Water & Wastewater Treatment

8 | JUNE 2017 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk STUART ROTHERY DirEcTor of WaTEr, MUrPHY A dynamic response to change Market changes in the water industry mean that contractors must step up play a bigger and more responsible role in supporting their water sector clients T here's no denying it – change is afoot in the water industry. AMP 6 comes to its natural conclusion in the next few years and the UK water industry is gearing up for the next investment period, AMP 7; technologies are being replaced by newer and more advanced innovations; and clients are expecting more from their partners. Last autumn, Cathryn Ross, Ofwat's chief executive, said that "water companies provide an analogue service in a digital age" and at Murphy, we recognise that we must rise to the challenge. We can't stand still. We must look to the future. As greater competition creeps into our sector, where power is passed from the water company to the customer, contractors are playing a bigger and more responsible role in supporting their clients. Clients are looking for more rounded and inventive solutions to the challenges they face. That's why Murphy is developing apace with the industry. Our business is going through an evolution rather than revolution – a 'dynamic shi‡', if you will – to make sure we can offer our clients everything they need. We're known for our rapid response teams, our repairs and maintenance work, laying pipes and preventing leakage. It's a reputation we're happy to acknowledge and to perpetuate – it is what we've been good at for 60 years, a‡er all – but that's not all we do. There's more to us than just digging holes. As a forward-thinking company, we've invested strongly in employing the right people with the right expertise to solve the challenges facing the water industry in the coming years. Murphy recently acquired AECOM's former water business in Ireland, specialising in process and plant engineering, construction, asset optimisation, operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment plants. The team's skills, coupled with our existing experience, mean our fully integrated approach allows us to take on complex work, in particular as clients in Ireland and the UK set out their future investment plans. We know the benefits this augmented offering brings to our clients and their customers as we head into AMP 7. Everyone wants the best – an integrated services provider that provides value for money, an effective and efficient works delivery capability, a reliable and customer-savvy workforce, and technologically advanced solutions. We are bringing together the best from across Ireland and the UK to provide the most reliable, agile and affordable service for our clients. Indeed, the new Irish business means that Murphy's water business has grown by around 20 per cent this year, allowing the wider group to expand into previously unchartered territory. Contractors in the water sector must become more intelligent, and align their goals with their clients' performance commitments and deliver exemplary customer service. We know that is an area that keeps our clients awake at night and that's why we believe in well thought-out prevention rather than reaction. We think predictively and plan ahead to avoid crises, using the right tools, collecting the right data and using it in the right way. Our technology and expertise economics in the sector and prefer to see it as a branch of public service – but most would also recognise the vast improve- ment in environmental performance in particular that has happened since priva- tisation, achievements that should not be overlooked. We'll find out which political path the country is going down very soon, but one thing is for sure, change in the water sector is here to stay. It's time to embrace that change and use it to make all our companies, and our working lives, fit for the future. JAmES BROckETT EDiTor Take a fresh look at WWT – and water Your new-look WWT reflects a much-changed water sector, and one that is still undergoing profound transformation Y ou might notice your issue of WWT looks a little different this month, because we've made a few changes to the look and feel of the magazine. While we'll still be bringing our readers all of the same quality content you know and love – the latest industry news and views, cutting edge technology and research, and in-depth project write-ups – we'll be following a slightly different approach in some areas, with our pages divided into three distinct zones: an expanded thought leadership section, 'The Talk'; a more in-depth and com- prehensive look at current projects and issues in 'the Works'; and an emphasis on learning and technical know-how in 'The Knowledge'. Our website will also be changing for the better soon, so if you have not taken a look recently, then why not visit wwtonline.co.uk and explore our blogs, roundtable and event reports, downloadable learning resources and much more. It's no coincidence that we are going through this evolution at a time when the water industry itself is set for a great deal of change. The opening of the mar- ket for non-household retail competition in April was just the start, and further reforms on their way a‡er the next price review will introduce previously unthought-of elements of competition in the wholesale segment of the industry, stretching from abstraction reform and water trading to sludge and bioresourc- es. You can be assured that the pages of WWT (both in print and on the web) will be the best place to keep informed of the latest work going on in this field and to read the views of the potential new play- ers who are set to shake up the sector. In the short term, of course, we have a general election to consider on June 8th, at which one of the issues raised in party manifestos has been the owner- ship of water utilities. How do you judge the progress made in the past two and a half decades of private ownership, and how many in the industry would relish the prospect of returning to govern- ment hands? Perhaps a minority resent the influence of competition and hard The Talk: opinion

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