Water is at the core of everything we do. Put simply, we can’t live without it, be it needing water to drink, growing crops for food, making the materials for the houses that we live in, cooling the processes that provide us with energy, or simply enhancing the natural environment. And yet water can also be dangerous – when not properly managed it can harbour dangerous diseases, flood our towns and cities, cause drowning or act as a carrier for toxic pollutants.
With an ever growing world population, and the impacts of the changing climate becoming clearer, water will increasingly become a more scarce and precious resource. Not only will we need to work harder in future to conserve water to ensure that there is enough for everyone’s daily needs, but we will also need to put more measures in place to protect the natural water environment which will in turn protect vital water resources.
Core services
Water Assets: Our expertise in asset planning and investment planning spans many sectors. This enables us to develop strategies for the long-term care and maintenance of above and below ground assets. We undertake feasibility, design and project management of new systems using state of the art computer modelling techniques for the simulation of asset performance, process design and programme control. We adopt an integrated approach to the management of water assets and are able to apply specialist input for components such as flood protection, waste management and desalination. We also have specialist expertise in the design of combined sewer overflows, urban pollution management, coastal modelling, canals, ports and harbours.
Water Environment: Water is an integral component of the environmental impact assessment work that we do at local and strategic level. We have good knowledge of the Water Framework Directive as it gradually emerges as a driving force in Europe for the protection of the water environment through river basin management plans. We are able to undertake detailed appraisal of water resources (hydrology) and groundwaters (hydrogeology) through water cycle studies which includes assessing pollution risks through our advanced risk assessment procedures. Our services for major developers and environmental regulators include flood risk assessments both local and strategic and we are at the forefront of sustainable drainage design (SUDS) and drainage strategies, river modelling and overland flow modelling.
Water Energy: WSP has expertise of renewable energy as it applies to the water industry including energy from sewage treatment processes, water flow and wind energy. This forms a key part of our ability to assist the Industry in reducing its carbon footprint and emissions, operate more sustainably and adapt to the changing climate.
Water Business: The operation of and investment in water assets involves complex business processes to ensure compliance with legislation and standards, observance of regulatory requirements and the delivery of value to shareholders. WSP is renowned for its business support expertise in these areas including new ventures and business planning; regulatory review processes; strategic direction advice; programme planning and management; cost benefit analysis; legal advice and expert witness; business continuity and assessment of network resilience.
Water Operations: WSP has extensive experience of running public service operations including call centres and billing, asset compliance monitoring, data management, and operation of telemetry based systems. We develop solutions that can be operated and maintained remotely yet effectively and work closely with asset operators at all stages of planning delivery and operational stages. We have a particular expertise in water efficiency and assisting our clients work with their customers to achieve significant reductions in water use whilst not compromising their needs or expectations. This includes the provision of water meters, education in water use and the implementation of initiatives to recycle or harvest water.
Water in Buildings: This is very much an emerging area that we are able to integrate into our work for the residential and development sectors. We are currently working on research initiatives for integrated water management including grey water and rain harvesting, living roof initiatives on new buildings and both grey and black water recycling initiatives integrated with sustainable drainage systems. We are championing appropriate use of technology with our developer clients to encourage the adoption of this approach which will ultimately be a key part of relieving the increasing pressures on our water resources particularly in the South East and East of England.
Clients
Our water sector clients include:
- Thames Water
- Severn Trent Group
- Northumbrian Water
- South Staffordshire Water
- United Utilities via Morgan EST