In this episode of the Exec Exchange podcast, host Piers Clark speaks with Matt Wheeldon, Infrastructure Development Director at Wessex Water, about reframing storm overflow challenges as a rainwater quantity problem best solved through source control. Matt outlines Wessex Water’s service area and explains how high groundwater and prolonged rain can drive inflows to sewers, while summers bring scarcity. He promotes the simple narrative “manage rain better where it lands,” emphasizing rain as a resource to capture and reuse, and to return water to the environment close to where it falls, rather than relying on centralized end-of-pipe solutions. The conversation covers the need for systemic change in legislation, regulation, metrics, and incentives, ongoing UKWIR research, and plans for a rainwater management forum at the World Water Congress in Glasgow.
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:21 Matt’s Career Journey 01:26 Meet Wessex Water 02:07 Chalk Aquifer - Blessing and Curse 03:08 Storm Overflow Root Cause 05:51 Manage Rain Where It Lands 08:03 Building Momentum and Allies 10:04 Policy Reform and Metrics 10:46 Research and Glasgow Forum 12:07 Advice and Wrap Up
