Speaker Q&A's
Ahead of the WWT Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021, we asked our speakers a number of questions. See what they have to say below.
What can we expect from your contribution at the Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021? An insight into how peatland restoration can potentially improve source water quality, reduce carbon emissions and eventually capture carbon.
What are the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment in your opinion? I can only comment on source water and catchment management challenges. The risk to both is competing land priorities, such as wind farms, forestry and hydro developments as well as impact from the increase in staycations in terms of wild camping and improper campervan waste disposal. Climate change inevitably poses a risk as we face longer drier periods and more extreme wet weather events.
What innovations in the sector are you particularly excited about? From a catchment perspective, the increasing use and refinement of remote sensing to monitor changes in our catchments and source waters.
Why do you think that the Drinking Water Quality Conference is an important meeting? The pooling and sharing of knowledge and ideas as well as the all important making of industry connections.
What can we expect from your contribution at the Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021? An overview of the secor routemap to net zero carbon 2030. Specific detail around Anglian Waters pathway to Net Zero 2030 and linked benefits including green finance.
What are the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment in your opinion? Measuring, reducing and ultimately eliminating process emissions is a critical challenge for the industry together with policy changes that allow net zero opportunities to be exploited.
What innovations in the sector are you particularly excited about? Innovations aligned with carbon reduction and the circular economy including nutrient recovery and utilising waste heat. Opportunities in renewable energy and storage and future possibilities in the hydrogen economy are exciting taken a stepped and systems thinking approach.
Why do you think that the Drinking Water Quality Conference is an important meeting? Treating water and recycling clean water back to the environment is our core activity, how we ensure this is undertaken in a sustainable way is vital for our local environment and society as a whole.
What can we expect from your contribution at the Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021?
Some fresh views hopefully! I’m fairly new to Water Treatment so I’m still learning and asking the silly questions. I hope this allows me to bring some new thoughts about Water Quality and the Green agenda.
What are the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment in your opinion?
The need to find, test and implement treatment processes that are less energy and chemical heavy. There are plenty of ideas, but ensuring they meet the right standards for our regulators and our customers takes time and the race is on the tackle climate change.
What innovations in the sector are you particularly excited about?
Anything that allows us to automate and predict more. Being able to prevent failure in our process ensures our customers are getting enough water that’s good to drink. Automation frees us up to identify and implement new ideas. We are building a new ceramic membrane treatment plant which is amazing, but we need plenty of time to get our heads round it!
Why do you think that the Drinking Water Quality Conference is an important meeting?
It’s a brilliant opportunity to share, learn and collaborate. We’re all facing the same challenges as an industry and after 18 months of Covid it’s a great way to work out how we can be better together.
What can we expect from your contribution at the Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021?
An exposé on how plumbing can affect resilience of safe sufficient water supplies, why this is tricky to fix and what water companies could and should be doing to help consumers
What are the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment in your opinion?
Response to climate change and increasing demographics, (2) lack of qualified, competent installers and (3) manufacturers who don’t test their products
What innovations in the sector are you particularly excited about?
Innovation in smart metering and artificial intelligence that could help people understand what they are using, if they have leaks and potential backflow.
Why do you think that the Drinking Water Quality Conference is an important meeting?
It brings together experts in the field to network, collaborate and share experience/knowledge, supporting continual professional development and organisational learning.
What can we expect from your contribution at the Drinking Water Quality Conference 2021?
I will hopefully provide some context and reflection on where drinking water quality sits in terms of current priorities
What are the biggest challenges facing the industry at the moment in your opinion?
The two main challenges facing the industry is planning for a less certain future and eroding trust particularly relating to the environment,
What innovations in the sector are you particularly excited about?
Real time data via smart networks could be a water quality game changer
Why do you think that the Drinking Water Quality Conference is an important meeting?
Drinking water quality is a fundamental that we must remain focused on especially given the increasing scope of the water industries activities and this conference is a great reminder of this.