Latest news with #watersector
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Creating change: How WGM Engineering is building a sustainable future in the water sector
WGM Engineering is a Business Reporter client An engineering firm that's dedicated to helping our clients achieve healthier futures for their customers and communities. WGM Engineering is dedicated to supporting water sector clients in achieving healthier futures for their customers and communities. WGM provides innovative, sustainable and self-delivered mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation (MEICA) solutions, combining deep industry expertise with transformational off-site engineering capability and a commitment to the principles of the circular economy. Over the past year, WGM has achieved significant levels of growth and improved profitability. Turnover has increased by almost 40 per cent, employee numbers have risen by around 20 per cent, and profitability has doubled. Approximately 95 per cent of WGM's revenue in the past 12 months is derived directly from water sector clients – principally Scottish Water, although it is also expanding its delivery presence in England. Through a joint venture with Binnies UK and a strategic partnership with MWH Treatment, the organisation has secured AMP8 frameworks with Southern Water and United Utilities. These partnerships will enable WGM to continue its growth while providing new opportunities for employees to collaborate with clients across the UK. To support this expansion, WGM has developed and commissioned a new 40,000 square foot off-site engineering facility in Scotland. This strategic investment enhances the organisation's capacity to deliver innovative, standardised and sustainable solutions to its clients. Collaboration is a defining feature of how WGM delivers projects across the UK water sector. By working closely with Scottish Water, United Utilities and Southern Water, WGM has developed a delivery approach founded on transparency, integration and mutual accountability. Sustainability and the circular economy As a self-delivery design and build partner, WGM employs more than 500 people, providing sustainable engineering solutions across the UK water sector. Its self-delivery model is underpinned by off-site engineering facilities and a circular economy philosophy that focuses on designing and remanufacturing existing assets to a modern standard rather than replacing them. This approach aligns with the guiding principles of the organisation's PAS 2080 accreditation, and has already delivered significant carbon emission reductions for WGM' clients. WGM's circular economy strategy relies on retaining as much value as possible from existing products, parts and materials – reducing waste, avoiding embodied carbon and ultimately cutting emissions, positioning WGM as a leader in innovation and sustainability within the sector. Driven by its goal of delivering circular economy solutions that achieve substantial reductions in carbon emissions, WGM is continuing its transition from on-site construction to off-site engineering. The organisation focuses on scalable, repeatable modular solutions that embrace a design for manufacturing and assembly approach. In partnership with clients, this innovative approach addresses some of the biggest challenges in the water sector while delivering faster, safer and more sustainable solutions, providing a proven roadmap to overcome the affordability challenges faced by the UK water sector. By investing in smart circular economy solutions, WGM believes it has set the stage for transformative change, and was proud to be recognised in December 2024 at the Utility Week Awards, where it won the Carbon Reduction Award for its circular economy strategy for utility assets. WGM is not the largest organisation serving water clients in the UK, but it is clear in its belief that, by working collaboratively with clients, partners, employees and other stakeholders, it is creating a sustainable legacy everyone can be proud of. A people-first culture WGM's people are at the core of everything it does. Empowering employees to continuously learn and grow remains central to how the organisation operates. It is committed to maintaining a fair and supportive workplace, built on trust, where everyone feels valued and safe. WGM recognises its greatest asset is its people, and the company is committed to continuous improvement to ensure they have the right development and support. The culture at WGM reflects five key business values driving collective success and ensuring a positive impact on its people and industry: Work Safe, Home Safe: prioritising safety in everything it does Thriving and Growing: investing in people and their success Trusting and Trusted: building strong relationships through integrity Loving our Planet: being committed to sustainability and a greener future Embracing Change: innovating and adapting to new challenges By fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, WGM empowers its people to grow, contribute to the organisation's ongoing success, and help shape a sustainable water sector. In 2024, WGM invested more than 2 per cent of its turnover into people development, ensuring sustainability and readiness for the future. The organisation has also implemented a next-generation strategy, with graduates and modern apprentices now making up around 15 per cent of the workforce. This investment is building strong foundations and empowering future leaders to flourish in their field and shape the organisation's future. The next three years will be transformative for WGM, as it continues to grow its people and develop industry-leading capabilities that make a real difference. The growth of its new workforce will also help address the capacity challenges within the UK water sector. Shaping a sustainable future WGM's off-site engineering and circular economy approach has already delivered tangible results, demonstrating significant improvements