Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | SEPTEMBER 2015 | 15 Project focus A n integrated approach which sees Northumbrian Water work in close partnership with the Environment Agency and local authorities is helping to reduce flood risk and implement sustainable drainage in the north east of England. The approach, which was first piloted in the Tyneside catchment and then rolled out in 2014 throughout Northumbrian's region, sees Northumbrian, the EA and the 13 local flood risk management authorities work together to identify the areas most in need of improved drainage, whether the risk they face Sustainable drainage Partnership approach to SuDS pays off for Northumbrian Water Project focus ● Integrated approach sees projects prioritised and costs divided ● 13 local authorities and Environment Agency on board ● Work with schools set to provide additional educational benefits exploring a more integrated approach to drainage as early as AMP4, but it was during AMP5 – when Northumbrian funded the Tyneside Sustainable Sewerage Study - that the thinking came together in practice via the resulting partnership formed with the EA and the five flood risk management authorities in Tyneside. "Our aim was to move away from a reactive, almost silo approach - where we would just fix our problems and the local authorities would fix theirs - and adopt a more proactive, 'do the right thing' philosophy," explains Kennedy. "Working in a silo, you don't always get the most optimal solution. Coming out of that study were a significant number of sustainable drainage opportunities, some of which are now progressing to construction." Benefits and costs In the initial stages of an intervention, when the partnership is gathering evidence for a potential project, Northumbrian Water pays 50% of the investigation costs with the EA and the local authorities in combination picking up the bill for the rest, either through their own funds, local levy or grant-in-aid funding. Once a project reaches an advanced planning stage and its benefits are fully understood, then costs are negotiated according to the risks and benefits which fall to each partner. A so"ware package, CIRIA's Benefits to SuDS Tool (BEST) is used to help with this calculation. As an example, the biggest project in the current programme is the flood alleviation scheme at Killingworth and Longbenton, on the outskirts of Newcastle. This project, which will involve diverting one watercourse (Longbenton Letch) into another (Forest Hall Letch) as well as creating Longbenton Community College as it is now (le ) and an artist's impression of the new attenuation basin (right) is sewer flooding or surface water flooding. Projects are prioritised on the basis of need, the stakeholders co-operate on scheme design and costs are then divided according to calculations based on the benefits received. This partnership principle is underpinning a host of current projects, from large ones such as the £5.5M scheme to divert the Ouseburn River at Brunton Park near Newcastle, to smaller initiatives affecting a handful of properties. Martin Kennedy, Sustainable Sewerage Manager at Northumbrian Water, says that the utility began JAMES BROCKETT EDITOR WATER & WASTEWATER TREATMENT

• Cover