Ofwat has announced the launch of a combined gated process to oversee, support and assess the delivery of large-scale water infrastructure projects for the Major Water Infrastructure Programme.
The Regulator’s Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) and partner regulators – Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and the Environment Agency (EA) are all involved in the combined gated process with further support from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Natural England (NE).
The Major Water Infrastructure Programme (MWIP) includes the 30 large-scale water infrastructure projects set out at PR24. The new MWIP combined gated process brings together RAPID’s oversight of early project development and Ofwat’s Major Projects team's regulation of later stage delivery.
The regulator commented:
“RAPID and Ofwat’s Major Projects team continue to carry out their regulatory roles, now operating using this single, combined process that reduces duplication and helps critical infrastructure progress at pace while protecting customers and the environment.”
Ofwat has published two separate documents setting out the details of how the single combined process will operate:
- Major Projects Programme: Overview of the combined gated process
- Major Water Infrastructure Programme: Optioneering and pipeline management and gate A
The Overview sets out the overarching framework and principles for the combined gated process used by the relevant regulators to oversee, support and assess the delivery of the projects by companies. The projects included are RAPID Strategic Resource Options and/or projects meeting the criteria for delivery by competitively tendered models, which are those using Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) or Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) procurement.
It sets out the reasoning behind the process, an overview of the whole project life cycle, and how it relates to other processes, such as Water Resource Management Plans (WRMP), planning and development costs.
Introducing the Overview, Ofwat says:
“We have combined the precious RAPID gates and the Ofwat stages to present a clearer, more transparent process to water companies and stakeholders with defined decision points. This updated process seeks to retain good practice and ways of working that have been established whist making improvements and alignments where possible, without losing the oversight and discipline required to ensure feasibility and delivery of such large, complex, and essential infrastructure projects.”
Benefits of a combined process
The Overview states that by bringing together the RAPID and Ofwat processes the regulator is seeking to reconcile differences between the two processes and achieve the following benefits:
- Simplify the existing process and make it easier for companies to navigate the required gates;
- Provide greater clarity on the decisions being made at each gate, and the activity/output required during the stage leading up to them;
- Opportunity to align working practices to bring consistency in approach, to become more streamlined in action and enhance cross regulator alignment to make the monitoring and assessment more efficient;
- In moving to a single integrated gated delivery process, it is easier to build future guidance and feed in learning, best practice, and improved ways of working.
The Overview includes a new timeline for new project submissions. The decision about whether a project should be added to the RAPID gated process will be made by Ofwat. Ofwat will also make decisions on funding at the appropriate stage in the gated process - the decisions will take into account RAPID’s recommendations.
The aim of the gated process is to ensure that strategic water resource projects progress at pace and make an efficient use of the development funding. The Overview is flagging up that to maintain the focus on acceleration and efficiency, RAPID is open to flexibility in the timing of assessments and decisions, stating:
“This could include, for example, Ofwat making some decisions outside of gate assessment windows such as dealing with showstoppers that emerge long before the gate submission or decisions to drop options within a project which have a financial impact on gate allowances. RAPID will consider proposals put forward by project owners on a case-by-case basis.”
The Optioneering and Pipeline Management document sets out the details of the first stage of the MIWP guidance which leads to the gate A assessment. It sets out the activity expected during the gate A stage (a specific phase of the project, during which activities and tasks are performed within each stage to create specific deliverables), the gate assessment (a decision-making point) and the monitoring activities.
Click here to download Major Projects Programme: Overview of the combined gated process
Click here to download Major Water Infrastructure Programme: Optioneering and pipeline management and gate A
.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Börger UK, which has firmly established itself as a leading pump brand since it was set up in Staffordshire in 2004, has moved into bigger, brand-new premises in Shrewsbury.
HUBER Technology UK & Ireland are inviting people to register for their March webinar where they will be providing information about HUBER water intake screens for municipal and industrial applications.
Sulzer has launched a new global Center of Excellence (CoE) for Water Treatment Solutions - the CoE consolidates Sulzer’s wastewater treatment expertise in a unified and global manner.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.