Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/917367
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2018 | 5 BEE AWARE: A rare honeycomb beehive has been discovered and pro- tected at a renewable energy site owned by Wessex Water. Mark Doughty, Principal Ecologist at Wessex Water, is pictured with the beehive which was found at a former sewage works near Bristol which is now run as a wind farm in partnership with Thrive Renewables. A team of conservationists erected a protective covering at the site to see it through the winter. Severn Trent has invested £15M to build three biomethane gas-to- grid plants that will convert the gas produced in the digestion of sewage sludge and food waste so that it can be injected into the grid. Stoke Bardolph STW near Nottingham (pictured) is now completed along with Strongford STW, while Spondon STW will follow early next year. QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Ofwat has set a high ambition for what the sector should deliver for customers, and meeting this challenge is what makes the role so exciting." Rachel Fletcher, who is the new chief executive of Ofwat, a er joining from Ofgem The UK's expertise in the research of biofilms has been recognised through the launch of a new National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) in partnership with WRc. The multi-site Innovation and Knowledge Centre will be led by the University of Southampton together with a core partnership of the Universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool and Nottingham; it also includes 11 other universities and three global partners. Biofilms are thin layers of organic matter which are of concern for the water industry because they can accumulate in water distribution pipes and can have a significant impact on microbiological water quality. 3.1 billion Litres of water lost to leakage from the water network every day in England and Wales, according to the latest figures from the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater). Overall, leakage has gone up 1.2% compared to last year, yet only four companies missed their 2016-7 leakage targets: this has led CCWater to question whether the targets are challenging enough. Companies reporting the biggest increase in leakage included Dee Valley Water (+14.1%), Essex and Suffolk Water (+9.1%), Cambridge Water (+8.2%), Portsmouth Water (+7.6%), Thames Water (+5.4%) and Bristol Water (+5%). GOOD MONTH FOR… Southern Water, which has successfully reduced its carbon footprint by 2 per cent in real terms in the last two years, despite the pressures of population growth and increased environmental standards, it was revealed as the utility was re-certified by the Carbon Trust. Southern has held the Carbon Trust Standard since 2011 and has just been re-certified to the Carbon Trust Standard Award for the 4th time. Southern Water's energy team have installed solar PV schemes at three water treatment plants at a cost of £4 million and spent £5 million installing new biogas energy plants at three sites and adding extra engines at two other sites. BAD MONTH FOR… Husband and wife farmers Mark and Anne Bennion from Herefordshire, who were ordered to pay more than £62,000 a er pleading guilty to charges related to the pollution of Preston Brook and the River Leadon. More than 15,200 fish were killed as a result of the incident in which hundreds of tonnes of digestate were discharged into the river from Rose Hill Farm in Dymock on July 22, 2016. GETTING STARTED NUMBERS GOOD GAS