Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2016 | 5 Southern completes metering roll-out Southern Water has completed its five-year programme to install nearly 450,000 meters across Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The unique programme - Southern Water was the first UK water company to introduce widescale metering - was launched in 2010. It is estimated that the programme has led to a saving of 27 million litres of water a day – enough to meet the daily water needs of cities and towns the size of Winchester and Andover combined. Most households (62%) have seen a reduction in bills, with an average reduction of £162 a year. Homes in Southampton alone are saving, on average, 5.3 million litres of water a day, enough to fill two Olympic- sized swimming pools. A four-year study at Southampton University has corroborated the savings, helping to transform the scepticism which accompanied the launch of the controversial programme into widespread praise now that it has reached completion. Richard Price, Southern Water's Director of Engineering and Construction, said: "This is very much a triumph for our customers, many of whom have changed the way they use water to make huge savings. "This might be something as simple as turning off the tap when brushing your teeth, using a water butt instead of a hosepipe or not switching on the dishwasher until it has a full load. Adopting these and many other water efficiency measures today will help us to ensure that there will be water available when we turn the tap on in the future. "Indeed, our customers have worked hard to reduce their consumption by 16.5%, against a national average of 10% when having a water meter installed," said Price. With nearly 90% of all households now metered, our customers must be amongst the most water efficient in the country." Polluters pay SWW hit with £300k fine over Devon pollution South West Water (SWW) has been fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £14,421 in costs by Plymouth Crown Court a er polluting a Devon watercourse. In a case brought by the Environment Agency (EA), Plymouth Crown Court heard how a combination of equipment failure and poor management on the part of SWW led to poorly treated sewage entering the Craddock stream, downstream from its Ashill Sewage Treatment Works (STW), near Cullompton. The EA found pollution in the stream in September 2013 and again in December 2013 which affected a 400m stretch of water and impacted on river life. Suffolk farmers fined over slurry The owners of a farm in Suffolk have been fined for negligently allowing slurry from a lagoon to pollute a 10km stretch of the River Yox, in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency. Great Lodge Farm Ltd, from Framlington, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £4,474 costs at Ipswich Magistrates' Court a er pleading guilty to breaching environmental permitting regulations. The spill, in December 2014 in Sibton, raised ammonia levels in one tributary of the river to 25.4mg/l, where typically river water has ammonia levels of less than 1mg/l. New SuDS manual welcomed Drainage experts have welcomed the release of a revised version of the CIRIA SuDS manual which displays a more 'pragmatic' attitude to the design and delivery of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). The CIRIA manual, which is the industry standard text for the design and delivery of sustainable drainage, has been updated following extensive industry consultation. It is hoped that the new version (C753) will boost the uptake of SuDS by reflecting the most up-to-date practice and making them simpler to implement. VOX POP "A er having had the privilege of leading the largest company in the sector for the last six years, I have decided this is the right time for me to look for new challenges." Martin Baggs, Chief Executive, Thames Water "Every single treatment works is different, so having a consist- ent approach to how you manage them is a real challenge." Helen Samuels, Engineering Director, United Utilities (see p12) "Asset data is o en limited, suspect, and costly to improve, and sensors and instrumentation expensive to deploy. " Mike Jones, consultant, Infosys (see p27) Water UK seeks 50- year resilience plan Water UK has commissioned a major project to strengthen the overall resilience of water supplies and protect the environment for the next 50 years. The project will look at strengthening future water resource planning guidelines, and allowing a more integrated approach to water resource and drought management plans. The steering group for the project will include water companies, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Welsh government, Ofwat, the Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales and Natural England. Water UK says major challenges faced by the water sector in England and Wales water include reduced run-off and recharge rates as a result of more frequent droughts, the need to achieve sustainable levels of abstraction, and major population growth. The group will consider the need for a national policy statement on the resilience of water resources, and will aim to report on the project in mid- 2016.

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