A key feature following the privatisation of Water Companies in the UK in 1989 was the emergence of Framework Contractors and Consultants who would provide services to their Utility clients. Many of the Water Companies established a series of Performance Partners which are typically reviewed every 5 years to match the investment cycles. This paper identifies the development of collaborative working within the UK Water Sector and highlights the various trends and models employed. Simple project specific partnering arrangements, utilising a multitude of Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) have been replaced with Framework and Alliance arrangements whereby the KPI's are more strategic and compliment incentivisation mechanisms. The main objectives of these new arrangements are to generate competition and deliver significant efficiency gains to the Client and provide further opportunities to their respective partners. In addition the paper examines the key challenges and benefits of performance partnering on the various stakeholders and the change in behaviour and attitudes this has generated. THE UK MARKETSince privatisation in 1989, the UK water industry has undertaken its business planning in 5-year cycles, each referred to as an Asset Management Plan (AMP). Prior to each AMP cycle the water companies are required to submit a business plan to the industry regulator Office of Water Services (OFWAT). The business plan sets out the company's estimates of its costs and OFWAT uses this to determine the maximum charges that the company can make to its customers over each year of the AMP. This is OFWAT's Periodic Review of Prices. Prices are thus set at levels which ensure that revenues are sufficient to cover the direct costs of the works which will take place.The overall performance assessment (OPA) is a method OFWAT use to measure and incentivise water company performance across the broad range of services provided to consumers and the environment. It allows OFWAT to compare the quality of the overall service, and informs consumers and other interested parties about how their local water company has performed relative to other companies. The OPA also incentivises companies to improve and maintain services relative to each other by taking into account their relative performance when price limits are set. Effectively, WEFTEC 2009
The increasing use of enhanced digestion of biosolids has led to an increasing demand for treatment solutions of high strength nitrogen and phosphorus rich return liquors arising from enhanced digestion. Sustainable, capital and energy efficient treatment solutions for these liquors are an important part of successful implementation of enhanced digestion processes. This paper outlines the selection, start-up, commissioning and optimization of a SHARON (Stable High Ammonia Removal Over Nitrite) Liquor Treatment Plant (LTP) at Whitlingham Sludge Treatment Centre (STC) where a CAMBI thermal hydrolysis enhanced digestion stream has recently been installed.
Mogden Sewage Treatment Works treats a population equivalent of approximately 1.8 m people from a catchment area of 160 sq. kilometres in North and West London. Substantial improvements have been undertaken over recent years including the automation of the works and major process improvements providing new sludge thickening facilities. In order to satisfy new obligations on treatment capacity set by the EC Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive a series of trials evaluating innovative and novel alternatives to conventional design were conducted. The “Mogden Trials” as they became known were granted a £1m research budget from the Thames Water capital release committee, however, substantial cost savings from an original capital control cost of £85m (NPV £141m) were considered possible. This paper describes how the savings were achieved through the trials and the assessment of options and provides details on the process of uprating the treatment plant including the successful partnering agreement between the owner/operator Thames Water and the US based company Black and Veatch.
When examining the whole life cost and carbon footprint on a project, the operating component can significantly influence the analysis and the ultimate investment decision. Whereas the capital cost will be largely dependent on site specific issues the operational element can be more easily quantified for specific process plant. This paper examines the operational carbon footprint of a variety of wastewater effluent and biosolids treatment processes and identifies a range of operational carbon footprints for several key effluent quality drivers. This work will enable comparison between typical treatment processes to assist in plant selection and investment decisions. In addition the paper will provide an insight into the impact and approach of carbon footprinting within the UK water industry.
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