August 1, 2024 by Dean Leverett


Pouring,Water,From,Sampling,Device,To,Container

The Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP) is the UK water industry’s response to current and emerging legislation on trace substances in the water environment. It is used as a means of gaining a better understanding of the occurrence, behaviour, and management of trace contaminants and microplastics. It is a collaborative programme of research by Water Companies in England and Wales and the respective national Regulators and co-ordinated by UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR).

wca’s Dean Leverett has been working with UKWIR, the Water Companies, the devolved UK environmental regulators (particularly the English Environment Agency) and AtkinsRéalis for the last 15 years, supporting the technical (analytical and sampling) and Quality Assurance elements for Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the CIP.

We are therefore extremely very pleased to be able to announce that this support will continue into Phase 4 of the CIP.

Phase 4 of the CIP (CIP4) has primary objectives of further investigating contaminant sources, emerging chemical concerns, and extends the scope of assessments to include new environmental matrices.

As with previous phases of the CIP, it will be essential to provide a convincing demonstration of the validity and relevance of the data generated by the programme. A Quality Assurance/ Control programme has therefore been established to underpin the generation of monitoring. This programme aims to ensure that chemical analysis measurements are sufficiently sensitive to detect concentrations of chemicals predicted to cause effects in aquatic organisms, and that they are as accurate (represent the actual concentration occurring in the environment) and precise (consistent across repeat measurements) as possible, as well as providing a means of detecting and providing an early warning of potential systematic bias in measurements, which may compromise the utility of the data generated.

The full details of the QA programme have now been published in a UKWIR CIP4 Project Resume.

In addition, wca continue to work with colleagues at AtkinsRéalis in developing the technical elements of the programme, and ensuring that analytical issues encountered during the programme are investigated and addressed.

If you have queries regarding the technical support/ Quality Assurance of the CIP, please contact Dean Leverett.

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