WELSHAREANEWS
LUNCH AND LEARN EVENT HELD IN WELSH AREA – Tuesday 31st July 2012
On 31 July 2012 three delegates, who received local area sponsorship to attend the Institute of Water 2012 National Conference, delivered a Lunch and Learn session, to review and discuss the key messages taken from the conference. The three speakers included Alex Herridge – Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) Energy Analyst, Ashley Draisey & Helena Machin – DCWW Potable Water Graduates. The event was held at Welsh Water’s head office in Nelson, south Wales and was introduced by Ceris VanDeVyver - Business Improvement Manager for DCWW - who also shared her own headlines from the conference. The Lunch and Learn aimed to summarise the 2 day conference, through the speakers’ own feedback on the key challenges facing the industry: • opening up the industry to a competitive market; • balancing regulation standards; • the Capex bias argument, and; • customer perception within the industry - introducing SIM (Service Incentive Mechanism). From this feedback, the speakers were able to discuss possible approaches to these challenges moving forward. The presentation also highlighted the barriers towards innovation within the industry, including regulatory restrictions and the need for the industry to strike the correct balance, in striving for higher standards, whilst ensuring customer bills are kept to a minimum. Moreover, the speakers thought it important to highlight how innovation is currently raising its profile in the water industry. A good example was
considered to be South West Water’s ‘Upstream Thinking’ approach: improving raw water quality at the source before reaching the treatment works to increase environmental and economical sustainability. In addition, two sample poster presentations delivered by STREAM doctorates were reviewed. These involved the PhD projects ‘New methods to reduce bacteriological failures in distribution systems’ and ‘The use of micro algae as a tertiary wastewater treatment process for nutrient polishing’. The final points of the presentation highlighted the benefits of becoming a member of IWater and what the speakers had gained so far by becoming members: Continuing Professional Development by joining committees, acquiring mentors, networking and knowledge building opportunities by attending the Innovation Awards, the Summer Forum and other Lunch and Learn events. The Lunch and Learn was well received, with over 40 colleagues from varying sectors within the water industry attending, including the Managing Director and Finance Director of DCWW, Nigel Annett and Chris Jones, respectively. There was a ‘bring a friend’ incentive, which encouraged members to bring non-members along, enabling them to have a ‘taste’ of the different types of events and opportunities available by being part of IWater.
A WARM WELCOME The Welsh Area Committee would like to offer a warm welcome to those who have recently joined the Institute: Aled Morgan Alex Jones Angela Meadows Emma Parry Geoff Green Helen Brook James Williams Justin Doran Katherine Roberts Lloyd Roblin Marc Davies Mark Kennedy Nicole Jenkins Paul Wren Samantha Gunn Terry Davies Tracy Roberts-Twiddy
instituteofwater.org.uk
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