MESSAGE TO WOMEN WORKING IN WATER - Be Your Authentic Self - Just 20% of the workforce in the UK water industry is female* – an imbalance the sector is working hard to correct. British Water is leading the way with its second Women in Water event, taking place in Manchester in October. Tania Flasck, director and head of UK infrastructure at Turner & Townsend, the global professional services consultancy, will be among the speakers. Turner & Townsend is also event sponsor. With over 25 years’ water and utilities experience, Tania is passionate about supporting women in the sector. Here, she shares some insights and tells us why Women in Water is so important. Why do we need events like Women in Water? Events like this are hugely important because they provide a safe forum for women to be open about challenges, share their experiences and learn from others. They also provide an opportunity to make good connections, seek out support and grow your network. All of this is valuable for personal development and building confidence. What do you hope the event will achieve? I’m expecting some really positive outcomes. We’ll be sharing stories and insights and people should come away with some tools to help them manage their career and balance multiple demands. The previous event was very well received, and this will build on that. We’ve looked at the feedback and requests from the earlier event and will be drilling into some specific topics, such as career goals and confidence building.

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'Be Your Authentic Self'

Message To Women Working In Water

Tania Flasck

 

Turner & Townsend director Tania Flasck shares insights and advice from her own experience ahead of British Water’s Women in Water event

 

Just 20% of the workforce in the UK water industry is female^* – an imbalance the sector is working hard to correct.

British Water is leading the way with its second Women in Water event, taking place in Manchester in October.

Tania Flasck, director and head of UK infrastructure at Turner & Townsend, the global professional services consultancy, will be among the speakers.

Turner & Townsend is also event sponsor.

With over 25 years’ water and utilities experience, Tania is passionate about supporting women in the sector.

Here, she shares some insights and tells us why Women in Water is so important.

Why do we need events like Women in Water?
Events like this are hugely important because they provide a safe forum for women to be open about challenges, share their experiences and learn from others.

They also provide an opportunity to make good connections, seek out support and grow your network.

All of this is valuable for personal development and building confidence.

What do you hope the event will achieve?
I’m expecting some really positive outcomes.

We’ll be sharing stories and insights and people should come away with some tools to help them manage their career and balance multiple demands.

The previous event was very well received, and this will build on that.

We’ve looked at the feedback and requests from the earlier event and will be drilling into some specific topics, such as career goals and confidence building.

What can we expect from the presentations and workshops?
All the speakers are aiming to make the event hands-on and engaging.

The day won’t just be one-way dialogue, it will be mainly workshop-style, so fast-paced and hopefully fun. We’ve got a lot to pack in.

We’ll all be talking candidly about our experiences and learning and sharing. Inevitably, there will be some great connections made, as there were last time.

What advice would you give women about to enter the water industry?
I’ve got three bits of advice:
Don’t try and be something you’re not - be your authentic self.

Leverage your strengths and focus on what you can do well. Don’t dwell on your weaknesses.

Take pride in what you do.

Water is a really amazing sector; it truly sustains life. You’ll be making a real difference and I’ve found being part of that so satisfying.

Be open to new challenges. You might automatically think you can’t do something, when you actually can.

I see this a lot in people. If you have an opportunity presented to you, always consider it and try to take it.

You will always get help and support along the way. Don’t be afraid.

And what would you say to women who don’t feel they’re getting the right career support?

One of the most common things I see is people not asking for help, not reaching out to others.

Talk to someone you trust and tell them about the situation, to get an objective view.

It’s easy to jump to assumptions about people’s intent but this is often misplaced, so a fresh perspective can be important.

If you still don’t feel supported, think through your options, talk these through, create some space to think - clear your mind by going for a walk or doing something different.

Think how you can turn the situation around. Think carefully and don’t jump to conclusions or make snap decisions.

Nine times out of 10, the real issue is communication, or a lack of. Positive intent is normally there.

What is being done to address the gender imbalance in the water industry?
I’ve noticed that there is a real desire for change with a lot of sharing between companies.

The gender imbalance is not going to be fixed overnight but the intent is there, as is a real commitment, from what I can see in most organisations.

We need to continue to share approaches across the sector.

