WIA are delighted to launch the Water Industry Awards 2023, to celebrate the achievements of water companies and their partners over the past year. 2022 brought a raft of challenges as the water industry hunkered down for the cost of living crisis and faced up to the scale of the task around cleaning up pollution. But through it all, the hard work and dedication of the teams and individuals who make up our industry shone through – as demonstrated by the incredible entries we received.

The Water Industry Awards have a special place in the industry, as they mark both the frontline innovation and the critically important partnerships between water companies and their partners in the supply chain. The Awards celebrate the very best practice from the front line of the water sector, and we’re proud to have a mix of entries from the big companies leading the way to the smallest disruptors breaking into the market.

New categories for this year include the Consulting Engineer Award, celebrating the amazing engineering that sits behind the industry’s infrastructure; the Energy in Water Award , showcasing the ingenuity with which companies are tackling the huge cost of energy they face; the Leakage Award, demonstrating how far the industry has come on this critical issue; and the return of the Water Retailer of the Year Award, representing this often-overlooked arm of the industry.

The awards are brought to you by Utility Week, the new home of WWT, and have a special focus on innovation and its applicability to the wider industry. This is all the more important in light of Ofwat’s innovation funding and the sector’s focus on finding new and better ways to deliver for customers.

The Awards are particularly recognised for their integrity and the rigour of the judging process. This wouldn’t be possible without the incredible commitment of our judging panel, who give up so much of their time and put such effort into making some very difficult decisions. A huge thank you to all of them, and to all of you for being part of it.

We’re looking forward to a night to remember,

James Wallin,

Editor Utility Week & chair of the judging panel, Water Industry Awards