The keynote speech at British Water’s International Reception, which takes place in London on 24 February 2025, will be delivered by Dr Francesca O’Hanlon, senior water manager and leader of the water security strategy for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) – the largest bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. CCEP makes, moves, and sells some of the world’s biggest soft drinks brands, serving 600 million consumers across 31 countries. 

In a Q&A, Dr O’Hanlon shares her views and experience on water and sustainability and what themes she will discuss during her keynote speech.

Where did your interest in water start and what bought you to lead the water security strategy for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners?  

I studied civil and environmental engineering at university and spent my early career working on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects in sub-Saharan Africa. As I progressed as an engineer, it became clear that water security is essential for global prosperity, yet so few people think about it day-to-day. I have always wanted to improve the public understanding of how essential water is to people and the planet.

I joined CCEP two years ago because it has incorporated water security strategies very sincerely into its business model. As an example, The Cola-Cola system pioneered work on returning water to nature through what we call ‘replenish projects’. In 2023, CCEP supported 27 water replenishment projects across Europe and nine in Australia, the Pacific and Indonesia, replenishing 18.3 million m3 of water.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is a global company, how can companies of this size meaningfully incorporate water stewardship and sustainability practices into business models without being accused of green or blue washing?

At CCEP, we ensure our water stewardship strategy is meaningful and measurable. This means we work continually to assess which interventions will have a genuine impact on overall watershed health. 
Within our factory walls, we continually strive to improve water efficiency. Our current water use ratio of 1.6 litres of water per every litre of product is better than the industry standard. We also aim to safely return 100% of wastewater to nature by pre-treating onsite and sending it to municipal wastewater treatment plants - discharging 9.1 million m3 of wastewater in 2023 alone.

However, we know that on-site water efficiency needs to be complimented with a water stewardship strategy that reaches beyond our factory walls, which is why we continue to invest in our replenishment portfolio. We believe that there is huge opportunity for nature-based solutions to provide flood and drought resilience to both our sites and the entire catchments in which they sit.  Through our replenish programme we work collaboratively with NGOs and the public sector to ensure millions of cubic metres of water are returned to nature and communities each year. 

Our replenish projects have a common purpose of conserving and enhancing freshwater environments to improve water quality, reduce flood risk, store carbon, enhance habitat and biodiversity, and promote the health and well-being of local communities. We measure the volume of water replenished through our projects using a universally agreed methodology called Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA), which ensures the accuracy of the volumes of water we report.  We believe this process enables us to have a meaningful and measurable positive impact on the watershed.

Are there any Replenish programme projects you would particularly like to highlight?

In the majority of countries where CCEP operates, sells, or sources ingredients, we establish long-term partnerships with local organisations who suggest projects through which CCEP can have a positive impact on the environment or people. Either independently or co-funded with The Coca-Cola Company and The Coca-Cola Foundation, we support ambitious projects that aim to improve the state of nature. 

Here in GB, one of the partnerships I am most proud of is with the Rivers Trust. They are an incredible organisation, with a bold and important mission. In 2022, we celebrated our ten-year partnership anniversary, and both organisations are now looking towards the future as they continue the commitment to improve the health of rivers and freshwater environments. 

For example, a new project we are working on in collaboration with the Calder & Colne Rivers Trust in the catchment of CCEP’s Wakefield production facility in West Yorkshire, England, aims to replenish 100% of the facility’s water use by 2035. This is through improving water quality and freshwater retention, creating wetland habitat flora and fauna, and working with landowners to benefit both water replenishment and biodiversity.

Can you give us a sneak peek into the themes of your keynote speech at the British Water Internation Reception on 24 February?

The Reception is a unique opportunity to interact with a wide range of experts from the water sector. I want to take this opportunity to explore collaboration between the public and private sector, particularly on raising awareness of the importance of water stewardship and on investment into nature-based solutions. 

I will be spotlighting some of CCEP’s work and hoping to highlight some of our achievements in water stewardship. I would like to highlight how important good water practices are now and, will continue to be in the future, especially as we face the impacts of climate change which are predominantly being felt through water.
 
What are you looking forward to most at the International Reception?

