News from clients

New guidance on grease management for commercial kitchens has been published, with the aim of ensuring businesses in the UK meet regulations and keep cooking fat out of the sewer system.
 
The Grease Contractors Association, a non-profit organisation of specifiers, installers and maintainers of grease management systems, aims to raise awareness of the relationship between sewer blockages and grease management. This includes working with the hospitality industry and water and wastewater companies to advise on the most appropriate grease management systems.
 
Its new Grease Management Equipment Guide was written to give clear advice on the specification, supply, installation and maintenance of all types of system, and the legal requirements in place to prevent fat from entering drains and sewers.
 
Mar Batista, secretariat of the Grease Contractors Association and head of programmes at administrator British Water said: “In the UK, water companies spend £100 million every year clearing blockages caused by items that should never have entered the sewage system.
 
“Cooking fat, oil and grease cause particular problems in the sewer system, solidifying to contribute to pipe-blocking fatbergs. These can have devastating impacts on the environment - there is a very clear link between FOG blockages and the sewer spills that damage businesses, homes, rivers and the sea. 
 
“Amongst some food establishments, there appears to be confusion around legislation, standards and the range of appropriate solutions to use for grease management. We believe that consistent messaging and accessible information, combined with industry collaboration, education and innovation is key to the fight against fatbergs.”
 
The guide also aims to increase awareness of legislation in the UK, helping businesses avoid penalties and prosecutions. In England and Wales, the Water Industry Act 1991 (Section 111) gives water companies the power to bring a criminal proceeding against anyone who causes injury or inhibits the free flow of the sewer network. Similar legislation applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
 
Batista said: “While, historically, court action against food service establishments has been rare, two prosecutions from Thames Water in 2021 show a trend towards tougher penalties can be expected for businesses who do not have the correct grease management in place.
 
“We hope that by providing some clarity to the complex area of grease management, we can help businesses operate within legislation, avoid inconvenient, costly and damaging sewer blockages and protect their local environment.”
 
The free guide can be downloaded here - https://www.britishwater.co.uk/page/GCA

Ofwat’s new interim chief executive has set out six key areas of focus to help drive change in water, telling industry representatives “we can’t simply build our way out of the challenges in front of us”.
 
David Black was keynote speaker at British Water’s Gather Together reception, the trade association’s first in-person event since February 2020. Addressing the audience of British Water supply chain and water company members and other industry stakeholders, Black praised the resilience and achievements of the sector, which “has not stood still” through the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
Looking forward, he said the scale of change needed to address the effects of climate change, achieve net zero carbon, deliver for customers and the environment, while keeping bills affordable, was significant.
 
He said: “If we look ahead to 2050, we know a step-change in outcomes is required. We’re looking to swiftly improve drought resilience and to reduce abstraction from over-stressed water sources, such as chalk streams, to reduce leakage by 50% or more, to drive down per capita consumption to 110 litres per day.
 
“It is going to require a water sector that delivers for customers, it needs to keep bills affordable, and put the environment right at the heart of everything it does and that’s going to require transformational change for all of us.”
 
Black said while the sector was making major investments in infrastructure projects such as new reservoirs, water transfer and reuse schemes, a bigger challenge would be to “change the culture of the sector and ways of working”, outlining what he believed were the key focus areas to deliver change at scale:
 
Large-scale consumer behavioural change - in water consumption and disposal of materials such as wet wipes and cooking fat. 
Community engagement and nature-based solutions – bringing these areas from the margins of the sector to the mainstream.
Smart networks and open data - harnessing technology to operate and maintain networks intelligently
Renewable energy revolution of wastewater – making better use of valuable resources
Long-term and adaptive planning for water resources - building in incremental steps, recognising the value of both delaying decisions and taking long-term decisions now, and looking beyond water to other sectors.
Innovation – becoming more effective in turning ideas into action, efficiently and at pace.
 
Black went on to outline how Ofwat is also adapting, to align with the sector’s transformation.
 
“The traditional focuses on investment, efficiency and improving asset health will remain important. The transformation will lie in working effectively with customers and communities; the innovation in enhancing and harnessing the power of digital and tech.”
 
