Portsmouth Water is embarking on a procurement programme to build the first new water storage reservoir in the UK since the 1980s.

The water company, in an innovative collaboration with Southern Water, is planning to develop Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire to secure vital drinking water supplies for the water-stressed South East and protect environmentally sensitive chalk streams.

The reservoir is earmarked for a 160-hectare grassland site owned by the water company and is scheduled to be operational by 2029.

As well as providing resilient water supplies, it will also create a new green, leisure facility for local communities and a new wetland habitat for threatened species of birds.

The company is preparing to launch a procurement programme for several packages of works associated with the project – including reservoir construction, pipeline installation, MEICA (Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control and Automation) works, environmental mitigation and leisure facilities with a visitors’ centre.

Bob Taylor, Chief Executive of Portsmouth Water, said: “We’re in a privileged position to be progressing the first water storage reservoir to be built in the UK for decades as the region’s water supplies are put under pressure by climate change, housing growth and the need to protect our natural environment.

“We’re very much looking forward to engaging with companies at all tiers in the supply chain who have an interest in delivering this project successfully for current and future generations. We’re also keen to maximise opportunities for local employment, as well as develop skills and leave a really positive legacy in our communities.”

The company is holding the Supply Chain Engagement Event on March 25, 2020 in Havant, Hampshire, for all tiers of the supply chain, when it will brief local, regional and national suppliers on the plans for the reservoir and associated works.

Suppliers will have an informal opportunity to engage with the company, explore opportunities to be involved and share feedback on the proposals.

Bob added: “We want to ensure our approach maximises market interest and value, as well as ensuring we can benefit from innovation and community involvement.

“This is a flagship project for the South East and it’s likely to be the first of several significant water resource infrastructure developments in coming years, so for this reason we’re keen to start early dialogue with suppliers with relevant experience.”

Companies can register for the industry day at https://portsmouthwater.delta-esourcing.com/respond/8QJW68G5PR. The deadline for registration is March 13, 2020.

To find out more about the reservoir visit portsmouthwater.co.uk/havant-thicket-reservoir.

The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) brings together people from Ofwat, Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate to improve regulation and remove barriers to help the water sector respond to long term water resources challenges.

The New Year has got off to a flying start for the RAPID team with our new Managing Director, Paul Hickey taking up his post, Colin Green from Ofwat joining as our Frameworks Director and Caroline Knight, an Inspector from the Drinking Water Inspectorate, providing us with drinking water quality expertise.

From the conversations that are happening across the team and the insight this is generating it is very clear that RAPID has the potential to make a big difference for realising our shared vision for all water users.

Progress since last time

The RAPID team continue to engage with a range of stakeholders with interests in water resources issues. It is clear that there is a building momentum to make this a breakthrough period for the development of new water resources. Transformation feels within reach because of the diversity of people and groups seeking to move this agenda forward and the collective sense of energy this creates.

Rigorous assessment processes are an important part of holding and maintaining public confidence. Three schemes in the RAPID portfolio will navigate the first stage gate in September 2020. This gate will decide if the schemes should receive further funding to progress their feasibility work. Working with the water companies we have developed a template for data submission. Thames Water and Southern Water have helpfully populated the template with dummy data to test our processes and assessment. We’ll report back on how this has gone in the next newsletter.

RAPID is breaking new ground in promoting the delivery of ‘best value’ approaches to water resources. Understanding what best value is and how it can be delivered is a really challenging task. It’s been heartening to see groups like Water Resources East engage their membership with a vision of how traditional water infrastructure could be re-imagined to deliver multiple benefits. Key to the success of this engagement has been taking something abstract and making it tangible through visualisations. Learning from this experience, RAPID will adopt this way of working to help stakeholders engage with our work.

When gathering customer and stakeholder feedback across many different groups it is important that results and insights generated are comparable. The RAPID Communications and Engagement group has now met twice to develop common approaches. One output of our meetings is a set of Frequently Asked Questions that we are developing with Welsh Government. This document will be kept up to date to help to ensure that core information shared is consistent.

