UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR)

Didn't manage to make it to our Annual Conference earlier this month? Fear not, you can have a read of the key takeaways from the day here: https://lnkd.in/eyNTyi7z To summarise: 💧Heidi Mottram (NWG (Northumbrian Water Group)) spoke of the water sector's need to work to long-term perspectives 💧Stuart Colville (Water UK) spoke of the need to square the circle of affordability, delivery and investment 💧Judy Proctor (Environment Agency) spoke about the importance of bringing evidence and science into the debate 💧Julia Dimbleby (Woodeson) (ADAS) shared exciting new opportunities for driving sustainable farming practices 💧And UKWIR CEO, Steve Kaye, spoke on collaboration being key to creating a stronger industry, rather than better companies We'll be announcing the date for next year's conference soon... keep your eyes peeled👀 Envirotec Magazine Aqua Enviro Spring #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InpireAction

Spring, the water sector Centre of Excellence, has launched its fourth innovation Accelerator challenge and is calling for innovators from all backgrounds to apply.   The Spring Accelerator is an end-to-end innovation challenge process that has been created to identify innovative solutions that help address a significant need in the UK & Ireland water sector, reduce the duplication of innovation efforts, and provide a path to faster adoption. The current programme, Spring Accelerator 4, is looking to answer the question: “How can we better understand, monitor and manage emerging contaminants in wastewater?”   If you’re an innovator, don’t miss this opportunity to have your solutions seen, evaluated, and potentially adopted by the UK and Ireland water sector. You can find more information about this challenge on Spring’s website: https://lnkd.in/ey8My2yY And you can find their full Call for Innovation here: https://lnkd.in/e3jqc6PV

Sewage pollution in surface waters remains one of the most high-profile environmental issues across the UK & Ireland. At UKWIR, we're proud to be leading a raft of innovative sewerage projects in collaboration with our members, designed to transform the way water companies manage the issue in the coming Asset Management Period - AMP8. To find out more about our sewerage research from UKWIR's Programme Lead for Sewerage, Nick Mills, and our Strategic Programme Manager, Jennifer Hughes, follow this link: https://lnkd.in/d4h8UTiU #sewerage #drainage #riverhealth Envirotec Magazine

UKWIR tool update: Workbook for Estimating Operational Greenhouse Gas Emissions (CAW Version 18)🔧 Each year, companies within the UK and Irish water industry are required to report on their operational Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to the industry regulators. UKWIR's Carbon Accounting Workbook (CAW) is designed to bring consistency and accuracy to the reporting process across the industry. The workbook has been in place since the 2007/8 reporting year and is updated annually to reflect the needs of the industry and changes in carbon accounting practices. This year's project has...  🌱Updated the emissions factors in the workbook with 2023 data 🌱Added additional functionality such as the individual split by account 🌱Updated the Global Warming Potentials (GWP) to align to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report GWP values for a 100-year horizon 🌱Facilitated water company testing of the tool 🌱Included the provision of a helpline service to support companies in using CAW v18 Project Summary: https://lnkd.in/e2YS5kK3 #carbon #carbonaccounting #netzero Dan Green Ricardo Energy and Resilience Erika Rankin Peadar Crudden

Last week's UKWIR Annual Conference felt, above all, hopeful💧 We wanted to focus the day on connection - strengthening links between sectors, between industry and academia, and between ideas💡 A thread that ran throughout the presentations and panel discussions was the need to consider challenges holistically, adopting more collaborative approaches to working in order to reach solutions that meet environmental needs as well as those of cross-sector stakeholders. We didn't just want to talk about collaboration, though. This year, it felt right to introduce an interactive session, facilitated by The Water Report's Karma Loveday. It was special to hear everyone come together and share action-focused ideas across a wide range of expertise. The ideas gathered during this session will shortly be published in a report collating solutions and actions from the three conference themes. More on this soon... Finally, thank you to everyone who joined us for the day and made it what it was! And, of course, a huge thank you to our chairs, speakers, panellists and PhD exhibitors for sharing their expertise and leaving us feeling inspired: Ben Roche, Brandon Mayuga, Heidi Mottram, Marcus Rink, Stuart Colville, Steve Kaye, Carly Jane Perry, Nick Mills, Amina Aboobakar, Julia Dimbleby (Woodeson), Judy Proctor, Sue Lindsay, Bob Taylor, Deepak Ravindran, Hannah Bradley, Jo Osborn, Chart.PR, MCIPR, David Elliott, Rob Naylor, Thomas Walker, Alastair Chisholm, Steven Lee, Isabelle Durance, Andre Araujo Frota Anne Kamau Isabel Carneiro Adila Nalisa Binti Mohd Roslan Joshua Hooper Polly Grundy Wenhao Xu Presentations from the day can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eWPZx5Zi And a quick survey to provide feedback on the conference can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e789ypeX Spring Aqua Enviro #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InpireAction