I sit on the Highways England Supplier Diversity Forum, which includes contractors and consultants, and collaborating in this way is very powerful.

What can be done to encourage more young women to take up STEM careers?
I’m passionate about starting to engage as early as possible. Role models are so important.

I was lucky to have a great role model in my mum, who was a forklift truck training instructor.

She had a great career in a massively male-dominated world and she loved it.

There should be obvious focus on primary and secondary education, and key is normalising all careers with no gender bias or stereotyping.

Subtle messaging from teachers and parents makes a real difference, and storytelling can be very powerful. Social media can help with this.

Finally, organisations like ourselves have a huge role in outreach.

At Turner & Townsend, we actively encourage all staff to take part in corporate responsibility community work to help with role model visibility.

Even if you influence one person, it’s been a success.

What kind of support have you received that has made a difference to your career?
Coaches, sponsors and mentors have all been critical to my career.

The late Dr Stephen Bird, who we sadly lost recently, was managing director of South West Water and was one of my first bosses.

He intimidated me initially, but I respected him hugely. He was an absolute rock and would always challenge me in a constructive way to think differently.

I would not have been able to address some of the challenges in my career without his sage advice.

Finally, what do you hope to get from Women in Water?
I’m really looking forward to learning, sharing, getting involved and making some new connections.

About British Water
British Water is the lead representative and business development organisation for the UK water industry supply chain. For more information, visit www.britishwater.co.uk.

^* Figure taken from Energy & Utility Skills https://www.euskills.co.uk/about/our-industries/water/

Source: British Water

The Information Source for the Water and Wastewater Treatment Industries

Welcome to Water Online, the preeminent Internet source of useful and timely information about the water and wastewater industry. If you are a professional in this field, you will have rapid access to a comprehensive web site dealing with the basic operational elements of this industry: the resource management, supply, treatment and distribution of drinking water, and the collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater, as well as the many ancillary functions that accompany them, for example, stormwater management and sludge conditioning and disposal.

The Water Online database serves the information needs of engineers, planners, operational and financial managers, business executives, consultants, elected officials, government personnel and others who are involved in the municipal water supply industry, and the municipal and industrial wastewater treatment field. Reflecting the dynamic and interactive character of the Internet, Water Online is the most convenient source of technical, operational, product, management and regulatory information available for this industry.

Please take a moment to join our community and discover the benefits of your free membership.

Who are our clients? The leading manufacturers in the water and wastewater industry have recognized the benefits in being part of an online community for this vertical market. Water Online offers a way for their clients and prospects to cut through the clutter of the Internet and put their company in a position to be discovered in an increasingly crowded medium. Check out our clients in the Supplier Marketplace or contact us today for advertising information.

https://www.wateronline.com/doc/be-your-authentic-self-message-to-women-working-in-water-0001

WATERSPOUTS - Like many forces in nature, waterspouts can be both beautiful and dangerous. They've been known to overturn boats, damage large ships, and put lives in jeopardy. If you spot one, exercise extreme caution and keep your distance. Don't leave your safety up in the air – try to avoid these turbulent twisters. If a waterspout is sighted, immediately head at a 90 degree angle from the apparent motion of the waterspout. Never try to navigate through a waterspout. Although waterspouts are usually weaker than tornadoes, they can still produce significant damage to you and your boat. They are sometimes seen as threatening funnel clouds descending from stormy skies. Others can be nearly invisible, like a ghostly spiral of wind skimming the sea surface. These eerie columns of rotating air are known as waterspouts — commonly defined as tornadoes over water. Waterspouts usually develop over warm tropical ocean waters. They're spotted in the Florida Keys more than any other place in the world. They've also been seen over the waters of the Great Lakes. Scientists that study waterspouts generally put them in two categories: fair weather and tornadic. The tornadic waterspouts may often begin as tornadoes over land and then move over water. They also form in severe thunderstorms over a body of water. They can wreak havoc with high winds, hail, and dangerous lightning. Fair weather waterspouts develop in calmer weather.

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Waterspouts

Waterspouts usually develop over warm tropical ocean waters. They're spotted in the Florida Keys more than any other place in the world. They've also been seen over the waters of the Great Lakes.

