Innovation at Uisce Éireann

This collaborative research project with a number of UK water/wastewater utilities will assess the range of techniques applicable to manhole inspection and rehabilitation and to develop best practice and provide industry specifications to improve the operational efficiency via their use.

The outputs of this project will enable Uisce Éireann to:

• Review the available manhole inspection techniques and rehabilitation techniques and their suitability for the UK & Uisce Éireann industry and its particular requirements.
• Have confidence in the choice of manhole rehabilitation solutions.
• Use selection criteria for investing in rehabilitation products that are both fit for purpose and cost effective.
• Define best practice guidance on manhole rehabilitation for IW staff and contractors.
• Develop an industry specification in their correct use for use in procurement events and to meet BIM requirements.
• Provide IW with evidence of robust technology testing which will inform IW specification and the tender & procurement process, allowing us to promptly procure innovative solutions (not considered/utilised to date) to drive business efficiencies. The project outputs being applicable to many of the wastewater current wastewater network capital programmes and projects.

Findings of this research will assist Uisce Éireann in:

• Technology evaluation and assessment of capabilities;
• Testing procedures; and
• Develop an industry specification for their use.

The outputs of this project will be further developed to produce an IW Manhole Rehabilitation Specification which will standardise manhole rehabilitation design, installation and quality assurance across wastewater network capital programmes and projects. This will assist in promptly procuring innovative solutions (not considered/utilised to date) to drive business efficiencies.

Lessons learned:

• UK Water Utilities face the same challenges in relation to assessing, prioritising and repairing manholes.
• Detailed manhole assessments/surveys and good quality data capture are key to investment decisions.

Due to commercial sensitivity of this project, we are unable to publish the research outputs.

This collaborative research project between Uisce Éireann, a number of UK water/wastewater utilities and Cranfield University looked at the use of TW's for the removal of P.  The project focused on summarising the available evidence base to act as common ground for industry-wide evaluation of TWs for P removal. The key hypothesis was that the performance of TWs for phosphorus removal can be quantified and predicted based on water quality and wetland design and operation criteria.

The project will enable IW to endorse and seek to deliver a relatively simple low tech and sustainable solution to address P removal through full or partial upgrades deploying suitable TW treatment elements at some of our conventional plants. In addition, TW solutions may offer significant additional benefits, namely:

• Increase robustness and resilience of overall treatment process;
• Improve capability of dealing with flow variations;
• Require lower operator attendance than alternatives;
• Can be designed and delivered relatively easily and at low cost where land is available or can be acquired at reasonable cost;
• Added without disruption to existing treatment train;
• Reduce carbon footprint and contribute to overall sustainability aims;
• Eliminate or reduce chemical usage and associated costs and environmental and operational risk;
• Provide enhanced treatment and reduced effluent discharge in the case of ICW's when receptor is most under pressure;
• Inform operational activities such that optimum performance can be attained from existing assets;
• Possible circular economy potential; and
• Provide measurable biodiversity, amenity, carbon sequestration and ecosystems services benefits.

Findings of this research will assist Uisce Éireann in:

• Confidently designing and implementing TW systems along with determining the suitability for potential wider applications across IW's asset base
• Conducting further research, including full-scale trials in existing and future sewage treatment schemes in the short to medium term (<10 years)
• Developing design standards and guidance for TW P removal applications, resulting in a more sustainable method of wastewater treatment

Lessons learned:

• Uisce Éireann is well placed to partner with other water utilities in further developing our understanding of TW performance
• The main conclusion from this work is that surface flow wetlands can capture phosphorus from wastewater but the study identified gaps in understanding the long-term storage mechanisms resulting in significant uncertainties regarding achievable effluent quality for secondary treatment applications, with lower risk for polishing applications. 

Due to the commercial sensitivity of this project, we are unable to make the project report public. Moreover, an open-access position paper is under preparation and will be updated shortly.

This project aims to understand how Uisce Éireann can re-engage with our domestic customers, who we no longer bill. A key element of this project is to understand what would be of interest to customers and how we can be responsive to their needs.