18 | october 2017 | WWt | www.wwtonline.co.uk
The Talk: interview
areas very heavily, with every means of
communication, traditional and digital.
And we've found when you do that, you
can achieve a 20% plus reduction within a
very short space of time."
Digital control
Thames is also investing heavily in the
digital control space, with its increas-
ingly high-tech control room (the I-Hub)
able to respond in real-time to pressures
in the network and make adjustments to
the operation of pumping stations, for
example, based on the performance data
and alarms received. A current initiative
is the greater use of weather data for so-
called "stormchasing"; predicting where
storms will hit and taking protective and
preventative action in the network. The
utility undoubtedly has more information
about its wastewater operations at its
fingertips than ever before: for example, it
now has over a thousand monitors meas-
uring depth levels in the sewer network in
central London alone.
"This is what PR19 is all about, the
innovation agenda," concludes Gosden.
"There is some excellent innovation in
this industry which is not shouted enough
about, and there are equally some areas
which could do with a greater level
of innovation. We are trying in a very
practical way to incorporate innovation
into our proactive, predictive planning,
to ensure that customers can get the
best possible service, people don't flood,
and there is the best protection for the
environment."
l Lawrence Gosden will be among the
speakers at WWt's Wastewater 2018 confer-
ence, held in birmingham on January 30th.
Info: events.wwtonline.co.uk/wastewater
A sewer 'fatberg'. Blockages caused by unflushable items are a growing problem
