Following September 2018’s publication of Water UK’s Framework for the production of Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, Water Briefing asks Atkins’ wastewater management experts Gian Illari and Jeremy Jones what this means for the UK’s water industry now, and in the years ahead.

Gian Illari and Jeremy Jones:  Atkins has produced the first-of-its-kind Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP) framework document on behalf of Water UK in collaboration with Defra, the Welsh Government, Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Consumer Council for Water, ADEPT, Blueprint for Water and water companies from across England and Wales.

It was devised through the commitment of a project steering group that comprised of representatives from the above organisations and brought on-board the 12 UK water companies alongside input from various environmental organisations. It’s also going to be a core element in helping to achieve Water UK’s 21st Century Drainage Programme vision, which seeks to ensure the sustainability of drainage infrastructure and services provided to customers.

The publication provides water companies with a broad-reaching framework for producing integrated drainage and wastewater planning strategies for the longer-term, with a minimum of 25 years stipulated. It encourages more clarity and knowledge-sharing across company borders and between organisations involved in the management of drainage and wastewater services. It will also provide greater overall consistency, and the basis to devise and implement plans that can support economic growth and building resilience, both in the services provided to communities but also to the environment.

The framework also seeks to help water companies protect and enhance local environments, and it points to how water companies could take a more a structured approach to identifying and developing ‘best value’ options, whilst also highlighting the importance of much more partnership working to achieve all these aims.

DWMP framework will be game-changer for the industry

Gian Illari said:

“I think it’s going to be a game-changer for the industry, and not before time, because it’s being driven by the challenges of climate change and population growth. As we worked with the project steering group to shape the framework, momentum snowballed; we realised we were finally going to get this enormous task pinned down.”

Acting as a convenor in creating the framework, Atkins brought together multiple parties who offered their own experience of wastewater management processes to identify best practice. As such, the framework now represents a piece of the planning jigsaw that was previously missing.

“Now it’s in place and stakeholders are signed-up to it, we will have a clearer picture of the issues involved, so we can enhance how we work together to tackle them,” Illari added.

Indeed, only a month after publication the framework has been well-received in the industry, with water companies starting to implement it into their operations. For most, proposals for completing the first round of DWMPs are clearly set out in business plans submitted in September 2018.

Until the framework was published there had been no requirement for water companies to produce collated, outward-facing long-term drainage and wastewater plans. Historically, this has meant inconsistency in planning approaches. Whilst all sought to embrace good principles, the omission was clear: where was the strategic integration of planning with other organisations with responsibility for managing drainage and waste water to achieve holistic, long-term, sustainable solutions?

The framework states: “There is a broad range of bodies with responsibilities for drainage and their drainage systems interact with the systems of water and wastewater companies; therefore, a collaborative, integrated approach to long-term planning is required.”

Wastewater management needs a cohesive strategy that crosses boundaries and borders

Atkins’ Jeremy Jones said:

“This collective input is vital. Wastewater management is not an issue that can be tackled in a stovepipe fashion – it needs a cohesive strategy that crosses boundaries and borders. It’s important to consider this as a central theme, if, in the months and years ahead, the framework is going to underpin plans to help cities and towns upgrade their drainage infrastructure to best effect for the long-term.”

It’s a big challenge and will require a change of mindset across business and organisations, as much as a shift in company strategy. Already hundreds of sustainable drainage systems are playing a part in strengthening towns and cities’ resilience to the effects of climate change. From creating a rain garden in a primary school in Newmarket, Suffolk as an outdoor classroom – a project recently co-delivered by Atkins – to planning ‘pocket parks’ across Cardiff, where communities can gather, walk, and enjoy urban green space. The framework also asserts that now is the time to explore further, innovative solutions, too.

It reads: “(the role and benefits of DWMPs should) deliver, where possible, integrated solutions that provide multiple benefits to achieve best value to the economy, society and the environment over the long-term…” and “Facilitate innovation… and the development of affordable, sustainable plans.” So, should we also be looking internationally for inspiration?

Sweden, for example, where the town of Augustenborg, Malmo was awarded the United Nation’s World Habitat Award in 2010 for fitting 10,000 rooftops with green technology to slow down flooding by absorbing rainwater. Multiple stakeholders got on-board, and the project is now cited as one of the largest residential areas in Europe to successfully deliver such an ecological project.

Answer to flood control isn’t to dig up more roads and lay more pipes

Keeping the momentum going, Atkins is currently engaging with a number of water companies to understand their requirements and support them as they develop their implementation programmes in preparation for business plans in PR24, and for future price review periods up to 2040, 25 years away.

Gian Illari said:

“Our climate is changing. Our population is growing. Our cities are paved over.

“But the answer to flood control isn’t to dig up more roads and lay more pipes. The DWMP framework is a positive step forward in turning the challenges of an uncertain future into positive action that benefits people, communities and all stakeholders involved, and it heralds new business opportunities, right across the water sector. But we can only benefit from the big wins by working together.”