WET News

2 WET NEWS DECEMBER 015 COMMENT "That's a lot of people that the industry can't a ord to lose" DECEMBER 2 The number of development centres created at Scottish Water sites where compa- nies can test new equip- ment, products and pro- cesses for potential roll-out in the water industry. Jonson Cox, chairman of Ofwat, has been reappointed to the role for a further term until October 2020. Commenting on his reappointment, Cox said: "The sector we regulate provides a vital public service, and I have had a passionate interest in the industry for many years." Yorkshire Water is investing £46M over the next " ve years to renew and improve telemetry equipment that helps control water distribu- tion, quality and treatment throughout the region. The company said that nearly half of the money will be spent on updating around 2,000 intsruments used to measure water quality and control water flow to ensure regulatory standards are met. £46M 2,000 £13bn The government estimates the Tideway sewer will bring £13bn of bene" ts to London's environment. This includes preventing millions of tonnes of sewage flowing into the River Thames. £4Bn The amount of money that has been 'wasted' on recruitment, training and redundancies. "In essence BS 11000 is not a new way of thinking or working for us and our supply chain. It is business as usual" Matthew Barney, NM Group supply chain manager on the company achieving the British Standard for collaborative working. "BIM o ers new, faster and better options for software-based planning, execution and management of construction projects" CPM's Paul Cartwright as it o• ers its standard drainage products and Redi-Rock walling on BIMstore. £85M "It was great to see that " nal pile being completed and now we are set to begin the next part of the project," said Brian Walker, of Costain, on the Costain-VCGP joint venture completing a key milestone on Scottish Water's £85M Shieldhall Tunnel. I t's interesting to see that greater importance is being placed on innovation in the procurement and contractual processes. Research is being carried out by Costain, Pinsent Mason and the University of Cambridge to establish how innovation can be promoted throughout the supply chain (see p4). The research, funded by Innovate UK, re ects the fact that once a contract has been procured, the scope to accommodate innovation within the deal is governed by the contract itself and the nature of the contractual relationship. But shouldn't innovation already be governing the procurement process? The arrival of AMP6 brought with it a culture based around total expenditure (totex) to drive greater e… ciency in the water industry as well as reduce costs. That's how it should be. Being innovative drives those e… ciencies. Innovation must also play an important role if the industry is to overcome challenges brought by a growing population and climate change. Innovation doesn't just relate to products and technologies. It applies to services and processes covering a multitude of areas, such as health and safety and customer service. Companies have these schemes in place, but those that are innovative see the bigger picture and have initiatives that go beyond what is expected of them. The water industry has evolved a lot, the proof of which has been demonstrated time and time again in the ten years since the water industry "Oscars" began. And that's fantastic. So if your company is innovative and thinks outside of the box, tell us about it and enter our Water Industry Achievement Awards. The closing date is January 15, 2016! Billions wasted! Mouchel's Lee Horrocks, speaking at our Water Supplier Conference last month, told delegates that £40Bn has "been wasted" over the years on recruitment, training and redundancies as a result of the boom and bust aspect of the water sector's AMP cycle. That's a staggering amount of money. Apart from the AMP cycle, an ageing workforce does not help the situation and now it seems there's another threat – employment cycles are getting shorter as staš look to apply their skills elsewhere. The skills shortage is a major issue not just for the water sector but for construc- tion and engineering in general. Horrocks said 40% of people will not return to the industry. That's a lot of people the industry can't aš ord to lose. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Finally, myself and the rest of the WET News team would like to wish all our readers and advertisers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. See you in 2016! Research and innovation centre to tackle sewerage infrastructure ¢ Industry and academia join forces to overcome the impacts of groundwater in" ltration on urban infrastructure. A tkins, together with the University of Birming- ham, Imperial College London, and the British Geological Survey, has launched a Centre for Research and Innovation to tackle the economic and environmental impacts of groundwater in¤ ltration on urban infra- structure in the UK, which is estimated to cost tens of millions of pounds annually. For the ¤ rst two years, the centre will be focused on sewerage infrastructure where water seeping through cracked pipes is estimated to account for 40% of ow in the network. This reduces sewer capacity; damages infrastructure; poses a serious challenge for operations; and deteriorates the quality of the receiving waters and ecosystem services. It is believed the issue costs the water industry millions of pounds every year. In 2013/14, three water companies in the UK spent an additional £80M in responding to the impacts of in¤ ltration. The centre will undertake research with academia, researchers and industry to bring innovative and practicable outcomes, so that signi¤ cant ¤ nancial and environmental bene¤ ts can be brought to this longstanding industry problem. The long-term aim of the centre is to develop preventative techniques that will reduce ongoing asset management costs as well as improve environmental standards and customer service for the industry. At times of increased wet weather and ooding across the UK, like over the 2013/14 winter, these tech- niques will also directly reduce the risk of ooding experienced in towns and cities including schools, homes, and local businesses. Adam Cambridge, technical authority for urban stormwater management at Atkins, said: "For decades in¤ ltration has been a long standing infrastructure challenge for our industry. Local communities are o« en the ones most aš ected by the problem. This is the ¤ rst time we've taken a co-ordinated approach to tackle the impacts of in¤ ltration facing our infrastructure head on. "Over the next ¤ ve years, the centre will bring together academics, researchers and industry to build an integrated approach in managing the environmental risk and economic impact to our sewerage network across the UK, hopefully freeing up capacity, reducing the over- spills and saving millions of pounds in the process." Dr Chris Jackson, a principal scientist at the British Geological Survey, said: "This new collaborative centre is an exciting opportunity to build on our NERC-funded environ- mental modelling and groundwater research. The centre brings together a wide range of expertise from industry and academia. By working together, and by collaborating with a range of stakeholders, we hope to realise signi¤ cant bene¤ ts not only for the water industry but also for local communities." Dr Ana Mijic, lecturer in urban water management at the Imperial College London, added: "The centre presents a great platform for translating the scienti¤ c knowledge into innovative and end-users informed approaches and tools for addressing an important issue of groundwater impacts on urban infrastructure. We are hoping to deliver a wide range of environmental and economic bene¤ ts, and identify stake- holder-relevant research the- mes and projects."

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