Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | OcTOber 2016 | 39 In the know Research Notes: sewer networks Getting to the bottom of the infiltration challenge The infiltration of groundwater into sewers and other infrastructure presents a major burden for water and sewerage companies. An innovation centre formed last year between two leading universities and consultants Atkins is aiming to help the industry get to grips with an issue which has long remained beneath the surface Dr AnA Mijic LecTurer in urbAn WATer MAnAgeMenT iMperiAL coLLege London from across the industry including water companies, local authorities, the Environment Agency, and Transport for London. This provided an invaluable input to define the Centre's ambitious aims, which include: ● Improving the scientific understanding of groundwater infiltration into sewers; ● Advancing methods for detecting and monitoring groundwater infiltration processes; ● Developing predictive techniques for groundwater infiltration processes that are transferrable to industry; ● Improving the understanding of groundwater infiltration impacts; ● Developing and/or refining procedures for assessing the economic impact of groundwater infiltration; ● Developing techniques to better visualise groundwater infiltration processes. Further workshops with the various stakeholders will take place over the next 12 months. What's the problem with groundwater infiltration? The Centre for Research and Innovation will seek to full understand groundwater infiltration – it's a problem which is poorly understood, and one which we can't underestimate the importance of tackling. It is particularly important as water companies and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA) are seeking to optimise the drainage networks as far as possible in order to produce cost savings and reductions in risk to customers. Only 60% of water in the sewers can be moved through the network. There are many reasons for this: for example, sewers can deteriorate and erode. Gravitational forces also play a role, with the design of the sewers working in sync with gravity. Whilst this is an inexpensive process, it can mean that infiltration can end up in the lower end of sewers, making it harder to access. This issue is believed to cost the water industry millions of pounds every year. In 2013/14 three water companies in the UK spent an additional £80 million in responding to the impacts of infiltration. It is also worth noting that as the AMP cycle has focused on capital T he Groundwater Infiltration Centre for Research and Innovation was formed in 2015 as a partnership between Atkins, the University of Birmingham, Imperial College London, and the British Geological Survey, to tackle the economic and environmental impacts of groundwater infiltration on our urban infrastructure. Infiltration into sewer networks is a growing issue for sewerage undertakers causing economic and environmental problems across urban infrastructure in the UK. Infiltration is estimated to account for 40% of flow in the network on average, which reduces sewer capacity, damages infrastructure, poses a serious challenge for operations, and deteriorates the quality of the receiving waters and ecosystem services through increased spills. This is an area where a cost efficiency can surely be made. The research and innovation (R&I) partnership, which draws together a range of academics and technical professionals, has signed a five-year research programme agreement, and the R&I programme is now firmly underway. Our first key milestone was holding the stakeholders' workshop in November last year which was attended by over 50 representatives infiltration accounts for up to 40% of sewer flow ADAM cAMbriDGe TechnicAL AuThoriTy urbAn STorMWATer MAnAgeMenT ATkinS