I am passionate about water, so I am excited to be in a room full of other water enthusiasts. In my day-to-day life, I don’t get much opportunity to talk with others who are passionate about water like I am, so I am looking forward to ‘geeking out’ with others and getting into conversations about how we achieve long-term water security.  
It is such an honour to have been invited to be the keynote speaker. 
Running since 2013, the British Water International Reception helps grow UK exports, raise the international profile of the UK water industry supplier community, and encourage the sharing of best practice, while providing an opportunity for businesses to gain further visibility as key players in the industry. 

The event is held in collaboration with the World Water Tech Innovation Summit as supporting partner, and RSE as platinum sponsors. It is attended by international operators, consultants, contractors, technology suppliers, research institutions, government departments, and funding agencies.

Delegates can register online here

 Water sector must dig deeper on collaboration

Read the article here.

A strong performance on contractual approach, collaboration and communication have catapulted Scottish Water to the top of the 2023 annual water company survey carried out by British Water.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Last year’s joint lowest performing water company, Southern Water, has risen by one place to 10^th, while Northern Ireland Water remains in last place
• The highest scoring company for innovation remains Northumbrian Water
• The most significant drop was Anglian Water, down from 2^nd place in 2022 to 8^th in 2023
• The most significant rise was Severn Trent Water, which rose from 10th place last year to 5^th in 2023

British Water’s annual UK Water Company Performance Survey asks contractors, consultants and suppliers to rate their clients’ performance in 12 areas, including professionalism, contractual approach and communication.

Innovation continues to be the lowest scoring area – at a time when there are widespread calls for water companies to find new ways of working to address key challenges. The average score for innovation was 6.4, although it has risen slightly from last year’s average score of 6.2 out of ten. 

Northumbrian Water led the pack with an average innovation score of 7.9, while Northern Ireland Water and South West Water were significantly below the industry average, each scoring 5.4.

“It is vital that cultures that foster a healthy ecosystem in which supply chain companies can operate and innovate effectively are embedded within and across water companies, for the best outcomes for customers and the environment,” said Lila Thompson, chief executive of British Water. “Once these are in place, a thriving sector will follow.”

“We are continuing to see low scores for innovation, procurement, communication and AMP transition, and this is a clear indication that work still needs to be done as we approach the next five-year Asset Management Plan period (AMP8), which starts in 2025,” added Thompson. 

The second lowest scoring areas in the survey are working digitally, the ability to implement workforce contingency plans to sustain operations, and the ability of partners and main contractors to follow policy.

The Water Industry Forum (WIF), which operates as a neutral and independent forum of British Water, tackles challenges facing the UK water sector through thought leadership and facilitated collaborative working. 

WIF is looking at the recommendations raised in British Water’s Supply Chain Task Force on innovation, cyclicality and procurement/T&Cs and will consider the areas highlighted in the most recent survey.

Thompson welcomed the development. “WIF is a vital organisation for the water industry,” she said. “It provides a forum for discussion, debate, collaboration, innovation, and thought leadership, which, as the survey results highlight, are critical areas for development across the sector”

British Water’s annual survey was first undertaken in early 2003 in response to companies asking for feedback on how they were viewed by the industry supply chain, and how they were seen to compare with others. The survey seeks views of individuals working in the industry rather than a corporate standpoint.

The survey reflects a variety of opinions across the supply chain at every level of business. This range of views provides valuable insights for the industry into how water companies interact with their supply chain, how the supply chain feels about this, and the progress water utilities have made over the years.

Read more about the surveys and how they can be interpreted here.

The 2023 survey results can be seen here.

Through this agreement, Water Alliance will market British Water as the central coordination organisation for water technology in the UK for Dutch water related industries looking to enter the British market. Likewise, British Water will market Water Alliance as the central coordinator organisation for water technology in the Netherlands for British Water members looking to enter the Dutch market.

The agreement was signed on behalf of British Water by Tom Williams, British Water International Forum Chair and, for the Water Alliance, by Stefan Bergsma, International Project Manager / International Business Developer.

We are delighted that our CEO, Lila Thompson MIEx (Grad) is on the CBI's Powerlist of Women in Trade Associations.

Trade Association Forum, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) have joined forces to champion the role of women in trade associations, celebrate their achievements and encourage the next generation of women into the association sector. 

