The Setting Company’s director of water, Helen Wakeham, has mentioned plans to extend scrutiny of water corporations in England and Wales in a brand new water sector podcast.
Focused recruitment campaigns, extra website inspections and enhanced digital techniques will drive higher efficiency from the trade, Wakeham instructed the WiseOnWater Podcast: Conversations in Circulation, from media specialist WiseOnWater and know-how firm Xylem UK & Eire.
“We’ve an awful lot more investment in water regulation. We consulted earlier this year on increasing our charges for water quality discharges and we’ll use that to increase our scrutiny of water companies,” Wakeham instructed podcast host Natasha Wiseman.
Web site inspections will improve to greater than 10,000, to be supported by new recruits, together with “boots on the ground” and information analysts, Wakeham mentioned. “It’s a extremely thrilling time. There are lots of people round with a great deal of expertise. It’s sensible for these individuals to be joined by a brand new cohort with new concepts.
“Data can help us. When I started my career in 1990 it really was whack-a-mole. These days we can be a lot cleverer than that. We’ll be able to focus our effort on where we know the problems are. We’ll be able to visit the places that matter to people.”
Reflecting on the general public’s heightened consciousness of water high quality, Wakeham mentioned: “I think what started off as perhaps quite a narrow debate about storm overflows has brought the value of water to people’s attention. While some of those conversations are hard, it’s brilliant to have water very much more in the public consciousness. I think we’ve realised how central it is for all of us.”
The WiseOnWater podcast, which launched on 9 September 2024, is a month-to-month deep dive into the ever-changing panorama of the UK water sector.
Becoming a member of Wakeham on episode one is Margaret Learn, director of coverage on the Nationwide Infrastructure Fee, who explores the proposed £96 billion 2025-30 AMP8 funding.
She mentioned: “We’ve acquired a whole lot of totally different points to resolve within the water sector. The primary one which we’ve checked out intimately is the water provide query. We haven’t constructed any reservoirs within the UK for over 30 years and we’re going through an enormous hole between provide and demand.
“Secondly, we’ve got problems, as everybody knows, with water pollution and that requires a big investment to resolve. Then thirdly, we also need to maintain our existing assets. So, it does sound like a big amount of money, but we will need it – we also need to be realistic about what can be delivered over that period.”
Learn urged regulators and authorities to “speak with one voice” and “be really clear with the public that there is a need for this new infrastructure and that they will have to pay for it”.
“That takes some political courage,” she added, “but it’s really important.”
For mission supply, Learn mentioned water corporations have to collaborate extra carefully with one another and the availability chain to “solve these problems once rather than many times”.
Air pollution discount, nature-based options, good metering, leakage, drought resilience and invoice will increase had been amongst different dialog subjects within the 30-minute podcast episode.
Episode two focuses on expertise, recruitment and retention with friends Peter Simpson, chief government of Anglian Water and Sarah McMath, chief government of MOSL. Future episodes characteristic Wessex Water chief government Colin Skellett and the managing director of Xylem UK & Eire, Ian Thompson.
Wiseman, founding father of WiseOnWater and non-profit information platform Make Water Well-known, mentioned: “In every episode of the WiseOnWater podcast we’ll convey collectively the brightest minds in water, from trade leaders and policymakers to engineers, communicators and researchers. These are the individuals tackling the urgent challenges of right this moment and making certain the longer term availability of our most treasured useful resource.
“We are especially excited to be supported by Xylem UK & Ireland, who have a deep understanding of the needs of this sector. It has never been more important for organisations in water to explore new collaborative communications initiatives if we are to ensure a sustainable water future for the UK and beyond.”
Andrew Welsh, water utility gross sales director at Xylem, mentioned: “At Xylem we imagine that significant conversations are the cornerstone of progress within the water sector. Partnering with WiseOnWater to launch this podcast permits us to convey essential discussions to the forefront, driving consciousness and collaboration on probably the most urgent water challenges.
“By connecting industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators, we aim to not only highlight the issues but also inspire actionable solutions that will shape a sustainable future for the UK’s water infrastructure.”
Episode one of many WiseOnWater podcast is on the market now on Spotify.
