| Environmental Modelling
 WRc’s
Environmental Modelling business is focused on environmental planning to
assess current water quality issues, define the shortfall in receiving
water quality, and specify capital solutions that ensure long-term environmental
compliance through sustainable, least whole life cost engineering schemes.
This relates to impacts from point source and diffuse pollution inputs
in urban wastewater systems, river basin catchments and coastal receiving
waters.
The Environmental Modelling Business concentrates on delivering
customer offerings based on WRc’s Urban Pollution Management (UPM)
and water environment impact modelling skills, supported by a well-established
track record.
WRc Environmental Modelling offers the following range of technical
services:
-
River quality impact modelling of point source
/ diffuse pollution.
- Modelling diffuse pollution risks to
drinking water abstraction catchments, for example, from agriculture/land
use changes.
- Investigating the environmental impact of urban
wastewater systems, for example, Urban Pollution Management
(UPM) studies, CSO planning, storm tank discharge controls and assessing
wet weather pollution load.
- Strategic, rapid wastewater impact assessments,
using WRc’s SIMPOL3 modelling software.
- Assessing the impact of urban and rural diffuse
sources of pollution.
- Collecting specialist environmental flow/quality data
monitoring & developing remediation strategies for rivers,
sewers, highway drainage & wastewater treatment works.
- Providing robust & independent discharge
consent studies to meet river quality objectives & European
legislation, e.g. fishery targets.
- International benchmarking
of the environmental impact of wastewater systems including
compliance issues; technologies; procedures & costs.
- Developing best practice guidance/manuals
with regulators & users, for example, the Urban Pollution Management
Manual.
- Providing independent specialist advice
on environmental protection and the regulation of urban wastewater discharges.
- Managing disputes involving environmental
impact of wastewater systems including provision of expert witness services
and independent reviews of wastewater discharge consenting policy and
practice.
- Researching into all aspects of managing
the environmental impact of wastewater systems and diffuse pollution.
WRc’s
services focus on delivering urban and river basin water quality management
planning studies include the following. Please click on the links for
further details:
- UPM
Studies – UPM modelling and data collection, training,
technical support, SIMPOL3 Studies, UPM audits, UPMRAT risk assessments,
and for CSO pollution control - STORMPAC services.
- SIMCAT modelling:
to enable consent setting for catchment scale continuous discharges;
to assess the impact of point source and diffuse pollution; for compliance
assessment on EC Directives (Habitats, Freshwater Fish, Urban Wastewater
Treatment Directive (UWWTD) and WFD), risk assessments for regulatory
change and catchment growth.
- Integrated
Catchment & Diffuse Pollution Modelling (SIMPOL3
and SIMCAT) - optimisation of continuous
and intermittent discharge consents and diffuse pollution reduction
strategies.
- Coastal and Estuary
modelling (QUESTS and SCRAM)–
bathing water compliance, risk assessments and wastewater system upgrades.
- Environmental
Data Collection and Impact Assessment – CSO and highway
runoff monitoring.
- Achieving Catchment Management Solutions - working with regulators and industry.
These services include identifying and improving customer
benefits within the AMP4 Environmental Programme and planning for PR09
in the UK and implementation of the Water Framework Directive throughout
Europe.
Key Clients
WRc works with a range of clients within and outside of
the water industry. Examples include:
- Environment Agency
- Severn Trent Water
- United Utilities
- Yorkshire Water
- Thames Water
- Highways Agency
- NI Environment Agency, DOE, Northern Ireland
- Vlaamse Milieumatchaapij (Flemish Environment Agency,
Belgium)
- LaboratoRI/Acea, Rome
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