Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1191698
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2020 | 5 WWT Wastewater Conference & Exhibition 2020 28 January, 2020 National Conference Centre, Birmingham event.wwtonline.co.uk/wastewater WWT's Wastewater 2020 is the largest single-day showcase of wastewater-specific case studies, innovation and thought-leadership. You can: l Find out how WASCs are tackling sewer flooding and pollution l Hear what Ofwat and the EA think a sludge strategy should look like l Learn which game-changing wastewater technologies could benefit your treatment process. WWT Smart Water 2020 Conference 11 March, 2020 Hilton Birmingham Metropole event.wwtonline.co.uk/smart Optimising existing assets, tackling leakage, enhancing wastewater networks, maximising the value of data and engaging customers are all topics that will be covered at Smart Water 2020. The event will showcase cutting-edge case studies, essential regulatory updates and brand new smart technology from across Europe. New speakers for 2020 include: David Elliott, chief innovation officer, Wessex Water John Russell, senior director, strategy and planning Ofwat Jo Harrison, environment and asset strategy director, United Utilities Martin Jackson, head of IS strategy and enterprise architecture, Northumbrian Water. COMING SOON COMMENT Fear of failure must not hamper innovation Failure is okay, incompetence is not. This is a phrase that stood out to me at the recent WWT Water Industry Innovation Conference. Innovation is o en a word that is bandied around, but my early impression of this sector is that it really is innovative. However, there are certain barriers that need to be overcome in order to allow the industry to truly drive innovation forward. A lack of infrastructure to fast-track ideas from inception to implementation is seen as the most significant obstacle to innovation, according to the findings of a new WWT survey. This was felt a little more strongly by the water & sewerage companies than water-only companies. It was also felt slightly more strongly by managers than heads of department and considerably more so than by directors (3.89 out of 5 compared to 1.67). Chief executives, board and other directors and heads of department (42 per cent of respondents) and managers (58 per cent) at 13 companies took part in the survey, which was supported by UKWIR (UK Water Industry Research). Lack of available internal funding was the second biggest impediment to innovation, and this was felt more strongly by water- only companies than water & sewerage operators (4.11 compared to 3.17) and by managers. Regulators were also perceived as presenting barriers to innovation. Ofwat was rated 3.34; so was the Environment Agency; and the Drinking Water Inspectorate was rated as 3.31. This latter point is probably unsurprising, but with almost eight in 10 respondents supporting Ofwat's proposed £200 million innovation fund, perhaps this will be key to unlocking innovation. This edition of WWT was put to press ahead of what has become known as FD-Day where Ofwat will be announcing its final determinations to the water companies. An announcement around the innovation fund is expected at the same time. If it does get the green light, and my gut feeling is that it will, then details around implementation and a timetable for implementation will need to be forthcoming quickly. The key with innovation is that you can't spend too long dwelling on what's already been achieved and must keep moving forward. Regulation can o en leave companies hands tied and a fear of failure at front of mind. Hopefully the fund will help alleviate those fears. Please do take the opportunity to find out what water company leaders had to say about innovation in 2019 by downloading the report from the Resource Centre at wwtonline. co.uk Alec Peachey, content director, WWT Glas Cymru, which owns Welsh Water, has announced that Debra Bowen Rees will be joining its board as a non-executive director on 1 January 2020. Bowen Rees, the chief executive of Cardiff Airport, brings with her a wealth of experience in leadership and management, including managing safety-critical, regulated infrastructure. Ian Cain has been appointed as SES Water's new chief executive officer. He will replace Anthony Ferrar when he retires early in 2020. Cain is currently the CEO of iSupplyEnergy (part of the Vattenfall group), a role he has been in for the last 14 months. Prior to this he was the MD for Retail and Group Customer Service at Thames Water. PEOPLE MOVES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DRINKING WATER QUALITY LEAKS AND BURSTS SEWER NETWORKS WASTEWATER QUALITY WATER RESOURCES WWT is focusing on six core content themes. Look out for the illustrative tabs that highlight specific areas of the industry.