Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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In the know A £3.7M investment has been announced to enable researchers from the University of Sheffield's Sheffield Water Centre, which contains the UK's largest urban water research group, to develop new, more scientific ways to better manage distributed water infrastructure. The University of Sheffield will host the Distributed Urban Water Infrastructure facility as part of the UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC), a consortium of 14 major UK universities collaborating on all aspects of infrastructure, from road and rail to water and power. The new facility will enable researchers from throughout the UK to investigate and develop innovative ways to tackle the UK's deteriorating distributed water infrastructure. These full- scale facilities will be used to study water and sewer pipes and ancillary structures to investigate deterioration and RESEARCH ROUND UP Funding secured for pipe infrastructure research failure mechanisms; in-pipe biological, chemical and physical processes; flooding; and corrosion processes. The new facility will also deliver translational research and development to accelerate and broker long-term collaboration between water utilities and technology providers. The funding comes from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of a £138M government investment in UKCRIC, recognition of the importance of improving infrastructure performance in the UK. Professor Martin Mayfield leads the UKCRIC work at the University of Sheffield, and the projected research will be organised in three streams, each headed by a senior academic: Professor Simon Tait (System Performance), Professor Joby Boxall (Asset Failure) and Professor Kiril Horoshenkov (Future Water Stream). MOVING UP The Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG) has announced that Justin Dunning, Sales Manager of Chelsea Technologies Group, has taken over as chairman. He replaces Leo Carswell, Principal Instrumentation Consultant of WRc, who has completed his two- year tenure in the role. SWIG is a not for profit, knowledge-exchange and networking group holding events covering all aspects of water sensing. Southern Water has appointed Bill Tame as chairman of its board. He is replacing Robert Jennings who is stepping down as chairman a er three years. Tame, who has been on the board of Southern Water since January 2015, is the chief executive of Babcock Group's International Division; he is also a non- executive director for Carclo plc. HUBER Technology has appointed Mike Willis as Sales Director. A qualified chemical engineer, Willis's previous roles have been with MWH Treatment as Development Manager and most recently as Business Development Director. He is also a non-executive director for British Water. Scottish water retailer Brightwater has appointed Steve Langmead as chairman. Langmead has managed a number of large businesses in Scotland including Atos and Capita Scotland, and start-ups such as visitscotland.com. Market Operator Services Limited has named Steve Arthur as its director of market performance. He will join the company on 3 April when the market opens. Arthur joins MOSL from Wessex Water Services, where he has led preparations for the new competitive market as its head of wholesale services. Tait, Professor of Water Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: "The facility at Sheffield will be a national resource in which researchers will be able to come and develop new ideas and technologies to help the UK better manage its large water distribution and sewer networks. These are key infrastructure systems that impact on the lives of everyone in the UK and they face pressures from an increasing population, a changing climate and physical deterioration." Professor Brian Collins, chairman of the UKCRIC Coordination Node from University College London (UCL), hailed the project saying: "UKCRIC is more than just another research project. This is the first step to creating long-term partnerships between the people who build our infrastructure, the people who regulate and fund it, the people who own and operate it and those of us who study how it works and is used." ● 32 Event preview: Top utilities influencers ● 35 Digging Deeper: Resilience ● 38 CPD Article: Optimising pump sumps ● 43 Products: Tanks 4 Apr Twenty65 annual conference, Manchester. 26 Apr WRc Innovation Day, Swindon. 10 May WWT Asset Management conference, Birmingham. 16 May WWT Wales Water conference, Cardiff COMING UP Almost nine in ten scientists and engineers are dissatisfied with government preparations for life outside the European Union, a survey from trade union Prospect has revealed. The survey, completed by 2,750 Prospect members, found that 69% of respondents agreed that uncertainty about the timing and impact of the Brexit process had impacted negatively on their organisation's ability to fulfil ongoing functions and plan or undertake long-term projects. The research was released to coincide with the launch of a booklet spelling out the implications of Brexit for funding, collaboration and skills in UK science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), and reveals strong concerns about Brexit among STEM professionals. More than six in ten (64%) said they feel less secure in their employment since the EU referendum, while less than one quarter (23%) are confident that their organisation has the staff and skills to inform and support government negotiations on Brexit and take on the new responsibilities that Brexit might bring. Looking ahead, 77% of respondents see continued access to the single market as a priority. Eighty per cent prioritised freedom of movement and 90% wanted guaranteed rights for EU nationals to stay in the UK. More than one in ten (11%) said they were planning to leave the UK up to and a¦er Brexit, while a further 22% of STEM professionals said they would consider leaving in the future. Scientists and engineers unhappy with Brexit uncertainty, according to survey www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | APRIL 2017 | 31