In August, we brought together Stream’s Advisory Group 1 (Market & User Needs) which comprises subject matter experts from 16 water companies and other industry stakeholders. Co-chaired by Icebreaker One and Northumbrian Water, this group advises and supports the project partners as they commence work on Stream’s Implementation Phase.
Date: 14 August 2025 10:00-11:30 BST
Location: online
Co-Chairs: Elysia Moore covering for Melissa Tallack (NWL); Charlotte Hillenbrand (IB1)
Secretariat: IB1
Meeting aims:
- To prepare members for the next use case prioritisation conversation (next AG)
- Co-create the Open October event
Summary:
- Outcomes review:
- It was noted that:
- that outcomes for Q3 are progressing as planned. The APR dataset was published on 1 August, with work underway on data quality and the DWQ dataset.
- that ecosystem pillar items are also in progress, with no concerns raised.
- It was noted that:
- Use case prioritisation:
- It was noted that:
- Six AMP8 priorities were confirmed: water efficiencies, protecting the environment, health and safety, customer experience, net zero, and infrastructure/resilience.
- CReDO will be prioritised for discovery in Q4, while other use cases remain in the backlog or blocked due to external constraints.
- Tagging each use case with AMP8 priorities would strengthen future prioritisation discussions.
- It was noted that:
- It was discussed that overlaps between priorities mean a single use case could address multiple areas.
- It was agreed that members should provide additional input and new use case ideas ahead of the next Advisory Group at the end of September.
- Cross-sector use case: CReDO
- It was noted that:
- CReDO 2, focused on climate adaptation and cross-sector resilience, will begin discovery in September, with Connected Places Catapult, Edinburgh University, and Northumberland among the partners.
- CReDO is considered a high-profile use case and a significant opportunity for Stream to demonstrate impact.
- It was discussed that:
- Questions remain on the granularity of probabilistic asset failure analysis, which will be clarified in future sessions.
- It was noted that:
- Open October planning
- It was noted that Open October will run 13–16 October with a hybrid hackathon and in-person event, themed around systems thinking.
- It was discussed that Leeds, Wales, and Yorkshire have offered to host, while an East region location is still being explored, however, the event may be condensed to one location depending on availability.
- Group 1: Hackathon challenge focus
- It was discussed that potential hackathon themes include Cleaning Up the UK’s Rivers, Lakes and Seas, storm overflows, lead in drinking water, water scarcity, per capita consumption, leakage ratios, and energy-water resilience.
- It was noted that:
- Some data gaps may limit feasibility (e.g. reservoir levels).
- Aligning this hackathon with learnings from the year’s previous hackathons may provide continuity, with water scarcity and drinking water quality framed as possible themes for the following year.
- Group 2 – In-person event design
- It was noted that engagement and communication remain a challenge, and members endorsed using the event to demonstrate Stream’s alignment with AMP8 priorities and to showcase successes.
- It was discussed that:
- Tangible open data examples (APR, NSOH) would help secure internal support for attendance.
- Togetherness and cross-company engagement were key benefits of one in-person meetup.
- A session on data sharing models/infrastructure should be considered to support progress toward shared data.
- Water companies wish to see a clear three-year roadmap with defined expectations of involvement.
- A presentation on digital twins and discussion of Section 82 delivery would be valuable.