WET News

Wet NeWs WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS News+ Ofwat is keen to license private investors for major water projects. How could such a scheme work? P7 Onsite: Network management Better asset data will be key as the industry strives to keep customer bills down. Can the mindset of field workers change to an innovative approach in data management? P10-13 Insight: Flood risk management Limited available space to meet increased demand means it may be inevitable that properties will be built in areas where there is risk of flooding. P19-20 • • Joint venture partners take on staff at risk following Imtech WWE going into administration. That's why it was le out of the deal with Endless." The deal between Endless and Imtech UK resulted following the collapse in August of Dutch group Royal Imtech. Imtech WWE's water sector customers included Southern Water, United Utilities and Sev- ern Trent. Earlier this year, the LiMA joint venture between Imtech WWE, Laing O'Rourke and Atkins was awarded UU's £170M deal to upgrade Davy- hulme Wastewater Treatment Works. Elsewhere, the Imtech WWE and Galliford Try alliance was one of three partners appointed to Southern Water's AMP6 programme. Imtech WWE is in a number of joint venture partnerships with companies such as Laing O'Rourke and Galliford Try. Between them, Laing O'Rourke and Galliford Try have taken on most of the 70 Imtech I mtech Water, Waste & Ener- gy (WWE) went into admin- istration last month leaving nearly 70 jobs at risk. Its demise shocked the UK water indus- try's supply chain as it was le out of the deal that has led to private equity group Endless backing Imtech UK. P r i c e Wa t e r h o u s e C o o p e r (PwC) has been overseeing the administration. Imtech WWE had suffered a small number of loss-making contracts in the UK water sector. Project losses concerning the closure of several larger older contracts and market related start-up delays of new projects schemes were blamed. A spokesman for Imtech UK commented: "This, combined with big delays on the commencement of new projects, made it difficult to find financial support for the business on an ongoing basis. Galliford Try and Laing O'Rourke save Imtech jobs AECOM diversifies into construction OctOber 2015 Volume 21 • Issue 10 Turn to the experts in emergency,turnkey pump and power rental solutions. Call: 0800 146 763 / Email: info@sldpumpspower.co.uk / Visit: www.sldpumpspower.co.uk Your complete rental solution... SLD provides market leading, specialist pump and generator rental equipment and services. Get in touch today to fi nd out more... ...when you need it most − Diesel Pumps − Specialist High Head Pumps − Electric & Hydraulic Submersibles − Wellpoint Dewatering − Generators − Heating & Cooling Solutions Severn Trent hit with £480K fine Need to Know Imtech UK concluded a deal to refinance its business through investment from Endless The deal with Endless safeguarded the future of 2,500 jobs in the UK and Ireland Royal Imtech was declared bankrupt in August following problems within its German subsidiary The Dutch group's trustees have been selling off divisions Imtech Traffic & Infra, excluding the Belgian activities, sold to RCPT Beheer C onsultancy group AECOM has set up a UK construc- tion business and will target the commercial and resi- dential sector. In a statement, the group said: "We have recently added a UK construction arm to our list of services to support us in deliv- ering construction services to our clients, and to lead our de- sign and build offering in a targeted manner within the UK commercial and residential mar- ket. Each offering is designed to respond to clients' preferred method of contracting and is determined by our ability to provide a differentiated offer." It added: "Recently we have been successful in expanding our UK construction business by securing a number of project awards from clients we have an established relationship with and have served elsewhere previously. We will continue to serve our developer, contractor and infrastructure client base both as a consultant and as a contractor depending on the needs of the project and our clients' preferred method of procurement." WWE staff whose jobs were at risk. Laing O'Rourke has taken on 55 staff, while Galliford Try has recruited 12. Commenting on the news of Imtech WWE's administration, a spokesman for Laing O'Rourke said: "Our priority is to continue delivering those projects to our clients and we have put plans in place to do just that. Work on our live pro- jects continues. Laing O'Rourke will continue to liaise directly with its clients, staff and suppliers." A Galliford Try spokesman said: "Looking forward, it is likely that Galliford Try will look to seek alternative partners to assist in future projects coming through the Southern Water framework." A Southern Water spokes- person said: "Following the recent news about Imtech's par- ent company, we are currently in discussions with our delivery partner GTM – a joint venture between Galliford Try and Imtech – to determine the next steps to ensure Southern Water deliver an efficient and effective AMP6 investment programme." S evern Trent Water has been fined £480,000 and ordered to pay costs of £13,675.38 and a £120 victim surcharge following a pollution incident at Kingsforth Brook near Rotherham in February 2014. It is the third highest fine ever imposed on a UK water company. The incident stemmed from a rupture in a Severn Trent raw sewage pipeline in Wickersley, which allowed raw sewage to spill into a farmer's field, a pond in a private fishery, and into Kingsforth Brook. Severn Trent had previously been issued with two formal warn- ings from the Environment Agency (EA) for similar inci- dents at the same location. An EA officer said: "This is one of the largest fines ever to be imposed on a water com- pany and I hope it sends a strong message that it is far more cost-effective to avoid these incidents." The two biggest fines handed out for pollution incidents are £750,000 to United Utilities in March 2015, and £500,000 to Southern Water in November last year. "Attractive returns are available from small-to-medium- size deals" Marc Barone, AECOM, p7 "Naturally, flooding cannot be controlled in its entirety" Paul Ellis, ESI, p8

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