In December, 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 signalling. 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: 1 December 2025 10:00-12:00 BST

Location: online

Co-Chairs: Melissa Tallack (NWL); Gea Winterson-Mikic on behalf of Gavin Starks (IB1)

Secretariat: IB1

Meeting Aims 

  1. Endorsing the 2026 achievement states and outcomes for Q1 2026
  2. Endorsing the Tech WG recommendations
  3. Engaging members in the shift from project to business through the Data Institution
  4. To gather a baseline to understand where companies’ engagement with Stream is right now and how we can best support companies moving forward. What are the next steps?
  5. Action from members on Water Efficiency Lab Fund and Section 82 work

Summary:

Minutes:

  • It was agreed that:
    • The tech working group’s recommendations will proceed, subject to quorum confirmation, with emphasis on publisher support, metadata enhancements, and Esri contract engagement.
    • Q1 priorities will include roadmap development for the data institution and delivery of secure data sharing capabilities.
  • It was noted that:
    • Stream is working towards a ‘data institution’ status, supported by ODI workshops scheduled for early 2026.
    • Water Efficiency will be the 2026 theme, following the delivery of the 2025 “Clean up UK Rivers and Seas” theme.
    • Usability testing showed high satisfaction for external users (score: 77.5) regarding the Stream platform, but only average ease of use for publishers (score: 68.6).
    • The Esri contract renewal is a fixed 3-year term starting early 2026, limiting near-term replatforming options due to budget constraints.
    • A retrospective was conducted and a summary will be shared back in the next meeting
  • It was discussed that:
    • Financial sustainability remains a core challenge as Stream transitions to a Data Institution
    • There is a need to distinguish bugs from enhancement requests in platform feedback to better inform contract negotiations.
    • Manual account setup on the Esri platform poses a barrier to scaling shared data access but it can be done.
    • Risks include uncertain technical readiness for secure research environments and potential misalignment between future use cases and existing tooling.