Water & Wastewater Treatment

4 | september 2015 | WWt | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry news September Data on the level of service that water companies are providing to housebuilders and other developers has been published by Water UK. Water companies had undertaken to compile and deliver a set of developer services standards that can be used to compare performance across the industry, to support and help accelerate the Government's house building programme by providing greater transparency. Standards cover the length of time it takes water companies to respond to enquiries, provide quotes, make connections to mains and sewers, complete design and construction tasks and sign legal paperwork. The figures, compiled by the Water UK Developer Services Standards Group, show that from April to June 2015, there were nearly 127,000 separate requests for action measured by the standards from individuals, builders with small developments up to Data reveals water company service levels to developers Contract Tracker Amey wins Yorkshire work services provider Amey has been selected to carry out Yorkshire Water's wastewater network repair and maintenance work. the contract, worth more than £113m, starts from september and will run until 2020. Amey will also support Yorkshire Water in protecting homes from sewer flooding and pollu- tion incidents. Scottish Water awards ESG framework esG has won a £12m contract to carry out ground investigation and associated services for scottish Water. the contract, which is initially for six years, includes six one-year extension options that could see the agreement end in 2027, meaning a potential value of £24m. Investigations are planned to take place at more than 1,000 sites in scotland by 2021. Land and Marine renew Bristol Water trunk mains J murphy & sons subsidiary Land & marine is to deliver a trunk mains renovation Framework as part of bristol Water's Amp6 capital delivery programme. the framework is worth up to £10m. Land & marine will undertake six schemes in a mixture of rural and urban environments. the company has worked with bristol Water since 2013. 500 plots, builders with large developments over 500 plots, and self-lay organisations. Of these requests 118,202 related to water supply, and 8,717 for sewerage services. On average, 89% of service standards were met for water supply across the industry and 94% for sewerage. On water supply, Dee Valley Water topped the table with 100% of standards met. Chief executive Ian Plenderleith said it "underlines our commitment to work closely and in partnership with developers and others who work in or enter our supply area." By contrast, Affinity Water met only 42% of its targets; it has promised to take action to improve its score. Amongst the major water and sewerage companies, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and Severn Trent provided the best service to developers on water supply, with 98% of standards met. Southern Water (75%) and Thames Water (77%) provided the least efficient service. On sewerage, Northumbrian Water (99%), Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (99%) and United Utilities (99%) provided the best performance against target with Southern Water (83%) and Thames (89%) again at the bottom of the pack. Richard Warneford, Chairman of Water UK's Developer Services Standards Group, said the publication of the figures was "very much a move in the right direction, which will enable companies to compare their performance and provide a spur to improve their service and support to developers. We know there will always be more to be done and all the water companies are determined to improve." Water UK Chief executive Pamela Taylor said that further work is underway to find ways to improve interactions with the planning system and develop new customer satisfaction measures. 300 The number of vacancies Thames Water is seeking to fill as part of a new recruitment drive in the Reading area. The roles range from field technicians to lab scientists and customer representatives in the head office. Northumbrian Water CEO Heidi Mottram tests out a village water pump as part of a trip to Malawi to see the work of charity partner WaterAid. The charity organised the trip to Malawi, known as 'the warm heart of Africa', to give seven senior executives from water companies, businesses and trusts the chance to learn more about how it operates and the impact it has on peoples' lives.

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