in efficiency, safety and carbon reduction. By working with a number of partners, WGM has benchmarked traditional 'linear economy' interventions, and reviewed carbon, cost and programme metrics against its own methods. In terms of environmental benefits this has shown real-world savings of around 70 to 80 per cent in carbon reductions per intervention, and approximately 50 per cent in cost and programme duration. These savings support water clients in their affordability challenges, allowing reinvestment in customer-focused initiatives. Through community engagement, WGM fosters strong local relationships, contributes to socio-economic development and creates lasting value through job creation and opportunity. As WGM Engineering continues to innovate and grow, it remains committed to its core values and the principles of the circular economy. By investing in its people, embracing sustainability and fostering collaboration, the organisation is not only shaping the future of the UK water sector but also creating a positive, lasting impact on communities and the environment.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Water sector suffering from ‘deep-rooted' failures, review warns
The water sector is beset with 'deep-rooted, systemic' failures, and needs fundamental reform of laws, regulation and infrastructure, a review has warned. The Independent Water Commission was tasked by the UK and Welsh governments to carry out the largest review of the sector since privatisation in the face of widespread public anger over pollution, bills and bosses' bonuses although ministers ruled out nationalising water companies. Its interim report has been published as Britain's biggest water company Thames Water is again facing the spectre of temporary nationalisation after private equity firm KKR pulled out of plans for a £3 billion bailout. Another of England's private water firms, South West Water, reported widening financial losses after an outbreak of a parasite in water supplies cost it millions. And water supplies are under pressure after the driest spring in decades has left farmers struggling and millions of households facing the possibility of hosepipe bans, while ministers have warned climate change, a rising population and crumbling infrastructure is putting future supplies at risk. In the interim report published on Tuesday, the commission said multiple issues need to be tackled to rebuild public trust in the ailing sector. It called for regulator Ofwat's role to be strengthened and for the watchdog to adopt a more 'supervisory' approach to oversight of water firms. Former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, who led the review into the water sector in England and Wales, told the BBC that more effective regulation was a huge part of solving the problem, with a regulator that could step in early before things got worse. He said: 'Because when they get worse, as you can see, they are very difficult to sort out, and we need an environmental regulator with the capability to monitor and enforce.' He also said that having regulators with different remits and responsibilities for different parts of the process had made the water system 'expensive and incoherent'. The interim review urges the Government to provide clearer long-term direction on what is needed from the water system, and warns key elements of current legislation are 'badly in need of review and rationalisation'. It proposes greater regional decision-making around local water systems, and emphasises the need for a greater focus on long-term, responsible investment and ownership within the industry. It is also considering new standards for the water sector's crumbling infrastructure, warning there is insufficient understanding of the health of assets such as pipes and water treatment plants. Companies should plan for long-term resilience of 'critical assets', not simply fix things when they fail, it warned. Sir Jon said: 'There is no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the fundamental reset that is needed for the water sector. 'We have heard of deep-rooted, systemic and interlocking failures over the years – failure in Government's strategy and planning for the future, failure in regulation to protect both the billpayer and the environment and failure by some water companies and their owners to act in the public, as well as their private, interest. 'My view is that all of these issues need to be tackled to rebuild public trust and make the system fit for the future. We anticipate that this will require new legislation.' Anger has been growing over the polluted state of rivers, lakes and coastal waters, leaks and sewage spills at the same time as significant shareholder payouts and bosses' bonuses, and bills which were hiked in April to pay for investment to fix creaking infrastructure. On Tuesday, Thames Water announced private equity giant KKR has pulled out of plans to invest in the company, in the latest blow to the struggling and heavily indebted utility. Thames Water – which supplies 16 million customers – had hoped KKR would invest more than £3 billion of new equity amid fears the supplier was running out of cash, and its withdrawal from the deal raises the spectre of a temporary government nationalisation once more. And South West Water's owner Pennon has reported widening losses after a parasite outbreak in Brixham, South Devon, cost it around £21 million. The outbreak put some people in hospital and left thousands of homes without safe drinking water – some for weeks. Though the interim review points to the need for better regulation of water companies, it does not recommend the wholesale scrapping of watchdog Ofwat which some have urged, and nationalisation – which some campaigners have called for – was excluded from its terms of reference. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said he had commissioned the water commission to outline recommendations for a 'once in a generation' opportunity to transform the water industry and delivered for the public. 