Leading trade association Future Water has this week announced the winners of this year’s industry awards at a virtual ceremony which brought together people from across the water sector including, utilities,contractors, SMEs and entrepreneurs.
The event was supported by WRc, and the awards by ARUP, Hydrosave, Stantec and ACO Water Management. Guest speaker, Dr Javier Ventura-Traveset, European Space Agency, provided the audience with a fantastic insight into the importance of ‘Water in Space’, how critical it is to the International Space Station, to journeys to Mars, to establishing a base on the moon and also to life being able to exist elsewhere in the universe.
He also told the audience about the launch of new satellites to monitor oceans and said that space agencies should be working more closely with the water sector.
The award categories were:
Water Dragons - Sponsored by Hydrosave and has been running since 2008. The format is based on the famous TV series and businesses pitch their products to a panel of judges and an audience firstly in regional heats and then a grand final.
Emerging Talent Award - Sponsored by Arup, recognises young people who are within their first five years in the sector and who have brought something new and different to their organisation.
The People Award - Sponsored by ACO Water Management, recognises individuals or teams who that have ‘gone that extra mile’ outside of the normal requirements of their work.
The COVID-19 Above and Beyond Award – Sponsored by Stantec, recognises individuals and companies who have gone the extra mile during the pandemic
Paul Horton, CEO of Future Water, explained the importance of the awards:
“People and innovation are the driving force behind today’s water industry and these awards have been established to celebrate the water sector; including the successes, the achievements, the technology and the people that all help deliver a valuable resource that we sometimes take for granted.
“Our Water Dragons Awards recognise the ideas and innovations within the sector and provides a platform for businesses to present new products to key decision makers, opening up wider markets and opportunities to them.”
The award winners are:
- Water Dragons 2019 Highly Commended – Propelair
- Water Dragons 2019 Winner – VAPAR
- Emerging Talent Category Highly Commended – Francieli Thums, Critical Sewers Engineer, Wessex Water
- Emerging Talent Category Winner – Laura Conroy, Innovation Programme Manager, United Utilities
- COVID-19 - Above Beyond Award Winners – Kirsty Ayres, Senior Engineer, WSP; Rowan Speers, AVK UK
- People Category Winner – Simon Bennett, Head of Wholesale Services, Bristol Water
- People Category Special Recognition – Mark Smith, RPS
Mark Smith, Chair of Future Water and CEO at WRc commented:
“One thing we can say about 2020 is that it has been anything but boring. The pandemic has challenged all of us and Future Water has risen to the challenges offering members a safe place to discuss business and people issues, whilst continuing to actively engage with the water company Innovation 2050 strategy and development of the OFWAT Innovation Fund.”
He added:
“A strong Future Water is vital for the sector and in addition to the regular engagement meetings, water dragons programme, Young Water Dragons, training initiatives etc. Future Water will be launching new members groups in 2021 to support the organisation as we push the forward-thinking agenda. So, why not join us on the journey?”
Click here to view the recording of the award ceremony
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