As one of his last duties concluding a highly successful year as chairman of CIWEM Northern Ireland, Kieran Madine, Jacopa’s Business Development Manager for Ireland addressed members attending the branch annual dinner. In a speech to mark the end of his year in office Kieran reflected on the impact of ever-higher effluent discharge standards and thanked Jacopa (previously Ovivo) for their support in undertaking his duties on behalf of CIWEM members during his year in office.
Kieran said, “I have been a member of CIWEM since 1987, joining the CIWEM NI branch committee in 2008, so my year in office as Chairman has been a great honour. During my inauguration I highlighted the theme for the year, ‘working to protect the environment and making difficult decisions’. I have since spoken about the regulatory drive to meet ever-higher effluent discharge standards and the subsequent evolution of treatment at wastewater treatment works where I have been involved with projects over a number of years.
This same evolution has occurred across the island and indeed across Europe, with higher and higher levels of technology and treatment being needed to meet increasingly challenging standards. This has left utilities with difficult decisions to make often juggling limited resources to meet regulations and provide best value for customers. And I’m proud of my colleagues at Jacopa who are working with our clients to provide advice, services and technologies that enable them to respond to these complex challenges.”
Kieran believes professionals and specialists in the water and environmental sectors have a shared responsibility to protect and improve the environment. However, they are faced with difficult decisions on how to deploy their often limited resources and difficult judgements on which environmental benefits are of greatest priority.
During Kieran’s year in office an extensive programme of technical meetings, visits and social events were organised by CIWEM Northern Ireland to support members in their continuing professional development and to provide opportunities for both members and guests to network and share best practice. Kieran paid tribute to Sponsors and all those who have provided input to the programme by giving presentations and hosting visits.
