Water & Wastewater Treatment

6 | OCTOBER 2015 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Comment T he water industry's relationship with energy has been very much at the forefront of my mind this month. Visiting Northumbrian Water's advanced anaerobic digestion plant at Bran Sands on Teesside as part of my interview with Wastewater Director Richard Warneford (p14) really brought home the energy-generating potential of sludge (what the utility has appealing dubbed 'power from poo' in its communications with customers). And spending the day at our Water Industry Energy & Carbon Management conference in Birmingham (see p12) I was struck by the growing number of examples of renewable energy generation in the industry, spanning hydroelectric, solar and wind installations, as well as learning about the role that water companies can play, as major consumers, in balancing the Gaining power grid via demand side response. The statistic that most stuck in my mind from the conference - cited from the platform by Warneford's colleague Maxine Mayhew - was that if the water industry exploited all the energy generation potential at its sites it would be able to produce four times as much power as it actually uses. In other words, the sector would be transformed from being one of the largest consumers of energy to a significant net producer. Clearly, a great investment of time and money, not to mention further technological advance, would be required for the industry to reach that point, but it is a marked reminder of the importance of what has been termed the energy-water nexus. Energy generation and energy efficiency might now be considered by most as just two tools in the box when it comes to reducing operational cost; but in time, and if enough effort is given over to it, the energy agenda might change the whole nature of the industry, and be the key to keeping bills down at the same time as providing greater security of supply. If the industry is to move in this direction then it will need to be supported by its economic regulator, James brockett eDItor JamesBrockett@fav-house.com Twitter: @wwtmag in allowing the funding of necessary investment, while also embracing innovative approaches. The emphasis on Totex which came out in PR14 from Ofwat should open the door for more creative thinking in this regard; the sector should not allow itself to be put off by short-term setbacks such as the removal of the Feed-in-Tariff and similar incentives for renewables. A sector that is able to turn one of its main waste products, sludge, into a key fuel source has got to be on to a winner, environmentally and financially. And like any industry-changing development, this also has implications for the people working in the industry and the skills they need to acquire. As sludge treatment plants become just as much about power generation as about treatment, individuals with knowledge of gas and electrical systems will be much in demand, and existing employees will need to learn new skill sets. Water companies will be on the lookout for recruits with an ever wider variety of qualifications and backgrounds. As the country faces a potential energy crisis in future decades, it is empowering to think that the water sector could be a key part of the solution. Industry view sponsored by olga Luengo-Gonzalez marketing manager, Pipelines saint-Gobain Pam Uk The benefits of collaborative working are numerous. Collaboration brings with it better decision-making, better use of budgets and enhanced value for money. In the context of the water industry, collaboration is the only route by which the industry will achieve the very demanding goals that have been set. It will also ensure that a healthy network is in place for future generations and that infrastructure failure, due to poor design practices, is avoided. This seems to be more and more relevant nowadays in an industry where skills shortages and lack of expertise make the headlines all too o en. In this context, water companies will benefit greatly not only from the collaborative relationships already in place with contractors and consultants, but also from a profound collaboration Collaborating for real rewards with suppliers of goods too. One of the areas which provides the greatest opportunity for collaboration and for cost savings is the early involvement of a pipe supplier at the design stage of a project. Having access to initial design information enables the optimisation of pipeline design and energy consumption, the reduction of CO2 emissions, supporting a 'right first time' outcome. The minimising of costs that early involvement facilitates provides water companies' customers with better value for money, assisting water companies to comply with their agreed outcomes for AMP6 and Totex- based regulation strategy. There are real cost-savings to be gained by changing the way in which the industry works and adopting early involvement. Saint-Gobain PAM UK has a considerable number of examples where intervention at a very early stage would have saved the client thousands of pounds. For example, in a particular medium sized project, which cannot be named due to confidentiality, the company saved £35k for the contractor through pipeline redesign. Also, the project's original buried flanged pipework would have resulted in premature failure, but the proposed push-fit joint alternative provided the ideal solution. If Saint-Gobain PAM UK had been involved right from the beginning there would have been no need to design the project twice, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the cost even further. Similarly, at a major project last year Saint-Gobain PAM's involvement resulted in amendments to designs in favour of a flexible socket spigot option. This, plus reduced installation time, resulted in savings for the client of approximately 60% (equating to hundreds of thousands of pounds) when compared to the original SKU pipeline bill of quantity. If this involvement had taken place earlier, the project could have been designed correctly from the outset. Collaboration brings real, tangible benefits if put into practice properly. For water companies this approach from a supplier is a valuable tool in the battle to achieve efficiency and the lowest cost of Totex.

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