Water & Wastewater Treatment

4 | JANUARY 2016 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk Industry news January Households in England could be given a choice of water supplier by 2020, the government has announced. A document published by the Treasury outlined plans to boost competition in a number of sectors including water to get a better deal for consumers. It said: "The government is driving water market competition. Business and other non-household customers will be able to switch suppliers from 2017. Ofwat will provide an assessment by summer 2016 of the costs and benefits of extending retail competition to household water customers. Following this, the government will work with water companies to begin the transition to household retail competition before the end of this Parliament." The document also looked forward to the Government to open up water supply competition to households in England Contract Tracker B&V on Welsh flood defence framework Black & Veatch is to help protect Welsh commu- nities against flooding having won a place on the Welsh government's construction consultancy framework. As part of the framework, the company will carry out flood alleviation work for Natural Resources Wales and also undertake site supervision includ- ing environmental and landscaping clerk-of-work roles. NRW's Flood Risk Management Capital Programme budget for the four-year framework is £20M a year. Gee wins UU chemical dosing deal Gee & Company has been awarded a framework contract for chemical dosing systems for United Utilities. The framework, which will last five years with an option to extend to seven, covers both chemical dosing skids and packaged chemical dosing systems. YW awards land contracts Yorkshire Water has awarded three land and property maintenance contracts worth over £5M in total. The new contract partners, all of whom are based in Yorkshire, are Mason Clark Associates, Fountains Forestry and Freedom Group. introduction of upstream competition, saying: "Upstream water markets will be facilitated by the government's planned modernisation of the way water abstraction is regulated to enable trading and competition, reduce water waste, cut red tape and help businesses to focus on investment and growth." The announcement came as a surprise to many in the water industry, which has been focused on opening the market to competition for non-domestic customers in 2017, and was not expecting domestic competition to follow so swi‰ly. Ofwat welcomed the government's decision. Its chief executive, Cathryn Ross, said: "Customers' priorities should be at the heart of water services. Well- functioning markets deliver benefits for customers, as well as wider society. Such a market in the water and wastewater sector could see customers become more engaged, push prices down, service up, and encourage more efficient water use. "Opening up choice is a decision for Government. We welcome the opportunity to report on whether the benefits of choice could or should be extended to households. An in- depth review is needed to understand the full extent of these benefits, as well as identifying the barriers to getting a better deal for customers and making sure all customers' interests are considered. "We look forward to engaging with our stakeholders as we carry out the review." Ofwat's definition of retail services includes customer facing activities such as billing, account handling and customer queries, as well as water efficiency advice. 25,000 The number of water efficiency devices handed out to South East Water customers as part of a new scheme encouraging householders to adopt water- saving practices and water efficiency. Devices on offer include a four-minute shower timer, and a water-saving toilet cistern bag. Sheffield Hallam MP and Former LibDem leader Nick Clegg took part in a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of Yorkshire Water's £24M project to upgrade Rivelin water treatment works near Sheffield. The project is being managed and constructed by Mott MacDonald Bentley and is due to be complete by the end of 2017.

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