Among the issues raised at the recently held Future of the UK Water Sector Conference held in Leicester earlier this month were consumer confidence, environmental concerns and the need for innovation.

The event, which was organised by trade association British Water in collaboration with the Water Industry Forum and the Future Water Association and attended by around 80 delegates working in all aspects of water, was an attempt aimed at bringing the water industry together.

British Water Chief Executive Lloyd Martin said: “This event is the first of its kind in which these three organisations have worked together. We have come together in recognition of the fact that there is a demand that the sector as a whole work more collaboratively. Between us we represent a pretty wide cross-section of the water and wastewater industry. It is increasingly important that the water industry has a voice – but also that its concerns are shared and understood between different sectors.”

The event, which was held at Leicester City Football Club, was attended by academics, regulators and government agencies, representatives of utilities, and manufacturers and contractors from across the supply chain, and the agenda was compiled to address the greatest concerns facing the industry today according to members and associates of the three water industry bodies.

Skills shortages and the question of whether the industry is keeping pace with technical advances in other sectors were amongst topics raised. The dire need for world-class research and for addressing environmental concerns was also discussed.

The event was the first British Water led conference to use innovative cloud-based software so that delegates could interact with the event as it was happening. Participants could view presentation slides live, ask questions, tweet, take their own notes in sync with each slide, and interact with other delegates from their mobile phones, tablets or laptops.

British Water commercial events manager Leesha Gohil said: “This is the first time we have used the Glisser technology in one of our conferences.  Delegates were asked to rate the experience afterwards and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”

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