b'Partner News Spring 2024 37CorporateIET Corporate Partner Sweco recentlybetter prepare our strategies across othervery worthwhile, You would expect most undertook a number of Pilot Studies forprojects within the areas were looking at insuppliers can do thatbut expectations Northumbrian Water (NWL), to assessAMP8. Berwick is also a bathing area, so weare not always met. In Swecos case they the viability of alternative solutions thatknew that we could potentially make a bigcertainly were.could reduce spills from combined sewerdifference to a lot of people fairly quickly by overflows. prioritising our focus there. Communication at every stage was open, and there was constantly good dialogue. The studies, in Berwick-upon-Tweed, BurnThe what You can find great engineers fairly easily, Valley and Washington North, formed partThe data and insights from Swecosbut finding technical excellence AND of Ofwats Acceleration Programme, andfeasibility & options report were hugelycommunication skills is more difficult.were briefed with a view to providing datavaluable, especially when presenting plans and direction for Northumbrian Watersand business cases to stakeholders andFor us to be able to understand and wider activity across 485 drainage areasdecision-makers like MPs or local authorities.acknowledge where the team were in their (c.1,000 overflows need attention over theHaving well thought out plans andprocess, know what they were doing and next 30 years), in particular 37 drainagealternatives breeds confidence, and proofwhat the next steps were was you knowareas that will be addressed during AMP8.of concept we achieved in Berwick meansthe customer experience was as good as any Below, Sustainable Drainage Manager atwere more certain of outcomes across otherweve had.Northumbrian Water Richard Woodhouseareas when we come to repeat the process reflects on our work in Berwick. and employ the same solutionswithout theBenefits of the studiescost and disruption of having to scope eachThe utilisation of available storage The why area out in detail every time. within the network using smarter flow We had two existing framework suppliers formanagement and/or flow diversions.our DWMP work, but we wanted to look at aWeve got 1,000 overflows that needReturning key pumping assets to their couple of areas with fresh eyes to see if weattention within the next 30 years, sooriginal designed performance.were missing a trick on anything. From ourobtaining clear ideas early brings majorModification of existing CSOs to allow point of view, it was a very deliberate movebenefits throughout the programme. them to operate more effectively.to see if those fresh eyesnot blinkeredUse of swales / earth bunds to prevent by ongoing day-to-day problem-solving orBenefits of work undertaken overland flow entering the combined being too close to what had previously beenThe benefit of our work and resultingsewer network.donewould in turn open our eyes to bettersolutions at Berwick-upon-Tweed is theSurface water separation.strategies or savings. We have a very open- reduction of flows in the network, whichProvision of impounding areas on minded view when it comes to interrogatingleads to reduced pumping and treatmentwatercourses.the way we do things, and we wanted acosts as well as a reduction in catchmentNature-based treatment of storm flowspartner with an equally brave approach whenflooding. The non-grey solutions proposed,at the treatment works.it comes to exploring different methods ofwill also generally bring value to society engineering and asset management. and the environment. Smart networkAs a result of the successful study in solutions utilised existing capacity within theBerwick-upon-Tweed, NWL asked uSweco The where sewerage network and reductions in OPEXto look at another two catchmentsBurn With 485 drainage areas in our portfolio, itswill also result from the reduction of flowValley and Washington North. For both of impossible to cast the net over all of them involumes in the network. these catchments, Sweco was able to find detail, to find gains and potential efficiencies.smarter, more sustainable solutions as had We therefore chose Berwick as a sample siteSmart, sustainable catchment-widebeen achieved in Berwick-upon-Tweed, within Ofwats Acceleration Programme, insolutions versus traditional DWMPsignificantly reducing the required storage order to uncover solutions that would in turnsolutions, volume and significantly reducing CAPEX give us a model for how we go on to tackleReduced overflow spills to required levels, and OPEX costs while meeting the required issues across our wider infrastructure overReduced flows in catchment, overflow spill reduction.coming years. Reduced treatment and pumping tolower OPEX costs, Swecos new Director for Water, Lindsey We chose Berwick-upon-Tweed becauseReduced TOTEX solutions, Taylor, commented on the study: We must of the proportion of catchments thereReduction in catchment flood risk, have a relentless focus on positive outcomes in relation to the size of the town andLower carbon solutions, for our environment and society. Therefore its population, as well as some of theLess disruption to local residents throughworking with nature and enhancing natural complexities the geography throws up forlower levels of construction required, systems has to be at the top of our agenda us, and also intricate challenges such as theCAPEX either less than or comparable towhen designing new solutions to address need to work around ancient monumentsDWMP solutions. long-standing challenges.and walls. The thinking being that if we could identify the things that were on trackThe how Sweco UK is looking for more Waterin this complex area, as well as those thatThe review of our existing assets, especiallytalent in this exciting and unique periodwe need to change course on, we couldpumping stations a.nd what they should beof opportunity for the industry. Visitidentify universal things that work anddoing and what they actually do and wassweco.co.uk/water-opps for live roles.'