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A £1m water recycling plant in the South West has enabled potato packer and distributor Branston to reduce its use of mains water by 85%.

As a result of the plant in Ilminster, Somerset Branston is saving 41m3 of mains water per day as waste water from washing potatoes is filtrated stored and reused on site.

Branstons general manager Ian Wait said the company looked at how water was used on site and workwed with local agencies to find methods of reducing its main water usage. He said “We reached our target of 85% reduction in mains water usage around four weeks ago and are now working at our full potential. This has significantly helped reduce our reliance on the towns mains supply”

The recycling system treats the waste water from washing potatoes by removing the soil, thew water is then passed through a membrane bio-reactor for further filtration which can then be safely reused. In addition the recycling unit also allows cleaner water to be drained into the sewerage system.

To fund the project Branston received £ 55,000 investment from the European Regional Development Funbd via the Interreg project Water Adaptation is Valuable for Everybody (WAVE) a partnership project supported by Somerset County Council.

Somerset County Council councillor David Hall stated ” Through the WAVE project we are able to claim up to 50% of the costs from Europe and Branston is one of five demonstration projects locally being funded through this particular project”

The UK Farming and Advisory Group (FWAG) is also helping Branston to reduce its effluent discharge by at least 80%.

The water plant is part of a larger initiative by Branston to make its works more sustainable and follows on from the success of its Lincolnshire factory where a water recycling and anaerobic digestion plant has been installed.

Water companies in England and Wales will take control of privately owned sewers and drainage systems as part of a Government commitment to remove the burden of maintenance from homeowners and improve the network.

The changes set to come into force from 1st October were announced by environment minister Richard Benyon and approved by parliament earlier this year. The new law which aims to protect households from unexpected and costly bills for the repair of broken, blocked or damaged sewers has been largely welcomed by water companies – despite the additional costs.

It is estimated that more than £221m is spent on sewer repairs each year by homeowners and it is anticipated that the transfer will improve the quality of the network.

As a result of the transfer an estimated 40,000km of drains will be added to Thames Waters existing 68,000km network of sewers which it predicts will increase the amount of blockages it deals with from 55,000 to around 250,000 a year.

Meanwhile the transfer was announced in Wales by environment minister John Griffiths in July who hopes the move will end disputes over ownership of sewers when leaks or other problems hit more than one property. Mr Griffiths stated “Owners of private sewers and lateral drains typically householders, have often been unaware of their associated responsibilities and liabilities and there is no doubt that the repair and maintenance of private sewers can be very expensive. This transfer of private sewers and lateral drains is all about fairness for the consumer and ensuring that all homes connected to the public sewer system receive the same level of service”

Prior to the transfer a review of the current sewer network was carried out by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) and Severn Trent Water however it is not yet know how much the transfer will cost. However Thames Water has calculated that its annual operational costs will increase by around £ 35m as a result which is on top of the £600m it currently spends each year.

Thames Waters asset management director Bob Collington stated “Although this will be a very big operational challenge for us we welcome the clarity and peace of mind that the Government decision to transfer private sewers to water companies will bring for our customers”.

Water companies across England and Wales have been working closely with local authorities and other stakeholders to gather information about the network. According to DCWW managing director Nigel Annett the transfer of 1,700km of privately owned sewers in Wales will approx. double the companies sewerage network which he describes as “massive additional responsibility” adding the size of the transfer means the company will have to prioritise work. However Mr Annett added “We welcome this transfer of private sewers as a bis step forward in customer service and one that will lead to more effective management of the sewerage network. Thousands of people in our area will no longer have to worry about repairs and maintenance of drains and sewers that until now have been privately owned”

Meanwhile water regulator Ofwat will be monitoring and advising the water and sewerage companies to ensure any additional costs for customers are evenly distributed to minimise the impact on water bills which Defra predicts will rise by between £4 – £14 per year.

Business Stream has won a contract to implement the UK’s largest non-domestic smart water meter roll out, saving an estimated £ 2.7m over the next three years.

Over the next 6 months the firm will fit 3,000 smart meters across 18,000 public sector buildings in Scotland including hospitals, schools and prisons. The automated meters readers (AMR) measure water consumption every 15 minutes so quickly highlight anomalies in water use, allowing underlying problems to be fixed and inefficiencies addressed, thus saving water, energy and of course money.

“The bottom line of the business improves its water efficiency it will save money” stated Business Stream chief executive Mark Powles “Customers are ofter surprised at how much they can reduce their water bills just by cutting back on their water use. As well as financial savings there are also environmental rewards to be enjoyed, such as reducing the carbon footprint of a company ands preserving natural resources. Achieving these environmental accolades can significantly boost corporate social responsibility efforts”.

In fact Business Stream said it has helped its customers to save more than £ 1.9m and cut carbon emissions by 12,400 tonnes, the equivalent of taking 3,500 cars off the road.

