CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management)

A Tribute to Jane Boland. To our colleague and friend Jane, and to all who knew her and miss her like we do: Jane Boland, former Head of Partnerships at CIWEM, and so much more, passed away from cancer on Sunday 14th of July after exceeding expectations one last time. She had been battling with the disease since last Autumn and outlasted her prognosis by months. This is typical Jane behaviour: she always had more energy in her and gave everything 150 per cent. Jane first joined CIWEM over four years ago, as our communication manager, before going to work full-time on our partnerships. With her quick mind and positive thinking, she helped CIWEM connect with businesses and people, with purpose in mind. She was always keen to harness our connections into projects and initiatives that would benefit people and the environment. Niki Roach, host of the Planet Possible podcast and former CIWEM president remembers her as “a force of nature. I think I vaguely mentioned that creating a podcast would be a good idea and one car journey later Jane had a shortlist of names! A day or so later she’d designed a logo and when we renamed the pod to Planet Possible, she found a brilliant designer and had a whole brand identity designed before I’d caught my breath.” During the pandemic, once again Jane’s agility became CIWEM’s agility as her mastery of tech and bravery in the face of challenge swiftly and seamlessly transitioned us into the world of digital events. This allowed us to host webinars, the online version of Flood and Coast in 2021, and the Virtual Career Fair, making sure we were still giving our members the opportunities they needed. Jane made difficult conversations easy. Her openness about the realities of her ADHD helped foster open conversations about neurodiversity in our workspace and empowered friends and colleagues to share their own experiences. It created a culture of care and understanding, in which we celebrate our identities, support each other and benefit from our differences. Through these conversations Jane always pushed us to be more creative, ambitious, and to take chances. With her big bright smile, Jane was a leader and a cheerleader for her colleagues. She challenged us to do better. She was never afraid to ask the tough questions so we could find solutions together. All these qualities made Jane an invaluable team member and turned colleagues into friends. Her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed Christmas party remains infamous at CIWEM for having been an incredibly fun, sugar-fuelled day. We already miss hearing her laughter fill the office, but we are so grateful we got to experience it in the first place. Our thoughts are with her husband Mark, her family and her friends.

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with WSP in the UK, a world-leading multi-disciplinary professional services consulting firm. Working with WSP, we will enhance innovation in the water sector, promote environmental stewardship, and address pressing environmental challenges. This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to foster best practices in water management and nurture resilient communities. WSP’s commitment to professional development through CIWEM membership includes mentor training sessions and clear pathways to chartership, providing robust support for early career professionals. We look forward to collaborating closely with WSP, encouraging knowledge sharing, and amplifying our collective efforts to drive positive change in the water industry! #CIWEM #WSP #WaterIndustry #EnvironmentalStewardship

We are grateful to the Partners and Supporters who provided financial support and guidance to enable the Community of Practice to be developed. Big thank you to Arcadis, Ashfield Solutions Group Ltd, Aviva, Environment Agency, Flood Re, JBA Consulting, Lakeside Flood Solutions, NFU Mutual, Department for Infrastructure, RAB Consultants, Resilico, Llywodraeth, Whitehouse Construction Co Ltd. We’d also like to thank the South West PFR Pathfinder project and individuals listed below for their contributions to the Community of Practice: Fola Ogunyoye - TJAY Consultancy (Project Chair)  Mary Long-Dhonau OBE - Flood Mary  Tracey Garrett - The National Flood Forum  Kirsty MacRae - Scottish Flood Forum  Alan Ryan - West Northamptonshire Council For more information about the Partners and Supporters, visit the directory: https://lnkd.in/dQPsC8YG #CIWEM #BeFloodReady #CommunityofPractice #PFR #FloodResilience

Our sixth session of the 'Lunch and Learn' series will focus on using LinkedIn for Personal & Professional Growth. 📅 Date: Tuesday, 30th July ⏰ Time: 12:30PM - 13:30PM 🎯 Exclusively for CIWEM Members In this Lunch and Learn, you will receive expert guidance on how to enhance your LinkedIn strategy, build a standout profile, and expand your professional network. It's perfect for leaders, directors, managers, and anyone looking to grow their online presence. This session will include advice on: - Crafting a compelling LinkedIn profile - Building effective networking strategies - Enhancing your personal brand - Utilising LinkedIn's specialist tools And more! The session will be led by Nevil Tynemouth, an accomplished speaker, trainer and facilitator in business development, sales and coaching. Register Here: https://lnkd.in/egpqr9tR #LunchandLearn #CIWEM #BusinessDevelopment

Yesterday, the Environment Agency launched its annual report on water & sewerage company performance.   Disappointing yet unsurprising:   🗑️ Total water company pollution incidents remain stubbornly high and on an upwards trajectory. Most incidences were from foul sewers. No water company achieved the green target for this metric, down on the last two years when four companies did.   ⛔ Numbers of serious pollution incidences remain 'unacceptably high' and are up from 2022.   📉 Overall the sector continues to underperform with 5 out of the 9 water & sewerage companies requiring improvement   Alan Lovell, Chair @ Environment Agency: "The results we see are, yet again, simply not good enough."   With a new government, the planned new Water (Special Measures) Bill, and Ofwat's price review this year, we have a golden opportunity to turn this around.   But we also need more fundamental reform - we want #AFreshWaterFuture. Through #AFreshWaterFuture initiative, facilitated by CIWEM, water-environment professionals and stakeholders unanimously called for the new government to commission a comprehensive review of water management and regulation - within it's first 12 months. Let's kick this off! 🚀 Learn more here: www.afreshwaterfuture.org    Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ofwat Steve Reed Emma Hardy MP

