Annual Conference 2016
Integrating our Water Management
CIWEM MORNING
CONFERENCE - FOREWORD
On behalf of the Northern Ireland Branch of the Chartered Institution
of Water and Environmental Management I would like to welcome you
to our 2016 Morning Conference. I would like to thank the Minister
for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Michelle McIlveen for
sponsoring this event and allowing us to use these fantastic facilities at
Stormont.
We have an excellent line up of speakers for today’s event that
demonstrate how we are already integrating our water and
environmental management, how we are now thinking more holistically
in the management of our resources and how we are planning for
better water and environmental management in the future. I hope that
today’s presentations will enlighten us all, help us see the connections
to how we can work together better in the future, and give us a greater
appreciation of integrated approaches and joined-up thinking.
I believe that here in Northern Ireland we have the right people, with
the right knowledge and we have the right environment to pioneer and
revolutionise integrated water and environmental management that
the rest of the world should be aspiring to. I think we are ideally suited
to develop and test innovative, new and maybe even ancient practices
to put us at the forefront of integrated water and environmental
management. We are the top water and environmental practitioners and
it is us that will drive this forward to help provide Northern Ireland with
a more sustainable and prosperous future. We certainly have enough
water to work with.
Richard Bingham | CIWEM NI Branch Chairman - 2016 / 2017
SESSION ONE
Claire Vincent - Session Chair
DAERA MARINE & FISHERIES DIVISION - ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Claire is a Principal Scientific Officer within the Department of Agriculture,
Environment and Rural Affairs, Marine and Fisheries Division. Claire heads up
the Marine Strategy and Licensing section, looking after elements like bathing
and shellfish water quality and licensing of activities in the marine area. She has
worked within the DOE and now DAERA family for over 25 years in the old Water
Service, Environment Service, EHS, NIEA, Environmental Policy Division, Marine
Division and now the new Marine and Fisheries Division. Claire is a marine
sciences graduate from the University of Wales, and a past chair of CIWEM.
Francis Mackin
RPS
Supporting Integrated Catchment Management through Peatland Restoration
Francis is a Chartered Environmental Scientist working in the Water and
Environment Section of RPS. He is currently project manager on several peatland
conservation and management projects funded by the Irish National Parks and
Wildlife Service. He has experience in the eco-hydrology of raised bogs, which
includes assessing restoration potential and developing suitable restoration
strategies. Francis led the development of site-specific hydrological restoration
plans for Ireland’s fifty-three raised bogs, designated as Special Areas of
Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive.
Wendy Langham
EAST BELFAST PARTNERSHIP
Working with communities and partners on water management
Wendy is the Programme Manager for the £40m Connswater Community
Greenway (CCG) project, which she has been leading on behalf of the Partnership
since September 2005. Wendy has worked with the East Belfast Partnership
(EBP) since it was formed in 1996 and has been involved in the delivery of the
Partnership’s Physical and Economic regeneration strategy.
Prior to joining the Partnership, Wendy worked in London on an environmental
improvement scheme on the South Bank of the River Thames. She was seconded
to this role by HSBC where she worked for 5 years as a bank manager. Wendy
studied Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University and is a PRINCE2
Practitioner. She is a Governor of the Belfast Metropolitan College and a Trustee
of the Odyssey Trust Company and W5.
Prof. Peter Robertson
QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY BELFAST
9:00am
Registration / Tea/ Coffee
9:30am
Welcome from Richard Bingham
Session 1
Session 2
11:35am
Tea / Coffee Break
Session 3
1:00pm
Lunch
Semiconductor Photocatalysis as a water treatment technology for removal
of Cyanobacteria and their metabolites
Professor Robertson studied Chemistry and Economics at the University of Ulster,
where he also obtained his D.Phil and D.Sc. Prof Robertson joined the School of
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast as Professor of
Chemical Engineering and was appointed as Head of School in March 2016. His
main research interests are in semiconductor photochemicstry for energy and
environmental applications.
