Winners News
IWO Conference Award 2009
Stephen Youell, Water Quality Scientist at Portsmouth Water
I was originally disappointed that I was not chosen to attend the IWO Conference this year but I was pleased that a member of my team was given the opportunity to attend; I think it was really good for his development especially with his new role in the department. However I was keen to attend, the theme had me both personally and professionally interested, and so I applied for a place through the USIT sponsorship award.
I felt that this year the conference theme was different to the previous conferences that I had attended. The theme was a on a crisis that I think, until recently, has been assigned to small areas of debate rather than the concerning issue that it should be promoted as. As a result I felt that it was a subject that the industry and its stakeholders would all play a part in tackling and I was keen to learn about the views that they all had to share.
We were told that the water industry produces about 2% of the total carbon dioxide in the UK; although this seems like a small percentage it is huge when you consider that we supply water, a natural resource. The other statement we were told was climate change isn’t going to happen, it is happening now and has been happening for the past number of years. There is a need for us, as an industry, to act now so that procedures and practices are brought in ASAP and that we don’t wait for AMP6 or PR14 to start the implication process.
I enjoyed hearing the speakers present their views and it was encouraging that the industry has recognised the need to take action, although there does seem to be some debate on where exactly the starting point should be. I took away with me some very interesting points:
- 1. That even if we revert back to the CO2 emissions that the industry was producing in the 1990’s then we still would not be on course to meet the Governments target in 2025.
- 2. That 90% of greenhouse gas emissions related to household water consumption come from heating water in the home
- 3. That customers are more aware of reducing energy and electricity costs than they are in reducing water consumption; this is because energy and electricity bills are substantially more expensive to pay. The only plus point is that they are inadvertently saving water during this process
- 4. Water is the new oil
It was interesting to hear that customers are willing to accept a rise in their water bill if it helps to tackle the water resources problem however when they were asked about compulsory metering 27% involved in the survey were against it. They also wanted reassurances that their water company was doing its best to tackle leakage In contrast George Archibald showed us a graph which actually showed that although metering has increased quite rapidly over the last 15 years the actual total amount of water used per day per household has not shown a contrasting drop; in fact it is the water used by non householders that actually was seen to drop since 2000.
It was also interesting to hear Mike Walkers presentation where he mentioned that the ambition is to reduce water consumption from 150l/d per person to 130l/d per person by 2030. To be honest I found this reduction a bit of a joke especially as Mike himself said that without trying he had managed to cut his consumption to just 80Ml/d. If the government are that concerned about water resources, even though they are pushing ahead with housing plans in the water stricken region of the South East, why are they not promoting a lower figure?
Another area that triggered some thought is that the householders use only a fraction of their supplied drinking water for, drinking. Thus we are investing in assists, energy and chemicals into treating water to a drinkable standard just so most of it can be flushed down the sewer. Is it time for questions to be raised about greywater recycling or compulsory water saving devices fitted to all households?
I was particular impressed with the enthusiasm expressed by Mike Kiel, OFWAT and from Nick Ellins, CCW. How they spoke and coped with the questions that we asked of was really good and it was nice to see this passion in them, whether everybody agreed with their views or not.
The young persons forum was as usual a good insight into the passion and drive of the speakers; having spoke in the same forum last year I realise how valuable this opportunity it to advertise yourself to the high profile type of audience that listens to you.
Once again I tried to make excellent opportunities to network; networking, I think is a major part of any IWO event and the conference is a great way to do this. Over the last few years, especially since I took on a higher role in the committee, I have found I can really take advantage of talking to colleagues from other companies and stakeholders.
One of the pleasing aspects of the networking opportunity was that I was able to have the chance to talk to Lewis Jones from South West Water, who had interviewed me for my Chartered Environmentalist. Whilst speaking to him I was introduced to Chris Durrant, a Senior Assistant Scientist who worked with Lewis and was speaking at the Young Persons Forum; Lewis said that he had listened to my presentation last year and it wanted him to put forward one of the young people from his company. This was really pleasing to here and I felt very proud to have represented the company and still getting recognition from it a year on.
The conference social events were once again a raving success, being a football fan I fully appreciated the St James Park tour and I think it was good that we didn’t, as Portsmouth Water delegates, all sit on the same table. The Presidents dinner was amazing and the awards ceremony also introduced something for me to work towards. I want to win the Presidents Cup next year while I fully intend on entering the Business Skill CPD Award as well.
The conference delegate pack contained a questionnaire which wanted views on how the much of a value the conference was. One of the questions asked to describe what one word or phrase that you will leave the conference with; I put down motivation and this is certainly true.
I have a motivation to not only make a difference to the department which I will take with me in my day to day job However I also felt a motivation to learn about other areas of the company and other dealings of the business and its interaction with the stakeholders that were present at the conference. I feel that if I have a better understanding of these areas I would be able to not only help to increase my job knowledge but I would have a better understanding of the stakeholder view of the water industry.
Once again I feel that the IWO National Conference is a worthwhile experience to anyone with a wish to learn more about the industry; the pleasing thing is that this is done on two fronts, the presentations and the networking. Hopefully the all the delegates that attended will be able to pass on this information to enable Portsmouth Water to be at the forefront in the battle for climate change.
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