References

Long-term management of the whole water cycle

Challenge

Following the partial privatization of Berliner Wasserbetriebe, the Land of Berlin awarded the contract to manage its water and wastewater services to the Veolia Water-RWE consortium in 1999. It was Germany's first major outsourcing contract in the water sector. One of Veolia Water's main responsibilities is to bolster the Berlin Land's environmental policy and improve the management of its groundwater.

Groundwater is the city's primary source, supplying 580,000 cubic meters a day to serveresidential and industrial needs. A total of 800 wells located near rivers and lakes are used toabstract groundwater and monitor its evolution.

Objectives

Bank filtration and artificial groundwater recharge have been used as a treatment process for a long time, and the mechanisms governing the removal of impurities and the chemical reactions of the water components have not been sufficiently understood. This was an obvious reason to initiate a larger cooperation project on the topic of bank filtration and artificial groundwater recharge, with the major players in Berlin's water management.

Veolia Water's solution

The interdisciplinary NASRI project (Natural and Artificial Systems for Recharge and Infiltration) concentrates on microorganisms and trace organic substances present in surface waters.

The outcomes will be guidelines for designing and/or operating bank filtration schemes. NASRI is a project of the Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin (KWB), an international center for water research and knowledge transfer. Veolia Water, the Berlinwasser group, and sections of the Berlin universities and research institutes are combined into the KWB.

Restoring the quality of beach water in the Bay of Tangier and along

the Tetouan coast

Challenge

In 2001, the urban communities of Tangier and Tetouan awarded management of their water, wastewater and electricity services to Amendis, a Veolia Water subsidiary, following an international call for tenders. The general objectives of these concession contracts are to build wastewater treatment plants, refurbish and modernize existing infrastructure, facilitate people's access to these three services and improve quality of service. The motivation for raising wastewater service standards is firstly to improve public health and hygiene and, secondly, to develop the economy and tourist appeal of the Tangier and Tetouan regions. The key objective is to restore the quality of the natural water and beach water in the Bay of Tangier and along the Tetouan coast, one of Morocco's leading tourist attractions.

Objectives

• Improve the quality of water in the Bay of Tangier and on beaches along the Mediterranean coast from F'nideq to Oued Laou via the Oued Martil rivermouth.
• Eliminate discharges of wastewater into the natural environment within five years by treating them before sending them further out to sea through sewer outfalls.
• Collect close to 90% of wastewater by 2008 and offer independent wastewater treatment systems for other sources.
• Enhance flows by rehabilitating damaged existing collection systems and improving their operation.
• Reduce areas prone to flooding owing to wastewater collection system problems over a 10-year period.
• Extend water, electricity and wastewater services in areas of urban development that are not served, or only poorly, at present by facilitating access to these services for underprivileged people.

Veolia Water's solution

Protection of the natural environment through:

• Construction during the first five years of wastewater treatment plants and sea sewer outfalls.
• Construction of pumping and lifting stations to transport wastewater to treatment plants.
• Extension of the collection system by over 200 km during the first 10 years.

Universal water, electricity and sanitation through:

• Extension of the primary, secondary and tertiary systems.
• 40,000 subsidized water and wastewater connections across the entire Tangier-Tetouan concession area.
• Electrification program for central and peripheral neighborhoods.

Flood prevention measures through gradually reducing problem areas. Support programs:

• Beach clean-up operations and environmental awareness campaigns.
• Three mobile agencies that travel around suburban and rural districts to provide easier customer service access.

Immediate improvements to the water service for 2 million people

Challenge

The Shanghai municipality awarded Veolia Water the contract to manage its water services in a 50-50 joint venture with Pudong Water Corporation in 2002. Pudong covers an area of 533 square kilometers and has become a showcase of China in the third millennium.

It is one of Asia's main financial and business areas. Veolia Water provides a full range of services:water production and distribution, and customer services.

One of the challenges is to improve water quality and pressure, as well as the quality control system throughout the production and distribution chain.Water consumption currently stands at 1.2 million cubic meters per day in Pudong. Losses from leaks are in the order of 30%.

A second challenge consists in strengthening the management and technical skills of the joint venture personnel, in order to bring about change and guarantee the quality of services over the long term. One of the key points in the municipality's call for tenders was the operator's ability to transfer know-how while respecting the country's culture and having confidence in the local management.

Objectives

Rapid improvement in water quality, distribution and quality control, in order to provide the district of Pudong with water quality comparable with that in major world cities.

A new human resources policy, anchored in the local culture

■ Smooth management of transition from public to private sector.

