Engineering experts Reece Innovation will lead a group comprising academics, businesses, schools and members of the public in a seven-day quest for new ideas on how infrastructure is upgraded.

The focus on delivering effective and affordable infrastructure upgrades is part of Northumbrian Water Group’s (NWG) Innovation Festival, taking place at Newcastle Racecourse from July 10 to July 14, and is bringing together some of the world’s leading businesses to tackle major environmental and social challenges.

Chris Pywell, Reece Innovation Director, said:

“We want communities to be healthier, safer, more connected, more energy efficient and more attractive places to live, work and study. To achieve these objectives, new and improved infrastructure that is smarter, more sustainable, more efficient and more effective, is needed.”

“While it is vital that individual people, businesses and organisations play their part, upgrades to infrastructure such as water, energy, communications and transport networks is key.

“Investment in ‘softer’ networks, such as health, safety, education, wellbeing and the natural environment are also very important. Further, our future will need many of these networks to be integrated, often by new digital technologies.”

“Preparing for the Future’: How do we upgrade our infrastructure for the 21st Century, effectively and affordably?” starts on the Monday – delegates will firstly scope the nature of the problem and then spend the week developing key ideas which will then be subjected to scrutiny from members of the public. The sprint’s findings will be presented to a gathering of industry experts and regulators at the end of the week.

Six key problems will be under consideration; reduction of flooding, leaking pipes, upgrading infrastructure for the 21st Century effectively and affordably, looking at what things will look like by 2030, and optimising a mobile workforce for a complex network business.

Nigel Watson, Northumbrian Water Group Information Services Director, said:

“Infrastructure upgrades are vital but the way they are done can often be a bone of contention that sees people torn between necessity and disruption. Cost is also at the heart of many arguments over such upgrades, so the sprint that Reece Group is leading has real value that everyone can appreciate and, potentially, benefit from in the future.”

Get bottled water coolers and mains water coolers from Living-Water.