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Like many forces in nature, waterspouts can be both beautiful and dangerous. They've been known to overturn boats, damage large ships, and put lives in jeopardy. If you spot one, exercise extreme caution and keep your distance. Don't leave your safety up in the air – try to avoid these turbulent twisters. If a waterspout is sighted, immediately head at a 90 degree angle from the apparent motion of the waterspout. Never try to navigate through a waterspout. Although waterspouts are usually weaker than tornadoes, they can still produce significant damage to you and your boat.

The Ocean Today

 

They are sometimes seen as threatening funnel clouds descending from stormy skies.

Others can be nearly invisible, like a ghostly spiral of wind skimming the sea surface.

These eerie columns of rotating air are known as waterspouts — commonly defined as tornadoes over water.

Waterspouts usually develop over warm tropical ocean waters.

They're spotted in the Florida Keys more than any other place in the world.

They've also been seen over the waters of the Great Lakes.

Scientists that study waterspouts generally put them in two categories: fair weather and tornadic.

The tornadic waterspouts may often begin as tornadoes over land and then move over water.

They also form in severe thunderstorms over a body of water. They can wreak havoc with high winds, hail, and dangerous lightning.

Fair weather waterspouts develop in calmer weather.

They form only over open water, developing at the surface and actually climbing skyward towards the clouds.

The size of all waterspouts can range from just a few feet, to several hundred feet wide.

Research shows that fair weather waterspouts exhibit a five-stage life cycle:

Stage 1 is the formation of a disk on the surface of the water, known as a dark spot;

Stage 2 is a spiral pattern on the water surface;

Stage 3 is a formation of a spray ring;

Stage 4 is where the waterspout becomes a visible funnel; and the lifecycle ends with

Stage 5 is where the waterspout decays.

Like many forces in nature, waterspouts can be both beautiful and dangerous.

They've been known to overturn boats, damage large ships, and put lives in jeopardy.

If you spot one, exercise extreme caution and keep your distance.

Don't leave your safety up in the air – try to avoid these turbulent twisters.

Fast Facts

Waterspouts are spotted in the Florida Keys - more than any other place on earth.

Listen for special marine warnings about waterspout sightings that are broadcast on NOAA Weather Radio.

Watch the sky for certain types of clouds.

In the summer, with light winds, look for a possible waterspout underneath a line of cumulus clouds with dark, flat bases.

Anytime of the year, a thunderstorm or line of thunderstorms, can produce very intense waterspouts.

If a waterspout is sighted, immediately head at a 90 degree angle from the apparent motion of the waterspout.

Never try to navigate through a waterspout.

Although waterspouts are usually weaker than tornadoes, they can still produce significant damage to you and your boat.

The Ocean Today website provides access to the current and archived videos that play on the Ocean Today multimedia exhibit. Ocean Today was designed as a highly dynamic, visitor-friendly experience at the Sant Ocean Hall in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. It has expanded to many other locations around the world.

The Ocean Today website is an online archive of the videos that appear on the physical kiosks. The videos are categorized in the seven theme areas: Collections, Danger Zone, Exploration, Fix the Ocean, Go Fish, Marine Life, and Research. A description of Ocean Today, kiosks locations, how to obtain a kiosk and requirements, and contributor information can found in the “What is Ocean Today” section.

https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/waterspouts/

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ISOLATION DISTANCES FROM A WATER-SUPPLY WELL – Distances must be measured horizontally from the water-supply well. The minimum isolation distance must be maintained between a new well and a contamination source, even if the contamination source is no longer in use. An isolation distance is not required if the contamination source and any related contaminated soil have been removed. A sensitive water-supply well must be located at least twice the indicated distance. A sensitive water-supply well is a well with less than 50 feet of watertight casing, and which is not cased below a confining layer or confining materials of at least 10 feet in thickness. A community public water-supply well must be a minimum of 50 feet from this contamination source. A well or boring may not be constructed inside a building. A well or boring may be located between 5 and 10 feet of an electric transmission line, gas pipe or LP tank if the well or boring is placarded, and work is not performed on the well or boring unless the electric line is deenergized and grounded or shielded, and the LP tank does not contain flammable gas. The 20-foot distance applies only to an irrigation well and a fertilizer chemigation supply tank. A community public water-supply well must be a minimum of 50 feet from a petroleum tank or container with a capacity between 56 and 1,100 gallons, unless the tank or container is used to fuel emergency pumping equipment and is located in a room or building separate from the community well.

