Every day Yorkshire Water supplies around 1.24 billion litres ofdrinking water and collects, treats and disposes of about one billion litres of wastewater safely back into the environment. The company operates more than 700 water and sewage treatment works and 120 reservoirs and 40,000 miles of water and sewerage mains – enough pipework to circulate the earth. Yorkshire Water Services is investing around £80 million under its AMP 4 programme with Watermark, a joint delivery team comprising MWH, MWH Constructors and Black and Veatch, to deliver its wastewater programme in its South area. Established in 2004 and based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Watermark employs a team of 170 construction industry professionals with skills ranging from detailed civil, mechanical and electrical design through to financial control and construction site management.

They are delivering a programme that includes over 300 projects ranging from £50,000 to £13 million in value. These projects cover wastewater network schemes, Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) schemes, wastewater treatment works, DG5 flooding projects and assisting Yorkshire Water with emergency flooding work. The entire programme is controlled financially and for delivery by Primavera P3e, which is linked to Yorkshire Water’s systems to enable ‘collaborative forecasting’.

Watermark’s key objective has been to provide a full design and construction service to Yorkshire Water and to work with all delivery teams to establish a culture where best practice is shared and continuous improvement is business as usual. Watermark’s approach involves working with the client to provide strategic thinking at the initial stage of each project. The team goes on to provide a full design package using MWH’s global knowledge and innovative processes. The team delivers a complete ‘in the ground’ construction management and administration, applying lean principles to deliver value to the client.

The initial challenge was to set up a new business fromscratch with the capability and resources to deliver a £80 million programme, with a significant number of key projects needing to be delivered in the early stages of the AMP programme. MWH employees working for Watermark include several of the country’s leading experts in their specialist fields and the depth and range of skills and expertise across the organisation is considerable.

Good communications between partners and the establishment of joint forums to share best practice have cemented relationships and contributed to the successful delivery of various projects and programmes for Yorkshire Water.

Summary

Watermark is successfully delivering a £80 million wastewater programme for Yorkshire Water in South Yorkshire, meeting the client’s targets across a range of criteria. The programme has benefited from the global experience and expertise of MWH, the local focus of a
team of highly qualified engineering and construction specialists. The programme has been characterised by the delivery of innovative, knowledge driven solutions to challenging engineering problems with the emphasis on fitness for purpose, value and sustainability.