Open data

What is open data?

Open data is data that is publicly available to access, use and share freely. Open data has benefitted a number of industries outside of the water sector, but these are yet to be fully realised for water companies and their customers.

The water and sewerage sector is also data rich and the ambition within the industry is to make this data openly available to:

• increase transparency
• foster innovation
• improve efficiency.

Industry regulator Ofwat has found widespread public support for water companies adopting an open data approach.

Case study: Transforming our use of storm overflow data

Opening and sharing data can be a driving force for innovation that will deliver meaningful, long-lasting change. A great example of this is the story of StormHarvester and Wessex Water.

StormHarvester had a brilliant product that needed real data to demonstrate its benefits. Wessex Water had identified a challenge that needed fixing. Through our Marketplace approach, we opened up our data so potential partners could show – in real terms – the solutions they could deliver.

The challenge focused on data from monitors at storm overflows. We wanted to be able to locally identify overflows that behaved outside the expected parameters for weather conditions at the time. We shared around two years of historical data for 89 monitor locations. We also shared run-stop data for the relevant sewage pumping stations (SPS), showing when the pumps turn on and off. We asked interested parties to process our data in their systems to demonstrate their abilities.

Through this, a partnership with StormHarvester and Wessex Water was born, accelerating the delivery of StormHarvester’s AI drainage solution and enabling us to enhance the monitoring of its sewer network and protect waterways across the region.

After shortlisting, trial and a tender process, we signed a contract with StormHarvester which is now monitoring nearly 4,000 devices across our network. We are routinely identifying network anomalies such as blockages that if left unchecked could lead to pollutions.

Openly sharing this business challenge and the associated data unlocked an innovative solution. Not only has StormHarvester gone from strength to strength, but the benefits are now being seen at both Wessex Water and across the wider water industry: predicting and preventing issues before they even happen.

In relation to water companies opening up more of their data, StormHarvester’s advice was "Do it. We have shown that the learnings for the utility will far outweigh any effort involved in obtaining the data or any perceived risks".

Stream: Working together to progress open data

We cannot transform our approach to data in isolation; collaboration among water companies is key. Stream is a water sector initiative to unlock the potential of water data to benefit customers, society and the environment. As a member of Stream, we are working with other water companies, organisations from legal, energy and technology sectors, and stakeholders including the CCW and Ofwat, to support this innovation.

A key milestone for Stream was the creation of an easily accessible, intuitive platform that brings together datasets from different companies within the sector. The industry worked together to standardise how data are provided and identify how potentially sensitive data can be shared in the right way. The first Stream datasets were published in December 2023, followed by a further release in spring 2024. These include domestic consumption and drinking water quality.

As a Stream partner, we have shared our experience in data governance and our background in making open data available through the Wessex Water Marketplace. We were also a founding member of Stream’s Centre of Expertise, which seeks to accelerate learning and change in open data by sharing best practice.

Through participation in the Stream work, we can continually improve our existing processes and ensure that they align with Stream and the industry. For example, work is underway to standardise data triage, the systematic review of risks associated with making a given dataset open, such as security concerns. The approach also considers the available mitigations to alleviate these risks, within a wider environment of understanding ownership and value of the data.

Our open data strategy

Our recently published open data strategy supports the principles and long terms goals of our wider data strategy, driving the culture and behaviours to enable trust and transparency, ownership, collaborative working, and sharing best practices across the water industry.

This strategy demonstrates our commitment to making data open and will be regularly reviewed by our Open Data Champion, alongside our supporting tools and process that ensure open data is delivered.

Our open data strategy details our commitments and roadmap of deliverables to advance our open data maturity during 2024. The strategy is fully endorsed by our executive team and outlines our open data vision, that so far as possible, all our data should be open.

Our open data commitments

Engaging and supporting our data community

We want our customers and data communities to be able to understand and use the data we make openly available. This includes making our data easy to find, download, use and connect with us about.

Strengthening our data processes to ensure a consistent approach

Our processes ensure we are appropriately managing data publication risks through assessment of data quality and validation, while maximising opportunities to address business, industry and wider challenges. Evidencing our progress through open data maturity is fundamental to ensure we respond to Ofwat’s open data recommendations and deliver our open data vision.

Leadership and collaboration – treating our data as a valuable asset

Our work with Stream and industry partners to advance open data maturity will continue. Internally, our Open Data Champion and colleagues will be important to integrate open data into our day-to-day culture.

Restoring trust through open data

We will continue to release new datasets, expand our successful Marketplace approach to share further challenges and consider frequently requested information for open publication.