NWG (Northumbrian Water Group)

#InnovationFestival24 is officially over...and what an incredible journey it's been! Over the past few days, we've witnessed some groundbreaking ideas, inspiring collaborations, and innovative solutions that will shape the future of our industry. From celebrity speakers, to comedy, bingo, race-cars and everything in-between the festival has been a melting pot of creativity and ingenuity. Of course, we'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the sponsors, speakers, festival crew and partners, and of course you, our innovators, who made this event a resounding success! Your passion and dedication are what drive innovation forward, so have a look at the best-bits in this highlights of the week vid! Let's continue to push boundaries, explore new possibilities...#InnovationFestival25, we're coming for you! .....oh and don't forget, you can sign up to some year-round innovation-y goodness with our Innovation Connect newsletter, here https://lnkd.in/efX6YBjS

Mott MacDonald Bentley | MMB scooped the Responsible Procurement award at our recent GEM Awards. The awards celebrate our amazing partners for Going the Extra Mile. MMB adopts a 'source local strategy' to support local businesses, utilise a local workforce and procure goods and services that are local to the projects. They target 70% of spend for materials, plant-hire, and subcontract with SMEs, achieving an actual spend of 79% last year.     The company aims to have full visibility of the multiple tiers of their supply chain and review product purchases to seek more sustainable alternatives, reducing single-use plastics in the supply chain, using recycled aggregates, and reducing streams of waste and packaging. 

A great accolade for one of our own!

We’ve completed upgrades to a County Durham sewage treatment works that will help to protect watercourses in the area. Our £830,000 investment at Bowburn has seen elements of the treatment process updated to ensure the water released back to the environment, via Bowburn Beck, meets the high standards necessary to protect the environment. Bowburn Beck ultimately flows to the River Wear, south of Durham City. We’ve worked with our partners Aquazone Limited to carry out the upgrades.

5,000 water meters replaced in Northumberland Thousands of water meters across Blyth and Cramlington are being replaced in an ambitious upgrade programme which started this week. We are investing in new water meters for customers whose existing meters are more than ten years old. Our meter teams have begun to replace the older equipment with the new meters which have a smart capability, meaning in the future, customers will have valuable information on their water consumption and the ability to identify if they have a leak within their property at their fingertips. The new water meters in Blyth and Cramlington are part of ongoing work to improve customer service, save water and find leaks faster to help manage resources and protect the environment. Customers who are eligible for the upgrades will be notified via letter and email in the coming weeks. Full story: https://buff.ly/4eBckB3 To find out more about your water consumption and the benefits of a water meter visit: https://lnkd.in/eEwdCnTH

Among the values celebrated by our GEM Awards, where we recognise partners for Going the Extra Mile, is that of working as One Team. And the One Team award went to Shout Digital, who were nominated for fostering a one team partnership. Since 2018, Shout Digital have fostered a seamless "One Team" partnership with us, combining their expertise to support our apps through a unique, dedicated resource model.     This approach ensures deep client knowledge is retained and shared across the team, with specialised experts providing holistic product ownership and accountability. 

We may have only just welcomed these 12 graduates on a two-year programme aimed at nurturing their early careers and bringing fresh new talent into our business… …but we have already opened up opportunities for the next group to join us. We’re offering eight more opportunities to take part in the placement-based scheme with our team, using our expanding investment programme as a platform to offer opportunities for young people. The Building Futures Graduate Scheme is an early careers element of the company’s wider recruitment programme to support this growth. The successful graduates will join us from September 2025, with salaries up to £27,000. They will get the opportunity to work with a range of teams in our Assets Directorate, embarking on a structured career path. Applications for the graduate scheme are open now until 17th November 2024 via https://lnkd.in/eZja3Ri

At our recent GEM Awards – where we celebrate those partners that Go the Extra Mile, Dodgy Clutch were nominated for their work at our Kielder Winter Wonderland extravaganza. And they took home the Legacy award! Their award entry highlights a 20-year tradition of creating memorable experiences for 130,000 children and their families, fostering a sense of "Believing" in everyone involved.     The event is celebrated for its inclusive approach, supporting local communities across the North East and the UK, while also contributing to the commercial success of the site. The dedicated team is recognised for consistently delivering a magical and authentic Christmas experience for all.

When Kielder, in Northumberland, was severely impacted by storms in January 2024, we required first class tree felling and planning services to help with the recovery. In recognition of the work they delivered at that time, Prospect Woodland Services Ltd, HUNTER HARVESTING LIMITED and Redeswood Forestry were nominated for the Storm Isha Tree Management project at Kielder Waterside in our recent GEM Awards – for Going the Extra Mile. And they scooped the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award on that night of celebrating our amazing partners.   Risks are high when dealing with windthrown trees and this is heightened when working around high value assets. Their highly skilled team provided excellent risk management and were very focused on the health and safety of the public and employees. 

A project that will deliver benefits to watercourses in County Durham has been completed. We’ve invested £6.4m in the upgrades to Kelloe Sewage Treatment Works (STW), which will help to improve water quality in the Coxhoe Beck and watercourses downstream, including the River Wear. The work on site, which has taken around 20 months and has been carried out by our partners, Esh-Stantec and Retroflo, included installing new pumps and tanks, adding resilience to the site and the services it provides. The investment is in addition to a further £13m of upgrades to the company’s water network and sites in and around nearby Pittington and Sherburn, which are nearing completion. Esh Group Stantec Retroflo