WRc
Encyclopedia
The WRc Group is an independent public limited company providing research and consultancy in water, waste and the environment.
, part of the Civil Service
, with a remit of providing research and advice on sewage treatment. During the Second World War the WPL also worked in other areas, of which the best-remembered was the creation of a device for airmen to make sea water acceptable as drinking water.
In the 1950s the WPL moved to Stevenage
, and here it is associated with the first systematic analyses of sewage treatment. In 1974, following the reorganisation of the UK water supply industry, the WPL was converted to a quango
, controlled by the publicly-owned Regional Water Authorities. It was also amalgamated with the Water Research Association (WRA) and the Water Resources Board. The WRA had been founded in 1953 and provided research and advice on drinking water treatment to the municipal bodies responsible for drinking water supply. The WRA was based at Medmenham
. The new organisation was renamed the Water Research Centre.
In 1989 the Water Research Centre was privatised and renamed WRc PLC, as part of the privatisation of the UK water industry. At that stage it shut down its Stevenage site. In 2004 the Medmenham site was also shut down, leaving Swindon as WRc's main site. Today the WRc Group employs around 100 staff. Its shares are mainly owned by its staff.
1960s
1970s
1980s
WRc is an innovative, research-based group, providing consultancy in the water, waste and environment sectors with expertise built from over 80 years of work.
WRc assists governments and regulatory bodies in creating soundly based regulation and helps organisations impacted by regulation (particularly water utilities, waste management companies, local authorities and their suppliers) to optimise operational efficiency and minimise risk.
WRc has a strong research and development base and a supposedly proven track record of delivering quality-assured, innovative and technologically robust projects around the world.
History
The organisation began in 1927 as the Water Pollution Research Laboratory (WPL), based in LutonLuton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, part of the Civil Service
British Civil Service
Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom, composed of a Cabinet of ministers chosen by the prime minister, as well as the devolved...
, with a remit of providing research and advice on sewage treatment. During the Second World War the WPL also worked in other areas, of which the best-remembered was the creation of a device for airmen to make sea water acceptable as drinking water.
In the 1950s the WPL moved to Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....
, and here it is associated with the first systematic analyses of sewage treatment. In 1974, following the reorganisation of the UK water supply industry, the WPL was converted to a quango
Quango
Quango or qango is an acronym used notably in the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere to label an organisation to which government has devolved power...
, controlled by the publicly-owned Regional Water Authorities. It was also amalgamated with the Water Research Association (WRA) and the Water Resources Board. The WRA had been founded in 1953 and provided research and advice on drinking water treatment to the municipal bodies responsible for drinking water supply. The WRA was based at Medmenham
Medmenham
Medmenham is a village and civil parish in the Wycombe district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about three and a half miles southwest of Marlow and three miles east of Henley-on-Thames....
. The new organisation was renamed the Water Research Centre.
In 1989 the Water Research Centre was privatised and renamed WRc PLC, as part of the privatisation of the UK water industry. At that stage it shut down its Stevenage site. In 2004 the Medmenham site was also shut down, leaving Swindon as WRc's main site. Today the WRc Group employs around 100 staff. Its shares are mainly owned by its staff.
Achievements
Notable amongst WRc output are the following:1960s
- First analysis that activated sludge nitrification could be mathematically modelled
1970s
- Development of first accurate general activated sludge model
- Development of the standard approach to minimising the effects of bulking sludge on activated sludge
- Only public body of extensive research of trickling filters
- Development of the SSVI technique for analysing activated sludge settleability
- Development of the first mass-flux based analysis of activated sludge settler design
- Development of two standard assessment techniques for sludge thickening and dewatering, the CST (capillary suction time) and PFT (pressure filtration test)
1980s
- Water-industry standard techniques for assessing sludge rheology, and a general correlation for rheological properties used in the absence of experimental data
- Development of techniques for water mains and sewer rehabilitation, without requiring extensive digging and replacing of pipes
- Co-development with the UK water industry of the Urban Pollution Management procedure, the first formal procedure for analysing water pollution at the catchment level, and which was one of the drivers for the subsequent EU legislation behind the Water Framework Directive
- Comprehensive capital cost models (TR 61) used widely by the water companies, and recognised by OFWAT as a comparator for company-specific costs
Today
Today WRc works with a range of customers in the public and private sectors around the world. Its clients include:- UK government and regulators such as: the Environment AgencyEnvironment AgencyThe Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), Communities and Local Government, Department for TransportDepartment for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
(DfT), Highways AgencyHighways AgencyThe Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
and the Office of Water Services (OFWAT). - All of the UK water utilities, many international utilities and companies throughout the water and environmental supply chains.
- Waste management and recycling companies and organisations in their supply chains.
- European CommissionEuropean CommissionThe European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
Directorates General including: Environment, Research, Competition, Agriculture and Regional Policies. - International funders such as the World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the Department for International Development (DfID). - Trade associations and ‘Not for Profit’ organisations e.g. Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), Water UK, Environmental Services AssociationEnvironmental Services AssociationThe Environmental Services Association is a professional organisation in the UK representing the UK's waste and secondary resources industry...
(ESA) and UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR). - Local governments and authorities.
- Blue chip companies involved in agriculture, retail and manufacturing (especially in the food and drink, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors).
WRc is an innovative, research-based group, providing consultancy in the water, waste and environment sectors with expertise built from over 80 years of work.
WRc assists governments and regulatory bodies in creating soundly based regulation and helps organisations impacted by regulation (particularly water utilities, waste management companies, local authorities and their suppliers) to optimise operational efficiency and minimise risk.
WRc has a strong research and development base and a supposedly proven track record of delivering quality-assured, innovative and technologically robust projects around the world.