Senior leadership for regulated utilities and Tier 1 contractors — driving accountability for cost, programme, quality and stakeholder management across the UK's most complex water infrastructure schemes through AMP8 and into AMP9.
Aqua Assurance Consulting provides director-level programme and contract leadership to UK water utilities and Tier 1 infrastructure contractors navigating the demands of AMP8. With over 25 years of senior experience across major capital delivery frameworks, the practice offers the full weight of strategic programme direction without the cost burden of a large consultancy.
Water utilities increasingly require independent, senior programme leadership on client-side delivery functions — managing framework contractors, assuring capital investment delivery against Ofwat's Price Control Deliverables (PCDs), and building the AMP8 delivery evidence that will underpin PR29 business plan submissions. We provide that capability directly, operating as an embedded member of the utility's programme team or as an independent assurance function reporting to the investment director.
From framework mobilisation through to final account close-out, our involvement is hands-on, structured and outcome-focused. We integrate seamlessly with existing delivery teams, functioning as a senior extension of your own capability at the points where it matters most.
The AMP8 investment cycle (2025–2030) represents the largest sustained capital programme in the UK water sector's history. Ofwat's determination has placed unprecedented demands on regulated utilities and their delivery partners to demonstrate programme efficiency, environmental performance and supply chain integration. The ability to deploy experienced, credentialled programme leadership rapidly — without lengthy recruitment processes — is a genuine competitive advantage for both utilities managing contractor performance and contractors building their AMP9 pipeline. With PR29 price controls effective from April 2030, utilities already need to be building the delivery evidence base that will justify their next round of capital investment.
Our track record includes leadership of the Havant Thicket Reservoir project (£350M, Portsmouth Water / Southern Water), AMP framework delivery across the South of England with divisional turnover grown to £85M+, and Contract Director roles on United Utilities' Better Rivers Programme.
All civil engineering elements of water infrastructure programmes we lead are delivered with reference to CESWI 8 — the Civil Engineering Specification for the Water Industry (8th Edition, 2023). Published by WRc on behalf of UKWIR, CESWI 8 is the definitive standard specification for civil engineering contracts let by water undertakers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our familiarity with CESWI requirements — from materials and excavation through to pipeline construction, testing and disinfection — ensures that civil delivery is fully compliant from the outset and survives client audit.
We offer flexible engagement structures appropriate to the scale and urgency of the requirement — from short-term advisory assignments reviewing programme health, to sustained multi-year delivery leadership as a principal contractor's representative or client-side programme director.
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