WET News

4 WET NEWS JANUARY 2019 | wwtonline.co.uk NEWS+ Thames Tideway Tunnel project implements cost-saving measures • Project team and main working contractors have been working together to mitigate cost pressures T hames Tideway Tunnel is implementing cost-saving measures following "com- plex engineering challenges", the project's holding company has confirmed. Bazalgette Holdings Group said in its report for the six months ending 30 September 2018 that the measures had been introduced in partnership with contractors "to mitigate cost pressures" as it seeks to complete the 25km tunnel by 2023 at a cost of £4.2 billion. It said the "most significant" of those cost pressures were pre- sented by engineering chal- lenges at Blackfriars, where two large diameter gas mains were discovered; the cofferdam con- struction at King Edward Memo- rial Park, together with the asso- ciated programme prolongation at that site; cofferdam construc- tion at Albert Embankment; and various challenges at sha"s across the East area sites. Those issues, along with gen- eral cost pressures across the programme, have "substantially eroded available contingency" funds. Total project costs for the six-month period were £325.3 million, bringing the total cumulative cost to just over £1.48 billion before tunnelling had begun. The report said the project team and main working con- tractors have been working together "to eliminate overlap, taking measures to increase pro- ductivity, undertaking value engineering and delivering overhead savings", although it acknowledged that it is "too early to conclude the extent to which these measures will miti- gate the cost pressures". Millicent is one of two TBMs that will build the 13km central section of the main tunnel, while two more machines will dig the 7km west section and the 5.5km east section. 'Annie', named a"er Annie Maunder, the first female astron- omer to work at the Greenwich observatory, has also been read- ied to begin a 4.5km tunnel through South-East London. However, a spokesperson for Tideway said the project is still due to be completed "on schedule and to budget", add- ing: "There have been a num- ber of complex engineering challenges and risks to over- come in the early stages of the project. With these behind us and having put in place sev- eral measures to reduce cost, our budget is intact." Scottish and Thames trial new wastewater process T hames Water and Scottish Water are both trialling Microvi's MicroNiche Engi- neering (MNE) technology. The technology uses specific bacteria that eat pollutants in the wastewater. It creates an environ- ment for these bacteria – known as biocatalysts – to make them work more efficiently. It is designed to intensify the population of the bac- teria, which are put in a special capsule to encourage them to work much faster. The process is designed to speed up the rate at which the good bacteria out-com- pete the bad bacteria. The technology was also devel- oped to drastically reduce the amount of sludge created in the water treatment process. This hap- pens due to the biocatalyst creating an environment where bacteria reproduction is limited. Reducing the amount of sludge produced cuts the energy require- ments to manage bio-solids and requires less space for the treat- ment process. This can save not only energy but time and costs. It also means using fewer chemicals in the treat- ment process. In June, Microvi and WesTech have installed a fully automated Microvi MNE demonstration plant at Thames' Sherfield-on-Loddon treatment plant in Hampshire. Dr Eve Germain-Cripps, waste- water research, development and innovation manager at Thames Water, said: "We're always looking for new ways to be more efficient and resilient in how we care for the precious environment in which we operate, while managing impacts of climate change and population growth. "I'm excited to find out if the Microvi MNE process provides a robust ammonia treatment for our sites, especially over the colder winter months." Scottish Water, meanwhile, is in the midst of a six-month trial of the technology at its Waste Water Development Centre at Bo'ness. George Ponton, head of research and innovation at Scottish Water, said: "If this process works, it would transform the way wastewa- ter is treated." CONTRACT WINS Mott Macdonald Bentley will carry out a £4 million project to upgrade North- umbrian Water's Wooler Sewage Treatment Works in Northumberland, which will include the construction of additional tanks and adding new treatment processes. United Utilities has awarded a long-term contract to Penrith-based Typhon Treatment Systems, whose new ultraviolet LED water treatment technology is one of the first systems in the world capable of using UV from LEDs to neutralise harmful microorganisms on an industrial scale. Irish Water has awarded Carty Contractors and MEIC Ltd contracts worth €19 million to deliver the remaining two projects in the essential upgrading of Letterkenny Regional Water Supply Scheme. Balfour Beatty scored a quadruple win at the Street Works UK Annual Conference and Awards, taking the Communications Leaders, Team of the Year, Best Collaborative Work and the Lifetime Achievement awards. Bryan Casey, MD of the company's gas and water business, said: "These prestigious awards are in recognition of the hard word and collaborative efforts between Balfour Beatty and its partners." Interserve has revealed it is seeking a rescue plan. "We are making good progress on our deleveraging plan which we expect to announce early in 2019," Interserve CEO Debbie White said. "Our lenders are supportive of the deleveraging plan which will underpin the long-term future of Interserve." Good month Bad month Yorkshire Water reveals plan to open up its water resources data to public Y orkshire Water has announced it is to become the first water company to regularly publish its full data on the region's water resources to allow customers to see for them- selves how dry weather and increased demand are having an impact. Yorkshire Water will also team up with the Environment Agency to run a new campaign based on the information, which aims to help residents make more informed choices about their water use. Recent customer research by Yorkshire Water shows that cus- tomers are more likely to think about their water use and change their habits when they feel they are being given honest information about water resources and that they strongly preferred being provided with information and being asked to play their part in conserving water, compared to the possibil- ity of enforced restrictions. The water resources data, which is generated by Yorkshire Water and normally only shared with the Environment Agency, includes detailed information on reservoir, river and ground- water levels, customer demand, rainfall and the outputs of the company's water treatment works. A customer-friendly version will be available on the York- shire Water website and the full report will be published through Data Mill North as part of York- shire Water's open data initiative. The data shows Yorkshire has experienced below-average rainfall in five of the six months to the end of October, with June being the driest month at just over 30 per cent of the long-term average. Yorkshire Water chief execu- tive Richard Flint said: "Throughout this year we have been sharing tips on how to use water wisely and we saw a great response from customers. How- ever, we feel that for us to really be able to have the conversation with customers about their use of water we need to be really clear with them about the cur- rent situation. "We hope that making our full water situation report avail- able will allow customers to use the information to make their own decisions about the action they can take to conserve water at home." In mid-December, Yorkshire Water's reservoir stocks stood at 56 per cent below the level nor- mally expected at that time of year. The dry weather has also impacted Yorkshire Water's net- work of pipes, as increased ground movement from the ground drying out resulted in a 50 per cent increase in the num- ber of repairs needed to burst pipes. In addition to working with customers to reduce demand for water, Yorkshire Water also announced that it would submit drought permits for some of the region's key rivers and reser- voirs as it sought to ensure stocks recover as much as pos- sible over the winter. Tunnelling on the project began in December as 'Millicent', a tunnel boring machine (TBM) named a"er suffragist Millicent Fawcett, built the first ring at Kir- tling Street in Battersea. The Thames Tideway Tunnel has been divided into three sec- tions – east, west and central – with each section being con- structed by a different joint venture of contractors. Millicent is one of the TBMs being used for the Thames Tideway project

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