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by Karma Loveday

Northumbrian retains top rating from the supply chain in British Water’s annual survey

Northumbrian Water held on to the top spot in British Water’s annual survey, which asks contractors, consultants and suppliers to rate their water company clients’ performance on a scale of 0-10 across 12 areas, including innovation, professionalism, contractual approach and communication.


Northumbrian held onto first place in 2024 with an overall score of 8.7 out of 10.


Scottish Water and Anglian Water came joint second, each scoring 8.2. Anglian also clocked up the most significant rise in the survey, moving up from eighth place in 2023.


Wessex Water and Welsh Water also performed above the industry average score of 7.2, achieving 7.8 and 7.5 respectively.


All other companies performed below average, with Thames Water bottom with 5.5. Yorkshire Water fell the furthest, from third place in 2023 to 11th in 2024, with a score of 6.4.


For the third year running, innovation was the lowest scoring area (6.3 out of 10, down from last year’s score of 6.4) – at a time when there are widespread calls for water companies to find new ways of working to address key challenges. Lila Thompson, chief executive of British Water said: “It is frustrating to see innovation continue to score poorly year-on-year, despite the pressing challenges facing our sector… I would very much like to see an increase in resources for innovation at the core of water company strategies and operations, and a strong culture of innovation embedded within and across companies. Collaboration within and outside the water sector is essential for inspiring new ideas and applications, encouraging innovation, and sharing the benefits for customers, the environment and wider society.” Anglian was the top innovation performer, scoring 8.4.


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