Shaping the 2018/19 research programme

Published On 27/09/2017

Irish Water has recently joined the UKWIR fold and were attending their first Advisory Group meeting. UKWIR Chief Executive, Hans Jensen welcomed John Casey and Eadaoin Joyce to the UKWIR Spring Advisory Group gathering. Hans then opened UKWIR research programme presentation sessions by outlining the latest UKWIR Board advice. This stated that the programme should reflect the key challenges facing the industry:

•  shape, inform or contribute to future business planning
• support and help to answer UKWIR's big questions
• help the industry respond to existing or emerging regulatory issues
• help the industry to deliver business plan obligations efficiently and effectively.

The group was also asked to consider where proposed projects might best fit into UKWIR's Big Question Programme. And the Programme Leads’ advice on research projects.

Day one was chaired by South West Water's Mark Worsfold and was devoted to asset management, water resources, water mains and services, leakage, regulation and drinking water & toxicology topic areas.

The second day, chaired by UKWIR Board Chairman, Anglian Water’s Chris Newsome, was devoted to flooding & coastal risk, customers, climate change, sewerage, wastewater and sludge & water management.

Each of UKWIR’s Programme Leads gave a description of projects in their programme area that had been proposed by UKWIR member companies and these were discussed by the whole group.

The meeting benefitted from the presence of Water UK's Chief Executive, Michael Roberts, as it important that the research takes into account feedback from Water UK's technical and policy groups and especially the Water UK led 21st Century Drainage Programme. It also benefitted from the presence of Rob Renner and John Albert from the USA based Water Research Foundation.

UKWIR Programme Leads, having taken in the comments from this meeting will, in conjunction with project proposers and UKWIR R&D managers, submit a revised set of project proposals ahead of the Autumn Advisory Group meeting Members votes will be then priortise which projects will go into the 2018/19 research programme.

The final programme is due to be approved by the UKWIR Board at the end of October. Projects will then be listed on the UKWIR website so that prospective contractors can express an interest submitting tenders.

UKWIR’s Mandy Fletton (left) welcomes Irish Water’s John Casey and Eadaoin Joyce		Chris Newsome greets WEF’s Rob Renner (right)