Wednesday, June 25, 2025
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
Environmental Magazine
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water
No Result
View All Result
Environmental Magazine
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water
No Result
View All Result
Environmental Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Water

UKWIR research programme aims to transform sewerage management

August 27, 2024
in Water
A A

Sewage pollution in surface waters in the UK and Ireland is one of the most high-profile environmental issues in the country. Water industry research organisation UKWIR is leading a raft of innovative sewerage projects designed to transform the way water companies manage this issue in the coming five-year Asset Management Plan period for England and Wales – AMP8, which starts on 1 April 2025.

“UKWIR’s research programme aims to create a future where sewerage management is not just an essential service, but a key contributor towards a sustainable and healthy environment,” said Jenni Hughes, UKWIR strategic programme manager.

“Previously, UKWIR research has focused on getting a deeper understanding of the networks, because we need to understand what’s happening in the existing network before we can make meaningful, long-term improvements.

“Now our focus shifts to the future, with societal needs, environmental protection and resilient infrastructure at the centre. The latest wave of research offers water companies the tools and knowledge they need to navigate the ongoing challenges of sewage management into the next asset management period and beyond.”

Protecting rivers and seas
The impact of sewage and stormwater discharge, agricultural runoff, and urban pollution on river ecosystems in the UK and Ireland is a key area of research for UKWIR.

Dr Nick Mills is UKWIR’s programme lead on the organisation’s Big Question 6: How do we achieve sustainable and resilient sewerage and drainage by 2050? He is also director of environment & innovation at Southern Water.

Mills says, “To optimise the benefits for both people and nature, we need a data-driven river strategy that comprehensively analyses threats to river health. This approach should hold all sectors accountable, while simultaneously empowering them to identify solutions for building and maintaining healthy rivers.

“There is a lot of focus on storm overflows in the media and from the general public. They are a legacy asset that the sector is attempting to phase out through a combination of nature-based and sustainable drainage systems, and data-driven engineering approaches.

“More widely, reducing storm overflows requires urgent, collaborative action from water companies, councils, property owners and the public,” added Mills.

Beating blockages
Sewer blockages are a major concern in the UK, with an estimated 200,000 occurring annually, and FOG – fats, oils and grease – cited as the cause in around 75% of cases. A build-up of FOG hinders the smooth operation of sewer systems and wastewater treatment works (WwTWs), shortens the lifespan of critical assets and increases maintenance costs.

This burden ultimately falls on water companies, which may be forced to raise prices for customers. Additionally, FOG blockages can cause sewer overflows, creating a public health hazard and impacting the environment.

UKWIR projects aiming to tackle this include:

Nature as a stakeholder
Protecting and enhancing waters, and the wildlife and communities they support requires a combination of grey and green solutions. For water companies looking to create greater social value, nature-based solutions (NbS) such as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can offer a powerful and cost-effective approach.

However, there is currently limited sector-wide data on the benefits, reliability and cost-effectiveness, compared to traditional engineered and technological alternatives.To address this issue, UKWIR currently has a research project aimed at improving the understanding of the whole-life cost, carbon footprint and delivery of retrofit SuDS.

Data and insights
Water companies in the UK are being urged to be more transparent with the public about sewage spill data by the information commissioner.

The use of data-driven methods, including artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, is a promising approach to proactively identify and address blockages in sewer systems, ultimately improving environmental protection, public health and compliance with regulations.

Recent UKWIR projects include:
· Modelling sewer inlet capacity restrictions
· Quantifying, managing and communicating the differences in storm overflow spill data between event duration modelling (EDM) outputs and hydraulic model prediction

Working with customers
Customer behaviour can also play a significant role in reducing the amount of sewage entering watercourses in the UK.

Customer-caused blockages in sewers are a major issue in the UK. Every year in England and Wales, water companies spend millions of pounds dealing with over 300,000 blockages – thousands of which see people’s homes and belongings ruined by sewer flooding.

A recently published UKWIR project – Learning and recommendations from customer behaviour campaigns on blockage reduction – highlights the need for effective customer campaigns to reduce blockages, and emphasises the importance of tailored campaigns, a unified national approach, and collaboration among water companies via a proposed national working group focused on changing customer behaviour regarding blockages.

UKWIR has announced the direction of travel for research projects from now to 2050. The refreshed strategy aims to bring together global trends in water management with impactful research to address UK-specific industry challenges identified through the UKWIR Big Questions and extensive stakeholder engagement.

For more information, visit: ukwir.org/ukwir-announce-new-research-strategy

ShareTweetSharePinSendShare

Related Articles

Water

Conductivity level probes prioritise robustness and ease of use

June 19, 2025
Water

Flow monitoring off-grid in Cornwall

June 17, 2025
Water

Ofwat Innovation Fund highlights nature’s role in solving water sector challenges

June 17, 2025
Water

WWTW in Scotland wins award from the Royal Academy of Engineering

June 13, 2025
Water

Profiling the growing use of AI in public-sector WWTPs

June 11, 2025
Water

Blockage-detecting robot ready to patrol sewers, says group behind it

June 11, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Pennsylvania Wetlands Face New Development Threat Under Trump’s Fast-Track Order

February 21, 2025

Trump Aims to Fast Track Alabama Coal Build-Out, Citing US Need. Nearly All the Coal Is Bound for Export

May 6, 2025

Don't miss it

Air

Net zero planning platform to unlock investment in the West of England

June 25, 2025
News

Microplastics are everywhere, but our methods to track them are all over the place

June 25, 2025
Air

New milestone for efficient carbon capture technology

June 25, 2025
News

Leeds EfW facility will supply around 390 GWh per year of homegrown power to the region

June 24, 2025
Fossil Fuels

As GOP Tries to Pass Tax Bill, Senate Includes Billions in Benefits for Oil Industry

June 23, 2025
Energy

Figuring Out a Battery Storage System to Fit New York’s Wind and Solar Ambitions Has Not Been Easy

June 23, 2025
Environmental Magazine

Environmental Magazine, Latest News, Opinions, Analysis Environmental Magazine. Follow us for more news about Enviroment and climate change from all around the world.

Learn more

Sections

  • Activism
  • Air
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Fossil Fuels
  • News
  • Uncategorized
  • Water

Topics

Activism Air Climate Change Energy Fossil Fuels News Uncategorized Water

Recent News

Net zero planning platform to unlock investment in the West of England

June 25, 2025

Microplastics are everywhere, but our methods to track them are all over the place

June 25, 2025

© 2023 Environmental Magazine. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water

© 2023 Environmental Magazine. All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.