Date : 11/03/2025 | Time : 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm |
Water – what’s gone wrong and what do we do about it?
This talk will be on Zoom. The talk is free but you do need to book a place to get access details. Please ignore references to payment. Scroll to the end of this page for the booking form.
Thirty years ago, the UK was seen as the dirty man of Europe. In the 1990s, major improvements to urban water and sewage treatment and coastal bathing waters came following privatisation of water and waste management. Moreover, the consumers paid: government borrowing was unaffected. Waste management was also transformed, from a landfill to a resource recovery and renewable energy business.
But recently the state of our rivers has caused alarm amongst the public – frequent unauthorised sewage discharges and waters unsafe for recreational users to enter have been headlined. Alongside this, a crisis in the financing and governance of our major water companies figured strongly in last year’s General Election Campaign.
The government is committed to growing the economy; this will only add to the pressures on our infrastructure and our planning and regulatory systems. How did we get into this position and how do we get out of it?
Evan Davis, Baroness Young and Colin Drummond will lead the second Harkness Centenary Discussion on challenges facing the country in managing water well.
Moderator
Evan Davis (HF 1986 to 88, Harvard Kennedy School) is a leading broadcaster and economist. He has held a series of senior roles with the BBC since 1993, first as economics correspondent/editor; then as presenter of Radio 4’s Today programme (2008 to 2014), of Newsnight (2014 to 2018), and of Radio 4’s PM (2018 – the present). He has also presented Dragons’ Den since 2005 and The Bottom Line since 2006. Prior to joining BBC he worked for the Institute of Fiscal Studies and London Business School. His published books include Public Spending, Made in Britain, and Post Truth.
Speakers
Colin Drummond OBE DL (HF 1975 to 77, Harvard Business School) worked for the Bank of England and The Boston Consulting Group before becoming a Director of Renold plc and Chief Executive of Coats Viyella Yarns. Joining the board of water company Pennon Group plc in 1992, he created Viridor, the £4bn recycling and renewable energy company which he ran up until his retirement in 2014. He also chaired several government water and environment advisory committees. After retirement from Viridor he served as chair of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (2014 to 2024) and as Pro-Chancellor and Chair of the University of Plymouth (2016 to 2022). He was Master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators in 2007/08 and again in 2022/23.
Barbara, Baroness Young of Old Scone, is a Member of the House of Lords with special interests, among others, in the environment, agriculture, land use, planning, natural resources and climate change, and current Chair of the Labour Climate and Environment Forum. She has a range of voluntary positions including the South Georgia Heritage Trust, Chartered Institute of Environmental Management, RSPB, Bird Life International and Flora and Fauna International. She has held a variety of environmental leadership roles, including Chief Executive of RSPB and the Environment Agency, Chair of English Nature and the Woodland Trust. She is a Commissioner of the Commission on Food Farming and the Countryside.
Bookings
This event is fully booked.
You can pay with credit or debit or through your PayPal account.
* Required field
^ You are an HFA member if you pay an annual donation to the Harkness Fellows Association.
^^ In case we need to call about changes to the event.