The Impact of Electricity at Work Regulations on the Operation of a Water Company

Since 1 April 1990, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 have placed legal requirements on employers, employees and the self-employed to take precautions against the risk of death or injury from electricity in work activities. This paper (a) examines the requirements, (b) reports on an initiative by the Lee Valley Water Company, and (c) proposes a management strategy for an organization to comply with the legislation.     

Upgrading the Activated-Sludge Process for Total Nitrogen Removal in Hong Kong

In order to protect the sensitive waters in Tolo harbour (Hong Kong), Sha Tin and Tai Po sewage-treatment works were first designed to remove 70% of the nitrogen load from the sewage. Since then, due to continuing serious eutrophication problems in the harbour, both plants have been modified to increase the removal efficiency to 90%.
The modifications were based on the Bardenpho process. However, the designers of the two plants adopted different approaches to process intensity, complexity and control of bacterial foam. At Sha Tin, the average monthly results have shown an increase of total nitrogen removal from 60–70% to about 80% since its completion. The addition of methanol was found to be ineffective on further enhancement of the denitrification rate due to difficulties in the apportioning of the second anoxic zone. The overall monthly results for Tai Po have also shown an increase in the removal rate to about 80%, even though 90% was achieved for a short period of time. The major problem encountered at the latter plant was that the process design did not provide an effective control on bacterial foaming, which had affected the smooth operation of the process.     

A review of United Kingdom windpower

This review covers the background to wind power installations in the U.K. and outlines current developments. Many of the installations described were visited by the author in 1981 and several of the machines described are part of current research projects. There is a variety of different turbine designs being developed at a number of locations throughout the British Isles. These include established configurations such as the three-blade upwind horizontal-axis Aldborough Generator but also new designs such as the variable geometry multi-hinged design at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight.     

Domestic Water Consumption and Its Determination in Rural Guatemala

Development agencies who work in the water sector often implement their aims using projects which provide basic physical infrastructure. The provision of adequate and appropriate water systems and services relies upon the availability of valid design data, such as per capita consumption and peak-flow factors, yet many project designs are based upon broad assumptions or inappropriate data. This paper presents the methods and results from a project to collect domestic water consumption data from rural water systems in Guatemala. General observations on the implications of the results are discussed together with the role which simple data collection can have within development projects.     

Commissioning and Operation of the Thames Water Ring Main

In order to achieve the earliest possible benefits of the investment in the Thames Water ring main, in late 1989 it was recognized that it was necessary to establish a commissioning team. The remit for the team was to progressively commission the ring main to match the construction programme, without risking the integrity of the daily water supply.
This paper describes the methods, accountability, and achievement of the commissioning project.     

Maintenance of Sludge-Treatment Plants

During the last decade, Southern Water has designed, constructed, commissioned and operated a number of large sewage-treatment works and sludge-treatment centres. Also, over the last two years, Southern Water Project Delivery has been working closely with Southern Water Operations, to identify and resolve a number of design and operational issues which have arisen at two strategic sludge-treatment centres, i.e. Canterbury and Goddards Green. The resolution of these issues has been both interesting and technically challenging. The purpose of this paper is to share some of these issues and their resolution.