SPONSORED FEATURE
Who created the monster? Could it possibly have been ourWater Utilities?
David Pitt. Managing Director - Flusher Ltd Introduction and Background
Who and what is the monster? Is it the Fatbergs that shock the public and clearly concern those faced with a resulting risk of flooding? Or just maybe it is me personally, as without doubt I would recognise myself as a proverbial pain by continuously challenging our Water and Sewerage Utilities for their operational shortcoming and resistance to change over so many years. The monster tag fits but absolutely applies to me. But where has this come from, nature or nurture, maybe I was just born to be a thorn in the side of the Water Industry?
My personal background of over 45 years working within the Sewer Industry started with Thames Water as a Trunk Sewer Area Engineer, subsequently moving to the Trunk Sewer Inspection Team responsible for surveys conducted throughout their 800+ miles of man-entry sewers. The team was encouraged to be extremely innovative and lead the way, setting standards and pioneering new and exciting techniques, not just in terms of surveying and mapping, but also promoting new technologies for renovation maintenance and rehabilitation.
Where did the next steps lead?
After leaving Thames Water after a period of ten years to establish my own Surveying and Mapping Company, I was asked to return in a consultancy capacity on numerous occasions utilising my acquired skill and understanding of this vast public sewer network. One of these commissions was to investigate Blockage and Recurrent Sedimentation Hotspots within the Central London Public Sewer Catchment. Tasked with identifying both the locations and the root cause of the problems effecting flooding, pollution events and the need for costly remediation, this led in turn to a second commission. This was to evaluate the most effective cleansing and prevention solutions available at the time, not just solutions available within the UK but extended to consider innovative solutions available throughout the world. These technologies ranged from some of the most basic manual or mechanical removal systems, and the re-evaluation of historic
38 | February 2022 |
www.draintraderltd.com
solutions. It also of course included an evaluation of some of the largest and most sophisticated technology and specialist tooling available at the time. Also, the evaluation of preventative solutions that included techniques such as FOG Dosing systems, with these all being very much in their infancy at the time. Of hitherto unseen remote cleansing solutions such as sediment removing balls and remote in-sewer cleansing techniques and various flow control valves designed to vary and accelerate flow to actively prevent the development of silt accumulation and blockage formation.
Some valuable lessons, but what did we really learn?
The most significant results achieved at the time, flew in the face of everything that was previously believed about modern sewer cleansing. This was clearly a million miles away from the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
