ROUND TABLE: CARBON REDUCTION Event sponsor


WHO TOOK PART? Ben Roche


asset strategy manager, Yorkshire Water Charles Gaisford


principle consultant, SKM Enviros Clive Patten


managing director, ABS Wastewater Technology Matthew Pluke


energy manager, Anglian Water Paul Fisher


design & build standards manager, Severn Trent Sarah McMath


head of asset planning, otimisation & innovation, Thames Water Stephen Bird


operations director, South West Water Steve Wilson


head of wastewater, Welsh Water Tom Stephenson, chairman


head of school of applied sciences, Cranfield University as the business, social and environmental


reasons all pull in the same direction. Yorkshire Water’s asset strategy manager,


Ben Roche, said his company’s efforts (backed by customers and stakeholders) were very focused on carbon emissions. However, he added that this focus was very much on operational, not embedded carbon for now, largely due to financial constraints. “On the network side we’re in a catch-


up phase,” added Steven Wilson, head of wastewater at Welsh Water. “We need to think carefully about storage, spill frequencies and where the carbon debate takes us regarding big storage solutions, which have a lot of embedded carbon, versus other options.” According to Sarah McMath, head of


asset planning, optimisation & innovation at Thames Water, the big challenge so far has been around data and understanding where network energy is being used. Until this is understood, she suggested, it is hard to have a high level strategy to drive reductions. As a result, the approach at Thames Water has been on automated meter reading at sewage


pumping stations across the company’s whole estate. “We also need to think about going back upstream,” said Fisher. “At the moment we have to treat everything that flows in our direction. The industry needs a more holistic approach to catchment management.” With other drivers such as the carbon tax


and schemes like Ofwat’s Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM), as well as incentives to address


the customer experience around


flooding, there is clearly a desire for more efficient operation of wastewater networks, a point put across by Bird, whose comment was followed by a succinct statement by McMath. “If 80% of our energy costs are on pumping,


common sense says that if you reduce the amount of sewage being pumped you reduce your costs and, therefore, your carbon,” she said. “Within Thames we have water efficiency under the same management area as energy and carbon because we see those two absolutely linked; they are both about optimising resources and minimising waste.” It is a salutary point and everyone concurred with the logic, including Pluke, who wanted to


introduce the topic of blockages to the debate. “We need to be talking to our customers about what they shouldn’t be flushing down their lavatories because reducing blockages will also lead to energy efficiencies. Even the best available pumps still block.” Charles Gaisford, principle consultant at


SKM Enviros, outlined recent research he had undertaken for Defra that examined the lifecycle impact of pumping stations. The work highlighted the trade-off between reliability/ pollution risk and efficiency, and also the issues surrounding non-flushable products. Of course, everyone in the industry is aware


of the main offenders when it comes to flushed undesirables: disposable baby wipes,


latex


contraceptives/gloves, paper hand towels, sanitary products and cotton wool buds all appear on the least wanted list. “As a pump manufacturer we spend a lot of


time and effort on our latest range of products to make them more resistant to blocking, because the blockage-free pump hasn’t been invented yet,” said Clive Patten, managing director, ABS Wastewater Technology.


April 2011 Water & Wastewater Treatment 25


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