WET News

32 WET NEWS MARCH 2016 CoMiNg up • Write a caption The Scottish government's cabinet secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, Keith Brown MSP, visited Scottish Water's £12M Elmvale Row scheme aimed at tackling sewer flooding in the area. The project is part of the company's £250M, five-year upgrade of the Greater Glasgow area's wastewater infrastructure in more than a century. He is seen here with Geoff Aitkenhead, Scottish Water's executive director of capital investment. Write a caption and email it to yoursayWN@fav-house.com by March 17, 2016. The best captions will be published in the April 2016 issue of WET News. foresight w www.jdpipes.co.uk e contact@jdpipes.co.uk t 0800 195 1212 JDP - Integrated solutions in drainage & water management Features & Benefits • LITE (Non Traffic), MEDIUM (Traffic), HEAVY (Heavy Traffic) • Fully inspectable option available • 95% - 96% void ratio • Loading capacity up to 60 tonne • Lightweight for easy handling • Quick and easy installation • BBA Approved (rainbox® Cube) JDP Total Capabilities • Pre Planning Advice • Hydraulic Modelling & Technical Design • Compliant Products • Specialist Technical Advice • Customer Support JDP offers a fully integrated system solution including crates, membrane, pipework, silt traps and flow controls. For more information on our systems and solutions go to www.jdpipes.co.uk/rainbox Box Clever with JDP rainbox ® systems and integrated SuDS water management solutions WET NEWS JDP H/P Ad FEB 2016_Layout 1 17/02/2016 15:57 Page 1 WIAA 2016 May 17, 2016 wwtonline.co.uk/awards The Water Industry Achievement Awards, organised by WET News and WWT, will take place on May 17, 2016 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. The awards are the industry's leading awards ceremony, rewarding and celebrating innovation and best practice in the market today. Smart Water Networks Conference Holiday Inn, Birmingham City Centre March 17, 2016 www.wwt-smartnetworks.net The conference will provide the opportunity to keep up-to-date with the smart innovation successes of your peers, gain insight into the business benefits of thinking smart, and explore the potential for novel data solutions in both drinking and wastewater. WWT Water Ireland Conference Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne April 21, 2016 www.wwt-ireland.net The event brings together the key leading stakeholders in the Irish water sector that are driving improvement in all aspects of service delivery. Utility Week Live NEC, Birmingham May 17-18, 2016 www.utilityweeklive.co.uk Utility Week Live is the UK's only exhibition dedicated to the business, operational and technical needs of the UK's water, electricity and gas utilities. The event provides an important information exchange and marketplace for the UK's utilities industry. Last month's best answers "Did the crane come with a hook?" Eamonn Mullins, Hydraulic Analysis "Here's the Dalek you ordered, to exterminate your wastewater problem" Nigel Mansfield, Wendage Pollution Control Flooding caused by the wettest December on record le 16,000 UK homes flooded and £6bn worth of damage. The sheer scale of this has again renewed debate about whether the UK is spending enough on its flood defences and water infrastructure, writes Stuart Minchin, Matchtech divisional manager, Water & Environment. The government has defended its flood prevention measures, saying spending in England alone now stands at £2bn. Yet local authority budgets continue to be cut and pressure mounts on water firms to freeze rates and reduce unit costs. We need to have a more enlightened discussion about the cost and the benefits we get from investing in water infrastructure. Saving money on water rates and local authority flood defence work is a short-term approach to a long-term problem. If we want to avoid the significant economic disruption and cost caused by major flooding events then must be willing to pay more to protect our homes and communities. We need to understand the value of clean water and pay a realistic price for the infrastructure and work that goes into transporting, cleaning and storing it. If you compare the cost of water to the price of other utilities, it is remarkable value. The difference between the cost of water and electric is 53% but the comparison with gas is even more striking – 93%. Investing in the water industry and infrastructure is about more than community protection and providing clean, fresh supplies. It's about jobs. In addition to the £40bn being driven through the AMP6 procurement period, £4.2bn is set aside for the Thames Tideway Tunnel – a headline-grabbing example of the type of major engineering project in which the UK excels. The project will generate 4,000 direct jobs and 5,000 in the wider supply chain. Yet the major achievements being delivered are eclipsed by the understandable concern generated by events such as the recent flooding and ongoing consumer scrutiny about costs and performance of water firms. Addressing these concerns needs investment in engineering and infrastructure. We need now to start a more sensible debate. outlook: infrastructure investment must rise •

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