Leading business support organisation Future Water Association, tasked with driving innovation in the water sector, held its annual innovation awards lunch in Warwickshire last week to present awards across three themes - People, Water Dragons Innovation and Emerging Talent.

The lunch brought together people from across the water sector including, utilities, contractors, SMEs and innovators, to celebrate innovation, creative thinking and those who have made a difference in the industry. The event was sponsored and supported by five key organisations working in the water sector: WRc, ARUP, Anglian Water,  ACO, and Hydrosave.

Guest speaker, Dr Mark Fletcher, Global Water Lead at Arup, provided the guests with a unique take on what the sector needs to do next and set out the challenges that we are faced with due to climate change and discussed how his own experience across the globe has influenced his view. The challenge he set out and his call to action was for the industry to come together, work collaboratively and creatively to help shape the future of the water sector, whilst encouraging the next generation, and the best minds, to join us. 

 Paul Horton, CEO of Future Water Association, 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; the successes, the achievements, the technology and the people that all help deliver a valuable resource 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 wider markets and opportunities. It was important that we also highlighted the water zone at the Big Bang Fair, and the need to inspire the next generation to ‘think water’".

The key themes of the awards flag up important issues for the water sector:

• 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, recognises individuals or teams who that have ‘gone that extra mile’ outside of the normal requirements of their work.

The award winners were:

• Water Dragons 2018 Winner - Pontoonworks
• Water Dragons 2018 Highly Commended – Royal Haskoning DHV
• Water Dragons 2018 Highly Commended – Wheatley
• Water Dragons 2018 Audience Winner – Raindrop Harvest
• People Category Special Recognition – Simon Gordon-Walker, Artesia Consulting
• People Category Winner – Anglian Water, The Big Bang Team
• Emerging Talent Category Winner – Sarah Cotterill, The Water Hub

Mark Smith, Chairman of the Association and CEO at WRc set out the importance of what Future Water Association is doing, how the vision and mission have provided focus to the work of the organisation. He explained that all our members are engaging more across the sector, talking to government, regulators, utilities and helping to drive the industry forward. He also set out the need to recognise new thinking and new ideas, which are all essential to help shape the agenda of the sector.

The event was also the opportunity for the Association to say thank you Martyn Hopkinson who has spent more than 20 years supporting the organisation who received a special Chairman’s award recognising his contribution to the water sector.