The new Labour government has set the target of building 1.5 million homes in five years 🏘 an increase of at least 50% over the previous time period. 🗣CIWEM Director of Policy Alastair Chisholm welcomes Labour's bold aims, but also offers a word of caution over the potential environmental impacts: "New housing must not put any additional strain on water pollution [...] Progress on water efficiency and SuDS since 2010 has been lamentable, with policies introduced by the last Labour Government either frustrated, delayed or cancelled. The result is we are little further on regarding the water impacts of housing than we were at that point. This is the government’s opportunity to put that right – fast. That mustn’t get lost in any rush to bulldoze the blockers to rapid housing growth through planning reform." 🔗 Read the full reaction via elemental: https://lnkd.in/etCmrQUC

Our technical director was recently interviewed by The Environment to find out why silt shouldn’t be overlooked when carrying out works near or in water. Produced by CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management), the magazine covers all aspects of water and environmental management. To read the article in full, visit: https://lnkd.in/e-4CzT4u #waterquality #siltmatters #CIWEM #surfacewatermanagement #environmentalprotection #constructionexcellence

🎧 Listen to the first-ever Planet Possible MiniPod! It's an extra once-a-month update episode - about 15 minutes long - that will react to current events in water, climate and nature. For each MiniPod, Niki Roach will be joined by an environmental expert guest to will discuss some of latest key environmental talking points, so you can keep bang up-to-date with the latest planet positive developments. In the first episode hear from CIWEM's Alastair Chisholm, as he chooses the 3 topics that have been in the news over the last couple of weeks. As you may have guessed, there's a strong water & UK political focus! bit.ly/PP_minipod_july Let us know what you think of the latest #PlanetPossible release, and if there's any questions you'd like us to address in future episodes. #NewEpisode #Water #KingsSpeech

🚨Government announces first steps to reform water sector🚨   Big day for all things water, as the government announces its first steps to reform the water sector AND £88bn is agreed by Ofwat for water company investment over the next five years.   Good to see the new government getting on the front foot with water issues and taking on board some of the recommendations made in 'A Fresh Water Future'. The government has proposed:   1. Funding for vital infrastructure should be ringfenced for upgrades and the environment, with unspent money for investment refunded to customers - This is a welcome move and reflects Recommendation No 8 in 'A Fresh Water Future', which called for investment in maintenance of water infrastructure to future-proof against climate change and address mounting pollution issues - from urban run-off as well as sewage. But will £88bn be sufficient to address these challenges? 2. Water companies' constitutions will now place customers and the environment at the heart of their objectives - This echoes 'A Fresh Water Future' Recommendation No 3 on reforming water companies to become purpose-led organisations, delivering outcomes for people and the environment. Ofwat must be given a clear duty to regulate against such principles.   3. Set up customer panels with powers to summon board members and hold water company bosses to account - This is a good move and will help restore trust between water companies and consumers. But these panels must have more teeth than the Customer Challenge Groups of old.   4. Double compensation for customers and businesses if their water services are impacted - Again, a welcome move to help restore trust between water users and companies, but is it just a sticking plaster given where public sentiment is at?   These are welcome first steps, but much, much more will be needed to restore the nation's broken system of water management. We will be seeking to engage the government to ensure these measures translate into meaningful, beneficial changes for water and the environment.   'A Fresh Water Future', a co-created vision for the water sector, sets out many more fundamental reforms, including a holistic, independent review of water regulation and governance AND establishing an ambitious catchment approach for governing and funding water issues.   Updated policy and regulation must be partnered with investment in skills. Unless we invest in a bigger and more diverse profession, we will not be able to deliver the transformation required. Never before has the expertise of our members been so critical to society and a fresh water future. What do you think of today's announcement?

New! Listen to the Planet Possible MiniPod! With so much happening in the water and environment space we thought you might enjoy an extra bit of Planet Possible - so from today you can listen to our MiniPod! It's an extra once-a-month update episode that will react to current events in water, climate and nature. It's a MiniPod because it'll only take about 15 minutes of your time.. and it means you get a Planet Possible episode every two weeks. Each episode I'll be joined by an environmental expert guest and together we will discuss 3 key current talking points that will keep you bang up-to-date with the latest planet positive developments. The first one is available now - featuring Alastair Chisholm - you can find it on your podcast player by searching for Planet Possible - or listen online here... bit.ly/PP_minipod_july This episode is dedicated to our friend and colleague Jane Boland, a champion of the pod from it's very first episode and who continually inspired us to be positive and explore what's possible. Thanks as ever to our 2024 season sponsor AtkinsRéalis for their support. #NewEpisode #PlanetPossible #Water #KingsSpeech CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management)