THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
MAIN FEATURE
Planning and procurement
The overarching question, not just for South West Water, but for every water company with ambitious plans, is ‘how will this be done?’ From a supply chain perspective, there is no limit on the number of innovative solutions out there to support AMP8 plans, but along with resourcing, a common theme is that it can be complex and costly to engage in water company planning and procurement processes, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
Speaking on the WiseOnWater podcast, Price said, “The industry needs to become outcomes-focused, but we need to balance utilising innovative solutions with certainty of outcome and delivery timelines. Nevertheless, South West Water is encouraging the supply chain to bring innovations forward though direct engagement and involvement with our innovation teams and supply chain membership organisations such as British Water.”
For Price, there is no doubt around the advantages that innovative solutions, especially those relating to data driven insights, have already brought SWW.
“Agile decision-making is becoming more and more common,” he says, “and this is being made possible with greater data insights leading to quicker decisions. The
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skill is matching the right innovative solution into the process to allow that to continue.”
Other water companies, such as Wessex Water, are spearheading opportunities for sector-wide NbS collaborations that call for regulatory reform. The Sustainable Solutions for Water & Nature (SSWAN) group, of which Wessex is a part, is a partnership of five organisations that have drawn-up proposals to reform the water industry based on a catchment-wide approach, focusing on nature-based and low carbon solutions.
Beyond regulation
Eoghan Kilroy, head of wastewater strategy at Wessex Water said, “Wessex Water has a clear purpose and is leading the way in environmental outcomes in terms of this idea that we need to move away from outputs and end-of-pipe solutions, and look holistically at the environment, rather than just meeting regulatory needs.
“SSWAN is the foundation for addressing what the future needs to look like and how we bring that into practice. That’s why we are supportive of and engaging with the Independent Water Commission that is addressing the need for change.
“Wessex Water and the SSWAN partners have a very clear vision of what change
looks like as a reflection of the inefficiencies of the current process.”
For Wessex Water too, phosphorous removal in wastewater treatment, ensuring healthy water bodies and, like every water company, reducing CSOs are top of its list in the next AMP period.
Routes to market
Alternative routes to market for small and medium sized businesses with innovative solutions for the water sector have been established to enable greater market penetration into the sector. Along with the Ofwat Innovation Fund, there are the Water Innovation 2050 strategy and the Spring centre of excellence.
Water companies have also established ‘market challenge’ approaches to seek solutions for more bespoke challenges that they face. This involves throwing challenges to the entire market that any company can respond to, moving away from the ‘selling solutions’ model to becoming outcomes and purpose focused - meaning solutions are more bespoke and tailored to each water company's needs.
With project delivery anticipated at twice the usual scale, the call from trade association British Water is for water companies to plan projects and timeframes now, standardise terms across the sector, tender early with an outcomes
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