Leading industry trade association British Water has been asked by water regulator Ofwat and HM Treasury to hold another conference on the AMP5 investment cycle in November this year.

The request follows the highly successfully Amp Cycle Rollercoaster Conference held in February by British Water and Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies, which addressed a number of key concerns about the lumpy nature of investment in the sector and its adverse impact on the supply chain. The event marked the first time that the bodies representing both the supply chain and their customers had collaborated formally to explore solutions to the issue.

The Government has publicly acknowledged the problem - in July the Treasury published a White Paper - Smoothing investment cycles in the water sector- which stated:

“Cyclical investment in the water sector has been evident since privatisation. Its effects have led to a stop-start cycle within the water sector supply chain with schemes typically being delivered within the middle three years of a five year cycle. The start and end of the cycle can lead to lean periods of great uncertainty, loss of productivity across the five year cycle, redundancies and an environment of uncertainty in which small and medium enterprises are particularly badly affected. “

The Treasury White Paper specifically looked at the results of a 2012 survey carried out by IMS Consulting for British Water which explored water industry attitudes to the current regulatory process. According to the White Paper, the results indicate the significant challenges to the supply chain of sustaining their participation in this sector.

British Water is now in the planning stages for the upcoming conference, which will take place on Thursday 15th November at the Emirates Stadium, North London.

For further information contact Jeremy Bayfield, Commercial Manager at British Water on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 0207 957 4608.