D3 Tenders | DWMP28 Options Identification PMEN

Notice Information

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Notice Title

DWMP28 Options Identification PMEN

Notice Description

United Utilities is developing its statutory Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP28) in accordance with government guidance published in 2025. The DWMP sets out how United Utilities will plan for, and maintain, a resilient and sustainable drainage and wastewater system over a minimum 25 year planning horizon, taking account of current and future risks, pressures and uncertainties. The DWMP28 considers how the drainage and wastewater system can continue to operate effectively in the face of increasing external pressures that threaten long term resilience, including in particular: * Population and customer behaviour, increasing household wastewater demand and placing additional pressure on sewer networks and wastewater treatment capacity; * Development, including the growth of specialist developments such as data centres, which can generate additional wastewater or altered effluent characteristics from cooling processes, creating localised challenges for network and treatment capacity; * Climate change, resulting in more frequent and intense rainfall events that place increasing pressure on sewer networks, wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) and receiving environments.; Taking these pressures into account, United Utilities is progressing risk-based assessments alongside future scenario analysis to understand emerging risks to wastewater network capacity, WwTW capacity and environmental performance across the planning period. We are now progressing the options development and appraisal stage of DWMP28 to identify interventions that could mitigate these risks and deliver best value outcomes. While United Utilities has developed an initial range of potential options internally, we understand the importance of considering a wide range of solutions and working collaboratively with external stakeholders. To ensure opportunities are not overlooked, we are seeking to engage with the market and other organisations to identify alternative or complementary options that could be evaluated alongside those developed internally.