Speaking of the public sector contract Mr Powles stated ” We hope such a commitment from the public sector will inspire other businesses to think about reducing water wastage, the information smart meters provide can highlight a wide range of underlying problems from poor practice to burst pipes, all of which lead to money literally draining away”

Business Stream said AMR’s are responsible for savings £ 8.7m of the £ 19m quoted, an average of £20,800 per meter, although it stressed that savings vary depending on the size of the premises.

A Scottish dairy is now recycling half of it’s waste water as part of an environmental drive across the business. The Bridgwater dairy is aiming to reach it’s water reduction target of 25% across the network of dairies by 2015.

Elga Process Water, a subsidiary of Veolia is using a waste water treating process to help recycle waste water produced by Robert Wiseman Dairies by processing waste water using reverse osmosis. The waste water is then recovered and can be used for use in the dairy.

The dairy which supplies 30% of the UK’s milk can process 1.25m litres of milk every day, with it’s Bridgwater dairy producing about 400m3 per day of process waste water, this water was originally treated and then poured into the local waterways. However using the reverse osmosis system 200m3 per day of it’s process waste water is now recovered and recycled for use in the dairy.

Elga’s MegaRO reverse osmosis technology uses a membrane to remove 99% of residual COD, dissolve salts and bacteria from the treated waste water to produce water of quality at least equal to the mains supply.According to Elga the low pressure membranes and high efficiency pumps means the system is energy efficient and low energy, which helps not only reduce the carbon emissions but also operating costs.

The plants has been in operation for 10 months and Robert Wiseman Dairies is in discussions with Elga about a potential second plant to help recover a further 80m3 per day of the waste water.

Robert Wiseman Dairies project manager Eleanor Walton said “Because the operating cost of the MegaRO is low, the recovered water actually costs less than mains water even after including capital costs. We expect to get a payback on the investment of £ 130,000 in about two and a half years.

Proposed legislative changes would allow more businesses to choose their water suppier, enabling them to “shop” for the best available deal.

Currently only businesses using more than 50 mega litres of water per year can switch suppliers, the proposed change would see this threshold dramatically reduce to 5 mega litres, increasing the number of eligible businesses in England from 2,200 to 26,000.

The change which is subject to parliamentary approval is an amendment to the proposals to the Water Industry Act 1991, commenting on the proposals Environment Minster Richard Benyon stated ” This change will allow a huge number of extra businesses to search out better water deals by switching supplier if their current supply does not work for them. It also highlights the Governments firm commitment to helping businesses and stimulate the economy”

Ofwat Chief Executive Regina Finn welcomed the proposed changes which she described as “a step in the right direction and good news for qualifying businesses who will welcome greater choice during difficult economic times”

While Dame Yve Buckland chair of the Consumer Council for Water stated “This will be good for many business customers who are currently frustrated by the lack of progress of competition in water. The important thing now is to get the system working for those customers who can now switch and will need to have the confidence that they can easily and seamlessly change supplier”

It is hoped the change will be enacted by the end of the year

The regulator Ofwat has announced the water and sewerage prices for 2011 / 12 will see bills in England and Wales rise by 4.6%, which means the average bills will rise by about £ 16 to an average annual cost of £ 356.

Ofwat says this is around 10% lower than the figures water companies requested and roughly in line with inflation.

Welsh water will see some of the lowest combined water and sewerage bill rises of £11 and South West some of the highest rises at £ 25.

Ofwat Chief Executive Officer Regina Finn stated ” People can shop around for the best deal on many things but not water, our job is to do this for them. No one wants to see bills increasing, particular in tough economic times. When we set the limits on prices we listed to customers and challenged companies hard, that’s why the average bills are set to remain broadly in line with inflation up until 2015″

£22 billion will be invested by water companies with £10 million peoples water supplies being improved.

Complaints to water companies have fallen by 20%in the past two years according to Ofwats 2010/11 “summary of performance” but says the regulator there are still areas for concern.

The annual study looks at 21 water companies within the UK, the highlights include the drop in complaints, a high level of customer satisfaction, drinking water quality to rival the best in Europe and a four year low in the number of incidents of properties where sewers have flooded internally.

However Ofwat said there was also cause for disappointment and concern. Six companies failed to meet their leakage targets – Anglian Water, Dwr Cymru (Welsh Water), Northumbrian Water (north east operating area) Severn Trent Water, Southern Water and Yorkshire Water. Southern Water missed it’s target by the widest margin at 16% followed by Yorkshire Water at 9%, Anglian Water at 8%, Northumbrian Water – North East and Dwr Cymru both with 5% and Severn Trent Water at 3%. Southern Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water – North East all missed their targets in 2009 / 10 as well.

Ofwat did stress that 15 companies had met their leakage targets reducing leakage by a total of 18ml/d (million litres per day), putting that into perspective that’s enough water to supply a city the size of Exeter. However Ofwat said steps need to be taken to ensure all 21 meet their targets going forward.

To this end Yorkshire Water has earmarked approximately £33m for tackling leakage and improving the pipe network, while Southern Water will return £5m to it’s customers for failing to deliver it’s leakage reduction targets.