Professor Robertson is a member of the editorial board of the International
Journal of Photoenergy, the Central European Journal of Engineering and Invited
Editor of The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry Series. Professor Robertson
is Chartered Engineer, Chartered Scientist and Chartered Chemist, a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Chemistry in Ireland and the Energy
Institute. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
SESSION TWO
SESSION THREE
David Porter - Session Chair
Paul Davison - Session Chair
DFI RIVERS AGENCY - CHIEF EXECUTIVE
David is currently the Chief Executive of DfI Rivers Agency, the flood defence
and drainage authority for Northern Ireland. The Agency is responsible for river
and sea defence maintenance, the construction of flood alleviation schemes,
the provision of flood maps and risk information. It carries out the role of Lead
Government Department for flood emergency events throughout Northern
Ireland.
Previously, David has been the Director of Development and the Director of
Operations with Rivers Agency and has also worked for Roads Service. David is
a Chartered Civil Engineer and is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He
is the immediate past Chairman of ICE Northern Ireland and is also the Council
representative for the Northern Ireland Region.
Brian Mullan
WATERWAYS IRELAND
Challenges of Water Management on the Grand and Royal Canals
Brian graduated in 1980 and began service with the former DOE Roads Service
Structures and Minor Works moving to Construction Service and transferred
to what was to become Rivers Agency in 1988. Brian’s roles within Rivers
Agency included the design and construction of flood alleviation projects, flood
estimation, development control and DLO management in the Coleraine area as
Area Engineer.
In 2003, Brian became Head of Civil Engineering for Waterways Ireland
with responsibility for Civil Engineering Design, contract procurement and
management co-ordinating environmental advice for all works on our inland
navigations.
Andy Willo
JACOBS
Drought Order Process for Northern Ireland
Andy has 21 years’ experience in water resources planning and management
in both the public and private sectors. This experience ranges from individual
source studies through Environmental Impact Assessments, to the development
of strategic policy to influence regional development priorities. Andy has
been involved in a wide range of studies from examining water efficiency
opportunities through borehole development to investigating the impact of
abstractions on fisheries and aquatic ecology.
John Martin
OFFICE OF PUBLIC WORKS (OPW)
Flood Risk Management in Ireland - The National CFRAM Programme &
overview of the Capital Works Programme
John is a Chartered Engineer with experience in flood risk management, hydrology, hydraulic modelling and GIS/remote sensing, along with project, contract
and resource management. He joined the OPW in 2004, and has been head of
the Flood Risk Assessment & Management (FRAM) Section since 2006, during
which time his roles have included Project Manager for both the Lee CFRAM
Pilot Study, the Flood Studies Update, and overall Programme Manager for the
National CFRAM Programme.
He previously worked in the German Aerospace Centre, initially as a postdoctoral researcher, and then as Operations Manager for the High Resolution
Stereo Camera (HRSC) airborne survey campaign programme.
In 2002, he was awarded a PhD from University College Cork in River Engineering
and Flood Alleviation, and is originally a graduate of Civil Engineering from
University College Dublin. He has also recently completed a Diploma in Law
at the UCD Institute of Public Administration, and is currently studying for a
professional diploma in Arbitration at UCD.
NI WATER - HEAD OF WATER CAPITAL DELIVERY
Paul is Level 3 within NI Water’s Engineering and Procurement Directorate and is
responsible for all Water Capital Delivery including Impounding reservoirs, Water
Treatment, Trunk Mains, Water Mains and Reservoirs.
Since joining the Water Service in 1993, Paul has spent over 20 years working
in Capital Delivery including both Water, Waste Water, Infrastructure and Noninfrastructure.
Rebecca Allen
NI WATER
The Water Catchment Partnership – Promoting Responsible Pesticide Use
Rebecca has worked at NI Water for 12 years, moving around the business
from laboratory work to customer service, but has spent most of her career in
Environmental Regulation. In her current role as LIMS Manager, she is jointly
responsible for scheduling all regulatory and operational water samples lifted by
the company during the year, and has a specific interest in pesticide behaviour
in raw waters. She has been a member of the Water Catchment Partnership
since 2013, as part of NI Water’s SCAMP (Sustainable Catchment Management
Programme) initiative. Rebecca is a Chartered Environmentalist and this year is
completing an MSc in Environmental Toxicology and Pollution Control.