Our project work is making good progress. Jacobs were awarded the first tender in January to explore if there are any missing water resource options to those featured in company plans. The other two invitations to tender covering bulk supply arrangements and modelling the sequence and resilience of the strategic schemes close soon. We look forward to making more contract awards before the next edition of our newsletter.

Consistent with our desire to operate transparently we recently published our Terms of Reference. Agreed across the three regulators, the document sets out our scope and the ways of working we will adopt to deliver our shared goal.

Coming up in the next quarter

  • Refine our Accelerated Gate 1 process following testing
  • Finalise the assessment criteria for Accelerated Gate 1
  • Progress resolving the issues raised at first quarterly liaison meeting
  • Hold the second quarterly liaison meeting
  • Work with the Environment Agency on changes to the next WRMP process
  • Continue to explore opportunities to join up water resources with flood risk management
  • Assess the remaining consultancy tenders, let contracts and manage the projects
  • Prioritise other consultancy projects to commission

We’re continuing to build our distribution list so if you think that someone would like to receive this newsletter please ask them to email rapid@ofwat.gov.uk.

 

CEO of Anglian Water, Peter Simpson, funds new scholarship for students interested in water.

The Norah Simpson scholarship will be offered from 2020 to a student carrying out postgraduate studies related to water at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The £5,000 scholarship is named after Peter’s grandmother, Norah who guided him through much of his early education.

Peter himself received a grant to fund his MSc at UEA, which led to his lifelong career in water, ultimately becoming CEO of Anglian Water in 2010. Peter said he was keen to give others the same opportunity, particularly those who share his passion for water.

“My time studying at UEA and the support I was given there have been instrumental to my career; I’m so grateful to now be in a position to give others the same opportunity.”

UEA is known for its world-leading research and has a dedicated Water Security Research Centre. The university is also part of a collaboration with Anglian Water, the Anglian Centre for Water Studies, which looks to tackle major issues concerning sustainable water use.

“I hope this scholarship will encourage students to push boundaries in water-related research, and help tackle some of the big challenges facing the industry.”

To find out more about the scholarship, or to apply, please visit www.uea.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/scholarships/university-wide/the-norah-simpson-scholarship

Want to find out more about funding scholarships? Visit www.uea.ac.uk/alumni/home/giving-to-uea/scholarships

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a UK Top 25 university and is ranked in the top 50 globally for research citations. Known for its world-leading research and good student experience, it was awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework and is a leading member of Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s biggest concentrations of researchers in the fields of environment, health and plant science. www.uea.ac.uk

 

National Apprenticeship Week (3rd – 9th February 2020) is the time to find out more about apprenticeships and the benefits that you can make the most of.

To help, the Society for the Environment has been talking to people in the know about the new Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship to dig a little deeper!

As a taster, here’s the top three reasons for doing a degree apprenticeship by Ishaaq Saleem, a first year Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprentice with Mott McDonald and studying part-time at Kingston University, London:

  1. Five years of valuable work experience gained whilst studying a degree at the same time
  2. Money! My tuition fees are covered by my employer and I get paid a good salary
  3. The opportunity to learn from experienced professionals every day on different projects.

Picture the scene – you’re midway through your second year of A-Levels sat in the library trying to find the motivation to revise for upcoming exams, when the subject of next year comes up. One friend is set on a degree in Geography, another friend is starting a photography business with family help and a third is getting an entry job at a recruitment firm. But another option mentioned by the Head of Sixth Form has caught your eye – an Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship. So, how does it work? Why don’t I just do a “normal” degree? And, do apprentices recommend it?

Let’s start with a current apprentice experiencing an apprenticeship first-hand; “Honestly, I’m really enjoying it. I can say I’ve had no regrets with the decision I’ve made [to go down the apprenticeship route]. I come across a new challenge every day, which for me is very exciting when I go in to work. It’s quite a cliché thing to say, but it’s what gets me out of bed in morning – it gives me real motivation.”