From over 200 nominations they have unveiled the first Women in Trade Associations Powerlist that recognises one hundred inspirational women in associations.

Read more here.

When: 8 March 2023, 13.00

You don’t need to be a member of the networks to join in – just register your place here.

We’ll be bringing together a panel of speakers to delve into equity and what it means to them, including Claire Bell, who has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to gender equality in the workplace.

We’ll take your questions both in advance and during the event via slido. Visit slido.com and enter code #1975617 to submit your questions.

Read the pamphlet here.

Join Lila Thompson MIEx (Grad) our CEO at the World Water-Tech Summit. She will be chairing a panel to discuss 'Catalysing Investment, Stimulating Action and Driving Innovation' in the water sector. She will be joined by five experts who will also cover areas in which we should innovate within the sector.

Will Sarni, Founder & General Partner, Water Foundry
Helge Daebel, Partner, Emerald
Reinhard Huebner, CEO of SKion Water GmbH
David Balsar, General Manager, Innovation & Ventures,
MEKOROT®
Fredrik Östbye, Head of Aliaxis Next, Aliaxis

Learn more here

CIWEM is delighted to once more host the UK Junior Water Prize competition in 2023, in partnership with the Environment Agency, British Water, and Jacobs.

The UK Junior Water Prize (UKJWP) is a national STEM competition aimed at solving environmental challenges with a link to water quality and security. The competition welcomes young applicants (ages 15-20) from all walks of life – particularly those with less privileged backgrounds and from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. We challenge them to take a fresh look at local and global water problems, and to develop an innovative research project that could improve quality of life.

Over the years, many ideas that started as Junior Water Prize projects proved to be important innovations that changed the lives of both the participants and their communities.


The UKJWP winner is automatically entered as a finalist into the international final of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Over 38 international finalists will compete for the US$15,000 prize during World Water Week in Stockholm.


During their time in Sweden, the international finalists take part in daily social, educational, and cultural events. The prestigious awards ceremony – where HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presents the prizes – also features inspiring speeches from distinguished members of the water community, an entertainment programme, and an exuberant “flag parade.”


The competition supports students as they improve their ability to identify and understand local, national and global climate issues, conduct independent scientific research, write compelling academic papers, and present findings to industry experts.


Applications close on 7 May 2023.


For more information and to apply, visit www.ciwem.org/awards/ukjwp23

Northumbrian leads in British Water survey

A strong performance on innovation has put Northumbrian Water at the top of the annual Water Company Performance Survey carried out by British Water.

Key findings from the 2022 survey include:

• Northumbrian Water rises to first place, with Southern Water and Northern Ireland Water dropping to joint last
• Health and safety, quality assurance and environmental policies were the highest scoring areas
• Innovation scores continue to be low across the sector, despite increased investment

British Water‘s annual UK Water Company Performance Survey asks contractors, consultants and suppliers to rate their clients’ performance in 11 areas, including innovation, professionalism, contractual approach and procurement. The 2022 survey featured streamlined questions and the addition of four water-only companies for the first time. This year has seen a number of changes to the ranking, compared to last year’s survey. Northumbrian took the first position - up from fifth last year, with Anglian Water in second.

Wessex Water saw the biggest fall, moving from first to eighth position. Northern Ireland dropped to the eleventh position from third last year, with Southern Water dropping from eighth to joint eleventh. Scottish Water and United Utilities remained stable in third and fifth positions respectively.

Reflecting on the high scores of Northumbrian Water and Anglian Water, British Water’s head of programmes Dr Mar Batista commented that both organisations appear to have worked hard to embrace innovation across the business and strive to “get people in a room” through their innovation offerings such as the Northumbrian Innovation Festival and Anglian Water’s Innovation Network. 

“It is important that we build on the innovation portals available across the sector to a culture of innovation across the industry. Innovation needs time commitment, people to be onboard and trust to be developed and that is easier to achieve when people and companies get to know each other and how they work,” said Batista.

Innovation can sometimes be adopted in a transactional way with water company representatives using the solutions that they may be more comfortable with or because something is needed urgently. This can create a narrow route and specific outcomes with regard to innovation.

“Supply chain companies will tend to want to work with businesses that are welcoming and with capacity for innovation, so innovation is more likely to happen when businesses and people are aligned,” she added.

