High Wycombe, UK – MWH has been selected by the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER) organization to lead a key research project that will help determine the approach to implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the UK.
The project will develop a method for determining technically feasible combinations of measures that can cost-effectively deliver the objectives of the Water Framework Directive to improve water quality for all inland and coastal water bodies in the United Kingdom. Throughout the project, MWH will examine all types of interventions from engineering solutions such as building a wastewater treatment works to voluntary “soft options” such as changing agricultural best practice.
As part of the project, MWH will host workshops with key stakeholders and key experts, followed by pilot trials in England and Scotland in May-June 2005, and consultation in all parts of the UK. As lead consultant, MWH is heading a team comprising Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd (RPA), Scottish Institute for Sustainable Technology (SISTech) and ADAS. In selecting MWH and its partners, SNIFFER recognized the group’s technical capability and ability to work as a team and engage with the client stakeholders.
The project has been commissioned on behalf of SNIFFER members (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Scottish Executive, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Forestry Commission and Environment and Heritage Service, Northern Ireland) and the Environment Agency, and is linked to a wider program of research managed by Defra and the Environment Agency.
Adrian Johnson, MWH Project Manager said: “This is MWH’s first commission as lead organization for a major Water Framework Directive project in the UK, and builds on similar work we’ve done in other countries. The project is one of the first steps in a collaborative research program that will help develop cost-effective programs of measures for the WFD. The findings will help shape the way the WFD is implemented in the UK.”
Although the SNIFFER project is the first of its kind in the UK, MWH can draw on its global experience of similar work undertaken elsewhere. This includes Total Catchment Management projects in Australia, the U.S. and China that share many common elements with the WFD. MWH also participated in the Shannon River Basin Project, creating an approach for the Irish Government’s Characterisation Report, detailing the pressures impacting on the Shannon River Basin and identifying areas at risk of not achieving the objectives of the Directive.
MWH will use the latest approaches and tools to manage the project, including a project Quickplace that will be used to share information with the project Steering Group including representatives of SEPA, Environment Agency and EHS. The development of a robust but flexible methodology to enable the agencies to develop cost-effective programs of measures for the WFD is a significant challenge requiring an integrated and innovative approach by the project team.
The Water Framework Directive requires a new perspective from EU member states, the water industry and other stakeholders. By looking at the water environment holistically, the focus is no longer on individual elements, but on how every input impacts the entire water environment.
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About MWH
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colo., MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. The company provides water, wastewater, energy, natural resource, program management, consulting and construction services to industrial, municipal and government clients in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and the Pacific Rim. For more information about MWH, please visit the company’s Web site at www.mwhglobal.com.
