In February, we reconvened Stream’s Steering Group which comprises experts that represent water companies, regulators, research, innovation bodies and government. 

Co-chaired by Icebreaker One and NWL, the group’s primary function is to help provide leadership and market signaling. Oversight of, and endorsement from, this group will establish a lasting set of robust governance measures to ensure data is shared safely and with the correct regulations.

Date: 3rd February 2025 14:00-16:00 BST

Location: online

Co-Chairs: Melissa Tallack (NWL); Gavin Starks (IB1)

Secretariat: IB1

Meeting aims:

  1. Members to begin to discuss AI 
  2. To seek support for Sector Open Data strategy, the Q1 comms plan, water industry awards and publishing the NSOH schema into the main branch

Summary:

  • It was agreed that members will support the running of the proposed Working Groups 
    • It was noted that for WG3 Operations (Legal Agreements), a legal representative from each organisation will be required.  
  • It was noted that the Sector Open Data Strategy was presented to members for endorsement
  • There was discussion around the question ‘In light of recent government statements on AI, what does it mean for Stream or our risk assessment process?’ and it was noted that:
    • Water companies may need to revisit the risk assessments in their triage regarding open licenses and ai. Example context: https://creativecommons.org/2023/08/18/understanding-cc-licenses-and-generative-ai/ 
    • There could be merit in bringing the sector together to understand if there’s commonality in the AI guardrails and strategies being developed. 
    • Being at an early data standpoint could be beneficial for Stream as it provides the opportunity to make the data AI ready.
  • Members were given an update on the work of the pillars:
    • The use case and datasets pillar noted a focus on the Cleaning up UK Rivers, Lakes and Seas use case, relevant datasets will be standardised by the end of February
    • It was noted that the operations pillar is looking to spin up 3 working groups to work on their achievement states and OKRs.
    • The technology pillar noted a focus on taking the time to review Stream’s technical suite after being operational for a short time and working through any gaps. 
    • The ecosystem pillar is working towards Open Data Day with the primary challenge statement linked to the Cleaning Up UK Rivers, Lakes and Seas
  • The Q1 comms plan was discussed with a focus on prioritising the processes that drive value such as knowledge share sessions and consolidated social media posts 
  • Members were given an update from the AGs: 
    • It was noted that AG1 hosted an external speaker, with rich conversations around River Deep Mountain AI. AG1 discussed how water company data will be funnelled through Stream to RDMAI to ensure companies can meet the standards for scalability.
    • It was noted that AG2 discussed the development of the rivers, lakes, and seas use case and the impact of tools on citizen science data collection. Further, recommendations from the technology pillar were proposed to purchase MS tools to streamline, and integrate GitHub into the Stream account. 
  • It was noted that the regulator will be requiring APR information notice to be published in machine readable format. 
  • It was noted that there was a desire to see more of what individual companies deliver through Stream
  • It was agreed that Melissa will put forward a submission for Stream and the NSOH in the Groundbreaker category of the Water Industry Awards showcasing it as a first for the sector. 
  • It was noted that the NSOH Schema has been published and the data standards updated.
  • The current pillar champions shared their experience and an open call for new pillar champions was put to members 
    • It was noted that there is a sense of community within the pillar champion group, fostering a sense of focus and structure around tasks and allowing rapid progress to be made through work with the BAU team.
    • It was noted that the time commitments are manageable 

The next meeting will be held 17th March 2025.

Formal records, including attendees, are maintained by the secretariat, and are confidential to the Steering Group members.