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Isolation Distances From a Water-Supply Well

Well Management Program

Minnesota Department of Health

Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4725
Rules Relating to Wells and Borings
Effective date: August 4, 2008

 

The isolation distances below are from Minnesota Rules, chapter 4725.

Distances must be measured horizontally from the water-supply well. 

Minnesota Statutes, section 103I.205, subdivision 6, prohibits constructing, placing, or installing an actual or potential contaminant source from a well that is less than the minimum distance prescribed by rule.

The minimum isolation distance must be maintained between a new well and a contamination source, even if the contamination source is no longer in use.

An isolation distance is not required if the contamination source and any related contaminated soil have been removed.

Additional information and explanations can be found in the Rules Handbook, A Guide to the Rules Relating to Wells and Borings, or by contacting the Well Management Section.

If you have questions about isolation distances not listed here, please contact the Minnesota Department of Health Well Management Section.

Absorption area of a soil dispersal system
	average flow greater than 10,000 gallons/day		300		feet1
	serving a facility handling infectious or pathological wastes		150		feet1
	average flow 10,000 gallons/day or less		50		feet1
Agricultural chemical
	tank or container with 25 gallons or more or 100 pounds or more dry weight, or equipment filling or cleaning area without safeguards		150		feet
	storage or equipment filling or cleaning area with safeguards		100		feet
	storage or equipment filling or cleaning area with safeguards and roofed		50		feet
	buried piping		50		feet
	multiple tanks or containers for residential retail sale or use, no single tank or container exceeding, but aggregate volume exceeding 56 gallons or 100 pounds dry weight		50		feet
Anhydrous ammonia tank			50		feet
Animal
	feedlot, unroofed, 300 or more animal units		100		feet1
	feedlot, more than 1.0, but less than 300 animal units		50		feet1
	building or poultry building, including a horse riding area, more than 1.0 animal unit		50		feet1
	rendering plant		50		feet
	feeding or watering area within a pasture, more than 1.0 animal unit		50		feet1
	area to bury more than one animal unit		50		feet
	building, feedlot, confinement area, or kennel, 0.1 to 1.0 animal unit		20		feet1,2
Building, building projection, deck, overhang, permanent structure			3		feet3
Cesspool			75		feet1
Cistern or reservoir, buried, nonpressurized water supply			20		feet
Commercial compost site			50		feet
Construction or demolition debris disposal area			50		feet1
Cooling water pond, industrial			50		feet1
Deicing chemicals, bulk road			50		feet1
Drainfield (see Absorption area)
Dry well (sewage)			75		feet1
Electric transmission line			10		feet4
Electrical transformer storage area, oil-filled			50		feet
Elevator boring, not conforming to rule			50		feet
	conforming to rule		20		feet
Fertilizer chemigation tank, safeguarded, from irrigation well only			20		feet5
Floor drain, grate, or trough
	connected to a buried sewer		50		feet
	if buried sewer is air-tested, approved materials, serving one building, or two or less single-family residences		20		feet2
Frost-proof yard hydrant or discharge of a frost-proof hydrant draining into the soil,
	fire hydrant or flushing hydrant		10		feet
Gas (flammable or volatile) pipe			10		feet4
Grave or mausoleum			50		feet
Gravel pocket or French drain for clear water drainage			20		feet
Gray-water dispersal area			50		feet1
Hazardous substance
	tank or container, above ground or underground, 56 gallons or more, or 100 pounds or more dry weight, without safeguards		150		feet
	tank or container, above ground or underground, 56 gallons or more, or 100 pounds or more dry weight with safeguards		100		feet
	buried piping		50		feet
	multiple storage tanks or containers for residential retail sale or use, no single tank or container exceeding 56 gallons or 100 pounds, but aggregate volume exceeding		50		feet
Horizontal ground source closed loop heat exchanger buried piping			50		feet
Horizontal ground source closed loop heat exchanger buried piping and horizontal piping, approved materials and heat transfer fluid			10		feet2
Household solid waste disposal area, single residence			50		feet1
