European engineering consultancy Grontmij has been appointed to the United Utilities AMP5 Professional Engineering Consultancy Services (PECS) Framework.

The five year agreement will see Grontmij utilising its extensive range of water services, offering feasibility and design across networks and treatment facilities, including water and wastewater network modelling and analysis, as well as asset management.

In a statement, Grontmij said it had been appointed as a result of the consultancy’s consistent high performance over the last three years throughout the AMP4 PECS Framework, coupled with a new tender that was technically impressive and commercially attractive.

John Hilson, operations director for Grontmij, said:

“We have worked closely with United Utilities over the last few years and endeavoured to constantly offer increasingly high levels of service. The appointment is testament to Grontmij’s leading skills in the water industry, our innovative techniques and our ability to work with United Utilities to create more efficient processes.

“Add to this our breadth and depth of experience, including over 20 years working with the UK’s regulated water companies, means we have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the low cost, high quality, sustainable solutions required by United Utilities.”

Lorraine Morton, Category Manager at United Utilities, said:

“United Utilities is dedicated to delivering cost effective, efficient, high quality services for our customers, and we are looking forward to working with Grontmij to implement initiatives and processes.”

Grontmij has recently worked with United Utilities to install the SHARON (Stable High Activity Ammonia Removal Over Nitrate) process at the Mersey Valley processing centre, providing a more efficient system for the treatment of ammonia in sewage management.

Developed by Grontmij over 15 years ago, the SHARON process has been installed in active plants across the United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, USA and Switzerland. The system aims to provide a more energy efficient way of breaking down the ammonia present in liquors from sludge treatment plants, which in turn minimises pollution in watercourses and helps ensure compliance with environmental regulations. The United Utilities Mersey Valley SHARON plant near Liverpool treats 1,650kg of ammonia per day.

The AMP5 PECS Framework will primarily be serviced from Grontmij’s Warrington office, with support from Leeds and the wider business. The water environment is a growing area of the Grontmij's business, with services such as flood risk assessment, hydrology, hydrogeology, coastal engineering and environmental impact assessment.