Harper Water Management Group are a fully independent water consultancy combining the engineering knowledge and experience of David Harper (IHEEM Registered Authorising Engineer –Water) and Engineer (BSc (Hons) Stephen Flatman, with the extensive water hygiene expertise of Dr Catherine Whapham. Mark Conway, with over 20 years’ experience supporting water safety teams in the NHS, healthcare and non-healthcare industries globally, is the other key member of this multidisciplined and technically led team.

As a leading authority on Legionnaires’ Disease, David has routinely been called upon to support investigations around the world and has acquired more than 50 years of knowledge and experience not only with Legionella spp., but with other waterborne pathogens as well. David was part of one of the first Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak investigations in the UK during 1980 at Kingston-Upon- Thames, and has since advised Water Safety Policy Makers, including the World Health Organisation Water Technical Committee, and also made significant contribution to modern legislation and standards, particularly within Healthcare. David is a registered Legal Expert Witness and continues to lecture around the world from plumbers to professors and those within the legal profession.

Harper Water Management Group formed in 2021 and seeks to change the recipe of traditional water consultancy by providing a comprehensive multidisciplinary team approach to supporting their clients in taking the necessary and prioritised steps to improving both their water system and water quality, thus reducing contamination and surpassing compliance with relevant guidance. Being independent, Harper Water Management Group are not affiliated to any chemical or physical disinfection provider and, therefore, the team delivers impartial advice alongside evidence based and prioritized actions which enables a faster and more sustainable route to successful outcomes.

Importantly, Harper Water Management Group reinforces and strengthens the client’s expertise through educational measures, discussions on rationale, risk mitigation and documentation support. Centralised documentation fosters a collaborative approach, and the multi-skilled cross-functional team encourages information exchange and increased transparency, thereby supporting the urgency needed to drive change.

Harper Water Management Group’s experienced team is engaged not only in times of water quality crisis, during cases of critical contamination or outbreaks, but also for inspection and gap-analysis of Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa risk assessments, auditing, Water Safety Plan creation, Water Safety Team coaching and co-ordination, preparation of sampling regimens, reviewing new build water installation plans, carbon zero strategies, and waterborne multi-drug resistant microorganism management. No two water systems or challenges are the same, therefore by providing a customer centric approach alongside the combined engineering, hygiene, and microbiology expertise within the team and without an agenda to sell a product or supporting service, Harper Water Management Group are well positioned to meet stringent client expectations.

The London-headquartered company is currently focused on meeting UK client needs, but has extensive international experience, and has plans to expand in the near future.