British Water appoints new vice chair for UK Forum

British Water has appointed Rachel Lewis as vice chair of its support service for the water and wastewater supplier community, the UK Forum.

Joint owner and director at IQ Engineers, Lewis (pictured), took up her post in May 2021. “Innovation is so important to address the challenges the sector is facing – we need to encourage a wider range into the industry to bring new ideas and experiences but also retain existing knowledge.,” said Lewis, adding: “Small and medium-sized enterprises are essential to this and the water industry needs to be supportive of them to ensure a diverse ecosystem of suppliers is retained to help meet the challenges ahead.”

Lewis’ appointment followed April appointments of Mark Coates, as chair of the UK Forum and Tom Williams, as vice chair of the International Forum. Coates said the three new appointments represented a period of change for British Water the wider water industry: “It is the end of business-as-usual in our sector,” he said.

British Water’s UK Forum supports members with an interest in the UK municipal and industrial market. The forum meets twice a year to review the water market, hear updates from leading industry figures and identify key challenges to be taken forward by British Water.