CSO Communication &

Catchment Characterisation

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Communication Notification to shellfish operators when ‘significant’ waste water spills have occurred

Catchment Characterisation What is the relative impact of this discharge upon my shellfish water?

What are the Problems?

Classification Status

• E. coli issue

• Potential for Class downgrade

-reduced market value

-reduced investment confidence

Public Health

• Primarily Norovirus issue

• Forthcoming new regulations?

(Source: IFREMER)

Classification -

How are Improvements Going?

Shellfish Hygiene Directive - Classification Status

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Class C

Class B

Class A

Shellfish Hygiene Directive • Food Standards Agency

• E coli monthly sampling

• ~370 beds (E&W)

Shellfish Waters Directive - Guideline Flesh Standard Compliance

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Shellfish Waters Directive • Environment Agency

• Faecal coliforms monthly sampling

• ~130 areas (E&W)

Future Impact of Water Framework Directive / Harvesters own Sampling?

Norovirus European CODEX White Paper (2010) • Focus on Pre-harvest removal of load

• Call for x4 log reduction from sewage treatment

European Food Safety

Authority Report (2011) • No safe dose

• Probability of infection dose dependant (Source: Syvret, FitzGerald, Pyke, Hamilton 2010: Report for SARF)

FSA/CEFAS Baseline Study (2011) • High frequency of occurrence

• Marked seasonality

DEFRA/WRc Study (2011) • Only ~ x2-3 log reduction from sewage treatment

Sustainable and Affordable CSO Spills?

CSO – I command you to

stop discharging Shellfish Spending: (Source: Periodic Review Determinations OFWAT & EA)

• AMP3 & 4 2000-2010 £75M

• AMP5 2010-2015 £86M

Predictions to meet existing spill conditions (Source: ICF, 2007: Report for EA)

-x6 increase storage to meet the 10 spills/yr standard for shellfish waters

-Cost for Shellfish and Bathing Waters using conventional technology

• £15 Billion

• Or ~£1 Billion/yr

Are there more cost effective alternatives – role for better CSO reporting?

Beach Live: The Project

Cornwall Pilots 2010: • Real time’ reporting

• 3 bathing waters

• Water quality monitoring

Defra’s Cleaner Seas Forum: • Defra led partnership

• National voluntary BW trial

• 6 water companies (55 bathing waters)

Qualified Success & Positively Received (2011 REVIEW) • Beach managers give management information

• Web site won Best New Environmental Site

• Beach Live won Water Industry Award for ‘Community Project of Year’

CSO Data is now successfully trialled for BWs

2012 trial: •185 BWs included

•7 companies involved

The Outcome

"As a mother with three young children, it's great to be able to check BeachLive before I head to the beach.

The UK and in particular the South West has transformed the quality of its bathing water over the last two decades and I'm glad to see the region is again at the European cutting edge when it comes to offering live water quality updates."

• Vicky Garner, Chairman of the South West Bathing Water Liaison Group,

which promotes beach and water cleanliness.

South West Water SWWL Region (a Water Utility in the Context of Regional Shellfisheries)

Role: • Phase 1 provision of CSO

communication protocol.

Objectives • To help achieve environmental quality targets

through effective asset operation

• Explore potential mitigation measures to

address future shellfish drivers

• To voluntarily provide relevant information to

facilitate informed business decisions by the

shellfish industry

• x25 designated Shellfish Waters

• x98 designated Shellfish beds

• x228 shellfish related CSOs (inc. AMP5)

• x31 STWs with disinfection for SFWs (inc AMP5)

(x60 STWs with disinfection in total inc. BWs)

• AMP5 spend on SFW = £7.9M in SWWL region

(£1M: investigations & £6.9M: asset improvements)

Seafish Industry Authority

Objectives: • Long term strategic security of shellfish sector

• Minimise risk to reputation of sector

• Help provide solutions for industry levy payers

Role: • Seafish to act as broker between shellfish and

water sectors

• To help devise solutions which are practicable,

realistic and achievable

Aquatic Water Services Ltd

Objective: • Develop a range of ‘tools’ to help

shellfish/water sectors

Role: • To provide analytical solutions

• To provide on-site investigations

• Interpretive consultancy

(Courtesy of Jersey Electricity Company)

Phase 1 – CSO Communications

BeachLive Reporting Protocol: • Estimation of 50m3 significant spill using duration data

• 12hr rolling period (configured for tidal phasing)

• Aggregation of constituent catchment CSOs (where relevant)

Notifications: • Automatic email generation with standard text

• Notifications are generated at site so data is not quality assured and

information is therefore precautionary

• Circulated internally to shellfish operator and agreed registered partners

-CSO ‘spill’ signal telemetry

-SWW System output

-Text alert provider

-Registered user(s)

Phase 2 – Catchment Characterisation

Catchment Selection : • Proactive shellfish operator co-operation

• Relatively simple catchment

• Limited number of CSOs

• In SWW Region

Scope Components : • Mobile impedance

(rapid microbiology for flesh, waters, sediments)

• Microbial Source Tracking

• NoV in waste water and shellfish

• Biomonitoring,

• Rain gauges and storm event monitoring

• CSO Ground truthing with OS8000 real time flow monitors

• OTT real time multi-parameter WQ measurements

-Assimilate previous studies

-Capture new ‘events’

-Comprehensive Monitoring

-Update operator

The Future?

BeachLive participation KBT criteria for ‘Blue Flag’ for Bathing Waters

Is there a parallel for Shellfish Waters?

-Classification: FSA Harvesters Own Sampling Protocol Made Possible

-Norovirus: Enhanced HACCP – evidence based viral risk management

-Accreditation?

• Increased consumer confidence

• Increased market security

• Better prices

Thank you OR

Andy FitzGerald, Paul McNie, Mandy Pyke and Linda Skeats