Water regulator Ofwat has praised Northumbrian Water’s unique week-long NWG Innovation Festival as playing a pivotal role in delivering future industry improvements and developments.

The festival, which took place over five days at Newcastle Racecourse.saw around 1,000 people, including delegates from around the world come together to find new ways of tackling challenges such as flooding, leakage, 21st century infrastructure and green cities.

Some of the world’s biggest names in business led the ideas hunt, including IBM, Microsoft, Ordnance Survey, BT, CGI Group and Reece Innovation.

At the end of the week, hundreds of ideas were streamlined to produce 18 key projects that can be taken forward and developed.

Carl Pheasey, Director of Strategy and Policy at water industry regulator Ofwat, said:

“I think the idea is fantastic and it’s very timely, because the launch of PR19 this week – where Ofwat has outlined the areas we believe the water industry should put its focus on – puts a lot of emphasis on innovation and so this is the sort of event that I think we probably want to see more of in the future.

“It’s really impressive and it looks like Northumbrian Water have worked really hard to put on a good event that is aiming to get really good outcomes and substantive thinking out of the sprints and that’s great.

“There is definitely something about collaboration that is really important to doing innovation well. We have talked quite a bit recently about the importance of collaboration both within and beyond the industry.

“My limited experience of these sorts of processes in other sectors is that the really good innovative ideas come out when you get people from very different backgrounds and frames of reference coming together and trying to take a fresh look at how to solve long-standing problems. So, getting people from lots of different sectors together to think about things afresh is really great.”

Ideas presented at the end of the NWG Innovation Festival included:

Flooding

• The creation of an agency that links directly with customers to give and receive bespoke information on flooding, helping to reduce flood risk.
• A collaborative approach to reducing the surface water that runs from the landscape into water courses.
• A system that utilises artificial intelligence technology to deliver bespoke flood information to users, so they are better informed about how to respond when problems occur.

Leakage

• A tool that allows water companies to focus their efforts on areas where the biggest impact on leakage reduction can be made.
• A system that will allow water companies to more closely monitor its network of pipes, highlighting deterioration and areas of risk before leaks happen.
• The use of mobile apps that allow members of the public to report leaks with greater accuracy, using geospatial technology.

Data & more collaboration with experts from other sectors

• Greater sharing of information between businesses, to ensure that services can be delivered in a way that better suits customers, with a particular focus upon those members of the public who are vulnerable and need additional support.
• Sensor mapping technology that improves knowledge of the various service infrastructure, such as gas, electricity and water, that lies beneath the ground.
• The introduction of a system where communities can tell companies, such as those that deliver services, what is important to them. This would enable businesses to better understand and provide for the needs of those communities.
• The introduction of shared infrastructure corridors, allowing different businesses to use the same pipes for their services, improving information sharing and reducing the impact upon the public of maintenance.
• The use of technology such as fibre optics to improve the data available on utilities networks, particularly focusing on pipes and cables beneath the ground, to allow companies to identify problems more quickly and understand what is going on underground.

Green Cities

Installing special ‘moss trees’, which absorb pollution, into towns and cities. The trees would also help to reduce surface water that might enter sewers and contribute towards flooding. The idea will be entered into Ordnance Survey’s Geovation Challenge in October, alongside hundreds of other ideas from around the world, where it will compete for funding that will help it to realise its potential.

In the most recent survey by the Consumer Council for Water, Northumbrian Water was named the UK’s most trusted water company by its customers. 2017 also saw Northumbrian Water named the world’s most ethical water company for the seventh successive year.

More information about the NWG Innovation Festival is available at www.innovationfestival.org.