Delivery of projects whether standard or innovative is difficult to achieve if the involved parties are rigid or work in isolation, explained Batista. Bringing together all parties is more likely to result in a good outcome for everyone – as they can all benefit from success or equally share the risk proportionally.

Long term collaboration beyond a project or five-year regulatory asset management period (AMP) can also produce more capacity as it takes a lot of effort and resource to get new relationships and collaboration off the ground.

Looking towards AMP8, which runs from 2025 to 2030 water companies are aware of the expectations coming through from Ofwat and the public with regard to affordability, environmental pollution and climate change. This is going to have an impact of the volume of work required in the sector which will grow significantly.

Batista said, “Building strong, trusted relationships and spreading spend is essential to allow businesses to grow and meet the demands going forward. The water sector will no doubt continue to modernise through collecting and understanding data, and using new technologies which are integrated into the existing legacy equipment and processes.”

British Water’s annual survey was first undertaken in early 2003, in response to companies asking for feedback on how they were viewed by the industry supply chain, and how they were seen to compare with others. The survey seeks views of individuals working in the industry rather than a corporate standpoint.

The survey reflects a variety of opinions across the supply chain at every level of business. This range of views provides valuable insights for the industry into how water companies interact with their supply chain, how the supply chain feels about this, and the progress water utilities have made over the years.

Read more about the surveys and how they can be interpreted here.

See past surveys here

The teams had less than 15 minutes to present their ideas and answer questions from the panel, who scored each team according to how well they had understood the task, the practicality of their idea, the quality of their presentation and other key criteria.

Judging Panel: Left to right, Dr Mark Fletcher, Arup; Steve Slessor, Galliford Try; Richard Thompson, Environment Agency, Jo Osborne, Waterwise; Angela MacOscar, Northumbrian Water

Whilst the judges deliberated, we heard from our keynote speaker, Alastair Chisholm, Director of Policy at CIWEM.

Head judge, Dr Mark Fletcher, Global Water Lead at Arup, and Chair of British Water announced the results. Mark was impressed with the standard of the presentations and, along with his fellow judges, felt that the winning team, who presented their idea for "Water Performance Certificates for Homes and Businesses" had met all the objectives of the competition with a clear concept and a well-delivered presentation.

The Judges awarded the following:
Winning Team
TEAM 5: WATER PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES

Winning Team: Jack Kingham, Ofwat; Louise Thurgood, Costain; Ruth Scott, Northumbrian Water; Emma Sherburn, Mott MacDonald, pictured receiving their awards from Dr Mark Fletcher, left, and Peter Drake, Executive Director of Water Industry Forum, right.

Highly Commended Team
TEAM 2: VALOW SCHEME – EDUCATING KS3 STUDENTS

Andrew Caldwell, GHD; Nicola Heald, Northumbrian Water; Eamonn Loftus, Galliford Try; Emily Slavin, Drinking Water Inspectorate, receiving their awards.

Commended Team
TEAM 7: VIRTUAL REALITY – YOUR WORLD WITHOUT WATER

Dawood Mear, Mott MacDonald; Lauren Brannon, Ofwat; Micheala Chan, Arcadis.

There was also a special mention for Team 10, who were commended for the broad reach of their idea, “GRoW – GARNERING REDUCTION OF WATER”, which was backed up by solid research.

Team 10: Stephanie Merenbach, Arup; Sabina Mirea, Mott MacDonald; Ozgur Akkaya, Ofwat

Congratulations to everyone who took part and thank you to the judges, our speaker, Alastair Chisholm, and to our event supporter, Arup, for generously hosting and providing their facilities for the challenge.

Tackling Water Industry Challenges

We are excited to announce the launch of our Better Together reception, taking place at The Deep in Hull on Thursday 12 January 2023.

Better Together will kickstart a year of celebrations for British Water’s 30th anniversary in style. During the event, we'll recognise 10 individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the water industry. This informal event will provide the perfect opportunity for guests to network with a wide range of people, from diverse organisations, in a uniquely engaging environment. 
Both members and non-members are welcome to register for Better Together, with the guest list including representatives from across the supply community - contractors, consultants, water companies and government agencies. 

