Water Weekly 3.0 Vol 4

A weekly round-up of all the latest news in the water industry.

Your go-to weekly newsletter on all things water.

Catch-up on a data-focused webinar from last week!

With digitalisation emerging within most industries, the water sector continues to fuel off the latest advancing technologies and innovative developments in data and AI.

Last week, Smart Water Magazine ?? collaborated with Diehl Metering to host a webinar discussing one of the most pressing global challenges for the industry; controlling water loss.

The webinar reinforced the potential of the latest digital solutions for managing and controlling water and wastewater, and began with Cristina Novo ; Technical Editor at Smart Water Magazine who spoke on the importance of companies engaging in proactive strategies to prevent water loss.

How can water utilities move from this reactive mode of management to a more proactive, data-driven approach?

One of the key tools presented during the webinar was Diehl Metering's "10-Miniute Analytics", introduced by Maximilian Obernd?rfer . The innovative approach aims to optimize water network management by using real-time key performance indicators that allow operators to gain valuable insights within a short period of time, encouraging decisions that will reduce water losses and improve overall efficiency.

He spoke on the concept and said:

“There is still significant room for improvement in water loss management. At Diehl Metering, we address this by focusing firstly on detection: rapidly identifying new leaks, then quantifying losses, and finally pinpointing high-loss areas and high-risk pipes - where utilities should prioritize their efforts. We believe we can enhance this process, enabling utilities to achieve better results with minimal time investment.”

This latest webinar certainly highlights and supports the value of data and digital solutions in the water industry. Today, it is particularly encouraging to see businesses of all sizes leveraging the latest innovations and incorporating smart technology into managing water. Over the last decade, the role of smart meters has became vital in ensuring utilities companies and individual households can optimize water management, prevent wastage and, in line, save costs and contribute to a more sustainable future!

Severn Trent x Nectar

Staying on the road to a future of digitalisation and smart water technology, an exciting new partnership has been revealed to encourage everyday customers to transform their water habits and reduce water usage.

Next month, Severn Trent is set to launch a partnership with nectar that will propose a fresh incentive scheme to reward customers for adopting a smart meter and reducing their water usage!

In an overview, customers will earn points based on how much water they use, encouraging less water usage and motivating them to be more conscious regarding their habits and adapt a more sustainable approach to water usage.

Severn Trent will select the customers who will take part in the scheme, from those who have already adopted a smart meter. The scheme will see around 25,000 Severn Trent customers sign up, with those who reduce their usage also likely to benefit from lower energy and water bills.

It also marks an industry first partnership in which a water company has partnered with a loyalty programme to reward its customers for highlighting good water consumption trends.

The partnership has received support from the Ofwat Innovation Fund, established to grow the water sector's capacity to innovate and better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment.

Managing Director at Nectar360 Amir Rasekh expressed his view on the new exciting partnership and said:

"Our partnership with Severn Trent is an industry first, using a loyalty programme to drive and reward positive behavioural change in how consumers use water. The pilot helps members save money while also being more sustainable in their consumption habits.”

A New Chief Technology Officer for Puraffinity!

Puraffinity , known for its removal of the toxic PFAS from water, have recently appointed a new CTO to their leadership team.

Jessica Middlemiss CEng FIMMM has been appointed as Chief Technology Officer for the business. Jessica joins after working for Matter, an environmentally focussed start-up developing technology to remove micro-scale pollution from water.

She expressed her view on her new position:

“I believe I have the combination of technical understanding and people skills which will help Puraffinity flourish. I have built my career on an ability to bring together exceptional technical people to work on clear and targeted challenges as a team. I know how to get people motivated and focussed on a common goal that delivers commercially for the organisation.”

Henrik Hagemann , Co-founder of Puraffinity said:

“Jessica has a really broad technical and business network across both industry and academia which is valuable to us. Jessica brings relevant start-up experience from her time at Matter, leading a large team of scientists at Sartorius and held a variety of engineering and management positions at Dyson. We are delighted to have her join us.”

Fresh Finance Leader for South Staffs Water.

This week, South Staffordshire Plc have also announced a new addition to their leadership team; Finance Director Joanna Smith .

With a 25-year career in finance and leadership, Joanna is experienced and a successful leader with deep expertise after overseeing finance operations and major projects within a wide variety of sectors.

Joanna commented on her new role as Finance Director within the water sector and said:

“Water is an essential resource for life, so I am excited about taking up a role at a business which is so important to daily living. The water sector is entering an exciting time as it approaches a new AMP, and I am looking forward to playing my part in helping South Staffordshire Water to achieve its investment plans and performance commitments whilst keeping customer bills affordable.”

United Living has further strengthened its leadership team following the award of major AMP8 frameworks over the past 6 months.

United Living Group have appointed Scott Beard as the Director of Water.

With over 30 years experience working within the water industry, Scott is set to be a great asset to the team at United Living after having served as the Head of Water Engineering at D?r Cymru Welsh Water and Regional Water Network Manager at United Utilities .

Thankyou for reading this weeks newsletter on all things digitalisation and the latest leadership roles within the industry.

If your company is incorporating digitalisation and the latest data solutions to optimize water management, reach out as we'd love to hear more about your company's journey so far!