Northumbrian Water aims to be ‘game changer’ in leakage

Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) has appointed a new water director who will set out the company’s ambition to be a “game changer” when it comes to tackling leakage.

Dr Eliane Algaard will join NWG on 8 October from National Rail and will have a UK “leading leakage target” in her sights, the company said.

The news follows water companies being urged to act to tackle leakage now as the water watchdog revealed the amount of water lost through leakage increased for the second year running.

A report on resilience published by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) yesterday (30 August) highlighted overall leakage levels rose by 1.5 per cent in 2017/18 to 3,170 million litres per day.

Algaard said the challenge to tackle leakage is “now more important than ever” as she revealed the company’s ambition “goes above and beyond” targets set by regulators.

Ofwat has challenged companies to reduce leakage by 15 per cent between 2020 and 2025 and has called for a “game change” in the sector.

The regulator said it has “thrown down the gauntlet” for water companies to cut leakage by 170 billion litres a year.

Essex and Suffolk Water, which is part of Northumbrian Water Group, was shown as one of the water companies with the largest leakage reductions (-2.8 per cent) in CCWater’s report.

However, it was also listed as one of the nine companies that missed their leakage target for 2017/18.

Algaard has more than 20 years’ experience in infrastructure asset management and business planning in the water and rail sectors.

She started her career at Veolia Water where she carried out several different roles, including network and leakage strategy manager, when she had responsibility for the development of a £130 million five-year capital programme.

She said: “Producing the best quality water is a given, our customers trust us to treat water to the highest of standards and exceeding those standards is definitely job number one. But our customers also expect us to be responsible custodians of that water and make sure that every drop really does count.

“Leakage is a challenge the whole industry faces and it’s now more important than ever that we all do everything we can to save water, even in the NWG operating areas where we have secure supplies for the next 40 years.  Just as we ask our customers to use water wisely, we must take on this responsibility ourselves.

“We’re already one of the best on leakage and our levels are much better than the industry average. In my role as water director at NWG we will continue to raise the bar and be the standout leaders for the industry by setting ourselves ambitious targets for 2020-2025.

“Our ambition goes above and beyond any targets set by regulators to date and achieving it would see us become the standout UK leaders in tackling leakage and that’s where our customers want us to be.”

She added: “This will mean that per household leakage will be at 63.39 litres per day – effectively half the current industry average – and it will be the lowest leakage rates that any UK water company has ever had in history.

“It’s a tough challenge but one that I can’t wait to begin and I’m really looking forward to getting started.”

If the company wants per-household leakage to fall to 63.39 litres per day, down from Essex and Suffolk Water’s current level of 82 and around half the current industry average of 123.

Algaard will be based predominantly at Sandon Valley House in Essex and will be responsible for spearheading Essex and Suffolk Water’s plans around water quality and catchment management, water efficiency and leakage.

Heidi Mottram, chief executive of NWG, said: “I am truly delighted that Eliane is joining us at Northumbrian Water – as an ambitious and experienced leader in delivering infrastructure investment.

“She has a strong record of delivering large scale, game-changing infrastructure improvements and it is that record that I am sure will make a real difference in delivering an unrivalled water service to our customers.”