WET News

2 WET NEWS MAY 2017 COMMENT "My guess is that SNC-Lavalin will want to use quick-drying ink" MAY 14 Fourteen of the 166 sta at Dee Valley Water could be left without jobs following the company's takeover by Severn Trent in February. Severn Trent has been reviewing the business. "Will's exposure to cutting edge innovation at Crossrail made him the ideal fit for this role" Murphy's Andy Jackson on ex-Crossrail innovation programme manager Will Reddaway becoming Murphy's new head of innovation. NM Group, parent of NMCNomenca and Nomeca, continues to maintain its strong position of market leadership in the water sector. It said both turnover and margin growth has been achieved and great potential exists for further progress. Preparations are also underway for the AMP7 cycle. NM Group said its operating pro' t rose 164.6% last year to £2.24M on revenue up 15% to £250.5M. £2.2M 15% Review Media reports suggest a strategic review by shareholders Morgan Stanley and the Prud- ential could lead to the sale of some or all of their interests in A— nity Water. £2.1bn How much Canadian group SNC-Lavalin is paying for consultancy Atkins. "Working together, we have already proven its worth in Ireland. Return- to-service times are shorter, and cleaning is more effective" AQS Environmental Solutions technical director Rónán Beasley on the company striking up a clean water solutions partnership in Ireland with Panton McLeod. "We have always sought to develop relationships with contractors and consultants that support delivery of bene' ts..." Andy Clark, head of procure- ment & contract management at Yorkshire Water, on its supply change event to highlight AMP7 opportunities in the supply chain. 250 Welsh Water is rolling out smart water meters in Cardi as part of an EU-funded water usage project. The company will install 250 new digital smart meters, with plans for another 3,000 to be ' tted over the next three months. The trial is part of a wider EU-funded project called the WISDOM. Thames Water judge certainly has the 'wow' factor T he ink on SNC-Lavalin's £2.1bn takeover of Atkins is not even dry and there is already speculation that the budding relationship between the two organisations could hit a rocky patch. As WET News went to press, there was speculation that SNC-Lavalin could face a rival bid for Atkins from a third- party and potentially leading to a subsequent bidding war. Surely not, I hear you cry, but look what happened with Parsons Brinckerhoˆ and Hyder before they were eventually bought by WSP and Arcadis respectively in 2014. And who can forget the May Guerney saga back in 2013 when Costain thought it had bought company only to be gazumped by Kier? Stranger things have happened, but my guess is that SNC-Lavalin will want to use quick-drying ink. SHE apprenticeship scheme is a good thing Well done to Thames Water for throwing its weight behind a pioneering new apprenticeship scheme targeting safety, health and the environment (SHE). Support for the scheme, recently granted by the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, follows a push for a formal apprenticeship at the recent London health and safety directors' forum, where senior health and safety executives, including Thames Water's Karl Simons, aim to drive standards and tackle challenges across the industry. The scheme is also the — rst ever SHE apprenticeship scheme to be recognised by the government. Health and safety at sites cannot and must not be taken for granted. Making it the subject of a scheme such as this one should be applauded. Applaud Scottish Water for 'Blue Card' stance Scottish Water also needs to be applauded for insisted its operational personnel, contractors, consultants, delivery partners, framework suppliers and self-lay organisations sign up for the National Water Hygiene training and accreditation scheme, or the 'Blue Card' as it's better known as. The scheme, done in collaboration with Energy & Utility Skills, improves sector understanding of best hygiene practice and drive a culture of excellence for everyone working on water distribution activities. It's easy to forget drinking water is a foodstuˆ . Water industry 'Oscars' take place this month 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, IN A NUTSHELL W ater UK has launched a consultation con- cerning the imple- mentation of the rules adopted by Ofwat in December 2016 on charging for "new connec- tions". This is a term which cov- ers the infrastructure provided by water companies for new de- velopment. The new rules adopt a princi- ples-based approach to new connections charging and re- place the complex and much criticised requirements of the Water Industry Act. While water companies wel- come the move from the previ- ous, prescriptive approach, they recognise that the freedom for each company to adopt its own approach could disadvan- tage developer customers and other providers of infrastruc- ture such as Self Lay Providers and inset appointees. The inef- — ciencies of having to deal with very diˆ ering approaches to charging and even from the use of diˆ erent terminology could be considerable and could ne- gate some of the advantages of increased simplicity and trans- £ Consultation seeks the extent to which unnecessary di erences between companies' charging schemes could be minimised. Water UK consults on 'new connections' charging parency oˆ ered by the new rules. During the consultation, which Defra organised in the lead-up to the introduction of the new rules, Water UK oˆ ered to explore the extent to which unnecessary diˆ erences be- tween companies' charging schemes could be minimised. This role was acknowledged by Ofwat in the Decision Docu- ment it adopted to accompany the adoption of the new rules. The consultation document seeks consultees' views on a wide range of issues relating to the implementation of the new rules, ranging from a proposal for a common quotations framework to the comparative merits of diˆ erent approaches to charging. A report on the outcome of the consultation will be com- piled by independent econom- ics consultancy Reckon, and will provide valuable guidance to water companies as they move towards consulting their own customers on their pro- posed approaches to imple- menting the new rules. At that stage, Water UK anticipates that companies will be able to pro- vide more information about the — nancial implications for various types of development of their approach to the imple- mentation of the new rules. One element of the consulta- tion document is a suite of tools that will allow a simpli— ed, consistent approach to compar- isons of charging before and af- ter implementation of the new rules. The consultation closes on May 8, and companies are due to implement the new rules in April 2018. ....more than just pumps pumps High Pressure Plunger Pumps UK Official Distributor over 7,000 products online www.dualpumps.co.uk Call 01664 567226 for more information

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