Paul Hickey, Managing Director of the RAPID programme, has agreed a request from the sponsors of the Grand Union Canal and Minworth Strategic Resource Options (SRO), collectively referred to as the Grand Union Canal Transfer (GUCT) project.
Britain’s historic former industrial canal network is set to play a pivotal role in creating a sustainable and resilient water supply for 750,000 people by transferring water from the Midlands to the Southeast of England.
The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development. (RAPID) has launched a consultation on commercial arrangements for enabling new water resources.
Thames Water has gone out to tender with a major contract to put a Programme Partners Framework in place for its Strategic Resource Options projects worth an estimated £150 million – the water company has also this week separately tendered a £300 million SRO Technical Partners Framework.
The Government and Ofwat have signalled their intention to keep up the pressure on the water companies to drive leakage down further and encourage more water transfers.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.