Vicky Garner, Campaign Manager of SAS said today;

"If we are going to give our water environment the best possible chance, we have to view the environment as a whole. This means not just looking at the impacts of individual stakeholders on separate environmental units such as our coastal and inland waters, but at how stakeholders can work together for the benefit of the greater environment. This joint collaboration will only work if there is a change in the way that industry and society view one crucial part of their activities and that is waste".

"The past trend has been for the by-products of manufacturing, industry and sewage treatment to be viewed as wastes, with the emphasis on their disposal. Yet by changing this perception we could go a long way towards addressing arising water and larger environment issues".

"With increasing pressure on resources such as energy and water and an ever increasing need to reduce the damage we are doing to the environment, it's time to take stock; to look with innovative eyes at what we actually have at our disposal. Turning to the water industry for example, highly treated wastewater's and tonnes of sewage sludge are surely resources just waiting to be used!"

"Mans activities compromise the quality of our water environment. From food production to the manufacture of clothing and paper, somewhere along the line polluting substances will enter the system. In addition, our activities also drain valuable resources. The only way forward is to identify and instigate safe, practical and sustainable initiatives to make use of the inevitable products of mans activities and to replace existing environmentally damaging practises with well thought out alternatives. The only way this will happen is if we look at the system and the pressures on that system as one integrated unit and look for solutions that are mutually beneficial".

To fully embrace the challenge before them, the water industry will not only need open dialogue and co-operation with other stakeholders but they must also be able to develop and trial ideas. This is a matter SAS will be bringing to OFWAT's attention.