The newly established UK Water Partnership looks set to play a key role in unlocking a $500bn global water market and tackling water security issues though a strategic approach to research, innovation and global clients.
Former Chair of the Environment Agency Lord Chris Smith said collaboration and innovation are the key enablers which will help the UK water sector to deliver the solutions now needed to meet a growing number of water resource challenges at both national and international level.
Lord Smith was speaking as the first Chair of the UK Water Partnership ( UKWP) which was formally launched in London last week - a new, private-public partnership bringing together UK business, research, and policy stakeholders with an interest in water.
The new Partnership, which will be structured as a ‘not-for-profit’ group, has been set up with the aim of promoting water resilience and UK expertise in the sector around the globe.
Chris Smith said:
"With expanding urban concentrations around the world and the growing impacts of climate change, we need to get better at managing water, conserving it, cleaning it, delivering it, and using it.
“That’s where innovation is going to be so important. The UK Water Partnership will bring together people across the UK water community to stimulate ideas and develop the products and services that will take on these challenges for the future.”
Over 100 guests at the launch drawn from a wide range of organisations across the water industry, including businesses, regulators and research institutions also heard Government minister Dan Rogerson MP, Defra Minister for Water provide a strong endorsement for the new body. Rogerson commented:
“This new partnership offers a huge opportunity for all sectors of the UK water industry. By developing new technologies and driving knowledge and skills, we will be better placed than ever to respond to global challenges. I am certain that by working together, the partnership can break down barriers across the industry and set the standards around the world.”
The new partnership has already received support from a number of organisations, including Costain, Cranfield University, Pinsent Masons, Severn Trent Water, Scottish Water, United Utilities, Water Industry Forum, Society of British Water and Wastewater Industries (SBWWI), WRc, Mott Macdonald, Innovate UK, Defra and UK Trade and Industry (UKTI).Arup, British Water, the Met Office, Research Councils UK led by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Welsh Government.
The existing UK Water Research & Innovation Partnership (UKWRIP) will become the new partnership’s research and innovation arm.
The Partnership is aiming to actively encourage maximum participation from a wide range of stakeholders in the UK water sector including companies, industry groups, government and academia.
Commenting on the role that the Partnership will play in strengthening the UK’s position as a world leader in water research and innovation, Lord Smith said:
“There is a great deal of potential for the UK to do better in transforming water-focused research into real-world products and services which will benefit end users.”
“The scope for closer co-operation in what remains a fragmented water community is considerable. I believe that the UK Water Partnership can take the lead to address this fragmentation. It will facilitate collaboration, share knowledge and ideas for mutual benefit and most important of all it will enable the water community to react swiftly and decisively to shared challenges.”
The UK Water Partnership will be the key to unlocking a $500bn global water market and tackling water security issues though a strategic approach to research, innovation and global clients.
Potential short-term deliverablesof the partnership include developing a catalogue of UK capabilities in water services and products and driving research and innovation in key areas, including water and cities.
For more information visit www.theukwaterpartnership.org