Fortnightly Bulletin – 1st May 2023
24 April 2023
Guidance
Water resources planning guideline
If you are a water company in England or Wales, you must prepare and maintain a water resources management plan (WRMP). Your WRMP sets out how you intend to achieve a secure supply of water for your customers and a protected and enhanced environment.
The duty to prepare and maintain a WRMP is set out in sections 37A to 37D of the Water Industry Act 1991 . You must prepare a plan at least every five years and review it annually.
Following the receipt of water companies draft water resource management plans and policy changes, the Environment Agency have updated the guidance. The Environment Agency consulted water companies on the proposed changes earlier in 2023.
Source: gov.uk
To access this updated guidance, click here.
Articles of Interest
World’s largest-of-its-kind power line to deliver clean power to 1.8 million UK homes and boost energy security
The world’s largest multi-use electricity power line will be built under the North Sea, boosting UK energy supplies with enough to power 1.8 million homes – more than Birmingham and Manchester combined.
The new LionLink will connect the UK and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms, providing clean affordable and secure energy to Britain which will help cut household bills and reduce the UK’s reliance on energy sourced from other countries such as Russia.
The cross-border electricity line will be only the second of its kind in the world, with the first having been built by Germany and Denmark. However, it will be able to carry more than four times the amount of electricity as its predecessor – making it the largest of its kind in terms of capacity anywhere in the world.
While normal interconnectors only connect two countries, the multipurpose LionLink will join the UK and Netherlands to each other as well as simultaneously with offshore wind farms at the heart of the North Sea.
Source: gov.uk
To read more about this article, click here.
UK opportunities in carbon capture: spectator energy summit
Spain recorded its hottest ever temperature for April on Thursday, hitting 38.8C according to the country’s meteorological service. The record figure was reached in Cordoba airport in southern Spain just after 15:00 local time. For days a blistering heatwave has hit the country with temperatures 10-15C warmer than expected for April.
Cristina Linares, a scientist at the Carlos III Health Institute, warned in particular of the impact on the poor.
“Poverty is the key factor when it comes to explaining why there are more deaths associated with extreme temperatures. Income is the factor with the closest link to the impact of heat on day-to-day deaths.”
Heatwaves are also striking many locations globally as climate change exacerbates naturally high temperatures. While parts of Britain are cooler than average right now, the opposite is the case in many regions of Spain.
The high temperatures come on top of long running drought in many parts of Spain. Reservoirs in the Guadalquivir basin are only at 25% of capacity. This combination is raising the prospect of early forest fires, with the national weather service warning that large swathes of the country would be at risk. Spain saw the most land burned of any country in Europe in 2022.
Source: BBC News
To read more about this article, click here.
Aberdeen aims to be UK’s first net zero port by 2040
The Port of Aberdeen will invest £55m over the next 10 years in a bid to become the UK’s first net zero port by 2040, it has been announced. The aim is to reduce emissions and promote low carbon alternative fuels.
The port said it had already taken action to reduce the environmental impact of its operations on quaysides, such as electric vehicles and installation of LED lighting. Future plans include trials of treated vegetable oil for port-owned vessels. The launch of the Port of Aberdeen’s net zero strategy has the aim of delivering the UK’s first net zero port, according to its chief executive Bob Sanguinetti.
The new deeper and larger Aberdeen South Harbor has been the largest marine infrastructure project in the UK. It has seen £400m being spent to allow work including offshore wind, hydrogen, and decommissioning.
To read more about this article, click here.
Fines and Prosecutions
Construction firm fined for ‘gross and chronic’ silt pollution
A contractor has been hit with a £160,000 fine and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs for polluting a brook in the East Midlands.
The contractor worked on the £67m East Midlands Gateway (EMG), where it built a strategic rail freight interchange that included a rail interchange hub and 10 logistics plots for the likes of Amazon and Games Workshop.
Nottingham Magistrates Court heard earlier this week that the contractor had polluted the local Hemington Brook with clay solids while it was working on the site in September 2019.
The Environment Agency, which brought the case, said a biological survey found the discharge from the site had caused “gross and chronic” pollution that had affected invertebrates living nearby. The Environment Agency said it received a tip-off from a member of the public after the brook started “running red with silt pollution”.
Source: Construction News
For more information, click here.
Online Learning and Events
Webinar: scope 3 and resource efficiency; practical examples from the building sector
13th June 2023 13.30-14:30pm
Building operations, refurbishments and the changing use of space to accommodate more flexible ways of working and wellbeing criteria has the potential to generate more waste and disposal of items no longer required.
This is contributing not only to the use of resources, but also to the carbon emissions associated with the lifecycle of these items. The development of a Scope 3 Standard by and for the Facilities Management (FM) sector seeks to provide consistency and to promote circular economy principles into the role of FM and building management.
During this session, a panel of experts and practitioners will discuss the role of circular economy in FM and provide examples of practical engagement to help reduce scope 3 emissions.
This will be an ideal opportunity for anyone managing estates or working on resource efficiency for physical estates to learn from the development of this project, with time scheduled for a Q&A session with the speakers.
