Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRUARY 2016 | 5 Top water company employers named Northumbrian Water Group has been named the top utility employer to work for in the UK by business media firm Bloomberg, in a list which used data from employee surveys. NWG topped the utilities category in the Best Employers UK 2016 list, which calculates the country's best employers using independent surveys of employees run by research firm Statista. The company was 21st in the overall list of 400 large employers, with a staff satisfaction score of 8.17 out of ten. The second placed water company, United Utilities, was not far behind, ranked 24th overall with a score of 8.05, while Anglian (25th with a score of 8.04) was third. Other water companies to feature in the list included Scottish Water (7.51), South West Water (7.49), Affinity Water (7.32), Severn Trent (6.95), Southern Water (6.66) and Yorkshire Water (6.54). Interestingly, the water companies on the list fared better than many large employers in the wider utilities sector, such as National Grid (7.26), Centrica (7.00), EDF Energy (6.92), E.ON (6.69) and British Gas (6.65). The top company to work for in the UK was Jaguar Land Rover, with a score of 8.56. Louise Hunter, Director of Corporate Affairs at Northumbrian Water Group, said: "We're delighted to be named in the Best UK Employers list. This external recognition confirms what our employees already tell us - that we're a great place to work. "Perhaps some of the reasons why they think that are because of the support we give our people through our wellbeing programmes, the experiences and opportunities we provide for personal development, and the time we give to people to volunteer in their local communities." The Best Employers list is based on a survey from a cross section of 15,000 people working for firms and or institutions with more than 500 employees in the UK. It was conducted anonymously through online panels. Polluters pay Thames hit by £1M fine over canal spill Thames Water has been fined £1M by St Albans Crown Court for polluting the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire with sewage. The record-breaking fine is the largest ever for a water company in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA brought the prosecution a er sewage from Thames Water's Tring treatment plant leaked into the canal's Wendover Arm in Hertfordshire on several occasions between July 2012 and April 2013. Thames had already pleaded guilty to the offence, which was blamed on poorly performing inlet screens causing equipment to block. Glastonbury sewage pollution blamed on tank The organisers of the Glastonbury Festival are set to be fined a er admitting breaching environmental regulations when human sewage polluted a stream in June 2014. Magistrates in Yeovil heard that a slurry tank being used to contain festival sewage started to leak. Sewage filtered into Whitelake River killing more than 40 fish, including brown trout, and causing increased levels of ammonia. Festival organisers have expressed regret over the incident and promised to work with the EA to avoid a reoccurrence. A later hearing will determine the size of the fine, which could be as large as £300,000. Filling from hydrant lands firm in court Dee Valley Water has successfully prosecuted a Wrexham company for illegally filling a tanker with water from one of its hydrants on an industrial estate. Enviroclear Site Services Ltd, based on Hafod Road, Ruabon, Wrexham, pleaded guilty to the offence at Wrexham Magistrates Court and was fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,160 in prosecution costs. VOX POP "We need certainty of funding. We're living year to year and that's a risk for an organisation such as ours". Sara Venning, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Water "This major strategic scheme [in Ayrshire] is the first stage in our investment to improve connections between water supply networks across Scotland." Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, Scottish Water "If we want consumers to take water efficiency seriously, water companies need to show more ambition in tackling leakage." Tony Smith, Chief Executive CC Water Scottish Government launches flood plan The Scottish Government has launched Scotland's first plan to help protect against future flood risk. The plan comprises 14 local strategies and proposals for 42 flood protection schemes or engineering works planned for 2016-21 and a range of other flood alleviation measures. The programme will be supported by £235M of investment over the first cycle on measures to protect up to 10,000 properties. Launching the programme, environment minister Dr Aileen McLeod said following recent flooding and damage as a result of Storm Frank, the plans show how the Scottish Government is committed to helping communities recover and protecting communities against future risks. "For the first time, we have a nationwide plan, informed by local communities to tackle flooding," McLeod said at the launch of the strategy in January. "This will be at the heart of our efforts to prevent flooding and there is no doubt it will make a lasting contribution to flood risk management in Scotland."

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