He highlighted the regulator’s £2.8 billion green recovery programme, announced in May 2021, the launch of industry collaboration RAPID to promote an integrated approach to the development of water resources, the direct procurement for customers (DPC) project delivery model and the £200 million innovation fund as examples of new initiatives.
 
Finally, Black spoke about the transformation he expects to see within the water supply chain, with a more rapid move towards implementing digital smart technology, nature-based solutions and catchment management programmes likely to change what water companies require from their suppliers.
 
He said: “Covid has shown we can be flexible and we can adapt at pace. We need to take the same approach as we tackle the challenges ahead. We encourage you all to seize the opportunities, to challenge thinking, to innovate and to be part of the solution.”
 
Gather Together took place on 16 September 2021, at Woodland Grange, Leamington Spa, welcoming approximately 130 guests.
 
Thanking Black and attendees after the event, British Water chief executive Lila Thompson said: “After a difficult 16 months of quarantine, self-isolation, lockdowns, and restrictions, we were so pleased to welcome the British Water community to our Gather Together outdoor reception. It was a pleasure to reconnect and share business insights.
 
“British Water is committed to harnessing the power of collaboration to and deliver tangible, positive change in our industry through events and initiatives. We look forward to delivering our next event, the UK Water Market Explained, on Thursday 7 October.”
 
Details of British Water’s upcoming events can be seen at https://www.britishwater.co.uk/

Cooking fat, oil and grease (FOG) must be seen as resource of value, with an urgent change in mindset required to keep it out of the sewers and to fully harness its potential. That is the message from Stephen Williams, Southern Water network protection officer, ahead of the European FOG Summit, which takes place in Brighton, UK on 14 October 2021.
“The urgency has increased no end,” said Williams. “We need to stop seeing FOG as waste and see a resource which can be part of the circular economy, as a biofuel and energy resource. To push that, we must engage across our industry but also more widely. We need to change regulation and legislation and, importantly, change mindsets.”
Southern Water is co-hosting the FOG Summit along with technology company SwiftComply and trade association British Water. The collaborative event will bring together water, wastewater and sustainability experts to explore new ways tackling FOG in sewers.
 
Williams, who will moderate two discussion panels, said: “This is an important event which will bring together all the stakeholders in the FOG lifecycle, including the producers; the kitchen specifiers and users; the grease management experts who can remove it and pass it on in the circular economy; and finally, the water companies who protect the sewers and, most importantly, the environment. To manage this and change mindsets, all of these stakeholders must work together.”
 
The summit will be opened by Southern Water chief executive Ian McAulay, alongside Philip Dunne MP, chair of the UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee, who has been pursuing legislative changes to the management of wastewater and sewer discharges to prevent river pollution.
 
Williams said: “We are looking forward to hearing from Philip Dunne, who has been tremendously engaged in the issue. He understands the link between FOG blockages and spills to our rivers, contributing to last year’s 440,000 combined sewer overflow releases in England.
“He has brought stakeholders together and is driving regulatory and legislative change. He is working with groups like the Network Protection Forum, which I chair, and he’s changing minds outside our industry and in government.
“There is a real alliance growing – changes will help cut pollution to our rivers and cut carbon emissions at the same time. That’s a fantastic outcome for everyone – customers, the environment and the hospitality sector.”
Laura Su, UK director, SwiftComply, said: “We are proud to be co-hosting the third European FOG Summit in the coastal city of Brighton and look forward to welcoming experts from the UK and European water companies, the supply chain and governmental, environmental and circular economy groups.
 
“We have put together an exciting agenda, with sessions that examine the current status of the challenge and what the future might hold, proactive mitigation, technological solutions, international research and the role FOG can play in local authorities’ circular initiatives and sustainability goals.”
 
Participants will also have an opportunity to join networking events on 13 October, the day before the summit. These will include a tour of Southern Water’s wastewater treatment works in nearby Peacehaven and a networking lunch and dinner. 
 
Organisers will follow all government Covid-19 safety guidelines and will monitor the global situation closely, putting contingencies in place should any travel restrictions apply.
 
Event details
 
The European FOG Summit will take place on 14 October 2021 at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, near Brighton Pier, with networking events scheduled for the day before, 13 October.  To book your place www.swiftcomply.co.uk/fogsummit