Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | APRIL 2015 | 29 In the know Potentially toxic microbes that pose a threat to drinking water have undergone a dramatic population explosion over the past 200 years as a result of pollution, according to research from the University of Nottingham and Canada's McGill University. The study, published in the journal Ecology Letters, looked at more than 100 lakes in lowland and alpine areas of North America and Europe and found that populations of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) have significantly increased since the 1800s. The research is one of the Research Roundup first studies to show that a rise in the algae's available nutrient sources nitrogen and phosphorus, commonly resulting from industrial fertilisers and sewage discharge, is the biggest potential culprit responsible for the increase in such a large number of lakes, across such a large geographical area. The study also found that climate change can exacerbate this problem, with water management challenges likely to increase in a future warmer world. E n v i r o n m e n t a l costs associated with cyanobacteria were estimated to exceed $100M ● 31 Digging deeper: plastic pipes ● 35 Getting to grips: hydrothermal oxidation ● 39 Technically speaking: sludge treatment ● 43 Nuts & bolts: products, solutions and services RISING UP Former head of the Environment Agency Lord Chris Smith is to chair a new public-private body to promote resilience, innovation and growth in the UK water sector. The UK Water Partnership will bring together a host of public and private-sector organisations for the first time to stimulate ideas and develop the products and services to tackle global water scarcity. The University of Bath has appointed Dr Jan Hofman to lead its new Water Innovation & Research Centre: WIRC@ Bath. A chemical engineer with 25 years of experience working in the water sector, Dr Hofman joins the University from his previous role as senior researcher at KWR Watercycle Research Institute near Utrecht in the Netherlands. Environmental consultancy Aqua Enviro has appointed Dr David Tompkins as Organics Technical Manager. He was previously Sector Specialist at WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). The Environment Agency has appointed Professor Lynne Frostick to the Board as lead member for flood and coastal risk management, for a term of three years. Frostick has been Professor of Physical Geography at Hull University since 1996. J. Murphy & Sons Limited has appointed Peter Walsh as Operations Director of London & South, with responsibility for its civil engineering businesses within the region. He joins Murphy from VINCI where he has held a number of senior positions during the last 17 years. 13 April TEPPFA Forum, Brussels. COMING UP A new technique to help protect the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems and save millions in monitoring costs has been developed as part of a collaborative research project led by the University of Brighton's Aquatic Research Centre. Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Environment Agency, the research resulted in the production of a tool that uses the abundance of certain species of invertebrates within river sites to indicate fine sediment exposures. Fine sediment (organic and inorganic particles smaller than 2mm) is an essential natural component of freshwater ecosystems, but when levels are disrupted as a consequence of human activities, ecological degradation can occur, threatening the numerous "ecosystem services" that freshwaters provide. These services include water supplies, self-purification, erosion control, nutrient and water cycling, and leisure/recreation services, valued globally in excess of $1.7 trillion a year. Owing to spatial and temporal variability of fine sediment, conventional monitoring can be relatively expensive and time-consuming. Sampling must be frequent enough to ensure that the values obtained are representative. The research was led by Matt Turley, a PhD candidate in the University of Brighton's School of Environment and Technology, and is published in Ecological Indicators. (£70M) a year in both the UK and Australia. PhD researchers Heather Moorhouse and Mark Stevenson, based in the School of Geography at Nottingham's University Park Campus in the UK, and Dr Suzanne McGowan, head of the School of Geography at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, took sample cores of sediment from lakes located in the major lake districts of the British Isles including the English Lake District, the West Midland Meres, Scottish lochs and upland lakes in Northern Ireland and analysed them for pigments lež behind by blue-green algae. The analysis showed that during the past 200 years, more than half of the lakes (58%) had seen significant increases in concentrations of blue-green algae pigments, whereas only 3% showed a significant decrease in the presence of the microorganism. Lowland lakes in agricultural catchments typical of those found in the UK were found to be especially susceptible to cyanobacteria increases. Blue-green algae toxins threat to drinking water 15-16 April CIWEM Annual conference, London. 21-23 April Utility Week Live Incorporating IWEX, Birmingham. 28 April WRc Innovation Day, Swindon. Freshwater biodiversity identifies sediment pollution

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