Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
and Northern Ireland, such that during this period
the UK was characterised by different
administrative regions. The water authorities
planned and implemented water management and
pollution control, flood management and the
water environment. The water authorities, while
applauded throughout the world as an example of
integrated catchment-based water management,
suffered from two significant problems: (1) they
had a very constrained capability to raise funds for
investment; and (2) they were seen as self-
regulating, both the gamekeeper and poacher in
the same organisation.
•
improving treatment process, control and
management;
•
maintaining
and
improving
water
distribution;
•
maintaining and improving drinking water
quality;
•
improving and developing the waste water
removal and treatment system.
But perhaps more importantly, the industry has to
overcome all the challenges while maintaining the
confidence of customers and shareholders and
delivering on all these fronts, not individually but
as an integrated response to an interrelated system.
Herrington (1996) has examined the effect of
climate change on water demand, and Clarke
et al
.
(1997) and Likeman
et
al
. (1995) consider new
demand prediction and resource management
technologies, respectively. The problems of
continued climate variability (Wigley and Jones
1987) bring new planning challenges to the water
industry, since it is difficult to plan to a changing
and apparently less predictable base, and this is
recognised by Ofwat. Economic controls, perhaps
more responsive to shortage, are elaborated in
Ofwat (1996) but are confounded by the
economically unresponsive and politically sensitive
issue of leakage (Lambert 1994).
Post-1989
To solve both of the problems outlined above, and
in keeping with its political ideology, the
Conservative government of the time disbanded
the water authorities, privatising the supply and
waste treatment functions as water plcs, and
separating out the regulatory function through the
creation of the National Rivers Authority. Both
the authority and the plcs started with the same
spatial and management basis but, particularly
since 1994, a number of significant changes have
taken place. The NRA has become the
Environment Agency and has taken on board
responsibility for waste management and
integrated industrial pollution control (historically
air pollution). NRA regions have been
amalgamated to reduce the ten NRA regions to
eight EA regions. The water plcs have seen
amalgamations (takeovers) with other water
undertakings (Northumbrian Water owned by
Lyonaise des Eaux), combinations with other non-
water utilities within a region (United Utilities for
electricity and water in the northwest) or outside
the region (Scottish Power ownership of Southern
Water).
The water industry faces research challenges
associated with every element in Figure 10.1,
namely
CONTROLLING PROCESS
Process is the domain of the chemical engineer,
although no longer solely so. Raw waters, whether
of high or low quality, are transformed through a
sequence of chemical, physical and biological
processes, into potable waters. The particular
selection of processes will depend on raw
(environmental) water quality. Herein is a major
research opportunity. The industry requires
methods for the rapid assessment of likely typical
and extreme characteristics of the waters draining
from catchments that it might wish to utilise for
supply after treatment. There are examples in many
regions of the country of ill-designed treatment
strategies and processes that have failed to deliver
the expected potable water quality because the
•
measuring, managing and forecasting demand;
•
identifying, developing and managing
resources;
