INTERNATIONAL NEWS
VJ distributor helps stricken Christchurch
INDUSTRY VIEW
Tony Hoyle, General sales manager, ABB
Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by MCERTS
New pipe section is installed with Viking Johnson Maxifit coupling in Christchurch, New Zealand
A Viking Johnson distributor based in New Zealand has been working with Christchurch City Council and City Care in restoring water supplies and repairing the sewer system in Christchurch, following the earthquake in February. Hygrade has
supplied Viking
Johnson MaxiFit and MaxiStep, along with EasiClamp and UltraGrip products, to make repairs
range of pipework systems that are predominately concrete,
to a
asbestos cement or PVC based. The 7.1 magnitude quake caused liquefaction,
So you have installed the equipment, taken the necessary measures and passed your first MCERTS inspection. Congratulations. Time to sit back and relax? Not if you want to successfully pass your next one.
a phenomenon
whereby saturated soil substantially looses strength in response to an applied stress like an earthquake. This was responsible for a great deal of damage, especially to the business district in Christchurch. Six weeks on, 99% of water
supplies had been restored, but many repairs were still required on the sewer system.
US EPA trials UK sensor
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is running tests on commercially available water quality
sensors for their ability
to provide a warning alarm due to deliberate or unintentional contamination events within a drinking water system. The Intellisonde in-pipe water quality monitor, from Intellitect Water, is one of several instruments
being assessed in a simulated network at the EPA’s Ohio Test & Evaluation Facility.
Summarising the Intellisonde’s preliminary results, the EPA’s John Hall said: “We have monitored a number of parameters. Free chlorine levels are significantly affected by a broad range of contaminants and the flow data can be used to reduce alarms due to operational events.”
UF system for Angola VWS Westgarth, a subsidiary
of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies based near Glasgow, has been awarded a contract by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) for the design, supply and delivery of an
ultrafiltration system and a sulphate removal package (SRP) system. The
treatment units, designed
for DSME’s production storage & offloading vessel, will be installed in the Cravo-Lirio-Orquidea-Violeta oilfields, offshore Angola.
For those who are not yet familiar with it, MCERTS is the Environment Agency’s (EA) certification scheme to ensure your company has effective measures in place to monitor its effluent flows. Both industrial and water utility sites need to meet MCERTS requirements whenever their discharges must be monitored and controlled as part of their permits under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). MCERTS covers not just the technology used on site, but also, through the Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA) scheme, the competence of any operational staff responsible for maintaining or using it.
A key thing to remember is that a Site Conformity Inspection Certificate is only an indication of your site’s compliance on the actual date of inspection.
Technology can wear out or become outdated and people can leave, fail to maintain their training or lapse into bad habits.
Evolving standard
Furthermore, the key thing about MCERTS is that it is a continually evolving standard, with new requirements being added all the time such as the latest version of the Operator Monitoring Assessment standards.
The fact that a certificate lasts for five years could therefore actually lull operators into a false sense of security. This intervening time should be used to ensure that the latest best available techniques are being used and staff are kept properly trained and are following a robust maintenance regime.
Luckily, the EA is not there to catch companies out. They have the option of having their site and operating procedures inspected up to a year in advance of the expiry of their certificate. The new certificate provides cover you for five years from the date the old certificate expires. To find out more about keeping up to date with MCERTS, I will be presenting a seminar for ABB on this topic at IWEX on Thursday 26 May at 13:00 in the Envirotech Theatre.
April 2011 Water & Wastewater Treatment 13
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