Competition: Breakthrough 3: Catalyst
Amount awarded: £864,484
Led by: Northumbrian Water
Partners: Groundwork East, Waterwise Project, Northumbrian Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Portsmouth Water Ltd, South East Water Limited, Southern Water Services Ltd, Yorkshire Water, University of Denver, Consumer Council for Water, Consumer Scotland, The Environment Agency, Essex County Council, Kent County Council, Virtual College Limited, Water Research Centre Ltd
Project completion date: December 2025
Water cycle tag: Customer and Communities
The Water Literacy programme is currently live and is offering 2,000 free places to gain a water literacy accreditation. Find out more and book your place on the website.
Water is significantly undervalued and arguably should be considered as valuable as oil or carbon. This limited public understanding of the systems involved in bringing water from source to use can result in inefficient use and pressures on water supplies. We quickly need to raise the awareness of the value of water and connect society’s water use to the environment and its role in reducing the impacts of climate change. The Water Literacy Programme is an accredited learning experience delivered across all aspects of the community. It provides citizens with greater awareness and understanding of the systems involved and techniques to empower positive behaviour changes at home, in the workplace or in their community as well as signposting to further learning around water and climate change.
“This is an incredibly important project that will make a huge difference to customers and we are proud to have been granted funding. Our aim is to protect our precious water resources and our environment for generations to come, and Water Literacy education is a fantastic way to do this.” – Tom Andrewartha, Customer Strategy & Campaign Delivery Manager, Northumbrian Water
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The Water Literacy Programme is progressing really well. The programme is currently on track in relation to the project plan, with the programme now fully mobilized and the national rollout is underway. We are now in national rollout of the Water Literacy Programme, having delivered to 328 learners as of June 2025 and forecasted to deliver to 2000 learners by the end of November 2025. We have now started putting attention towards the forward delivery plan piece of the project to ensure that the Water Literacy Programme life cycle extends to beyond the duration of this project timeframe, enabling water literacy courses to continue beyond the current funding. Additionally, we are continuing work with Alive to expand the suite of digital assets, supporting in writing press releases, and investing in media buying with partners, to ensure we reach or exceed the 2000 sign up goal. Working with Netex to develop a 30 minute e-learning piece, which is currently in design stage ready for a release by the end of August 2025.
For more information on Water Literacy, take a look at the following resources:
