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Water engineer George Butler, head of capital maintenance at the organisation, is now hard at work on Ofwat's forthcoming periodic review, which will set water and sewerage prices for the next five years. But just two months ago the Territorial Army major was one of a small team of British military personnel attempting to restore normal life to the southern city of Al Amarah, a provincial capital of 400,000 people, 200 kilometres north of Basra. From their base in the former governor's house on the banks of the River Tigris, the team worked with local civilians on a range of problems including ensuring electricity supplies, repairing sub-stations, improving sanitation and keeping water supplies flowing. The battle was to restore essential services, particularly water and power, to ensure there was no serious outbreak of water-borne diseases such as cholera as summer temperatures soared to over 50c. And there was the constant danger of attacks from anti-coalition factions. " We were in a very exposed position but came under fire just once when a rocket propelled grenade was fired at the house. Thankfully they missed and there were no casualties but the threat was always there," said George, a former officer in the Royal Engineers. The troops were working in a part of the country which had suffered little during the war that saw the overthrow of Saddam Hussein but had experienced a massive orgy of extensive looting at the end of hostilities. Thieves stripped schools, hospitals and government buildings, even stealing electric power cables and pumps and chlorinators from water treatment plants. The infrastructure had already suffered from a decade of neglect as the Iraqi dictatorship starved the region of investment in revenge for its support of the failed Shi-ite uprising which followed the 1991 Gulf War. As a result, many of the assets which had often been built to a high standard –sometimes by British companies – during the 1970s and 80s were run down and failing to deliver both the quantity and quality for which they been designed. " It was very much a case of lack of capital maintenance and deteriorating serviceability", commented George who is responsible at Ofwat for reviewing these areas of water companies' business plans as part of the price review. The situation is very different in Al Amarah where only 30 per cent of the city has a modern sewerage system. The remainder runs through open channels before being pumped untreated into the river, which is also a source of water for drinking and washing. Says George: " At first it was something of a sticking plaster job but gradually we moved on to finding major projects like increasing electricity output to provide a near 24 hour supply and restoring the water pumping stations. In the overall scale of things it was a small contribution but hopefully we made a permanent improvement to people whose lives have been pretty grim." Ofwat's Chief Engineer Bill Emery said: "George has clearly been doing a very important job in Iraq, which has had a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of thousands of people. Although his absence required some temporary reorganisation of work here at Ofwat, we have no hesitation in supporting George's role in the TA." George, who is 43, joined Ofwat in 2002 after working as an independent consultant. Previously he had worked for the Commonwealth Development Corporation (now CDC Capital Partners), Binnie and Partners (now Black and Veatch), and as an officer in the Royal Engineers.) Note to Editors: 1. The Director General of Water Services is the economic regulator of the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. He exercises his powers in a way that he judges will allow them to carry out their functions properly, and finance them. Customers' interests are represented by WaterVoice. MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO OFWAT PRESS OFFICE ON: 0121 625 1416/1496/1442 Out of hours enquiries to pager: 08700 555 500 water 503/509. Ofwat publications and press notices can be found on Ofwat's website at: www.ofwat.gov.uk  | ||||||
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