In an Expert Focus article for WaterBriefing, Yännick van den Nieuwendijk. Managing Director Nordics, UK & Ireland at Amiblu, takes a look at why the UK water industry needs to embrace new technologies and materials, in order to improve.

Yännick van den Nieuwendijk: With the Government’s White Paper on water reform landing soon, and the rollout of AMP8 gathering pace, the UK’s water sector finds itself at a critical junction.

Everyone knows that large-scale, industry-wide change is needed to fix the nation’s poorly performing and ageing water infrastructure.

Abolishing OFWAT was an important and much needed step in the right direction, but the real driver of change will be the extent to which the industry embraces newer and more innovative materials over the coming years.

The mentality of “sticking with the way things have always been done” which has been prevalent for decades, must be challenged.

Unless it is, the transformation will be slower, more expensive and less effective. It might even be impossible.

As someone who has worked closely in the UK water industry for many years, here’s my take on the reasons why.

Firstly, if only existing materials are used, the existing supply chain will simply not be able to deliver what’s required. That’s because the latter period of the AMP is going to be backloaded with work, as many water companies have already started postponing certain projects, while they negotiate how to deal with the fines they have received.

This backloading will lead to big increases in demand for materials and supplies, creating shortages and delays, and quite possibly price rises too.

Secondly, only innovative and newer materials, like glass-fibre reinforced plastics, which are used in many other countries and are more versatile, sustainable, longer lasting, recyclable and better performing than standard pipes and fittings, can deliver the required results.

Using new technologies and materials like these will also help the new regulator to effectively monitor and police the performance of water companies, and while there are some who might argue that introducing new materials and technology into the UK network is overly expensive and that the investments could be better directed elsewhere, I would disagree.

The fact is that introducing new materials and innovations is the only way to ensure that bills fall, taxpayers and investors get value, and the public gets a better quality, greener water network that is resilient in the long run.

Moreover, using newer materials means that once improvement projects are rolled out, replacing old infrastructure can be completed faster. Given the urgency of the situation, the faster improvements can be made, the better.

Bringing in new materials will also help increase the pool of suppliers serving the UK, which is badly needed. These new entrants will need to competitively demonstrate why their products and services are of a higher quality, more environmentally friendly, better value for money and able to deliver value throughout their entire lifecycle.

For many, many years, bigger suppliers have been able to dominate in the UK, while smaller, newer, and more innovative suppliers have sometimes been shut out, even when they meet & exceed standards. This has created an element of restricted practice in the sector and held back transformative technologies from coming to the UK market.

Therefore, when the new regulator becomes operational it is vital that it encourages, or even demands, that water companies use newer and alternative materials.

That means advising water companies about which materials and technologies can improve value-for-money and sustainability and making sure that knowledge sharing and collaboration are maximised.

For example, the regulator could create standardised methodologies & documents that help to guide the decision-making processes of water companies when they decide which materials and products to use.

Another helpful step would be to review and standardise the technical standards that different water companies use. I have observed that these can differ greatly from company to company and in some cases have not been updated for decades. Having consistent technical standards will help to create a more level playing field among suppliers and allow for new materials and technologies to be decided upon due to their benefits.

To conclude, delivering the required transformation will be a huge undertaking, made more complicated by the country’s increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

But, if the Government, the new regulator, and water companies can come together and embrace more innovative materials and processes, the network will flourish, and the investment will really pay off.