'The Government will respond to the Commission in full in due course and outline next steps to benefit customers, attract investment, and clean up our waterways for good,' he said. Environmental campaigners called for the final report, expected later in the summer, to reshape the water sector to put public health and the environment first – and for the Government to implement ambitious reforms. Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL), a coalition of 89 nature organisations demanded: 'politicians must stop equivocating and set clear strategic direction for environmental recovery'. Giles Bristow, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, said: 'The criminal behaviour, chronic lack of investment and woeful mismanagement which has led to sewage filled seas is a direct result of our profit-driven system. 'This interim report begins to recognise this, but as yet does not spell out the need to end pollution for profit. 'The commission's final recommendations must reshape the water industry to put public health and the environment first.' A spokesperson for industry body Water UK said: 'Everyone agrees that the water industry is not working. 'We hope this report will be a starting point for the fundamental reforms the sector needs. 'We need a less complicated system which allows investment to get quickly to where it needs to go,' they said, adding the sector was spending £104 billion in the next five years to secure water supplies, cut sewage and support economic growth.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Interim water review ‘not the finishing line' to fix failures, campaigners warn
The National Water Commission's interim review of the sector is 'not the finishing line' to fixing the failing system, environmentalists have warned. The independent commission, headed by Sir Jon Cunliffe, said the water sector in England and Wales needs a 'fundamental reset' as it published a report on Tuesday. The panel of experts called for a rebalancing of Ofwat's regulatory role, urged the Government to provide clearer direction, proposed greater regional decision-making around local water systems and a greater focus on long-term responsible investment and ownership in the sector. Reacting to the report, Wildlife And Countryside Link (WCL), a coalition of 89 nature organisations, said ministers must start work now on vital reforms that will cut pollution, restore nature and reform water companies' governance. The groups said the Government must not only follow the advice of the report but go further, highlighting that the review stops short of final recommendations. Richard Benwell, WCL's chief executive, said: 'This interim report is a clear signpost, not a finishing line. 'The public are rightly angry about pollution and regulatory failure, and nature is in crisis. 'Politicians must stop equivocating and set clear strategic direction for environmental recovery. 'Where in the past polluters have got away with profiteering, public interest tests must be built into every layer of operations and governance with consequences for failure.' Mark Lloyd, chief executive of The Rivers Trust, said: 'Water is fundamental for nature's recovery, for the growth of the economy, for the health and security of communities and for life itself. 'We will press the commission over the next month to shoot for the stars rather than the moon in its final report. 'We will then expect to see the Government move swiftly and boldly to realise this high level of ambition.' Ali Morse, water policy manager at The Wildlife Trusts, said: 'The commission's interim report emerges at a time when environmental protections are under threat from proposed planning laws, and budgets for nature look set to be slashed. 'This doesn't look like the actions of a Government that is serious about restoring our chalk streams, or averting the extinction of water vole and Atlantic salmon. 'To convince us otherwise, we need to see Government responding with measures that ensure water companies prioritise the health of rivers and seas, that past harms are made good, that other sectors too play their role, and that environmental regulators are equipped and supported to do their jobs.' Two organisations, River Action and Surfers Against Sewage, went further to say the interim review stops well short of real reform and offers few concrete solutions. They argued that it does not match up with the Government's manifesto commitments and speaks more about attracting investors than cleaning up pollution and serving the public. James Wallace, chief executive of River Action, said: 'This interim report signals some progress on regulation, but it reads more like a sales pitch to international investors and overpaid CEOs than the urgent restructuring of corrupted water companies. 'We ask the commission to learn from other countries how to ensure water companies are owned, financed and operated for public benefit.' Giles Bristow, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, said: 'The criminal behaviour, chronic lack of investment and woeful mismanagement which has led to sewage-filled seas is a direct result of our profit-driven system. 'This interim report begins to recognise this, but as yet does not spell out the need to end pollution for profit. 'The commission's final recommendations must reshape the water industry to put public health and the environment first.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Failing water sector needs stronger regulation, review says