The Deep is the perfect venue for this flagship event outside of London. Guests will be greeted on arrival with Prosecco, which they can take with them as they explore the aquarium and see some of the 5,000+ animals, from sharks and stingrays to penguins, turtles and jellyfish. At the end of the tour guests will be greeted with bowl food and drinks, ahead of the keynote speeches and networking into the evening.

Further details on our exciting keynote speaker and entry to the outstanding contribution awards will be announced shortly.  
 
Date: Thursday 12 January 2023
Time:  7.00 pm - 10.30 pm
Location:  The Deep, Hull

Book Now

Leading voices on digital transformation set out how advancements in data are playing a vital role in revolutionising the water industry.

As the UK moves towards the next regulatory asset management period – AMP8 - starting in 2025, the sector faces higher expectations than ever for environmental protection and provision of safe and consistent services. This comes against the backdrop of an intensifying climate emergency and increasing water scarcity. 

Data and analytics have a vital role in response to these challenges - helping to transform water and wastewater operations and services, and stimulate innovation across utilities and the supplier community. 
It is a growing market - according to Bluefield Research’s global digital water forecast 2022-2030, emerging and developing markets will account for roughly 30% of the US$387.5 billion in total global digital water spend expected over the next decade. In addition, digital water expenditure in emerging markets is projected to scale at an annual rate of 11.4%, compared to 7.7% for advanced economies.

Mark Enzer, strategic advisor at consultancy Mott MacDonald and former head of the National Digital Twin Programme at the Centre for Digital Built Britain says that with interest in data-driven solutions at an all-time high, technologies for digital twinning, intelligent asset management, geographical information systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence (AI) are helping companies gain insight, make informed decisions and improve services at an unprecedented rate.
Enzer is the keynote speaker at British Water’s upcoming data conference in London on 3 November 2022, which looks at how boosting collaboration on data and analytics can help the sector to meet AMP8 challenges.

“The water sector is focussed on achieving the urgent environmental, social and economic outcomes needed to make us fit for purpose in AMP8 and further into the future,” says Enzer. “Technology, data and analytics will play a leading role in getting us there.
“However, it’s very rare that an individual technology can be a silver bullet and tackle all the water sector’s problems. They key is companies taking a number of different technologies and joining them up with a purpose to achieve better outcomes.”

Presently data is often split across multiple platforms using SCADA software, which remotely controls and monitors the condition of field-based assets from a central location; GIS mapping, remote sensors and computerised maintenance management system. By bringing together these datasets, they can be fed into a digital twin model.
Companies must invest the time and money to build robust data management processes and governance models so data can be captured correctly and consistently across the entire organisation.

“The water sector has traditionally been an outlier in that the adoption of digital technologies and digital transformation has moved at a slower pace due to the risk-averse nature,” agrees Gigi Karmous Edwards, who is speaking at the conference on digital twins and next steps for the water sector. 
Karmous Edwards is an independent consultant and founder and co-chair of the Digital Twin for H2O Work Group at SWAN – the Smart Water Networks Forum. She works with utilities and technology companies around the world on digital transformation and in particular digital twins.  
“However, the pace of change is now increasing, and we are seeing greater interest and uptake as the sector understands we need a holistic view of what's happening remotely in the system,” she added.
The industry is facing unprecedented scrutiny from governments and customers and must use this as an opportunity to drive innovation, said Karmous Edwards. New technologies have the capability to deliver multiple benefits, not only for utilities and suppliers but also for the environment and wider society.

Data and analytics are becoming a more fundamental part of how water companies drive outcomes for customers and the environment. According to Fionn Boyle, strategic innovation lead at Anglian Water, the industry has matured a lot through the last couple of AMPs and is embracing a digital, data driven mindset in readiness for AMP8.  

Anglian is the largest water and wastewater company in England and Wales geographically, suppling over four million people with drinking water and treating wastewater from over six million customers.  
“Data unlocks the opportunity to change the way that we operate as an industry. It has been challenging for the sector to embrace digital technologies but our capabilities are maturing quickly,” explained Boyle. “We’re incumbent organisations with legacy assets. Companies who start up as digital companies have a blank slate and can be setup as ‘digital first’ from the onset, but water companies have to integrate those digital capabilities within those legacy assets.  

