WET News

8 WET NEWS AUGUST 2017 Planning key for clear decision-making • The cost of a robust sampling and monitoring plan is often deemed a luxury, but you cannot afford not to finance this activity adequately, warns Thomson Ecology's Dr Phil Aldous. C ritical decisions can be made on the basis of sam- pling data, and if you get it wrong, your company could be prosecuted or your project delayed. Data sets need to be robust and major decisions on projects should not rest on data which is inaccurate or insufficient. Water monitoring and sam- pling is generally undertaken by companies like Thomson Ecol- ogy, with a specialist water divi- sion, as part of planning condi- tions for high profile major developments including housing schemes, road and rail routes and siting of transmission cables. It is also used to monitor sew- age discharges into rivers and streams. Although poor results can have major repercussions for a project and can cost clients hundreds of thousands of pounds, it is still seen as either the poor relation compared to more exciting aspects of a project such as design and construction. This is a challenge for those in the industry and it is the job of delivery organisations to make clients and companies aware that they must think beyond the cost implications of environmen- tal sampling and monitoring pro- grammes and consider the long- term benefits and the role accurate data plays in decision making and company reputation. We need to work to ensure that sampling and monitoring is viewed by clients as part of the 'value chain' in terms of its importance and not considered as an additional discretionary repair, but a flat tyre is quite obvious. The starting point for any discussion should always be the question 'why do you think you need to monitor?' To answer this question, you need to look at the four common underlying drivers for water sampling and monitoring: Regulatory (e.g. for an environ- mental permit, or to comply with legislation) Defensive monitoring (e.g. to support or defend litigation) Development (e.g. for environ- mental impact assessment or planning permission) and Investigative monitoring (e.g. of sources or causes). How to make sure you under- take the right monitoring, at the right time, in an accurate man- ner is not always obvious – espe- cially when the data will be com- pared with environmental standards, historic data or data from baseline, construction and operational phases of a major development. It is really important to have these conversations so that cor- rect comparisons are made, and apples are compared with apples and not bananas. It is not rocket science, but simple steps to fol- low at the beginning when the sampling strategy is established can reap great rewards as time progresses. The companies that have established company-wide app-roaches to monitoring strat- egies are few, and most lurch from one project to another with little consistency. Sampling as part of the 'value chain' is not just about taking samples and getting results back. Quality needs to be maintained at all steps in the process. Robust quality control in the field should dovetail through the 'chain of custody' – from sam- pling strategy, through sample collection, transport, and analy- sis, to data production and, finally, interpretation and deci- sion making. Field quality control should support and integrate into labo- ratory quality control systems, underpinned by ISO 17025 certifi- cation. However, o˜en the chal- lenge is 'what is the value or result …the number?'. Rarely are repeat samples or trip blanks integrated into sampling pro- grammes, and these really make up 10% of all samples in any pro- gramme, despite the extra initial cost. Even accepting the advances in analytical technology, we can- not forget the basics of quality control and rarely now is the ionic balance of a water sample measured. When ionic balance values are outside the ±10% range, there is an assumption that some part of the analysis is wrong. If it is within ±10% there is confidence in the analysis. So why doesn't this happen? Probably, because of the increased cost associated with analysing determinants not asso- ciated directly with the ongoing investigation. With the extension of new techniques which we now use on a regular basis – like pas- sive samplers, environmental DNA testing, exotic determi- nants, and remote sampling with real-time data and Robust quality control in the field should dovetail through the 'chain of custody' ONSITE MoniToRinG & SAMPlinG "The recent rise in prosecution costs, with one company receiving a £20M fine for water pollution, demonstrates the cost and benefit of investing in a robust sampling, monitoring and data analysis programme" Dr Phil Aldous, Thomson Ecology cost. Reporting on the economic aspects of environmental valua- tion, natural capital accounting, environmental and social bene- fits or impacts, and environmen- tal fines, is high profile and widespread. The recent rise in prosecution costs, with one company receiv- ing a £20M fine for water pollu- tion, demonstrates the cost and benefit of investing in a robust sampling, monitoring and data analysis programme embedded within a business to inform regu- lar daily management decisions. Although prosecution is an extreme example, a proper plan- ning process when it comes to water sampling and monitoring is key and can help avoid such an outcome. The best and most efficient plans are those that are devel- oped between the client and con- sultant, and involve the question 'what do you want to achieve?' As experts, the team at Thom- son Ecology ensures that all dis- cussion on the issues that this raises should then lead to an outcome-driven sampling and monitoring plan and can also address common areas of misunderstanding. Clients o˜en have a list of determinants or a broad specifi- cation derived from legislation or a planning condition. This is a start, but o˜en cov- ers up a poor knowledge of what is actually required. This is not a weakness – it is the same as other typical day-to-day chal- lenges we all face. For example, a noisy car may need to be driven to the garage for diagnosis and

• Cover