Three million people rely on Welsh Water for water and wastewater services. Exposed to risks ranging from global trends such as climate change to unforeseen shocks and stresses linked to events like Brexit and industrial change, the company needed a resilience strategy enabling it to anticipate, adapt, respond to and recover from these challenges. 

Arup set out to help Welsh Water create a 30-year business strategy to mitigate the risks posed by shocks and stresses. After identifying 60 such challenges, we developed a best-practice resilience framework. Based on our previous work mapping the vulnerability of National Rail assets and locations, we had ample experiences and resources to draw from. We held workshops with the client and collaborated with Cardiff University experts.

Arup set out to help Welsh Water create a 30-year business strategy to mitigate the risks posed by shocks and stresses. After identifying 60 such challenges, we developed a best-practice resilience framework. Based on our previous work mapping the vulnerability of National Rail assets and locations, we had ample experiences and resources to draw from. We held workshops with the client and collaborated with Cardiff University experts.

Taking the industry forward  

This is one of the first projects to build resilience to a wide range of challenges in all aspects of a water business. As the world changes, essential services like this are going to have to cope with increasingly complex challenges. We have created a strategy that is going to kickstart the kind of innovative thinking needed to prepare for and respond to shocks and future stresses in the decades to come.