WET News

Wet NeWs WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS News+ Ofwat says water companies should ensure contractors meet their codes of practice. But should there be a universal standard? P7 Onsite: Repair & maintenance Carrying out repair work to a combined sewer in York proved quite a challenge, and required a different approach, p12-13 Insight: It & telemetry Much of São Paulo's underground sewer infrastructure has either stopped working or been abandoned, thanks to damage caused by urban improvement. Can it be resurrected to meet demand? P18-19 • • Infrastructure Provider preferred bidder announced, as regulator consults over the licence. The licence award is expected late August. significantly increase capacity in the London sewerage network. It will also operate independently of Thames Water as well as be subject to formal designation and licensing by Ofwat. In fact, the regulator has gone out to consultation over the IP's licence, proposing that customers benefit from any underspend on the project. Customers would receive 70%, while the IP would get the remainder. However, customers would have to meet 60% of additional costs. The consultation closes on August 14, 2015, and the licence award is scheduled for late August. The IP will be chaired by Sir Neville Simms, with former Crossrail programme director Andy Mitchell as CEO. Commenting on Bazalgette's success, Christian Fingerle, chief investment officer responsible for infrastructure investments at Allianz, said: "We are convinced that this project will modernise a B azalgette Tunnel, a newly- created, special purpose company, has fended off a rival Borealis-led consortium to become the preferred bidder to deliver Thames Water's £4.2bn 'super sewer', the Tideway Tunnel. The venture is a consortium of investors comprising funds managed by Allianz, Amber Infrastructure Group, Dalmore Capital and DIF. The appointment comes a month aœer reports that the preferred bidder process had been extended by a month because the two competing bids were too close to call. As Infrastructure Provider (IP), Bazalgette's responsibilities will finance and deliver the tunnel project. Its responsibilities will also include managing the contractors that will construct the 25km tunnel, which is required to tackle the discharge of untreated sewage into the tidal River Thames through central London and to Bazalgette Tunnel wins IP contest to construct Thames 'super sewer' AMP6 could be trigger for certified training AUGUST 2015 Volume 21 • Issue 08 IPS Flow Systems Tel: 0191 521 3111 www.ipsflowsystems.com The full KESSEL DRAINAGE range now available direct from IPS Kessel Backwater Valves, Hybrid Drainage Systems and Lifting Stations, provide unrivalled cost effective, energy saving, and reliable property protection from internal flood through the sewer surcharge. We can provide design & specification assistance, Kessel accredited training, together with our first class service including next day spare parts delivery. Contact us for further details Bristol Water gains £20M from CMA review Need to Know Bazalgette Tunnel is named in honour of civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who designed London's Victorian sewer system The Infrastructure Provider will be licensed the same as any other UK water company When completed alongside the Lee Tunnel, the Tideway will have a storage capacity of 1.6m3 On average, 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage enters the tidal River Thames every year With the Tideway Tunnel in place, the system will discharge only four times in a typical year A n industry-wide licence where operatives are trained to a certified standard could be on the cards sooner rather than later, according to Develop Training. The concept of licensing is already established in the gas sector, and Develop said AMP6 could be the trigger for a Licence to Operate (LTO) scheme in the UK water industry. Develop has already created the LTO concept with Anglian Water, and its business development manager, Daryll Garavan, said he is already talking to several companies about implementing a similar scheme. He said: "Because AMP6 focuses on reducing upstream failures, we see it as a major training opportunity for the industry with a clear return on training investment as implementation results in a better, continuous, service without disruption. Formal certification is a natural extension of that. This is a tried and tested delivery model in other industries..." pivotal aspect of London's essential infrastructure and are delighted that Allianz can help to upgrade London's sewage system for 22nd Century London "This investment will be a very important partnership between Allianz, our consortium partners, our contractors and Thames Water, working closely with the UK water regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency to achieve a major improvement to London's iconic river." Thames Water will now formally choose contractors to deliver the new sewer, with construction to start in 2016 and complete in 2023. The tunnels will sit beneath the bed of the River Thames, from Acton in the west to Abbey Mills near Stratford in the east. The construction preferred bidders are BMB JV (west contract); FLO JV (Central); and CVB JV (East). Infrastructure support service provider Amey has won the Systems Integration contract for "We're a process engineering company with a pedigree..." Avtar Jirh, Doosan Enpure, p8 the Thames Tideway Tunnel 'super sewer' project. The company will be responsible for providing process control and communication equipment and soœware systems for operation, maintenance and reporting. B ristol Water has only gained an additional £20M in wholesale expenditure under the provisional final determination set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The water company will see its allowed wholesale cost expenditure increase from the £409M set by Ofwat in its final determination, to £429M under the CMA's provisional findings. This remains substantially lower than the £537M the water company set out in its final business plan. The wholesale cost of capital set out by the CMA for the water company is also slightly more generous than that set out by the regulator, at 3.65% compared to 3.6%, but this is again substantially lower than that proposed by Bristol Water of 4.37%. The CMA rejected "several requests" from Bristol Water to have its expenditure increased to fund various projects – including the proposals to build the Cheddar 2 reservoir. "Those wishing to cause damage to our drinking water would laugh at our response..." Craig Stanners, IVL, p2

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