WET News

2 WET NEWS MARCH 2016 COMMENT "Perhaps BIM is the secret weapon needed to help overcome the skills shortage" MARCH 25% Global investment • rm KKR has agreed the sale of a 25% stake in South Sta„ s Water and Cambridge Water parent South Sta„ ordshire Group to Mitsubishi Corporation. The sale relates to both the regulated and non-regulated water services. "I am inheriting a strong, profitable business that is extremely well placed to help our customers at a time of change in our markets" Andy Milner, on succeeding Mel Ewell, who retires as chief executive o cer of Amey at the end of this month. Hampden Park, Scotland's national football stadium, has reduced its water consumption by 35% and achieved savings of £40K a year following a partnership with United Utilities Scotland (UUS). The 52,000-seater stadium appointed UUS as water supplier in November 2014. UUS installed AMR devices to help the stadium track its water use on match and non-match days. £40K 35% 700 The number of sta„ at United Utilities that planned to go ahead with a 27-hour strike over a long-running pension dispute, according to trade union GMB. 9K The number of people needed to to work on the Tideway Tunnel, London's super sewer. "Viridor, SWW and Bournemouth are all performing well and results for the full year 2015/16 are on course to meet management expectations" Pennon Group chief executive Chris Loughlin, announcing a £8M restructure. "This prize should help incentivise and drive improvements and move utilities towards more eœ cient service delivery" The IWA's Tom Williams on the multi-year innovation prize to devise fi nancially viable solutions for tackling water losses in the developing world. 500 Anglian Water has extended the use of vehicle tracking across its van fleet after the Ctrack Online achieved 'impressive' results. It • tted 750 vans a year ago with the technology, and has now kitted out 500 more. I 'm not an engineer but I can honestly say that I'm excited by digital engineering whether it's BIM or 3D design simulation. And I'm not the only one. Speak to anyone about Building Information Technology and their enthusiasm for the tool is evident. I caught up recently with two 'BIMthusiasts' – BIM4Water chair Andrew Cowell (p8-9) and Nick Parkin, head of Welsh Water's Capital Alliance (p10, 13) and asked why BIM is taking the engineering world by storm. "It's like having a new toy," says Parkin talking about Welsh Water's Pod360, which o' ers 3D modelling in a totally immersed environment. "It's reintroducing some engineering disciplines which we lost," says Cowell. "Before email " rst came into our industry there had been a discipline around the drawings, how they were labelled, how they were transmitted. With email we got into some really bad habits..." If this is the impact digital engineering has on experienced engineers, then imagine what it could do for up and coming engineers. Perhaps BIM is the secret weapon needed to help overcome the skills shortage Finding a new pool of recruits Continuing with the skills shortage, you certainly have to hand it to Tideway for its proactive stance when it comes to recruitment. It is expected that the London super sewer project will create more than 9,000 jobs, and Tideway chief executive Andy Mitchell is on a mission to create a diverse workforce. Part of this mission is to encourage professionals who have taken a voluntary career break back into the workforce. Not only is this one way of getting round the skills shortage but it also ensures a wealth of knowledge and expertise is in place to mentor those who are just starting out. Allowing exploration without fracking Fracking, the hydraulic fracturing process used for shale gas exploration, is an emotive subject. As WET News went to press, Northern Ireland Water announced it had agreed to lease a small a small portion of Woodburn Forest near Carrickfergus for the drilling of an exploratory oil well. But the company has ensured there is a clause in its agreement with Infrastrata prohibiting use of fracking both now and in the future, saying the safeguarding of water quality is primary importance. Perhaps that clause should be included in other schemes where fracking could be used until it can be proven that drinking water aquifers are safe from possible contamination. overcome the skills shortage" www.z-tech.co.uk 01223 653500 engineers@z-tech.co.uk Complete one-stop in-house solutions from dig to data: • Flowmeters • PRV's & Needle Valves • Burst Detection • Pumping Sets & Stations • Pressure & Level Monitoring Complete one-stop in-house Problem Solvers 24/7 EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICE Scottish government announces sewage sludge recommendations Use of sewage sludge will enable valuable materials to be recycled in a way that is safe and environmentally bene• cial. R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s designed to improve guidance, practice and regulations relating to the spreading of sewage sludge on land in Scotland have been announced by the Scottish government's cabinet secretary for Rural A' airs, Food and the Environment, Richard Loch- head. The recommendations, which follow a review into the issue, include implementing some requirements into Scottish law. Recommendations to come out of the review of the storage and spreading of sewage sludge on land are: • The requirements of the Safe Sludge Matrix should be incorporated into law in Scotland • There should be an opera- tor's licence including a '" t and proper person' test for all operators who are involved in the handling, storage, transportation and spreading of material on agricultural land • SEPA should be the lead agency for incidents and complaints relating specif- ically to sewage sludge, with a single point of contact • SEPA should have the power to have an 'exempt' activity, such as storage of sewage sludge, stopped immediately and the sludge removed • Tighter monitoring of operator practice by SEPA Announcing the recommen- dations Lochhead said: "Following the recent con- clusion of the review, I have approved a wide range of recommendations. Some of the recommendations will require changes to legislation, and we will of course undertake a public consultation on any dra› legislative proposals. "The use of sewage sludge – when well managed – allows us to recycle valuable materials in a way that is safe and environmentally bene" cial. I am con" dent that these actions will address the issues raised by communities and MSPs in relation to the spreading of sewage sludge, notably o' ensive odours." SEPA executive director Calum MacDonald said: "SEPA wholeheartedly supported this review of legislation and practice. SEPA has been a key participant in the process to date and we'll continue to support Scottish government in delivering these recommendations." The review was commissioned by the cabinet secretary in response to several public complaints relating to odour, and focused on issues such as public nuisance, regulations and guidance, regulatory roles, and the treatment and testing of sludge. A review group comprising Scottish government, SEPA and Scottish Water oœ cials held discussions over recent months with communities, the sewage sludge industry, local authorities, and other stakeholders. Some of the requirements could become Scottish law

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