The UK is notoriously known for its high rainfall, right? Wrong. Anglian Water has less rain per year than parts of Israel. With a high population growth, why is the utility one of the most innovative in the country, if not globally? WWi speaks to the head of innovation to find out.
By Claire Smith
As the utility situated in the driest region in the UK, Anglian Water is at the forefront when it comes to managing the effects of climate change.
“Our overall rainfall is less than Jerusalem,” says Steve Kaye, head of innovation at Anglian. “At Anglian Water we face a number of challenges - particularly when it comes to climate change. Not only are we the driest region of the UK, we are also the region with the highest population growth, so we are facing a big challenge over the next 25-35 years.”
Anglian covers a highly agricultural area in the east of England and has more than six million domestic and business customers, stretching from the Humber in the north to the fringes of Greater London in the south, an area of 27,476 km2.
The company, like other utilities in England and Wales, was formed as one of ten regional water authorities, which took over statutory and local authority owned water and sewerage services in 1973. It was privatised as Anglian Water Services in 1989 and is now a subsidiary of AWG.
The challenge
From April 2017 Anglian, like other utilities in England, will face competition for its business customers when the Water Act comes into force, allowing non-residential customers to choose their supplier. It means, says Kaye, that it is more important than ever, for utilities to actively engage with their customers.
Anglian Water already has an active public profile, thanks to its water saving slogan ‘Love Every Drop’ and its campaign ‘Keep It Clear’ - aimed at teaching people how to safely dispose of fats, oils and grease to prevent sewer blockages.
In its approach to innovation Anglian also tries to engage its community - whether liaising directly with farmers, encouraging customer feedback or working with start-ups.
Sludge recycling
Anglian Water, which includes the counties of Norfolk and Lincolnshire, has the highest density of agriculture in the UK.
Kaye adds: “We generate 100,000 tons of dry solids a year and it is important to consider how this can be used as an asset, rather than a waste product. Our relationship with farmers is always important to us.”
Anglian Water currently recycles almost 100% of the sludge processed by its treatment plants. Under the brand Nutri-bio, Anglian sells processed biosolids in spreadable form to be used as fertiliser by farmers.
The processed sludge has a high pathogen kill but is also high in nutrients. Anglian Water has developed its own patented Heat Pasteurisation and Hydrolysis (HPH) treatment for sludge. The HPH system, is now in use within four Anglian plants - at Pyewipe, Colchester, Cliff Key and Basildon.
Cheaper to install than existing systems, the HPH system also generates more biogas. As well as producing fertiliser for the commercial market, sludge processing is also used to generate biogas. Anaerobic digestion generates more than 90 GW hours per year. The company uses its own electricity wherever possible but also sells it back to the national grid.
In January this year it was the first company to achieve 100% compliance under the new Biosolids Assurance Scheme Standards for UK production centres. Currently 10% of the utility’s electricity comes from renewable energy.
Innovation
One of several initiatives designed to leverage new technologies and improve outcomes for customers is the Water Innovation Network (WIN).
“The Water Innovation Network was originally designed to attract input from small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs),” says the head of innovation. “One of the issues with water companies is that we tend to deal with big companies - but a lot of the more interesting and innovative work is being done by smaller companies and start ups.”
WIN, which was founded in conjunction with Opportunity Peterborough, holds three or four events a year, focussing on issues such as zero leakage, or climate change.
