WET News

AGRU pipe and fittings from IPS IPS Flow Systems Tel: 0191 521 3111 www.ipsflowsystems.com For further details or a copy of our handbook please contact our sales team. Freephone: 0800 975 7971 Agru products are used for some of the most demanding applications, handling dangerous corrosive fluids as well as ultra-pure liquids. Pipe systems manufactured in HDPE and Polypropylene in diameters from 10mm to 1400mm, and chemical or high purity grades of PVDF in diameters of 10mm to 400mm, together with an extensive fleet of welding machines to rent or buy are all available from IPS. WET NEWS WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS • • Acquisition by First Reserve comes as Morrison plans its next 'growth phase'. high quality services for over 27 years, whilst developing suc- cessful and long-term relation- ships with our clients. As an organisation we pride ourselves on the ability to deliver safety, innovation and a quality service placing our clients' customers at the heart of our business. "The growth opportunities in our markets are significant on the back of continued long- term investment in the UK's infrastructure. We thank Bre- gal Capital and Motion Equity Partners for the great support they have provided to MUS since 2008 and very much look forward to forging a strong partnership with First Reserve during our next phase of growth." Edmund Lazarus, manag- ing partner of Bregal Capital, and Patrick Eisenchteter, man- aging partner of Motion Equity Partners, said: "Since our investment in the company, the team has achieved a huge U tility infrastructure ser- vices provider Morrison Utility Services (MUS) is to be acquired by First Reserve, a leading global private equity and infrastructure investment firm, from Bregal Capital and Motion Equity Partners. The transaction, which is subject to European Commission anti- trust approval, is expected to close by November 2016. e civil engineering industry arMUS operates in the electric- ity, gas, water and telecommu- nication sectors. In the water sector it has a number of con- tracts with water companies including Scottish Water, York- shire Water and Anglian Water. The company has nearly 4,000 direct employees, with a focus on training and development programs to enhance expertise and dependability. Commenting on the announcement, MUS chief executive officer Charles Morri- son said: "MUS has provided Equity company buys Morrison Utility Services AUGUST 2016 Volume 22 • Issue 7 Water firms must calculate sludge costs A major new research facility that will allow scientists to discover more sustainable and affordable ways to treat wastewater has been opened at a sewage treatment works in the North-east. Newcastle University's new Biological Engineering: Waste- water Innovation at Scale (BE:WISE) research facility is a European first in large-scale wastewater treatment research using bacteria. The new facility, based at Northumbrian Water's sewage treatment plant at Birtley, near Gateshead, will play a key role in improving how sewage is treated, by speeding up the transition from existing energy- intensive treatment processes to low carbon alternatives that have lower running costs. Operating as a 'mini' sewage treatment works, the BE:WISE facility will allow experiments to be run using 10,000 times more microbes than can be used in the laboratory. amount, established the busi- ness as a utility market leader in all its key sectors and suc- cessfully grown revenues to over £600M. "This successful investment adds to our strong track record of working in partnership with management teams to create value." Jeff Quake and Neil Hartley, managing directors at First Reserve, said: "We believe MUS's experienced team has demonstrated an excellent track record of providing best-in-class service with strong alignment to the needs of their customers. We are pleased to continue our model of partnering with what we believe are industry-leading management teams worldwide, and we look forward to support- ing the company through a new phase of growth." Alex Krueger, co-CEO and president of First Reserve, added: "MUS represents an opportunity to invest in a W ater and sewerage companies have a lot of work to do in a short time before they can make informed choices about the coming deregulation of the sludge market, a panel of experts told the recent UK AD & Biogas conference. The opening up of the sludge market is set to take place as part of Ofwat's Water 2020 proposals, but wastewater utilities will need to make strategic decisions soon about whether they will compete in the market, form partnerships with other companies or exit the market by outsourcing their sludge operations. "There's real potential for markets in sludge activity," said Alison Fergusson, principal engineer on Ofwat's Water 2020 Programme. "Between local water companies there could be better ways of handling sludge across company boundaries. " Ofwat's research has shown that 13% of sludge in England and Wales could be profitably transferred to other facilities across water firm boundaries. "The UK as a whole must also continually upgrade and improve its infrastructure to meet our changing needs" Sir John Armitt, ICE. P4 diversified and resil- ient business which, in our view, is not directly exposed to commodity pric- ing. We expect the company's long-term revenue visibility, defensible margins and ability to generate free cash flow will further diversify our private equity portfolio." "Water companies are being asked to reduce their original estimated costs…" Mark Esling, Saint- Gobain PAM UK. P11 "The growth opportunities in our markets are significant on the back of continued long-term investment in the UK's infrastructure" Charles Morrison, MUS BE:WISE explores low-carbon wastewater treatment News+ Southern Water's current project to modernise Woolston Wastewater Treatment Works gets seal of approval from ICE president. P4 Onsite: A flood prevention scheme for Renfrewshire Council will protect against the River Clyde's tidal surges and overflow. The installation of pumps is a major part of the scheme. P8-9 Insight: Conventional treatment are effective at removing Cryptosporidium but there are inherent weaknesses in the technologies. P12-13

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