Water networks

Thames’ home visits save 117Ml of wastewater reaching rivers

Thames Water has visited thousands of homes to find and fix wrongly connected domestic appliances as part of a programme to reduce the amount of wastewater that re-enters waterways

Build Back Better: SES on ‘Save Water Save Money’

Water companies are upping their game in bid to get their customers to save water after seeing a surge in use during lockdown. Alison Murphy, water strategy manager for SES Water, talks about the company’s new campaign

Sewer flooding up 15%

Water companies reported a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in external sewer flooding incidents in 2019/20, with the number of homes flooded by sewage up 14 per cent. The figures were included in the latest annual report from consumer watchdog, CCW, which said they underlined the need for water companies to accelerate their response to climate change.

Public vastly underestimate their water consumption

The majority of householders have no conception of how much water they use, with 78 per cent believing they consume under 60 litres a day. This is according to a new survey from Water UK, which says the results underline the need for education around the value of water to help people lower their usage.

Preliminary work underway at Havant Thicket

Call to extend mandatory SuDS standards to England

Advice on sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) should be ‘prominent, clear and unequivocal’ according to a review of surface water and flooding by Defra, which calls for SuDS requirements in force in Wales to be extended into England

CMA ‘on track’ to deliver PR19 redeterminations next month

The Competition and Markets Authority has told Utility Week it expects to hit its deadline of mid-September to deliver its first take on the appeals by four water companies to Ofwat's final determinations on their AMP7 business plans. All eyes will be on any adjustments to WACC, what value is placed on customer input and the levels of investment permitted.

Lockdown adds months and millions to Tideway

NI Water warns under-funding has left it in ‘critical’ state

Water metering: How smart is too smart?

Defra to bolster water protection targets within Environment Bill

The long-awaited Environment Bill will enshrine protection for waterways that may include new PCC targets, changes to abstraction licences, review of agricultural and wastewater pollutants that enter waterways.

SES charges ahead with EV rollout

As part of a sector-wide pledge to reach carbon net zero by 2030 water companies are having to make big changes to vehicle fleets. Utility Week talks to SES Water’s energy and carbon manager Henrietta Stock, about the progress the company has made so far and the challenges ahead in terms of electrifying HGVs.

Vision of geospatial mapping for all

Last month the government’s Geospatial Committee announced investment in an underground mapping tool developed by Ordnance Survey. However, it is not the first service to provide a blueprint of subterranean Britain. Utility Week profiles the Anglian-owned Digdat.

Displaced ‘Class of 2020’ to be at heart of Northumbrian innovation festival

Dry weather forces Southern to prepare for drought permit

Southern Water is preparing to apply for a drought permit to allow it to continue abstracting water from a chalk stream after prolonged dry weather lowered the flow of the Hampshire river. Nigel Hepworth, water resources policy manager at Southern, told Utility Week that enhanced reliance on drought permits was “not a great position to be in” but said there was no “quick fix” to the problem.