“At Anglian we’ve invested in a number of enabling capabilities including systems and platforms that take care of data management and data governance as well as creating processes and ways of working to ensure we can manage this data effectively through the organisation. As a result of well-placed and well thought out investments we are now in a place to fully maximize the potential of digital and become a truly digital first organisation.   

“As water companies invest in digital tools like artificial intelligence and remote sensors, and harness the ways that data then flows through the organisation, all this information can fused together and can help us make informed decisions to ensure the best possible outcomes for customers and the environment.” 
Sharing data across organisations and the supply chain will be critical in the future. While it is recognised that it can still be challenging to get standardised data within an organisation – let alone across multiple businesses – there is increasing consensus that the sector must come together to agree common standards for defining and modelling key datapoints that can be shared across information systems.

“How our industry shares and drives value from data has never been of greater focus and we must come together as a water community to ensure that the insights we provide and the decisions we make are based on sound, actionable insights," said Mark Kaney, managing director of utility service provider Ipsum, which is sponsoring the event.  

The conference will host speakers from across the global water community. Talks and Q&As will explore topics including - how emerging technologies are meeting water industry demands, and industry data frameworks, and explore how data can help:

• Water quality 
• Catchment management
• Sewer networks
• Asset management
• Cybersecurity
• Carbon neutrality

“With utilities ready to harness the benefits of digital water solutions - collaboration and knowledge sharing will be key to its success moving forward,” said Mar Batista, head of programmes at British Water.

“This year’s event will continue the discussion on ways to realise digital transformation for the water industry. It will provide an excellent forum for discussion around how collaboration can boost the use of data and analytics to drive efficiency and sustainability.”  

Following the successful completion of the Water Industry Forum’s merger with British Water, Peter Drake, Executive Director and one of the original founders of the Water Industry Forum, has announced his intention to step down in March 2023 following an 11-year tenure at the helm.

As a result, the WIF board is now actively looking for a successor for Peter Drake. Drake commented “The merger has opened a new chapter in the life of the Water Industry Forum.  This represents an excellent time for someone new to take the reins and help shape the future of the UK water sector.” 

More details of the role and the recruitment process can be found here.

British Water has issued a warning that the UK water sector needs to work more collaboratively and transparently or more supply chain companies could abandon the sector altogether.

Earlier this year, British Water’s Supply Chain Taskforce surveyed supply chain companies on their experiences of working with water companies. Based on the extensive findings, the UK’s leading water sector trade association has issued a list of recommendations to on how to improve across three key areas: innovation, procurement, and cyclicality.

“These recommendations create the opportunity to accelerate innovation and achieve the sector’s ambitious goals,” said Shaun Stevens, UK general manager at EPS who is lead author of the report and former chair of British Water’s UK Forum. “However, if the water industry doesn’t change, the supply chain will increasingly move to other sectors and focus overseas. 

“In today’s resource-constrained market, this will severely limit utilities’ ability to achieve customers’ expectations. “

Slow to adopt

The supply chain participants expressed concern that at the current pace of deployment, many innovations created today will not be deployed before 2030.
“This slow pace of adoption means that achieving zero pollution spills by 2025 and net zero by 2030 is going to be very difficult to achieve,” said Stephen Kennedy, head of digital and innovation at MWH Treatment, who led the report’s innovation section. “The age of multiple trials across individual water companies, taking 10 years or more, has to stop and be replaced by an accelerated process of rapid pilots followed by mass applications. “

To enable this shift, the British Water Supply Chain Innovation Task Force has made the following proposals:

• A clear business case must be prepared before innovation areas are sought, defining the success criteria, and detailing the volume and value of the deployment, should the success criteria be met
• To eliminate trials across multiple water companies, consideration should be given to independent validation through third parties, the results of which would be accepted by the other companies
• Trust needs to be built between the innovators and the water companies. This should be built on deployment in accordance with the business case if the trial is successful and a fair and equitable balance of risk transfer through commercial arrangements. 

“When there is confidence in the application of successful innovations, fair and equitable commercial conditions and stable and visible long term investment programmes, the pace of innovation in the sector will increase and help the sector achieve its customer’s ambitious expectations,” added Kennedy.

