WorldBriefs: Water competition building up in Scotland

In other news below:
-- Foundation stone laid for new pump production facility
-- Pipework from Durapipe UK helps disinfect endoscopes
-- Hydro offers sustainable stormwater treatment solutions at IFAT 2008
-- Morgan Est boosts Morgan Sindall result
-- Ondeo Industrial Solutions appoints new board director
-- Latest ADB e-newsletter available
-- Manual on the right to water, sanitation available
-- UNEP vacancy announcement: Coordinator, Marine & Coastal Ecosystems
-- News feed promotes International Year of Sanitation
-- New contracts engineer supports AUMA growth
-- Water watchdog disappointed fine will not benefit customers
-- Masdar Initiative breaks ground on city of the future

• Water competition building up in Scotland
One of the largest water companies in England has applied to the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) to become the fourth licensed water and sewerage operator when the new competition framework takes effect on April 1. Osprey Water Services, part of the Anglian Water Group, will join Business Stream, Aquavitae, and Satec, offering its own range of retail pricing and services to the 130,000 business customers in Scotland. WICS expects to give its initial view on the application within the next week. The new competition framework in Scotland is a world first in the provision of water and sewerage services...

Among other recent headlines:

• Foundation stone laid for new pump production facility
FRANKENTHAL, Germany -- On 14 Feb. 2008, the foundation stone for a new production shop costing around € 40m was laid at KSB's Frankenthal factory. The new building in Frankenthal is part of KSB's € 70m total investment in its three German production sites. On the river, the pumps and valves manufacturer is investing € 18m in a new assembly shop including test facility. It will be used for manufacturing large water pumps...
Also see: -- "Small powerful wastewater pump"

• Pipework from Durapipe UK helps disinfect endoscopes
STAFFORDSHIRE, UK -- Pipework from Durapipe UK is being used in hospitals up and down the country as an integral part of a new Autoscope ISIS machine. Durapipe ABS and Vulcathene pipework were specified for the machine, known as an Automated Endoscope Reprocessor, which is made by Labcaire, a supplier and manufacturer of hospital and laboratory health and safety equipment. The unit is designed to thoroughly clean and disinfect endoscopes - the small, thin, flexible surgical instruments doctors use to carry out internal inspections on hospital patients...

• Hydro offers sustainable stormwater treatment solutions at IFAT 2008
CLEVEDON, UK -- The benefits of Hydro International's unique advanced hydrodynamic vortex separation technology will be showcased through its portfolio of sustainable stormwater treatment and drainage solutions at IFAT 2008 (5-9 May). Hydro will be unveiling its new Up-Flo™ Filter filtration technology which can be configured to remove a wide range of pollutants as well as Downstream Defender® a brand-leading separation system for removing silts and sediments at all flow speeds. Hydro's Storm King® Overflow with Swirl-Cleanse™ Screen for wastewater treatment plant protection will also be strongly featured...
Also see: -- "Grit removal project breaks record for Hydro"

• Morgan Est boosts Morgan Sindall result
WARWICKSHIRE, UK -- Morgan Est, one of the UK's leading providers of infrastructure services across the public and private sector, has contributed to a record set of results released by parent construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall plc...
Also see:
-- "Birmingham Environmental Health and Safety Association elects chairman"
-- "Morgan Est lowers tunnel boring machine in Ross-on-Wye"

• Ondeo Industrial Solutions appoints new board director
VAUCRESSON, France -- Ondeo Industrial Solutions Ltd, part of the utilities group SUEZ and leading provider of services, engineering and equipment for the industrial water and wastewater industry, has announced a key appointment to its board. David Reeve joins the board of Ondeo Industrial Solutions Ltd as Customer Director. In this role, Reeve will lead a 100 strong team delivering innovative solutions to customers across the UK. Prior to joining Ondeo Industrial Solutions Ltd, Reeve was Northern European Regional Manager of Energy Services for Nalco, the integrated water treatment and process improvement company.

• Latest ADB e-newsletter available
MANILA, Philippines -- The latest issue of Asian Development Bank's "Water For All News" e-newsletter is now available. This issue will focus on how individual households and entire communities made rainwater harvesting work for them. This issue focuses on how individual households and entire communities made rainwater harvesting work for them...

• Manual on the right to water, sanitation available
GENEVA, Switzerland -- There is growing interest in the contributions of human rights to efforts to extend access to water and sanitation, but little practical information is available at present on how this can be achieved. The Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation is designed to assist policy makers and practitioners in implementing the right to water and sanitation...
Also see:
-- "Hostage to Politics: The impact of sanctions and the blockade on the human right to water and sanitation in Gaza"
-- "Tapping Local Innovation: Unclogging the Water and Sanitation Crisis"

• UNEP vacancy announcement: Coordinator, Marine & Coastal Ecosystems
NAIROBI, Kenya -- A new vacancy has been posted on the UNEP employment website, entitled 'Coordinator, Marine & Coastal Ecosystems' (D1 Position), Division of Environmental Policy Implementation in Nairobi. The deadline for this vacancy expires on March 22, 2008. Follow the link below to find out more about the vacancy...

• News feed promotes International Year of Sanitation
DELFT, Netherlands -- A news feed on sanitation, maintained by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre and by USAID's Environmental Health knowledge management activity and the Hygiene Improvement Project, provides news, information and resources to promote the 2008 International Year of Sanitation...

• New contracts engineer supports AUMA growth
SOMERSET, UK -- Continued growth for AUMA, manufacturer of modular actuation solutions which support valve technology in water sector applications, has led to the addition of a new contracts engineer for the company's UK division. With excellent organisational and customer facing skills, Chris Fear joins AUMA's sales and contracts division based at the company's UK administration and distribution centre in Clevedon, Somerset...
Also see: -- "Benefits of Bluetooth extended to AUMA actuators"

• Water watchdog disappointed fine will not benefit customers
BIRMINGHAM, UK -- In noting Ofwat's announcement that Southern Water is to be fined £20.3 million for misreporting customer service performance and failure to make all guaranteed standards payments, the Consumer Council for Water has expressed disappointment that the money will go to the Treasury instead of to the benefit of Southern Water's customers...
Also see: -- "Serve tap water -- Give consumers a fair choice"

• Masdar Initiative breaks ground on city of the future
ABU DHABI, UAE -- The Masdar Initiative has broken ground on Masdar City, the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, powered entirely by renewable energy. Leading architects and engineers have come together from around the world to design Masdar City, which will save more than $2 billion of oil over 25 years and serve as a benchmark for the next generation of green design...
Also see: -- "Masdar selects CH2M HILL to manage development of 'green community'"

MORE GLOBAL HEADLINES
• CET'08 - Environmental Technologies Fair to be held in Izmir, Turkey
• Student wins award from RIBA South East
• Australia: New sharing deal for Murray water
• Sweden: Josab International wins order from UK firm
• Canada: FSI announces $1M, zero interest financing
• China: Water quality in Three Gorges reservoir not improved despite efforts
• UK: Thames Water teams up with OneVu
• Sweden: Pilum wins contract in Sri Lanka
• Thailand: Municipal officials seek water tech in Israel