Reflecting on yesterday’s UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Annual Conference 2024, delivered in partnership with Spring - an inspiring day focused on The Water Nexus: Connecting Expertise to Inspire Action. We discussed the challenges facing the water sector, celebrated progress, and emphasised the need to embrace nature as a key stakeholder in the future. Heidi Mottram, CEO of NWG (Northumbrian Water Group), kicked off the day with a compelling talk on the role of research and innovation, followed by Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector at the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), who shared his regulatory insights. Steve Kaye highlighted the importance of collaboration, stressing that building a stronger industry is more important than just stronger companies. Spring’s Carly Jane Perry and Thomas Walker shared our journey from silos to synergy, with Carly outlining our collaborative innovation strategy, and Thomas discussing the development and impact of the Accelerator 3 Programme, focusing on protecting natural systems. A highlight of the day was the interactive session lead by Karma Loveday, which sparked collaboration and generated actionable insights. The event wrapped up with a thought-provoking panel on recognising nature as a stakeholder. A big thank you to UKWIR and Aqua Enviro for organising such a dynamic event, and to Ben Roche and Brandon Mayuga for expertly chairing the conference. It was wonderful to reconnect with familiar faces and meet new ones. We’re already looking forward to next year. You can find the presentations from the day here: https://lnkd.in/eWPZx5Zi You can also provide feedback on the conference for UKWIR here: https://lnkd.in/e789ypeX #UKWIRConference24 #TheWaterNexus #InspireAction

And we’re off! Today’s UKWIR Annual Conference is underway, we kicked things off with fantastic presentations from NWG (Northumbrian Water Group)’s CEO Heidi Mottram and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI)’s Marcus Rink, focused on the importance of research and innovation within a water company and regulatory context respectively. Next up, Heidi and Marcus were joined by Water UK’s Stuart Colville for the panel discussion, ‘How our industry is evolving for a changing world’. During the panel, the conversation shifted towards the need to refocus innovation, investment and regulatory planning across a longer term timescale. For this to happen, an industry-wide mind-set change is needed, agreed the panellists, as well as greater collaboration across the sector. #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InpireAction

Keen to find out more about exciting innovations in pipe infrastructure management? We're delighted to announce that members of the research team behind Pipebots - Rob Worley, Yicheng Yu and Xiaoyu Sun - will be exhibiting their work at our Annual Conference next Thursday (3rd)🤖 Last remaining tickets available here: https://lnkd.in/ef3NdgrE Pipebots is a 6-year, EPSRC funded programme grant which aims to revolutionise buried pipe infrastructure management with the development of robots designed to work in underground pipe networks and dangerous sites. Their vision is an intelligent, robust and resilient buried pipe system that moves us towards failure free operation and so ends unnecessary and unplanned road excavation. Pipebots is supported by UK Research and Innovation in collaboration with University of Leeds, University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, and The University of Sheffield. Find out more: www.pipebots.ac.uk #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InspireAction Spring Aqua Enviro 

Ahead of his presentation at UKWIR’s Annual Conference next Thursday (3rd), Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) shares his thoughts on the role of research, innovation and collaboration in driving the sector forward in the face of increasing challenges💡 To have a read, follow this link: https://lnkd.in/e_V-n_bk  Final tickets for the conference are now extremely limited! Secure your place before they're gone: https://lnkd.in/ef3NdgrE #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InspireAction Spring Aqua Enviro

Are you joining us for UKWIR's 5th Annual Conference, taking place at 📍 Hilton London Tower Bridge next Thursday (3rd)? Alongside the thought-provoking presentations, panel discussions and brand new interactive workshop we have lined up, you will also have the opportunity to explore a poster exhibition of UKWIR-supported PhD research, featuring students from Newcastle University, Cranfield University, The University of Sheffield, and the University of Southampton. To find out more from students working at the cutting edge of water research, and to network with delegates from across the water sector and beyond, secure your spot now before final tickets are gone: https://lnkd.in/ef3NdgrE Discounted rates are available for students, academics, regulators, charities and NGOs🎟️ #UKWIRconference24 #TheWaterNexus #InspireAction Spring Aqua Enviro