Onerous procurement

A sustainable and productive supply chain is critical to all water companies if they are to meet current and future demands on the industry. However, survey respondents reported it has become more onerous to engage with water companies during the procurement process, and disproportionate risk is passed down the supply chain.  

“Water companies need to ensure their procurement processes are fit for purpose, which includes good communication, providing a route for innovation and a focus on building long-term relationships,” explained Rachel Lewis, chair of British Water’s UK Forum and owner and director of IQ Engineers, who led on the procurement recommendations. “They need to provide well prepared information and allow the supply chain to see what projects are in the pipeline so they can plan resources.” 

Areas which slow down procurement include multiple levels of approval processes and unclear technical standards, which the supply chain taskforce say can be reduced by early involvement of supply partners to ensure specifications are correct and time frames are realistic.

The report recognises that the supplier community is made up of a wide range of companies, making it difficult to take a single approach to procurement. However, the over-riding message is that it is critical for water companies to actively support good businesses to retain the skills, knowledge and capacity necessary to deliver capital projects and maintenance programmes. 
There is also a warning that if this is not done, businesses and people will leave the sector, exacerbating the skills shortage. 

Good communication with the supply chain both prior to and during frameworks and tendering should aim to minimise the number of rounds and prevent dates slipping. Prompt communication minimises delays and keeps momentum - which will improve the productivity of the supply chain.  

Other recommendations by the Supply Chain Procurement Task Force are that contracts should: 
• Be fit for purpose
• Have standard terms & conditions where possible to avoid bespoke agreements being negotiated each time
• Be aligned to commercial risk profile and financial rewards
• Be based on whole-life cost
• Be accessible to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs)

The findings conclude leadership from water companies must support good procurement across the wider supplier community, to improve productivity and ensure businesses and individuals remain in the industry and work effectively together.  

End cyclicality 

Cyclical investment in the water sector has led to a stop-start cycle within the supply chain with schemes typically being delivered within the middle three years of the five-year cycle. The start and end of the cycle can lead to lean periods of great uncertainty, loss of productivity, redundancies and an environment of uncertainty in which SMEs are particularly badly affected.

“The return of boom and bust is concerning the supply chain, leading to shortages of resources, stress for all involved and a reduction in the number of companies interested in being part of the supply chain,” said Angus Fosten, UK business development director at Partech – who oversaw the cyclicality recommendations. “We are seeing a disconnect between top level management, and the planning work being carried out in the field.”  

Fosten warned that the current regulatory asset management period 2020-25 for England and Wales - AMP7 - has seen a return to old habits, with spend profiles loaded to years three and four. The situation has been, exacerbated by disruption from Covid. 

The release of work has coincided with the recent public relations challenges for the UK water sector on pollution, which is seeing resources pulled from planned work to undertake reactive work on combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges and environmental compliance.   

There are short-term changes that can be initiated by the water companies. Openness around the details of challenges, and a practical view on how to solve them will allow suppliers to pay a full part in moving the industry forward from the very difficult place it has found itself in. 

It may be many projects will need to roll over into AMP8, which runs from 2025-30, and regulators will need to play their part in this. While strictly applied financial penalties for missed targets is an option, the supply chain taskforce warns this could be "counter-productive, simply creating another problem in AMP8.” 

The report concludes by stating that pragmatic decisions need to be made urgently, and communicated properly to the water sector in order to keep the industry moving forward, with fully engaged suppliers playing a leading role.

“There is a need for change across the industry and British Water and its supply chain members are ready and willing to be an integral part of the discussions and follow up actions. We are keen to hear from regulators, water companies and other stakeholder on how we can take these matters forward, while recognizing that some of these changes will involve political will and long-term restructuring.” concluded British Water’s head of programmes, Dr Mar Batista.

Listen to Rachel Lewis, UK Forum Chair, and Shaun Stevens, Past UK Forum Chair, discussing it further in a podcast here

The UK Water Market Explained

Join us to hear an overview of the current structure of the UK water industry, the key players and how it is regulated. This briefing is for those who are new to the water industry in the UK and want to understand the UK municipal and retail market. 

