Industry looks for solutions to ensure the water keeps flowing

ALL change is bad, even when it’s good. That’s what an investor told Richard Flint, chief executive of Yorkshire Water last month.

The individual was referring to the need for predictability to keep finance in the water industry from becoming too expensive. But change is definitely on the agenda as the Government prepares a draft paper outlining how it will improve water efficiency.

This, and other issues surrounding the water industry were debated by leading industry figures at a Yorkshire Post round table, organised in partnership with Yorkshire Water.

The Water White Paper is expected to be published in December following a series of delays. However, Jamie Reed, Shadow Minister for Water, said it could be pushed back even further.

He added: “This is an increasingly complex and difficult policy area and in fairness to government, I think the importance of this agenda, the complexity of it, the multi-faceted approach which is needed, is just dawning upon them.”

Yorkshire Water has developed its own document, Taking Responsibility For The Water Environment For Good, to contribute to the White Paper debate.

Last week’s round table included Richard Laxton, sustainability manager at Leeds-based dairy firm Arla Foods; Craig McGarvey, regional area manager for the Environment Agency; Mark Andrews, managing director of Dewsbury-based textile firm Thomas Chadwicks; Mark Fletcher, director of engineering firm Arup in Leeds; Professor Adrian MacDonald, of Leeds University and Mr Reed, who is Labour MP for Copeland.

Mr Flint told the debate that he supported a collaborative approach within each region of procedures, legislation and regulation.

He added: “There is an argument for, not only integration within regions, but an integration across regions. There are currently 20 plus water companies. It is my view that there is scope for merger in the sector.

“That allows you to transfer the benefits of strong performing companies in terms of customer service, environmental performance, and stable prices to other parts of the region.”

The Government is keen to see the private sector play a larger role in the funding of future flood defences.

The Environment Agency is already working with firms like British Aerospace to fund such schemes, but Mr McGarvey said: “It’s unchartered territory because everyone’s under funding pressure at the same time.”

Mr Fletcher said that in the future local authorities, with their depleted resources, could pass on the management of things like drainage to a third party with more expertise in such areas. “I can see an opportunity coming out of a challenge that probably means we manage the water cycle more sustainably,” he added.

Prof MacDonald pointed to flood defence schemes adopted by other countries, such as floating communities in the Netherlands, and waste water treatment in Singapore as best examples of integrated water management.

He also praised community efforts in Pickering to tackle flooding, which include the Forestry Commission pushing debris from felled trees into the river to create small dams, and farmers putting up crop barriers.

“You can, with those small things, knock out the effects of the vast majority of floods,” he said, although he added that patience was needed regarding longer term solutions. While experts say they understand coastal flooding, Mr McGarvey said the size of the problem of surface water flooding is only just being discovered.

“The partnership we have at Hull is starting to see that if you really want to manage risk down to the level people start to expect...the level of investment we’re talking about is off the scale,” he said.

Flooding is one challenge for the industry but the amount of water used by businesses is also being addressed.

Some companies are already tackling their own consumption. In the last 10 years, the dairy industry has halved the amount it uses. Arla Foods has pledged to reduce its usage by 20 per cent by 2015.

Mr Laxton said: “We have woken up to the fact that there are bigger issues out there...That has started to lead to businesses and industry looking at technology.”

Mr Andrews added: “Efficient use of water is vital to us.”

In Singapore, waste water is recycled and put back into industry. Mr Fletcher believed there should be different grades of water for different uses in the UK.

Mr Laxton said the subject of recycling waste water was the “last taboo” in the UK.

“The technology is there to treat it and we need to understand that if you’re going to be paying five times the amount for clean water then what can you use water that is a lower grade for?” he said.

However, although Mr Andrews agreed the technology to reintroduce waste water back into industry was available, he added it was expensive to implement.

A further challenge is water poverty in the UK as households struggle to pay their bills.

Mr MacDonald supported the introduction of a smart metering system with progressive tariffs to allocate water at a variable price and penalties for those who were wasteful.

He added: “Water is seen by some customers as the safest bill to default on.”

Visit www.yorkshirepost.co.uk for video and audio highlights of the debate.

PLANS FOR CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

A GROUP of Yorkshire business leaders is supporting the establishment of a UK Centre of Excellence for water.

The Water Innovation Group, which was formed in April 2010, is planning to bid for £2m from the Regional Growth Fund for the Water Innovation Platform, which it hopes would eventually rival Singapore, currently regarded as the global centre for water.

It will ask for a further £6m from the water industry for the investment.

The group is led by the Water Industry Forum, which comprises senior representatives from Yorkshire Water, Arup, JN Bentley, Mott Macdonald Bentley, Leeds University, Environmental Sustainability KTN and Yorkshire Chemical Focus.