1. We are WSP
  2. What we do
  3. Projects
  4. Engaging stakeholders for Welsh Water’s drainage and wastewater management plan

Drainage and wastewater management plans (DWMPs) are becoming increasingly important. These plans aim to improve drainage and sewerage systems. Collaboration is key due to multiple stakeholders and interconnected systems.

Location

  • Wales, UK

Client

  • Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water

Collaborating on a long-term plan

These long-term planning studies look at drainage and sewerage needs over a 25-year period. Their aim: to maintain, improve, and extend robust and resilient drainage and wastewater systems, tackling future challenges which increase the risk of flooding and environmental damage.

Creating a DWMP is a major undertaking. A range of different bodies have responsibilities for drainage. And, in turn, drainage systems interact with the networks of water and wastewater companies. How can water and sewage companies ensure their plans take all these factors into account? A collaborative approach is vital. This was our focus as we led the stakeholder engagement for Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water’s DWMP.

We brought integrated water management (IWM) thinking to our work securing vital customer input to the DWMP process. IWM considers how water, wastewater and stormwater services can contribute to public and environmental health, and to urban amenity.

THE WSP APPROACH

Managing vital customer feedback to DWMP process
Collaborative and integrated planning
Working in partnership and co-creating solutions
in-page-water-project-IWM

Putting customers at the heart of the process

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water used a series of customer research groups to determine awareness, expectations and support from customers for DWMP management options and wastewater services. This engagement helped build support from key groups such as the Consumer Council for Water, by ensuring the plan was in the best interests of existing customers. We also produced materials in English and Welsh to support engagement at each stage of the plan’s development.

Throughout the planning, WSP worked with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to engage key stakeholders. These included local planning authorities, industry regulators, National Park Authorities and environment groups. This process increased their awareness of the DWMP and encouraged them to collaborate on the plan with a view to developing a joint working group approach.

We were careful to ensure that stakeholder engagement was tailored to individuals’ needs and included both in-person meetings and interactive workshops. Our engagement team set up and provided content for a virtual room for the public consultation of the draft DWMP, enabling people to access documents at a time that suited them. This consultation resulted in commitments to stakeholders, including continuing to promote and sustain collaborative working to help shape future investment strategies.

Together with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, we worked closely with the Welsh Water Customer Challenge Group to keep customers at the heart of the plan’s development. A DWMP website provided an overview of the plan’s stages and its vision.

Resilient planning and earning trust

Our work has helped support Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water‘s vision of ‘earning the trust of customers, every day’. The robust and comprehensive DWMP also addresses the scale of improvement needed to fulfil the capacity of the drainage and sewerage networks over the long term.

It was important that the DWMP should be accessible to customers. We made this possible through an online e-learning tool that we developed and by producing high-quality, inclusive consultation material. Setting the details of the plan out clearly and transparently helped to inform customers about the DWMP and built trust between the water company and its customers.

The workshops we facilitated played an important role in understanding the objectives and risks of our stakeholders – helping to plan collaborative solutions. This partnership approach brings a wide range of expertise across different locations to the plan.