Ofwat has put Anglian Water, Dwr Cymru, Northumbrian – North East and Severn Trent on report for their leakage failures.

In addition Ofwat stated Severn companies need to do more to maintain their underground infrastructure – Anglian, United Utilities, Northumbrian, Severn Trent, Southern, Veolia Water Central and Yorkshire Water as the number of supply interruptions to customers was high, specifically citing Severn Trent says it had “particular concerns about the performance” of the company in this regard.

Ofwat Chief Executive Regina Finn said ” Where we have concerns about companies performance we have made sure there are action plans in place to put the problem right, at no extra cost to customers. Customers tell us that leakage is an issue that matters to them, they need to have confidence that their company is doing their part to use water wisely, these failures send a poor signal about how companies value water. Leakage has reduced by around a third since it’s mid 90′s peak, most companies stepped up to the challenge of tackling leakage during another cold winter, but those who didn’t need to get back on track”

The regulator has also published the results of its customer service survey, the survey asked 17,000 customers to rate their provider on a scale of 1 – 5  (where 5 was very satisfied) the results were close with customer satisfaction generally high at an average across the country of 4.2.

Veolia Water East came top of the table with an average score of 4.59 while the lowest average score of 3.79 went to United Utilities.

It is that time of year again when leading water consultants at H²O Building Services urge companies to send their water bills for a free water audit this will reveal whether or not the water company is in fact overcharging, if this is the case a water audit report is sent to the client giving information as to the potential refunds and the on going reduced annual costs, the savings and refunds can be substantial.

Examples of but a few of H²O’s cases.

Asda: £ 900,000,

Somerfield Stores: £1m

HM Revenue and Customs: £ 220,000

Manchester Metropolitan University: £ 500,000

Pizza Hut: £ 50,000

Nottinghamshire Police: £ 65,000

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council: £ 500,000

Health and Safety Executive: £ 220,000

Cable and Wireless: £ 300,000

HM Prison Service: £ 500,000

Saving money and reducing costs has never been so important, however many UK companies and public sector organisations are simply unaware they are being overcharged for water and waste water services by water companies. The water companies where H²O have been most successful are: -

United Utilities (North West)

Business Stream (Scotland)

Severn Trent (Midlands)

Northumbrian Water (North East)

Southern Water (Southern)

Thames Water

If companies and public sector organisations have sites in these areas it is well worth using expert water auditors to check out the charges. The deadline for most claims to gain the maximum benefit is 31st March 2012, most water companies will only refund overcharges back 1 year in which the claim is made, there are exceptions and your water consultant will give you the correct advise.

In a setback to industries and soft drinks makers like Pepsi, the Supreme Court has said that those who extensively use water as a raw material for their products are bound to pay higher rates of water . In a ruling which has far-reaching consequences the apex court on September 12 upheld the the governments decision to impost higher water charges used for manufacturing of soft drinks by PepsiCo IndiaHoldings, the Indian subsidiary of the cola giant PepsiCo.

A bench of justices rejected PepsiCo India’s plea that the state governments decision to adopt different rates for different users was discriminatory. The bench dismissed the petition filed by PepsiCo alleging that the MIDC had arbitrarily increased water charges in 2001 for the industrial consumers in the state who use water as a raw material. PepsiCo is receiving the facility of water supply from the Corporation and is obliged to pay at such rates which are demanded by the Corporation as the same rate is being charged by government. The Corporation cannot be asked to suffer a loss of extensive use of water by the Appellant (PepsiCo) using water as raw material for it’s business as it is discharging it’s public and welfare duty for supplying water to help and assist industries like the Appellant the Supreme Court said.

The decision by the apex court comes at a time when water shortages across the country are leading to an increase in stand-offs between industry and other stakeholders over water rights, many Indian state have made it clear to local industry that agriculture and major user of water in the country and the local residential users would gain preference over it in terms of water allocation. Some states have hiked up water charges for industrial users to drive home this point, forcing several companies to make arrangements for captive water supplies which do not draw upon the same water sources that are used by the agricultural and residential users.

PepsiCo India had challenged the decision of the MIDC to increase by 10-fold the water cost imposed on water users in the State from 2001, along with Cola several  other  major companies have also made representations against the issue.

Water cost reduction experts H²O Building Services have been commissioned to reduce the water and waste water charges across the whole of the Pizza Hut portfolio, providing initial water audit services, site surveys and reports containing recommendations for reducing water costs, savings and payback, then implementing the works to achieve the savings.

More specifically H²O Building Services will undertake water leak detection and water leak repair, installation of water saving devices and claims to reduce charges implemented for surface water and highways drainage charges and surface area, band charges, errors in billing will be highlighted by the water audit and actioned accordingly.

Senior partner of H²O Graham Mann said ” The team here at H²O are all delighted to have been chosen to be “the supplier of choice” beating our competitors hands down on expertise, value for money and proven track record with many other well known UK companies”