Planning Information

We are therefore inviting proposals for demand and/or capacity management solutions that could contribute to the delivery of DWMP28 and help: 1. Improve efficiency and deliver better outcomes for customers at lower whole life cost; 2. Introduce innovative, market led approaches to managing long term drainage and wastewater resilience pressures; 3. Enhance natural capital in the North West, delivering wider environmental and social benefits; 4. Provide sustainable solutions to water quality and sewer flooding risks. Through DWMP28, United Utilities aims to demonstrate best value planning by exploring innovative routes to delivery and solutions that deliver multiple benefits. We are particularly interested in proposals that support improved management of drainage and wastewater at a catchment scale. We are open to the promotion of options across the range of risks addressed within the DWMP. Examples of potential third party options can be found in Appendix A include, but are not limited to: • Customer‑side options: measures to manage demand from domestic or non‑domestic customers, including water efficiency, behaviour change and source control approaches; • Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and surface water management options: measures to reduce surface water entering the sewer network, such as attenuation, SuDS and natural flood management; • Sewerage network options: interventions to optimise or enhance network performance, including operational improvements, storage and conveyance solutions; • Treatment and catchment management options: catchment‑based interventions delivered in partnership to manage water quality risks (e.g. diffuse pollution or nutrient management), alongside engineered or hybrid solutions to improve treatment performance and environmental outcomes. Proposals may be brought forward by a range of organisations, including: • Landowners or land users within the United Utilities region whose activities influence drainage or environmental performance, including opportunities for catchment based interventions; • Design organisations offering services or technologies that could deliver demand or capacity benefits; • Delivery organisations capable of implementing relevant interventions; • Operators able to support the ongoing operation of such solutions. It's also worth noting that, as part of water resources planning and the development of our Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), we have undertaken a similar process of identifying options to, for example, increase our water supply or help us reduce demand for water. If you'd like more information about our water resources planning, please contact us at water.resources@uuplc.co.uk. Organisations/individuals wishing to submit a response can do so here (Appendix C provides a template to the form): UU Call For Options - DWMP 28 (https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=X-qE_dKs_E2bcqu10WhTEE-LkwWTnWtHn6Jyy2o8ampUMzVOV0U2MDRIRk42N0gwOUpXQjhPVFg1NyQlQCN0PWcu) If an organisation/individual is unable to submit by email, then a hard copy of the response template should be posted to the following United Utilities address: Drainwage and Wastewater Manegement Plan Manager, Haweswater House, Lingley Mere Business Park, Lingley Green Avenue, Great Sankey, Warrington, WA5 3LP No other documentation should be submitted at this stage. Please complete the response form above as fully as possible but note where the required information cannot be provided, we will be happy to work with respondents to fill in any gaps after submission. Interested parties should note the following indicative timescales and process associated with this Prior Market Enagement Notice (PMEN). These timings are provided for guidance only and may be refined as the DWMP28 programme progresses. • All options will be subject to consistent screening and selection criteria at a number of stages, in the same way as options developed by United Utilities are • No option identified will be implemented until 2028 at the earliest • The PMEN deadline is 12:00 on 12/06/2026. • The options appraisal stage will assess the whole‑life costs and whole‑life benefits of each feasible option, alongside consideration of its environmental impacts. This appraisal provides further screening against environmental requirements and enables options to be ranked on a cost‑benefit basis. The costs considered within the appraisal include: i. Capital costs, including initial investment and any ongoing maintenance or replacement requirements over the life of the option; ii. Operational costs, including fixed annual costs (such as reservation or standing charges, expressed in £/year) and variable or volumetric costs (expressed in £/megalitre); iii. Environmental and social costs, including both fixed and variable impacts where applicable; iv. Carbon costs, calculated from estimated greenhouse gas emissions and converted from tonnes of CO₂e into monetary values. • Following the market engagement event, United Utilities will, wherever possible, work with respondents to fill in gaps in responses, as required, to allow screening of the options. The purpose of this screening is to ensure that only potentially feasible options progress to be developed further. • We will inform all respondents as to whether the option(s) they have submitted have been successful in making it through to the feasible options list for further development. We will be open and transparent about this procedure. • For those options passed forward to the "feasible" options list, United Utilities will request more detailed data on each option to allow a scope of the option to be developed. The subsequent feasible list of options will be appraised in line with the DWMP framework. • The period for submission of more detailed data will be Summer 2026. • United Utilities will select the more cost beneficial options as "preferred" options for inclusion within the Draft DWMP, and will notify all "feasible" options respondents accordingly. • The programme appraisal stage will assess the benefits and costs, as well as the wider natural capital and environmental impacts of each feasible option, and apply constraints in order to develop a best value programme to be put forwards for the DWMP. • Programme appraisal is expected to conclude by Autumn 2026. • United Utilities will then continue to engage with "preferred" option respondents in order to confirm the inclusion of their option(s) within the Draft DWMP, including seeking to establish an "agreement in principle" for the option by December 2026. • The Draft DWMP is then published in November 2027, for public consultation and subsequent modification, as required, prior to finalisation in August 2028. United Utilities will develop a list of "unconstrained" options. Any options submitted will form part of this list. These options are then filtered (termed "screening") to remove implausible options that may not actually work and deliver a benefit; respondents will be involved in discussions during this period. The resultant feasible options will be further assessed to appraise the costs of construction and operation of the option alongside an appraisal of the environmental and social impacts of the option. Once agreed with stakeholders the primary screening criteria will fall into categories and will consider: Whether the option can provide either a drainage benefit or manage wastewater capacity • We will not discount any options based on uncertainty or the quantification of benefit at this stage and will work with providers of information to fully understand the option if the benefits are not clear at this stage. Whether the option has a high risk of failure or inherent uncertainty • We will consider for example the engineering complexity of the option and whether it is likely to deliver the stated benefits. Whether the option could breach unalterable planning or environmental constraints • We will consider for example if the option (with mitigation measures) is likely to result in significant adverse effects to designated sites or sites with significant heritage or visual amenity value. Whether the option could face political and customer disapproval We will consider for example if the option could cause significant negative socio-economic impact that cannot be mitigated.

Notice Details

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Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID: ocds-h6vhtk-069f24
Publication Source: Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047076-2026
Current Stage: Planning
All Stages: Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type: UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type: Standard
Procurement Category: Services
Procurement Method: Not Specified
Procurement Method Details: Not specified
Tender Suitability: SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale: Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions: 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services
CPV Codes: 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value: Not specified
Lots Value: Not specified
Awards Value: Not specified
Contracts Value: Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date: 21 May 2026Yesterday
Submission Deadline: Not specified
Future Notice Date: 12 Jun 20263 weeks to go
Award Date: Not specified
Contract Period: 2 Aug 2026 - 7 Sep 2026 1-6 months
Recurrence: Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status: Planning
Lots Status: Planning
Awards Status: Not Specified
Contracts Status: Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

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Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer: UNITED UTILITIES WATER LIMITED
Contact Name: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone: Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality: GREAT SANKEY
Postcode: WA5 3LP
Post Town: Warrington
Country: England
Major Region (ITL 1): TLD North West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2): TLD6 Cheshire
Small Region (ITL 3): TLD61 Warrington
Delivery Location: TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)
Local Authority: Warrington
Electoral Ward: Great Sankey North and Whittle Hall
Westminster Constituency: Warrington South

Further Information

Notice Documents

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/047076-2026
21st May 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Notice URLs

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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