WET News

Call 01664 567226 for more information www.dualpumps.co.uk ...more than just pumps pumps WET NEWS WATER AND EFFLUENT TREATMENT NEWS • • Trade association survey reveals top concerns following vote for the UK to leave the EU. E ngineering, environmen- tal and construction services company GHD has adopted a single brand for its operations across the UK. The GHD name and brand bring together multidiscipli- nary consulting engineering business GHD Livigunn, which was acquired in May 2015, with the company's transporta- tion, business consulting and environment businesses in the UK. As a result, clients can now access an expanded portfolio of services. GHD has 300 people working in the UK across water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. Mark Ingram, general manager - UK and Middle East for the company, said: "Our future growth will be based on the company's local presence and its international network, and we will continue to build on our long-term relationships with end-user, contractor, and regulated industry clients. Water supply chain's uncertainty over Brexit OCTOBER 2016 Volume 22 • Issue 10 Jim Arnold becomes MUS chief executive J im Arnold has been appointed chief executive of Morrison Utility Services (MUS) and Charles Morrison as chairman following the company's acquisition by First Reserve. The appointments are with immediate effect. Commenting on the new appointments, Charles Morri- son said: "I am personally delighted that Jim has been appointed to the position of chief executive, given the considerable experience he has gained over the last 17 years with the business in varying roles including executive director and chief operating officer. "I am convinced that Jim is ideally placed to lead the business through the next phase of our growth..." Arnold added: "I am delighted to have been appointed to this position, and I very much look forward to working closely with my senior team and our new investors, First Reserve, in continuing to successfully grow the business." "At a time of increasing change... AECOM is well- placed to be the industry leader" John Priestland, AECOM. P2 "It's not a cliff edge at all – we just need some concerted action" Nick Ellins, EU Skills. P8-9 "It is clear that our members have some very real concerns..." Tony Williams, British Water News+ Sludge working group meeting hears Environment Agency's concern over reporting with the opening up of markets. P4 Onsite: It & telemetry Having realised it needed to adopt a smarter business model, Anglian Water decided its existing telemetry system was not up to the job. P13, 14 Insight: Sewage & sludge treatment Additional treatment is being used for high strength liquor in plants using thermal hydrolysis alongside AD. Should separate treatment for high ammonia waste streams be considered? P22-23. GHD adopts single brand for UK operations C oncerns about infra- structure funding, invest- ment in research, and environmental regulation are among the issues raised by British Water members in the aœermath of the Brexit vote. The trade association said the results of a survey of its 185 members shows a great many unanswered questions follow- ing the result of the vote for the UK to leave the EU. A quarter of those who responded to the survey say they are highly pes- simistic about what the future holds for the industry, while half say it is too early to say. British Water Chairman Tony Williams said: "I think the survey results show there is still a lot of uncertainty about what the future will bring, following the vote to leave the European Union. Many British Water members have experience of working in different interna- tional markets with different regulatory regimes but the sur- vey shows the industry is still looking for answers about the implications for post-Brexit Britain." The survey asked how opti- mistic respondents felt about the future, both in terms of their own companies and in terms of the water industry as a whole. In terms of how they expected the result to affect their own business, 42% were highly opti- mistic, 20% were highly pessi- mistic and 38% said it was too early to say. When asked about the future implications for the industry as a whole only 25% said they felt very positive about the future, 25% said they felt very pessi- mistic and half of all those who responded said they were uncertain about what would happen aœer the UK leœ Europe. British Water also asked its members what the UK govern- ment could do to protect their businesses when Britain leaves the EU. Funding for infrastruc- ture projects, support for over- seas trade, and clarification about the status of current and future environmental legislation, were all among con- cerns raised by respondents. One respondent wanted the government to assure the that "the current level of investment will continue". Another sug- gested the government could negotiate to ensure that UK companies still had the right to bid for contracts paid for by European Bank for Reconstruc- tion & Development funds. The security of EU-funded projects was another issue, with respondents asking the government to ensure a similar level of funding was main- tained in the future. Many respondents urged the govern- ment not to weaken environ- mental regulations relating to water and wastewater, and to ensure that the UK does not fall behind European standards of water quality and sanitation. Members also urged that the new UK-only regulatory regime should be properly enforced. Respondents asked that new trade agreements be sorted out as soon as possible and that extra support should be available for UK compa- nies wishing to do business with international markets, both in Europe and beyond. Williams said: "It is clear that our members have some very real concerns, about fund- ing for major infrastructure, about environmental legisla- tion and regulation, and about support for international trade. British Water will do every- thing it can to ensure that the voice of the water industry is heard as the UK government tackles the practical implica- tions of the vote to leave the EU."

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