Sewers unblocked

The water sector must put flesh on the bones of its sewer data if it is to improve customer outcomes. Jo Hulance and Ian Dawes issue a call to arms

Sewer networks have traditionally been managed reactively in response to complaints from customers. Today, the industry aims to improve customer outcomes by proactively identifying problems and intervening before they escalate into service failures.

This vision will only be realised if a company collects and manages data with which to support all aspects of service delivery – from day-to-day operational responses to long-term investment planning.

In 1980, the Water Research Centre (WRC) compiled a report known as STC25. To date, it is the only known UK industry-wide sewerage data specification. It has been widely implemented, forming the basis of many GIS sewerage infrastructure data models.

Much has changed since 1980. Data models have evolved in response to changing technology, regulatory requirements and working practices. Today they include many extra entities and attributes not covered in the STC25 specification. Moreover, the aspiration to move towards smarter networks is likely to have a significant impact on both the type and volume of sewer data collected.

It will be a significant challenge to align sewer network data collection with the requirements of a modern and efficient organisation. Not least of these challenges is justifying the cost and resources required to collect, store and manage sewerage infrastructure data – costs that will ultimately be met by customers.

There is a core set of data items that each water and sewerage company has to maintain because they are either essential for service delivery or are a regulatory/statutory requirement – the number of blockages for instance. However, there are other bits of information – such as what caused the blockage and the impact it had – that may help to prevent further blockages and therefore improve service. Water firms will have to balance the costs of collecting and managing these “non-core” data items against the benefits to service delivery that might be achieved. These benefits will either be delivering operational efficiencies or the technically trickier task of enumerating better decision making.

To help meet the sewer data challenge, UK Water Industry Research has commissioned WRC to undertake an industry study. First we will specify the core set of sewer network data items, then we will develop a framework to help companies build economic business cases to justify any extra data requirements or improvements to the quality of core data items.

The first step is to develop a list of sewerage data items (attributes) and then to engage with sewerage practitioners to identify which data items are held, how they are captured and how they are used. A questionnaire has been developed, based on the list of identified data items. Industry practitioners will be asked to provide a subjective assessment of the quality of the data, as well has how each data item is used, if at all.

To get a true picture of the use and quality of sewerage data, we need the views of a wide range of practitioners, from asset planners to customer service managers. We must identify a questionnaire “champion” in each of the water and sewerage companies, someone who can co-ordinate completion of the questionnaire by a range of employees who represent the different aspects of the collection, management, and use of sewer network data.

Jo Hulance is a consultant engineer and Ian Dawes a business analyst at WRC. If you would like to take part in the study, as a respondent or questionnaire champion, contact Ian Dawes on 01793 865165 or ian.dawes@wrcplc.co.uk, or Jo Hulance on 01793 865068 or jo.hulance@wrcplc.co.uk

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 28th June 2013.

Get Utility Week’s expert news and comment – unique and indispensible – direct to your desk. Sign up for a trial subscription here: http://bit.ly/zzxQxx