Emerging and Forgotten Challenges? Pollution and pressure

Gravity sewers make up the bulk of the network transferring foul and storm flow to treatment. However where pumping is required, stations lift and shift flow in pressurised rising mains, creating a set of challenges unique to wastewater, but not unique to the water industry.

These pumping mains have often been considered a forgotten asset, with historical investment focussing on high profile flooding and pollution schemes, but this perceived under investment in an ageing set of assets could lead to a “bow wave” of failures and a rise in the number of pollution incidents attributable to these bursts. However, bursts and flooding have long been a challenge familiar to the supply of clean water. It is becoming more apparent that significant discharges of chlorinated water into rivers and streams from burst water mains can have significant environmental impact and as such can be considered a pollution incident, so a mechanism and process to establish the consequence of failure and the risk of these pressurised systems is a critical part of future pollution reduction.

So with failures in pressurised assets of all types leading to increases in pollution numbers, RPS’ asset management, complex analytics and risk assessment tools can support Water Companies in building knowledge around the likelihood of problems occurring, but also the consequence of failure, enabling targeted proactive intervention to reduce pollution incidents.