January 16, 2023 by Dean Leverett
The UKWIR Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP) is a long-term chemical monitoring programme focused on the UK wastewater treatment industry. The first phase focused on the sources of contaminants in wastewater effluent and the effectiveness of existing treatment processes in reducing contaminant concentrations, while phase two investigated 600 individual discharges on a site-specific basis.
The delivery of the third phase (CIP3) is now complete, and covers a much wider range of different elements including chemical sources, die away and trend analysis, emerging substances, microplastics, anti-microbial resistance, biosolids, groundwater and coastal discharges.
An overview of CIP3, as well as where and how data from CIP3 can be accessed, is available in the UKWIR flyer.
Dean Leverett and Mike Gardner at wca have provided analytical guidance to the main contractors to UKWIR for CIP (Atkins), and Proficiency Testing services directly to UKWIR (with support from our partners at Stuttgart University) for phases 1-3 of the CIP, and are looking forward to continuing this support for the upcoming 4th phase of the programme.