These are the positive words of Ishaaq, who also noted top three reasons for doing a degree apprenticeship above. But, why a degree apprenticeship and not a standard three-year full-time degree?

“I’m getting the same degree. Yes, it takes two years longer, but for me that extra two years is worth it because of the work experience I get. I’m getting five years of valuable on the job, processive experience, compared to those on a full-time degree who might just have two years after graduating by the same time.”

To add to this, Jennifer Coupland, Chief Executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) answered the question Why not just do a degree?

“If you are keen to build your professional experience while acquiring a qualification, and get paid while learning, then an apprenticeship is the path for you.

Organisations are seeking to promote sustainable growth in a manner that is practical and responsible. These apprenticeships, which are open to all ages, can help them do this through using fewer natural resources, producing less waste, and without compromising the quality of the built and natural environment.”

Now let’s look into the environmental focus of this degree apprenticeship. Could an apprenticeship help save the planet? Jennifer thinks so: “If you want to dedicate your life to protecting our environment – then an apprenticeship could be the right option for you.

The environmental practitioner degree apprenticeship is training the next generation of people who will help save the environment through their jobs. The role involves finding solutions that maintain, enhance and minimise environmental impacts.

For example, you could be designing costal defences against the effects of climate change or developing renewable technology that could be used to improve transport systems.”

To support this, on a special apprenticeship podcast by the Society for the Environment, Ishaaq confirmed that through his work with Mott MacDonald, he certainly believes that he is making a difference for the environment (podcast to be released at 00:01 on Weds 5th Feb 2020). Plus, Ishaaq’s course leader at Kingston University, Dr Penelope Wilson, adds her view on the need to increase the number of knowledgeable environmental professionals entering the sector:

“With an increasing number of critical environmental issues that planet Earth faces, it is more important than ever that academia entices bright, passionate, determined and positive minds to study environmental sciences at university.”

Penelope continues by providing a bit of insight into the studying element of the degree apprenticeship and what you can expect to learn and experience: “We are excited to be the first Academic Institute to be running a Level 6 Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship programme. Our BSc degree tackles all of the key environmental issues we face today, including climate change, air pollution, ecological pressures, water security, and how to improve sustainability and build more resilient towns and cities. Accredited by IEMA, our programme provides the knowledge needed to succeed as an Environmental Scientist working for an array of industries. Work-based modules and assignments allow the apprentice to explore a topic/issue that is pertinent to their employer through academic-led research with support and discretion. Kingston’s personalisation of learning and extra-curricular activities help the Apprentice to feel part of the academic community from the get-go.

Plus, economical flexi-accommodation offered by Kingston University also helps to take the pressure off long distance commuter Apprentices, allowing them opportunity to get some rest before or after a day at university before heading back to the workplace.”

All good news so far! So let’s recap for a moment – at the end of your five year apprenticeship you have a BSc Environmental Science degree, five years of valuable, progressive, on the job experience, no tuition fee loans to pay off, five years of salary and the knowledge and skills to set them up for a career in this professional sector. But that is not all, as Head of Licensing, Registration and Standards at the Society for the Environment, Geoff Atkins, explains: “Our core aim is to ensure the skill and expertise of environmental professionals from all sectors is recognised via two professional registrations – the Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) register and the Registered Environmental Technician (REnvTech) register.

However, with the introduction of the Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship came new, exciting opportunities for aspiring environmental professionals. In response to the new degree level apprenticeship we plan to introduce a new Registered Environmentalist (REnv) register in 2020, which apprentices completing the degree apprenticeship can achieve, thereby gaining professional recognition for their knowledge and expertise acquired throughout the apprenticeship.”

To conclude, the final word goes to Geoff:

“This is a fantastic new entry route for the environmental profession, providing an additional pathway for future environmental leaders and increasing the diversity of those able to gain an environmental degree. Find out more at socenv.org.uk/Environmental-Practitioner-App or search for advertised apprenticeships at gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Employers are currently actively recruiting for the Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship for a September 2020 in-take. A selection of the job adverts are now listed on the Society for the Environment’s website, here.