Other stories from last week

(by Karma Loveday)

Defra has reappointed Iain Coucher as Ofwat chair. His second term began on 1 October and will run “until the new integrated water regulator is established, and no later than 30 June 2029”. This suggests Ofwat could remain in operation for some time. Defra said: "During the transition to the new integrated regulator, Ofwat will remain fully operational and retain its existing legal powers while collaborating closely with Defra and partner agencies.”

Ofwat has awarded a £5m contract to Grant Thornton to act as independent monitor for South East Water. Grant Thornton will monitor, assess and report South East Water's progress in delivering a turnaround in its operational performance and resilience. 

The Planning Inspectorate will hold its preliminary meeting to discuss the procedure that will be followed in its examination of Southern Water’s Development Consent Order application for the Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project, on 11 November.  The Examining Authority will be led by Wendy McKay with Maria Rokicka and Sharon Bennett-Matthews forming the other members.  

RAPID and its component regulators have published guidance on the penalties that will be applied under the Major Water Infrastructure Programme. These chiefly relate to the quality and timeliness of submissions. 

Multi-utility business retailer Everflow has appointed Jack Falcus as finance director. He will lead Everflow’s finance function, support the company’s continued growth and pursue strong financial planning, governance and commercial discipline as the business expands its services for small and medium-sized businesses across the UK. 

British Water has appointed Ash Shukla, head of data at Pennon Group, as chair of its International Forum. He has over 25 years' worth of experience across the water, utilities, energy and telecommunications sectors in UK, and has experience of working in North America, Middle East and Asia.

Oakland Everything Data has challenged the water industry to move beyond purely publishing data to ensuring it is accessible, useful and desirable. The data consultancy noted that the water sector has made significant progress on open data: water companies are publishing more information; common approaches are emerging through Stream; and initiatives such as the National Storm Overflow Hub are giving communities access to data that would previously have been difficult to find. But Oakland argued the next stage is ensuring people can find, understand, and use the data that is published. In particular, it urged water companies to prioritise data for which there is established demand. “Environmental Information Requests, Freedom of Information requests, recurring customer queries, academic research and feedback from communities can all provide valuable evidence about the information people want to access,” it said. 

Indigo Networks has secured its first New Appointments and Variations (NAV) water licence, to own and operate water and wastewater utility connections to new homes and businesses. Indigo is owned by Arjun Infrastructure Partners, which has invested in the expansion into water from gas and electricity last-mile utility networks.

Challenge Works has launched the Flush Forward Challenge, to tackle sewage and nutrient pollution and water scarcity. Up to three UK organisations will receive £40,000 each and expert support to investigate non-sewered sanitation challenges in their region and to develop plans incorporating technologies that can safely process waste without connections to mains water, sewers or mains power. The technologies should have the potential to provide an alternative to septic tanks and other conventional sanitation infrastructure. The challenge is funded by the Gates Foundation.