■ Development of all employees to focus on satisfying water service customers and the Shanghai municipality.

■ Development of a culture of dialogue to boost work force cohesion.

■ Making people the main drivers to improve the water service.

Veolia Water's solution

Improved distribution, in particular the pressure and quality of water in the network. The immediate application of new network management techniques, hydraulic modeling and the installation of a GIS (Geographical Information System) will improve water pressure to satisfy the various customers in Pudong.

A local skills development approach to human resources management :

■ Special program to transfer employees from public to private sector. It guarantees job security for all personnel employed by the

water service at the time of the transition to outsourced management.

■ Overhaul of the salary structure, the introduction of bonuses to reward initiatives and improvement in employee benefits.

■ Intensive training program for all levels of the organization, with a range of tools: specialist training center, on-the-job training, sponsoring, multimedia educational methods, and so on.

■ Introduction of new health and safety methods to improve working conditions.

To reduce management costs while improving the quality of service

Challenge

In 2002, the Indianapolis municipality awarded to Veolia Water in North America a 20-year contract to manage its water service. This was the biggest public-private partnership ever to be concluded in the United States in the water sector.With a population of 1.1 million, Indianapolis is the twelfth largest city in the United States.

Average drinking water production there is 540,000 cubic meters per day. The Indianapolis municipality was looking for an experienced operator to manage its water service, operate the infrastructure efficiently and reduce operating costs. There was a high number of pipe breaks estimated at 0.11 per kilometer, generating 236 liters per inhabitant per day of unaccounted water.

Objectives

By 2006:

■ 85% of the total maintenance budget will be allocated to preventive and planned maintenance.

■ 94% of equipment to be replaced should have been identified correctly.

Veolia Water's solution

A new policy for maintenance and infrastructure replacement

■ Annual audits of the facilities were set up along with a computerized management system. This enables the state of the equipment to be checked, to precisely calculate its life expectancy and to program preventive maintenance and timely replacement.

■ A provisional investment plan was drawn up. It sets out the priority needs for equipment (areas undergoing expansion and replacement of old equipment). The plan avoids making innecessary investments or overrunning costs because of unexpected equipment replacements.

Maintenance optimization : A preventive maintenance program was set up to:

• ensure the highest possible level of equipment availability to improve service reliability

• reduce costs associated with frequent breakdowns and technical incidents

• provide a safer working environment for personnel.

Double certification—a first in the US. In 2005 Veolia Water Indianapolis (VWI) was awarded dual ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification simultaneously. This is the first time that a US water services company has achieved accreditation for both Quality and Environmental Responsibility.

The largest public-private partnership (PPP) for water services in Australia

Challenge

In January 1996, United Water commenced partnership with the South Australian Government. The contract involves the management, operation and maintenance of six water production plants, four wastewater treatment plants and the city's water and wastewater network infrastructure. Asset ownership and responsibility for tariff setting and billing remains with the client, SA Water, and the South Australian Government. The contract's main challenge was to improve service continuously without detracting from cost savings.

Veolia Water's solution

Implement a comprehensive maintenance program for all plant and equipment to improve reliability.

■ Implement training and development programs for plant management and operators.

■ Establish a holistic approach to the management of water quality from source to customer tap.

■ Implement a targeted preventative maintenance program for water and wastewater networks aimed at minimizing interruption to service.

■ Initiate a comprehensive Asset Management Plan providing improved information on asset condition and performance, and manage the associated capital works program.

■ Establish a Research and Development node in Adelaide and undertake extensive R&D activities to improve water and wastewater quality.

Results

Excellent performance

United Water has met or exceeded all contract performance targets every year since commencement:

• 157% increase in wastewater reuse from the Bolivar DAFF plant

• 50% reduction in average wastewater turbidity

• 65% reduction in the discharge of suspended solids

• 51% reduction in reported water leaks.

Water service certification : Achieved international quality certification to ISO 9001: 2000 standard for all core aspects of operations. United Water was also the first private company operating water and wastewater plants in Australia to achieve certifications to ISO 9001 and 14001 for wastewater treatment.

Leading-edge processes and technologies

United Water's in-house research and development team is also undertaking worldfirst trials into aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) for reclaimed water, and aquifer storage treatment and recovery (ASTR) for treatment of stormwater to potable standards.

ASTR involves injecting wetland treated stormwater into an underground aquifer with the intention of storing, treating and recovering potable quality water for irrigation, commercial and industrial use. In the long term, this will improve the environmental sustainability of both the River Murray system and the Gulf St. Vincent, and have a positive influence on the management of stormwater and groundwater resources in South Australia.