Interceptor, including a flammable waste or sediment			50		feet
Land spreading area for sewage, septage, or sludge			50		feet1
Landfill or dump, mixed municipal solid waste from multiple persons			300		feet1
Landfill, permitted demolition debris			300		feet1
Leaching pit			75		feet1
Liquid propane (LP) tank			10		feet4
Manure (liquid) storage basin or lagoon
	unpermitted or noncertified		300		feet1
	approved earthen liner		150		feet1
	approved concrete or composite liner		100		feet1
Manure (solid) storage area, not covered with a roof			100		feet1
Ordinary high water level of a stream, river, pond, storm water retention pond, lake, or reservoir			35		feet2
Petroleum
	tank or container, 1,100 gallons or more, without safeguards		150		feet
	tank or container, 1,100 gallons or more, with safeguards		100		feet
	tank or container, buried, between 56 and 1,100 gallons		50		feet
	tank or container, not buried, between 56 and 1,100 gallons		20		feet6
	buried piping		50		feet
Petroleum or crude oil pipeline to a refinery or distribution center			100		feet
Pit or unfilled space more than four feet in depth			20		feet
Pollutant or contaminant that may drain into the soil			50		feet1
Privy, nonportable			50		feet1
	portable (privy) or toilet		20		feet2
Sand filter, watertight; peat filter; or constructed wetland			50		feet
Scrap yard			50		feet
Seepage pit			75		feet1
Septic tank			50		feet
Sewage holding tank, watertight			50		feet
Sewage sump
	capacity 100 gallons or more		50		feet
	capacity less than 100 gallons, tested, conforming to rule		20		feet2
Sewage treatment device, watertight			50		feet
Sewer, buried
	collector, municipal, serving a facility handling infectious or pathological wastes, open-jointed or unapproved materials		50		feet
	approved materials, tested, serving one building, or two or less single-family residences		20		feet2
Solid waste transfer station			50		feet
Storm water drain pipe, 8 inches or greater in diameter			20		feet2
Swimming pool, in-ground			20		feet
Unused, unsealed well or boring			50		feet
Vertical heat exchanger (vertical) piping, conforming to rule			35		feet2
	horizontal piping conforming to rule		10		feet2
Wastewater rapid infiltration basin, municipal or industrial			300		feet1
Wastewater spray irrigation area, municipal or industrial			150		feet1
Wastewater stabilization pond
	municipal, 500 or more gallons/acre/day of leakage		300		feet1
	municipal, less than 500 gallons/acre/day of leakage		150		feet1
	industrial		150		feet1
Wastewater treatment unit tanks, vessels and components (Package plant)			100		feet
Water treatment backwash disposal area			50		feet1
Water treatment backwash holding basin, reclaim basin, or surge tank
	with a direct sewer connection		50		feet
	with a backflow protected sewer connection		20		feet
	Additional Isolation Distances For
	Community Public Water-Supply Wells
Highest water or flood level			50		feet
Property line, unless legally controlled through an easement			50		feet
1		A sensitive water-supply well must be located at least twice the indicated distance. A sensitive water-supply well is a well with less than 50 feet of watertight casing, and which is not cased below a confining layer or confining materials of at least 10 feet in thickness.
2		A community public water-supply well must be a minimum of 50 feet from this contamination source.
3		A well or boring may not be constructed inside a building except as provided for by Minnesota Rules, part 4725.2175.
4		A well or boring may be located between 5 and 10 feet of an electric transmission line, gas pipe or LP tank if the well or boring is placarded, and work is not performed on the well or boring unless the electric line is deenergized and grounded or shielded, and the LP tank does not contain flammable gas.
5		The 20-foot distance applies only to an irrigation well and a fertilizer chemigation supply tank meeting the requirements of Minnesota Rules, chapter 1505.
6		A community public water-supply well must be a minimum of 50 feet from a petroleum tank or container with a capacity between 56 and 1,100 gallons, unless the tank or container is used to fuel emergency pumping equipment and is located in a room or building separate from the community well; and is of double-wall construction with leak detection between walls; or is protected with secondary containment.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/water/wells/construction/isolate.html