You will also get to hear first-hand views from across the spectrum including a water company, EPS Water, Institute of Water and Energy & Utility Skills, on what it is like to partner in the industry and their perspective on future challenges. This event is open to members and non-members.

Book Now

Call for Abstracts - Data Conference 2022

Deadline: Wednesday 5 October 2022, 5.00 pm

Following last year's theme of ‘Digital water: Open Data & 2050 challenges’, the British Water Data Conference 2022 will continue the discussion on how to realise digital transformation for the water industry. This conference will provide an excellent forum for discussing how collaboration can boost data and analytics to drive efficiency and sustainability, for the supply chain and water companies, towards AMP8 challenges.

See our agenda here

Submit your abstract for 'The Future Is Now' session:

We are looking for project samples of case studies related to data on: 

- Water Quality / Catchment Management 
- Sewer Network (Operational oversights, predictive analysis) 
- Assets (Health performance, energy saving) 
- Cybersecurity 
- Carbon

To present at this session on the above topics please submit your abstract including:

1.The aim of the project

2.Novelty

3. How it links with the theme

Please email your abstract to Dr Mar Batista, Head Of Programmes, before Wednesday 5 October 2022 at 5 pm. 

The conference will be hosted as a face to face event, to facilitate networking and reconnecting with your industry peers.

Enter the code ‘EARLY10’ at the checkout to receive a 10% discount on your tickets, valid until 5 October. Learn more.

Agua Y Saneamientos Argentinos (AYSA) KIT Briefing

Register for our forthcoming Knowledge Information Transfer Briefing (KIT) Session with AySA, Argentina's largest utility and the 5th largest in the world. At this briefing session, AySA will give an outline of the company business strategy, challenges and opportunities for the UK supply chain. Learn more.

Share your experience of working with UK utilities over the past 12 months. Our annual, highly anticipated survey gives supply chain companies the chance to provide feedback on how water and wastewater companies have performed.

We ask contractors, consultants and suppliers to rate their clients’ performance in 11 areas, including innovation, professionalism, contractual approach and communication.

The deadline for completing this survey is Friday 30th September 2022 at 5 pm.

Complete the survey here

View the results of previous Water Company Performance Surveys here

Ms Thompson has over 20 years of international experience in the infrastructure, healthcare, and water industries. She is currently the Chief Executive of British Water which represents the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies through three forums, connecting them to contacts to raise their profile, grow their business, and promote best practice. Its fourth Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector.

Ms Thompson is also actively involved in the development of innovation in the water sector as a member of the Transition Board of Spring, the water sector’s innovation centre of excellence and is a former judge on Ofwat's Innovation Fund. She is also a Trustee on the Board of the Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management (CIWEM) and of St Christopher's Hospice.

Alastair Lyons, Chair of Glas Cymru, said: “I am delighted that Lila is joining the Glas Cymru Board. Her in depth understanding of our sector and of the contribution that innovation can bring to addressing the challenges we currently face will make a significant contribution to our Board’s decision-making”.

Lila Thompson said: “I am very pleased to be able to join the Board of Glas Cymru and hope that my experience will support the company to play its key role in maintaining and improving its essential services for customers. I am looking forward to helping the company deliver on its 2050 strategy and build on its track record of innovation for the benefit of its customers.”

Having been postponed due to the national rail strikes in June, we will now be hosting the WIF Team Challenge Judging & Awards event at Arup’s offices in London on Monday 26 September 2022.

Our ten cross-sector teams have been working hard over the summer on their presentations around the topic of 'How to best engage communities around the value of water to society.’

Over the course of the afternoon, the teams will present their ideas to our judging panel comprised of senior leaders from the UK water sector.

JUDGING PANEL

Mark Fletcher - Arup

 Angela MacOscar - Northumbrian Water

Jan Hofman - University of Bath

Richard Thompson - Environment Agency

Steve Slessor - Galliford Try

Jo Osborn - Waterwise

During the judges’ deliberations, we will hear from our keynote speaker, Alastair Chisholm, Director of Policy at CIWEM.

Alastair Chisholm - CIWEM

Our judges will announce the winning team during an evening drinks reception. The winners and runners-up will each receive a prize and the overall winning team members will also be presented with an engraved crystal award.

We’re looking forward to seeing all the teams again and hearing their presentations.