Providing water services throughout the Severn Trent region
Oren Environmental operates and maintains many water treatment schemes across the UK for customers, manages reed beds, and undertakes large-scale desludging projects for various commercial organisations.
As industry leaders in our sector, our customer asked us to desludge two settlement lagoons at their water treatment scheme.
Billy Hurst is a construction supervisor for Oren Environmental. He began working for the company over five years ago and has worked on over 80 reed beds.
He describes his role, how he came to work for Oren Environmental, and why reed bed maintenance is essential.
Today is International Men’s Day, and this year’s theme is ‘Positive Male Role Models’.
We met with Ross Brown, Sales Manager at Oren Environmental, who’s recently completed the Hertfordshire Half Marathon at Knebworth House.
He explained that his job involves helping organisations keep their reed beds in tip-top condition. He also talks about how the “runner’s high”—the euphoric feeling people experience after a run when the endorphins kick in—helps him perform at his best at work and home.
It’s Nurturing November in Severn Trent Services, where people are encouraged to take advantage of mentor sessions with the senior leadership team to help nurture their careers.
Charlie Anderson is a highly experienced water industry expert and a service delivery lead at Oren Environmental. He tells us a little about his extensive career journey so far, including what makes him tick, what ticks him off, and how he’s helped nurture the careers of people who’ve worked for him over the years.
World Mental Health Day is on 10 October every year, and this year, the theme is workplace mental health.
We spoke to Alastair Pentland, Environmental Operations Manager at Oren Environmental. Alastair is a mental health first aider, equipped to recognise the early signs of mental health issues in his colleagues and to support them.
A reed bed is a nature-based solution for treating water. It can be used in the final stage of the wastewater treatment process, ensuring water is ‘polished’ before being discharged into watercourses and the wider environment.
However, a reed bed system can often be neglected despite its essential role, leading to suboptimal performance and potentially harmful environmental consequences. But why does this happen?
We spoke to Ross Brown, Sales Manager at Oren Environmental, who explained why reed beds are often built and forgotten.
We understand the crucial role a well-maintained reed bed can play in water treatment. We also acknowledge that reed beds are valuable ecosystems that provide a habitat for various plant and animal species.
That’s why maintaining them requires a sustainable approach, too, to ensure their health and effectiveness while enhancing their environmental performance. Here are five examples of sustainable practices we use to manage and maintain reed beds, which often challenge traditional methods offered within our industry.
Reed beds are natural filtration systems crucial for conserving water quality. However, like any other wastewater asset, they must be regularly looked after to do their job correctly.
Unfortunately, reed beds are often neglected until a problem occurs, such as a pollution incident.
Alastair Pentland, Environmental Operations Manager at Oren Environmental, has outlined the seven reasons why routine reed bed maintenance is essential.
Despite playing a vital role in water treatment, reed beds are often built and forgotten assets. Consequently, if any issue arises because a reed bed has been neglected – such as discharge consent failures or watercourse pollution incidents – proactive maintenance may not be possible, resulting in a complete refurbishment.
The reed bed refurbishment process can be expensive and lengthy, requiring several months of preparation beforehand and time to commission it afterwards once the work’s done.
To avoid refurbishment, reed beds should be routinely maintained over their lifespan – like any other water or wastewater asset. Otherwise, reed bed owners or managers face several unwieldy challenges that go hand in hand with a reed bed refurbishment.
Continue reading “The common challenges that arise from refurbishing reed beds”
In December 2023, the government announced it was lifting the cap on the £250,000 fine limit for environmental polluters and expanding the list of offences businesses can be fined for. This applies to any organisation that holds an environmental permit.
Continue reading “Potential fines for polluters who’ve neglected their reed beds”