The water sector in England and Wales is failing and needs stronger regulation to better protect billpayers and the environment, according to the interim findings of a landmark review. The independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, said on Tuesday that public trust had been shaken by "pollution, financial difficulties, mismanagement [and] infrastructure failures". The review was set up by the government in October amid growing public concern about sewage spills and rising bills. In launching the review, the government had ruled out nationalising the sector - arguing this would be too expensive and would not necessarily lead to improvements. "There is no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the fundamental reset that is needed for the water sector," Sir Jon said. "We have heard of deep-rooted, systemic and interlocking failures over the years – failure in government's strategy and planning for the future, failure in regulation to protect both the billpayer and the environment and failure by some water companies and their owners to act in the public, as well as their private, interest." In response to Sir Jon's findings, Environment Secretary Steve Reed described the water system as "broken", adding that the government would respond to the commission in full. At just over 100 pages long, the Water Commission's interim findings are a precursor to the main report, which is expected be published later this summer and give recommendations. It considered more than 50,000 responses submitted across the water sector, from the public, environmental groups, regulators and water companies themselves. "What we heard was clear: the current system is not delivering what people expect and need," Sir Jon said in a forward to the report. The government asked Sir Jon to focus on reforms to the water sector as a whole, rather than individual water companies. Pressure on the water sector is increasing due to climate change, population growth and other factors - but it is also suffering from decades of underinvestment. Increased monitoring has led to greater scrutiny into the amount of sewage being spilled into our rivers, lakes and seas. In total the spills from overflow pipes lasted more than 3.6 million hours in both 2023 and 2024. Releasing raw sewage into rivers and the sea can be legal if spills happen during wet weather, though it can still pose risks to people and the environment. But the BBC has previously uncovered evidence of likely spills during dry days as well. In April, bills rose by an average of 26% in England and Wales, as regulators approved water companies' plans for billions of pounds of investment. This is aimed at both upgrading water supplies and reducing the amount of sewage being spilled. Water firms admit sewage monitoring damaging public trust Drinking water shortage in decade without new reservoirs, minister says The water industry is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Water sector is failing and needs much stronger regulations, independent commission reports
The water sector is plagued with 'deep-rooted, systemic' failures and needs a 'fundamental reset', an independent commission has reported. The Independent Water Commission slammed failures in Government strategy and planning for the future, failures to protect billpayers and a failure of companies to act in the public interest. The commission called for a 'fundamental strengthening and rebalancing' of Ofwat's regulatory role, saying the watchdog needs to adopt a more supervisory approach to its oversight of water firms. This could include benchmarking companies against one another to justify customer bills and assess efficiency. The Government has also been urged to provide clearer direction as the interim report proposes greater regional decision-making around local water systems and emphasises the need for a greater focus on long-term, responsible investment and ownership within the industry. Independent Water Commission chairman Sir Jon Cunliffe said he had heard a 'strong and powerful consensus' that the system was not working for everyone. 'There is no simple, single change, no matter how radical, that will deliver the fundamental reset that is needed for the water sector,' he said. 'We have heard of deep-rooted, systemic and interlocking failures over the years - failure in Government's strategy and planning for the future, failure in regulation to protect both the billpayer and the environment and failure by some water companies and their owners to act in the public, as well as their private, interest. 'My view is that all of these issues need to be tackled to rebuild public trust and make the system fit for the future. We anticipate that this will require new legislation.' New national infrastructure and resilience standards are also under consideration, requiring companies to regularly report on the health of their assets. 'This means companies do not just fix failures when they fail, but responsibly plan for the long-term condition and resilience of these critical assets,' the report said. The report also highlighted the need for the sector to 'attract and retain' long-term investors but acknowledged this would require restoring investor confidence in both the sector and its regulators. 'I believe that ambitious reforms across these complex and connected set of issues are sorely needed,' Sir John said. Legislation around water was 'complex' and 'inconsistent in places', according to the interim report which said the legislation has evolved in a 'piecemeal fashion over a long period of time', with 'currently around 80 pieces of legislation covering the sector'. 'The commission is considering options to move from the complex planning process we have now to a regional 'systems planning' approach in England,' the report said. 'It means bringing decisions on water systems, such as where new infrastructure is built or how pollution from different sources should be tackled, closer to the communities who depend on them.' More than 50,000 responses from the public, campaigners, industry and the regulators were sent in to the commission's call for evidence which ran between February and April. The commission's full conclusions and detailed recommendations will be published later in the summer. Responding to the findings, Environment Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC the water system is 'broken'.
