Master Water Conservator

  The Tudor Pull is an annual river Pageant when Her Majesty’s Royal Watermen, with a flotilla of City Livery Company Cutters, deliver the River Stela from Hampton Court to the Tower of London. The Stela is a cross-section of an ancient wooden water pipe, now enclosed in a glass travelling case. For a number of years, Her Majesty’s Row-barge, Gloriana, has been used for the journey, including this year.   The Master Water Conservator with Derek Mann, Master Waterman, entrusts the transport of the Stela to the Queen’s Bargemaster in a ceremony, attended by Wardens, Christine Jarvis and Martin Bigg. The ceremony commemorates the use of the River Thames as a liquid highway for centuries.   The Gloriana arrived at Richmond Bridge for lunch and then left, escorted by 13 Livery Company Cutters, for the Tower. Among the Cutters was our own, The Water Forget-me-not , with Thames Warden, Christine, and David, on board for the thrill of a lifetime, steered by Merlin, son of our Bargem

  Members of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators gathered at Water Conservation Trust-partner, Thorner’s Church of England School in Dorset, to dedicate a Ginkgo tree on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Master, Roger North, Chair of the Trustees, Rob Casey, Deputy Master and WCT Schools Lead, Christine Duthie, Court Assistant and Hon Sec, WCT, joined Headteacher Mike Sitch and the schoolchildren for the unveiling of a commemorative plaque. The tree was planted by the Master and a pupil celebrating his birthday that day. The tree, a ginkgo biloba , also known as the maidenhair tree, is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Following a speech of welcome, the pupils entertained us with a lively, celebratory song, in English and Xhosa. Our thanks go to the Chair of the Governors, the Headteacher and pupils at Thorner’s Primary School for hosting us so well.  

In May 2021 nearly 200 delegates from over 60 Livery companies attended the ‘ Who was found to be naked when the tide went out ?’ charity conference. Delegates expressed an interest in forming an informal network of Livery Charity Chairs to share experiences and ideas. And the Livery Charity Chairs Group came into being. The 2022 First Annual Conference at Ironmongers Hall celebrated a year of successful cooperation, and included a ‘ Review of the year’ , led by Alderman Sir Charles Bowman and Hilary Lindsay, ‘ The Importance of Impact Measurement and Reporting’ , chaired by Peter Alvey, ‘ Getting the structure right ’– the benefits of converting to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), chaired by Steve Graham, and ‘ ESG Investing and Other Climate Issues for Livery Charities’ , chaired Julia Sibley, and featuring Alderman and Sheriff Alison Gowman. Alison discussed the issue of charities’ powers to contribute to climate action projects. The Conference discussed many Charit

It is customary for the Master to arrange a visit to somewhere that reflects his and the Company’s interests. For the last year, my Consort, Georgina, has been trying to get the Venetian authorities to allow us to visit the flood defences. Due to the pandemic, this was not possible but the boat we stayed on, the Michelangelo , did approach some of them. Mostly tied up near St Mark’s Square, we had the opportunity to visit the main sights using the water buses, as well as taking the ‘secret itinerary’ tour at the Doge’s Palace, visiting the prison cells where Casanova was held – until he escaped!   As usual (for us anyway) we got lost on day 1 – but they say if you haven’t got lost walking in Venice, you haven’t been there! I am grateful for Georgina’s hard work, without which this visit would not have been possible, and the endless good humour of the Conservators and partners who made this visit so enjoyable.

The Board of the Water Conservation Trust meets quarterly and invites the Master to join it so he can be kept up to date with work of the Trust. Trustees meetings are very animated mainly because it is their practice to be significantly involved with the various projects the Trust supports. In the Schools’ Education Programme, Trustees agreed to support a Young Engineers Club run by the Museum of Water and Steam, which offers opportunities for local children to engage with engineering and science, and continued support to River Holme Connections. Long standing support to NUS Student Eats projects was to be reviewed because of the disruption to university administration during the pandemic. This was also affecting the Universities’ Programme. Noticeable was the significant contribution the Trustees were making to Pan Livery charity initiatives, many concerned with governance and quantification of the amount that the various charities give in terms of cash and pro bono activities.

  The Company’s Past Masters meet at least once a year and their function, as set out in Standing Orders, is ‘To be a source of advice and wisdom for the benefit of the Court and Master’. The Master and Master Elect are invited to present an account of their stewardship during the year. The meeting took place by Zoom because of health concerns and that tended to result in formal ‘advice’ rather than the usual mix of formal and informal, which can be so helpful. Past Masters generally share the Court’s concerns about the Company, in particular, the need for a positive outward face and (related to some extent) the need to sustain and grow the membership. They noted the ambitious plans the Court has adopted for 2022-23 and offered their help in delivering them. My thanks go to the PM’s Chairman, Roger North, for the opportunity to speak.

The May Webinar – “Digital Twins – Smart Network Management” presented by Glyn Addicott, Operations Director, Hydraulic Analysis Limited, gave us a fascinating presentation on the future of water network management. Glyn demonstrated how real-time pipeline management systems, developed in the oil and gas industries, can provide significant benefits for the water industry (including leak detection and reduced energy consumption) and, also, for the management of future district heating systems. New technology such as this will be key to enable Water Companies to reduce leakage by 50% by 2050 to meet the Defra target. The presentation led to a number of questions, showing the potential of this technology. My thanks go to Glyn for his presentation. A recorded copy is available on our website: https://vimeo.com/712082586 and is well worth watching