WET News

4 WET NEWS MARCH 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk NEWS+ Siltbuster and Siltbuster Process Solutions join Selwood Group Environment Agency's dewatering guidelines to impact construction firms • Companies to remain focused on innovative after strategic move W orkdry International Ltd, the ultimate hold- ing company of Selwood Ltd, has acquired parts of water treatment specialist Silt- buster Group in a strategic move to consolidate its position as a leading UK water handling provider. Selwood, based in Hampshire, has a network of 21 pump rental branches around the UK. Silt- buster and Siltbuster Process Solutions combine to provide on- site water treatment, wet waste processing and the prevention of waterborne pollution, delivering a range of rapidly deployable solutions for silt management and prevention, control and treat- ment of water contamination. The Siltbuster businesses will remain based in Monmouth, Wales, with their 60 employees continuing to work across the UK. The two management teams will now work closely to drive the growth of their water treatment services, and enhance their com- bined service offerings to the water, environmental and con- struction industries. Selwood CEO Chris Garrett said: "This is a major strategic acquisition for Selwood, broaden- ing our offering to the industries we work with and further rein- forcing our position as the coun- try's leading pump rental solu- tions provider. The Siltbuster businesses are an excellent com- plement to Selwood's existing products and service offering. Selwood and Siltbuster are both renowned for exceptional water handling capabilities and, impor- tantly, share a common culture and business ethos based on product quality, innovation and outstanding customer service." and expertise." The acquisition of Siltbuster aligns with Selwood's strategy of providing a single point of con- tact solution for pumping and water treatment requirements, backed by its 400-strong team of specialists, comprehensive fleet and branch network. The move will also enable Silt- buster's teams to offer Selwood's pump rental products and exper- tise in addition to its water treat- ment services. Siltbuster CEO Dr Richard Coul- ton, who will continue to lead the Siltbuster businesses, said: "Silt- buster was built on innovation, and in our discussions with Selwood it became clear that Selwood shares our passion for developing and providing inno- vative full-service solutions. "We are proud to have become the UK's leader in this sector and are very excited about building on this position with the benefit of Selwood's scale, reputation T he Environment Agency has issued new guidelines that require contractors to hold a bespoke permit to discharge anything other than clean water off site into the surrounding environment. The EA's Regulatory Policy Statement (RPS) stipulates that an environmental permit is required to discharge liquid or waste water into surface water unless those responsible "have a short term, temporary discharge of uncontaminated water which is wholly or mainly rainwater, from an excavation to surface water (such as pumping water out of excavations on a building site)" and comply with all condi- tions in the RPS. It says a bespoke permit is required if "your water discharge is from pumping out contami- nated groundwater or water from contaminated land so it can be treated" or "your water discharge is from quarry activities". Among other demands, the discharge must not pollute sur- face water; contain any chemical dosing agents, flocculants or coagulants; or be from a site con- taminated by oil, metals, hydro- carbons, solvents or pesticides or other polluting substances. Siltbuster's CEO Dr Richard Coulton said: "The implications for the UK construction industry are significant. "Firstly, the management of excess waters on site can no longer be managed on a reactive basis – construction companies must always now be proactive. They must plan how to minimise the level of contaminants, espe- cially silt, from entering excava- tions and plan how to dispose of any waters entering excavations. "They must also plan their activity so that machinery and operatives are not working in areas where pumping operations are being carried out and they must plan the management of surface water runoff across the site. "Soils on most UK construction sites are not fines free – they con- tain silts and clays – and there- fore, following the new guidance, water cannot simply be dis- charged off site. Most construc- tion sites are now faced with the challenge of either applying for a bespoke permit, with treatment on site, or finding an alternative, and potentially more expensive, disposal route, for example, either by tankering off site or dis- charge to sewer, which requires the prior approval of the local utility company. "The RPS also effectively makes the preparation of a site water management plan prior to commencing work mandatory for all sites irrespective of whether a bespoke permit is required." AB17-1029 www.pumpmix.co.uk sales@pumpmix.co.uk Tel: 01487 830123 MEAN MACHINE FOG, RAG, PLASTIC and any other solid or brous debris will cause blockages and disruption with costly downtime to all process streams from STRAWBERRIES to SEWAGE. 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