Sector must challenge public misconceptions through engagement
Mar 03, 2023
The water sector must tackle “unfair criticisms” by sharing more about the great work it delivers, Yorkshire Water’s chief executive, Nicola Shaw, told attendees at British Water’s Better Together reception in Hull.
The event was hosted by British Water’s chair Mark Fletcher on 12 January, to mark the start of the trade association’s 30th anniversary. Shaw was keynote speaker and, in her address, she also focused on the need for initiatives to attract talent and support existing young professionals in the water sector to increase diversity of thought and representation.
“We need to work harder to change the perceptions that people may have of the water industry. she said. “There is a perception that we routinely discharge sewage, there is a perception we hold back water from people who want to use it – for example with the hosepipe bans over the summer - and, there is a perception that we haven’t planned ahead.
“I think these are unfair criticisms and doesn’t recognise the good things we do. The way to change the tide of public perception is through better communication and engagement.
“Together as an industry, we need to be championing the role we play in the environment; the programmes of work we are delivering that contribute to addressing the climate challenges; whilst demonstrating our commitment to the things that matter to our customers,” said Shaw.
She spoke about the value of cross organisational collaboration, giving the example of the successful Living with Water partnership between Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Environment Agency and the University of Hull – all of which play a role in managing water in Hull and East Riding. The organisations are working together to build flood resilience and develop innovative water management system.
Shaw also focused on the importance of recruiting people of different backgrounds, ages, genders and ethnicities into the water industry. Connecting potential water sectors workers with the community aspect of water services is vital in attracting diverse talent, said Shaw.
“We know that working together gets better results. There is going to be a huge amount of investment in the sector over the next five to 20 years.
“Ensuring our resilience to the effects of climate change and becoming a net zero sector means we need to invest well and work in partnership. It won’t be the traditional solutions we’ve seen before – many of the projects will require greater work to engage with communities to build sustainable solutions.
“Finding a way to work together will be critical to our success in the future.”
The importance of the water sector building a “common voice” was the overarching message from Mark Fletcher, who joined the British Water non-executive board in 2020 and is former chair of the Water Industry Forum, which merged with the organisation in April 2022.
“This is an important time for us to come together,” he said. “We have a real opportunity to dig deeper and work together to find solutions that will help us address the impact of climate change and increasing urbanisation.
“We also have a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate leadership by building a common voice to balance the unprecedented negative narrative that the sector has attracted of late.”
Fletcher went on to explain that with an impending periodic review process (PR24) and subsequent the asset management period 2025-30 (AMP8) - coming up, British Water is engaging at the highest levels to represent the interests of the water sector and supply chain. In the last few months the association has met with the leadership team at Ofwat, the economic regulator for the water sector in England and Wales; the new chair of the Environment Agency, Alan Lovell; chief executives and senior leaders across the UK water companies, and worked with other key organisations such as Future Water in order to establish a “common purpose in the way in which the sector works and faces the challenges affecting us.”
Around 100 guests attended the event at The Deep aquarium in Hull, which was sponsored by consultancy Skewb. It comprised member companies, sponsor partners and key industry figures.
The event aimed to encourage networking across the sector and encourage innovation and collaboration across the UK water industry and, in particular, the industry supply chain - which British Water represents. Proving irony is alive and well, the hotel many of the attendees were staying at during the event was flooded by a burst water main.
“Everybody kept their spirits up, but it gave us all some insight on how it feels to be a victim of flooding,” said Fletcher. “It was a truly memorable - and ironic - experience.”
More News and Articles
Mar 27, 2024
News
USU Study Looks at Water Main Break Rates in the U.S. and Canada
Report Highlights Correlation Between Material and Diameter
Mar 26, 2024
News
Update BE-21: New Material in Course and Modules on Trenchless Pipe Installation
Online training on the topic of pipeline installation in civil engineering: Trenchless technology for underground drainage construction can be a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, time-saving, and cost-effective alternative to open cut methods. The UNITRACC e-learning course "Utility Tunnelling" has been enhanced …
Mar 25, 2024
Article
Bacteria as a new weapon in wastewater treatment
In early November, San Diego based startup Aquacycl officially opened its first European office and test center at the Water Campus in Leeuwarden. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands (NOM) …
Mar 22, 2024
News
A superior HDD offering
Building on its relationships with leading horizontal directional drilling companies, TRACTO Australia has delivered three new rigs to operator Superior HDD.
Mar 20, 2024
News
New portable water filtration technology could improve access to clean drinking water worldwide
The University of Texas at Austin has developed an injectable water filtration system with the aim to aid the over two billion people worldwide who are without clean drinking water.
Mar 18, 2024
News
Global Student Innovation Challenge Calls on Next-Generation Leaders to Tackle Water Security
High School and University Students Worldwide Invited to Expand Water Access and Community Resilience
Mar 15, 2024
News
New water treatment wins Prestigious Award
Introducing a advancement in water treatment, developed by Cardiff University researchers in collaboration with Origin Aqua, the FreeOxTM technology has garnered acclaim by winning a prestigious challenge award at the World Water Tech Innovation Summit. This single-step process not only …
Mar 13, 2024
News
Satellite-based river monitoring technique could provide early warning of flooding
A satellite-based method for monitoring the flow of rivers from orbit could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk, University of Glasgow researchers have claimed.
Mar 11, 2024
News
Revitalising infrastructure with HDD
Through the use of horizontal directional drilling, TasWater is delivering a new sewer pipeline to improve sewer and stormwater transfer capacity in Launceston, Tasmania.
Mar 06, 2024
News
Picking up the pace on climate action: Building momentum from COP28
At the halfway point of the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate action, average global temperatures are already hitting 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels and future projections are stark. At COP28 in December, we could not escape the reality …
Mar 01, 2024
News
Luminescent sensor detects ‘forever chemical’ pollution in water
Researchers in the UK and Germany have developed a new approach for detecting pollution from ‘forever chemicals’ in water through luminescence.
Feb 28, 2024
Article
BETT installation demonstrating GHG emissions reduction of wastewater treatment
This study presents BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT) as a new wastewater management solution toward the Net-Zero future. The results reported herein were collected from a BETT pilot system installed at a large brewery in Los Angeles, CA, United States processing …
Contact
British Water
Lila Thompson
Chief Executive
Unit V103, Vox Studios, 1-45 Durham St
SE11 5JH London
United Kingdom
Phone:
+44 (0)20 3567 0950