Paddy Brow
DEPARTMENT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE - WATER & DRAINAGE POLICY
DIVISION
Living With Water Programme – Progress and challenges on integrated
drainage and wastewater treatment infrastructure investment planning
Paddy Brow joined NI Water in 2007, and was seconded to the NI Department
for Regional Development in July 2015 as Programme Manager for the ‘Living
With Water Programme’.
His first role at NI Water was Programme Manager for development of the PC10
Business Plan. From 2010 he was the ‘Head of Strategy’, during which time he
initiated the development of NI Waters Asset Standards, Asset Strategies, Climate
Change Mitigation and Adaptation Plans. For PC15 he managed NI Water’s input
to DRD’s PC15 Social & Environmental Guidance and was Project Manager for
the capital elements of the PC15 Business Plan. He also coordinated NI Water’s
input to the NI Executives Long Term Water Strategy, which was published in
March 2016.
Prior to joining NI Water Paddy worked as a Consulting Engineer on large
projects for six UK Water Companies and the Environment Agency.
Paddy is a Chartered member of CIWEM, a Fellow of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, and a Board member of the UK Water Industries Research Company
‘UKWIR’.
Linda MacHugh
DEPARTMENT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE - WATER & DRAINAGE POLICY
DIVISION
Sustainable Water – A Long Term Strategic Approach
Linda MacHugh is currently Director of Water & Drainage Policy Division in the
newly formed Department for Infrastructure. She has responsibility for water,
drainage, flooding and reservoirs policies and legislation and the oversight of
NI Water. She joined the Civil Service in 2004 as Director of Urban Regeneration
Strategy, after 15 years working in the textiles and clothing industry. Her other
roles in the Civil Service have been leading the reform of local government in
DoE and Principal Private Secretary to the First Minister, all of which she says
have been interesting, exciting and frustrating in equal measure, and her current
role is no exception.
Linda is a language graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and has post-graduate
marketing qualifications from the University of Ulster.
Upcoming CIWEM NI Events 2016 / 2017
Water Aid Golf Outing
Table Quiz
Technical Meeting 1
Technical Meeting 4: Joint with IOW
thursday 29th September - Rockmount Golf Club
Wednesday 12th October - Malone House, Belfast
Approaching Integrated Catchment Management
Andrew Jackson and Jamie Margetts (RPS)
Stanton Cup Golf Outing
friday 14th october - Mahee Island Golf Club
Technical Meeting 2
Wednesday 9th November - Malone House, Belfast
Challenges of transforming a cityscape with blue/green infrastructure – the
Sheffield G2G case study.
Roger Nowell (Sheffield City Council) & Anthony McCloy (McCloy Consulting)
CIWEM Recruitment & Membership Information
Event
Wednesday 23rd November - RPS Office, Belfast
Thursday 26th January - Wellington Park Hotel
Wednesday 8th February - Malone House, Belfast
NI Water SCAMP & SWELL Projects
Joint Field Trip with Republic of Ireland Branch
Friday 3rd March - TBC
CIWEM New Members Paper Competition
Wednesday 15th March - RPS Office, Belfast
Theme: ‘Water and the Environment - Joined Up Thinking’
Technical Meeting 5
Wednesday 5th April - Malone house, belfast
Water Project Planning and Environment requirements and Issues including
Judicial Review
David Flinn (A&L Goodbody)
Annual Dinner
Technical Meeting 3: Joint with ICE
thursday 4th may - tbc
Review of 2015 Winter Flooding
friday 12th may - tbc
Monday 9th January - Ulster Museum, Belfast
AGM & Site Visit
Alan Strong (UU) and David Porter (DfI Rivers Agency)
We would like to thank all our sponsors for their continued support:
Ltd