Water & Wastewater Treatment

4 | NOVEMBER 2015 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry news November Anglian Water Business (AWB) is set to provide water and wastewater services to more than 100 public sector organisations in Scotland aer being named as the 'most competitive bidder' for the £80M-a-year contract by the Scottish Government. The new deal to look aer water bills for Scotland's schools, hospitals and other public buildings will lead to savings of up to £40M over the next four years, the Scottish Government said. Nevertheless the move has been criticised by the Scottish Green Party and some in the media who expected the contract to stay with Business Stream, a subsidiary of publicly- owned Scottish Water. Cabinet secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities Keith Brown said: "This is the best deal for Scotland under the rules that bind us, and this contract will save public bodies up to £10M annually for the AWB wins Scottish public sector retail supply deal Contract Tracker Itron to supply Yorkshire with meters Yorkshire Water has award- ed a new contract to Itron for the supply of advanced water meters for both residential and commercial customers. The contract includes the supply of up to 500,000 high- end water meters equipped with radio communication modules in Yorkshire over the next five years. B&V and MWH in energy tie-up MBV Energy Recovery, the joint venture between Black & Veatch and MWH Treatment, is to carry out an £87M waste-to-energy project in Cheshire. The deal is for a renewable energy plant developed by CoGen UK at Ince Park Resource Recovery Centre. ATi wins new UU contract Analytical Technology (ATi) has been awarded a new framework agreement for water and wastewater monitoring equipment with United Utilities. It will see ATi act as the sole or dual technology supplier in nine categories of instrumentation, ranging from pH analysers to sludge blanket monitors. VolkerStevin gets TTT work VolkerStevin has been awarded a multi-million pound contract to carry out enabling works ahead of the construction of the £4.2BN Thames Tideway Tunnel Project. initial three-year period of the contract with the option to extend for a further 12 months." AWB will manage the contract from its Edinburgh office. The existing contract with Business Stream was due to expire on March 31 but will continue until December 31 to allow for a seamless transition to the new management. An AWB spokesperson said: "We are delighted the contract award is moving forward. The formal standstill period remains in force for another ten days, but we look forward to the contract being awarded and being able to work with Scotland's public sector, bringing similar savings to them as we have for our many other Scottish customers." Johanna Dow, chief executive of Business Stream, said: "We are very disappointed by the outcome, having lost by the narrowest of margins. We have a proven track record of delivering excellent results working in partnership with Scotland's public sector over the past seven years, with savings of more than £36M delivered over the term of the existing contract. It's worth noting that this is a framework and regardless of the decision, several public sector agencies have already indicated their preference to remain customers of Business Stream." Patrick Harvie, Scottish Green MSP for Glasgow and a member of Holyrood's economy committee, attack- ed the decision, saying: "This was an opportunity to prevent the supply of water services to Scotland's public sector falling into the hands of a private firm whose profits won't benefit the Scottish economy, and specifically a company that paid no corporation tax this year yet handed shareholders a £180M dividend." 16% The fall in customer bills that Bristol Water will see over five years, after the CMA gave its verdict on Bristol's appeal over its Ofwat determination. Bristol's intended plans would have seen bills fall just 6%, while Ofwat's determination would have meant a fall of 19%. RESERVOIR HANDOVER: The ownership of a disused Fife reservoir has been transferred to the local community under the first 'right to buy' initiative of its type in Scotland. Lochmill Reservoir, decommissioned in 1997, will be owned and maintained by the Newburgh Community Trust.

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