WET News

2 WET NEWS APRIL 2017 COMMENT "Thames Water was given the two- ngers with lots of noughts on" APRIL 15 Chemists at the Australian National University is using sunlight to purify wastewa- ter rapidly and cheaply. The invention is 15 times more eƒ cient than leading commercialised products. "We must live and breathe our insu- rance clients' values and ethos, so we always seek to deliver excellent customer service" Andy Jackson, the new director of insurance services at Lanes Group business UKDN Waterfl ow. Construction and infrastruc- ture company Morgan Sindall has reported an adjusted operating pro t of £48.8M for 2016, which was 26% ahead of that reported for 2015. The group's order book was up 29% to £3.6bn for the year. Morgan Sindall said it is continuing its water network upgrade and enhancement works as part of two AMP6 frameworks for Yorkshire Water and Welsh Water. £49M 29% €820K Irish Water is investing €820K-plus in a water mains project to ensure clean and secure water supply for the people served by Rathmullan Water Supply. £2M The amount of the previous record for sewage pollution, and incurred by Southern Water. "Today, Thames Water is undoubtedly a better, stronger and more customer-focused business than that which we invested in back in 2006" MIRA global head Martin Stanley on Australian infrastructure fund Macquarie selling its 26.3 % stake in Thames Water to Borealis and WHIM. "While it is alarming to see pink water coming from your taps, pot- assium permanganate is used in normal treat- ment processes to help remove iron and mang- anese. Residents were never at risk" Canadian town Onoway's mayor on the tap water – turning pink! £680K Innovate UK has awarded £680K to a Skanska-led consortium to collate and visualise infrastructure and community data, supporting more eƒ cient project delivery. The scheme will support more informed decision-making and delivery of the targets in the Construction 2025 industrial strategy. Thames Water judge certainly has the 'wow' factor J udge Francis Sheridan warned that Thames Water faced a record • ne for sewage pollution incidents between 2012 and 2014. But did anyone go "wow" as it emerged the • ne was a he„ y £20.3M (see front page)? I did. Waiting with bated breath for the judge's sentence, I had thought Thames would be • ned maybe £2.5M or £3M. A„ erall, the previous record was incurred by Southern Water in December 2016 when it was • ned a record £2M for " ooding beaches in Kent with raw sewage. Thames Water's previous largest • ne was £1M, which it was ordered to pay in January 2016 for polluting the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire with sewage. This time, Thames Water was given the two-• ngers with lots of noughts on as Judge Sheridan went to town on the company, describing each of the six breaches as "wicked". Media reports quote the judge as saying: "The fact that Thames Water takes its name from the River Thames does not make it their property to poison and pollute" and "One has to get the message across to the shareholders that the environment is to be treasured and protected, and not poisoned." Judge Sheridan took a tough stance with Thames Water but while the £20.3M • ne is he„ y it is peanuts where the company's • nances are concerned. The media was quick to point out that the • gure equated to ten-days worth of pro• t to the company. Hopefully, this case has sent out the right signals to the rest of the water industry. But in the event that another case of this magnitude crops up is a • ne enough? Should there be some form of corporate consequence for management as well? What do you think? Cleaning up by accident A type of bacteria accidentally discovered during research supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) could fundamentally re-shape e¢ orts to cut the huge amount of electricity consumed during wastewater clean-up, scientists have revealed. The research found that the microorganisms – 'comammox' (complete ammonia oxidising) bacteria – can completely turn ammonia into nitrates. It maybe an accidental • nd but this could prove to be a real money-saver for the industry. Water industry 'Oscars' are a great night out! If you're looking for something to do on the evening of May 23 then why not treat your customers to a night out at the Water Industry Achievement Awards 2017? The awards, organised by WET News and sister journal Water & Wastewater Treatment, is being held at The Vox Conference Centre, T he government has published a cyber security strategy for the water sector, summarising what water and sewerage companies need to do to reduce the risks of cyber attacks. Published by Defra, the strategy, which focuses on attacks based around com- puters, computerised systems or networks, is mainly aimed at water and sewerage companies in England. It says there are "credible cyber threats to UK Critical National Infrastructure, inc- luding the water sector," and that these could lead to "serious consequences, particularly as increased automation and connectivity reduces the scope for standalone or manual operation of the water supply system". Recent reviews by govern- ment cyber experts have identi• ed signi• cant opport- unities for the water sector to operate at a higher level of cyber security maturity. © Security strategy sets out the government's key objectives as it aims to achieve a vision by 2021 of a 'secure, e™ ective, and con dent water sector'. Defra sets out cyber security strategy for water sector The water-speci• c strategy is part of a government-wide response to the cyber threat, which complements the National Cyber Security Strategy (2016). The strategic vision and objectives have incorporated signi• cant contri- butions from the sector and aim to guide activities across the sector, including water companies and government. It aims to achieve a vision by 2021 of a "secure, e¢ ective, and con• dent water sector, resilient to an ever-evolving cyber threat". Key objectives within the strategy include understanding the threats; managing the risk from these threats; managing any incidents that arise in the best way possible; and developing capabilities to increase future resistance and build cyber skills. The cyber risk reviews identi• ed a number of key areas in which the sector should focus its cyber security activities. One of these is the architectural design / sepa- ration of Information Tech- nology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). The paper says that ideally IT and OT systems or networks should be completely separated to prevent infections in IT systems spreading and impacting processes that could cause physical damage. It also " ags up the cyber risk from third parties, with company networks increasingly accessed by third parties such as equipment suppliers, so„ ware suppliers and contractors who require the ability to upload so„ ware onto systems, make alterations and plug their equipment into the host network. The paper says policies need to be in place to manage this risk, for instance by restricting the number of people with external accesses to a network and ensuring that devices plugged in to the host network are not carrying malware. Organised BY dOn't miss Out! BOOk nOW W W W . W W t O n l i n e . c O . u k / a W a r d s • Entertain clients and colleagues in style at the industry's networking event of the year • Mingle with 500-plus of the water industry's key decision-makers • Find out first hand who's leading the way in 2017 • Celebrate your industry's major achievements • Entertain your clients after a day's networking at Utility Week Live 2017 SponSorEd BY WIAA17-A3ad-book.indd 1 07/02/2017 12:31 IN A NUTSHELL

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