Agenda item

To consider the progress made against the actions arising from the review, including an update from representatives from Severn Trent Water who will be in attendance.

91.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 24-34, which provided an update on progress against the action plan arising from the Scrutiny Review of Water Supply Outage.  Members were asked to consider the progress made and to determine what, if any, further monitoring arrangements were required, including timescales, or whether they were content to sign-off the plan.

91.2          The Head of Community Services indicated that it was now 15 months on from the water outage event in December 2017 which had affected over 10,000 residential properties, a significant number of businesses, schools, agricultural farmers, the community hospital and nursing homes.  Given the significance of the event, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed to undertake a review of the outage which had resulted in an action plan comprising 20 recommendations, attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  The Severn Trent Water Head of Water Quality and Environment was pleased to report that good progress had been made on all the actions assigned to Severn Trent Water.  He had brought with him two colleagues who were responsible for running the alternative supplies team and co-ordinating asset surveys and projects on the Ham who would be pleased to answer any specific questions.  A number of recommendations related to better joint working prior to incidents and he confirmed that Severn Trent Water had been working closely with the Gloucestershire Local Resilience Forum and the teams across the county and had been asked to share this with Thames Water and other groups as best practice.

91.3          Members were advised that some of the key actions were around understanding the network and ensuring that records were accurate.  He confirmed that the network from Mythe Water Treatment Works, up to the reservoirs at Churchdown, had been walked and inspected with assets reconfirmed and records updated.  Whilst traditional techniques were able to detect leaks but not necessarily identify where they were, new technology had been used which allowed leaks to be pinpointed.  The structure and condition of the pipes had been checked and any leaks that had been discovered had been repaired giving the team confidence in the network on the Ham and the wider area.  These techniques gave valuable intelligence but they were not straightforward or without risk so a lot of planning and preparation was required.  Checks would now be undertaken on a rolling basis until the pipes were replaced to ensure that leaks could be identified at an early stage.  If there was any evidence of pooling, a chlorine sample would be taken to determine whether it was from rainfall or the pipe.  Seven Trent Water had previously indicated that it intended to either replace or re-line the mid-level pipes across the Ham.  Re-lining could be cheaper and less disruptive, it would be challenging on this particular site due to the number of assets to navigate, access pits required and reduction in the capacity of the pipes, as well as the increased operational risk as one of the two pipes would be out of supply at any one time.  Severn Trent Water had been liaising closely with the Severn Ham Committee and Natural England and both had been helpful and supportive in terms of the work and how best to minimise the impact.  Conversations had also taken place around how to use the disruption to better the site when the work was completed, for example, by inverting the soil and making it more suitable for habitats, seed mix etc.  The preferred option was to replace both mid-level pipes across the Ham as it offered the best balance in terms of a secure long-term solution, disturbance to the site/environment and operational risk, both short and long-term.  The action plan contained a target date of August 2020 and he had been pushing the team to start the project during the current year; however, it was a challenging site in terms of flooding, environmental constraints and the nesting season and there was a lot of planning to do before work commenced, for example, pre-agreed driving routes, to mitigate disruption to the site.  The Head of Community Services indicated that, whilst it was a very inconvenient event for the community, the review had been a good learning experience, which was not just restricted to Tewkesbury Borough, and good progress had been made against the action plan.

91.4          A Member questioned whether there would be additional pressure on any other pipes in the network when the pipes on the Ham were replaced.  One of the Severn Trent Water representatives advised that replacing the pipes gave the ability to increase the capacity to feed into the area as a way of futureproofing.  The risk was in making the connections as the pipe would need to be removed but this would be carefully managed and a contingency would be in place if required.  The Member queried whether there would be a negative impact on the network once the renewed pipes came back online and it was reiterated that the entire system had been checked from the Mythe Water Treatment Works to the Churchdown reservoirs.  Although the pressure changed as the water left the Ham, with good connections that pipe did not need to be in the same condition as the one across the Ham.  A Member thanked the representatives from Severn Trent Water for attending the Committee and for its commitment to delivering the actions arising from the review.  He was pleased to hear that work was likely to commence on replacing the pipes later in the year and sought confirmation that the target date of August 2020 would be achieved.  The Severn Trent Water Head of Water Quality and Environment advised that investment for the project had been allocated and the necessary surveys were being undertaken.  It was important to balance carrying out the work as quickly as possible with being sensitive to other users of the site and the environmental constraints etc.  He indicated that he would do his very best to get the work done by the target date and, at this point in time, he felt it was achievable.

91.5           With regard to Recommendation 15 – encourage and assist businesses to put contingency plans in place for emergencies, a Member questioned whether businesses would be actively encouraged to put plans in place and the Head of Community Services confirmed that was the case.  Tewkesbury Borough Council was keen to support businesses as much as possible and Officers were looking at opportunities to share learning through the Growth Hub.  Another Member queried what was being done in terms of assisting farmers who received their water supply through a third party and was advised that a meeting had taken place between Severn Trent Water and the National Farmers’ Union.  It was important to help farmers to help themselves by ensuring that there were plans in place to connect to an alternative water supply or to store water on site.  Severn Trent Water had also been working with retailers about how to communicate better with famers, for instance, putting out information in Farmers Weekly etc.  A Member noted that the outstanding recommendations all related to businesses with the exception of Recommendation 11 – Explore the potential for the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to supply water to farms in an emergency.  The Head of Community Services explained that, unfortunately, a lack of resources had meant it had not been possible to proactively advise businesses in terms of the water supply outage actions, although Officers had been supporting them in other areas - notably around Brexit.  He confirmed that compiling promotional material would be a priority once the Community Services team was at full capacity; he would need to give some thought to what else needed to be done and how best to engage businesses but, in terms of a timeframe, he confirmed that the team would certainly be in a position to take positive action by the summer.

91.6           The Chair thanked the representatives from Severn Trent Water for their attendance and it was

RESOLVED          1. That the progress against the action plan arising from the Scrutiny Review of Water Supply Outage be NOTED.

2. That the actions attributed to Severn Trent Water be signed-off as complete and a further report on the outstanding actions be brought back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in six months’ time.