight2O partners, alongside Thames Water, are now two design and build joint ventures made up of Costain and Atkins, and Skanska, MWH and Balfour Beatty, plus MWH as the programme manager and IBM the technology innovation partner. John Abraham, chief operating officer, water at Veolia, said it has been a difficult 12 months for Veolia because realigning the strategy has meant moving away from parts of the industry that "we've historically played in. The time's now come where we've got to think about making the assets that already exist operate a lot more, optimise them and make them work better". He said the delivery phase as well as design and build is not where Veolia wants to be. "We want to be in optimisation of assets, creating that totex outcome for our clients." SBWWi rebrands as Future Water Association

• Cover