WRc attendance and celebration at CIWEM Urban Drainage Group conference

WRc colleagues share their experiences after attending the CIWEM Urban Drainage Group conference in Birmingham last week.

Paul Grabham and Nick Orman attended a facilitated workshop on the legacy and ongoing value of the Urban Pollution Manual (UPM) which is now in its 30th year. Paul shares that “there have been proposals to update the guidance to maintain its relevance, especially with the huge focus on storm overflows and their impact in upcoming AMPs. While the outcomes of the workshop have not been collated and circulated, there was a feeling that was no need for a major overhaul, but links to other procedures could be better highlighted. WRc provides a training course which explores these links - such as SOAF, TRaC, and regional regulations - for a comprehensive understanding of UPM.”

Nick, who received the prestigious WaPUG prize during the conference for his contributions to the water industry, added, “Users were asked about what they thought needed updating in UPM in light of SOAS2, SODRP and DWMP Cycle 2. The UPM procedure was not seen as in need of update, but mainly the tools and the need to be explicit about how it relates to other guidance, which is an aspect well-covered in our training”.

While Paul and Nick celebrated a long-standing legacy in the form of UPM, Stefan Partridge discussed the industry’s emerging issues and trends, and whether AI is indeed a panacea: “There was lots of discussion about emerging pollutants such as PFAS and microplastics and how difficult it is to both model and assess their impact when we simply don't know as much about how widespread and prevalent they are.”

“The current industry 'buzzwords' of AI and machine learning were also discussed in depth, particularly with regards to modelling. There's a general consensus that they can help with some of the more menial and often frustrating tasks, but also an appreciation that we cannot rely solely on their output and plenty of engineering judgement is still required. One of the challenges we face is ensuring that graduates and apprentices entering the workforce still learn this, as often this judgement comes from having completed these routine tasks and having a more thorough understanding of model limitations. If this is all carried out in an AI ‘black box’ we will perhaps lose this. Our team has capability to provide training in wastewater hydraulic modelling for those looking to refine their skills in this area; get in touch to find out how we can help your team.”