Partnerships grown at scale with Northumbian Water in the UK
February 10, 2026
A consultant in the water sector discusses how her experience on the client side of the industry has helped her relationships with clients
In this series, we’ll explore the power of collaboration and co-creation with our clients. These partnerships showcase how we rise to the world’s greatest challenges together.
What’s the old saying? Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
Emma Steel, client service director for our Water business in Warrington, UK, has taken that advice to heart in her career.
Before joining our Water team, she spent most of her career in operations for water utilities in Wales and England.
Describing her experience on both sides of the client and consultant ledger, Steel highlights trust and openness as the keys for successful partnerships.
“It’s not something that you can fake. It’s there or it’s not,” Steel says. “For me, it was a big leap to join a consultancy firm from a client. I made (the leap) because of the people that I met at Stantec before I joined. They came across as genuine and hardworking and wanting to do the right thing for clients. I witnessed that firsthand. And that’s how I treat my clients now from the consultant side.”
An example of that treatment is Steel’s relationship with Northumbrian Water, a water utility that provides clean water and wastewater services to over 4 million customers in the UK.
Resources are going to be challenged, and if we try to deliver in the same way that we have done in the past, we will fail.
Growth and opportunity
Monisha Gower is the asset director for Northumbrian Water. And she’s responsible for a five-year, 3.6-billion-pound capital improvement plan.
“I’ve worked with Monisha for a couple of years,” Steel says. “I think we fill a trusted advisor role for Monisha and her team. From engineering and design but also through construction and building of those capital assets. We’re helping them deliver that plan.”
We’ve worked with Northumbrian Water on previous capital frameworks, and we elevated our relationship by being involved in the decision-making process.
“What differentiates Stantec is that they take ownership of their advice and are prepared to put their name behind it,” Gower says. “In our relationship, Stantec is an extension to Northumbrian Water. So decision-making, the approach, how you interface with customers and communities must reflect our values.”
And it’s a partnership that’s grown in scale.
“We started off as a team of 50 to 60. And now over 200 are working on the framework,” Steel says. “We’ll grow into next year as well by a further 20 to 25 percent.”
Emma Steel
Solving complex problems
Northumbrian’s capital plan is significant, with many moving parts.
“It’s important to have trusted people in the tent with you, navigating challenges and coming up with alternative options,” Gower says. “Finding solutions within the wider context of what’s happening in the water sector or the infrastructure sector. Because resources are going to be challenged, and if we try to deliver in the same way that we have done in the past, we will fail.”
Steel says that her desire for trust and openness creates a culture that explores and tries new things to get the best outcome for clients.
“We dig to get to the right place, the right results without taking shortcuts,” Steel adds. “We make informed decisions by exploring and testing. Having open lines of communication and like-minded people to have those conversations to figure out what the best options are.”
Gower agrees on the importance of communication.
“It’s a long-term relationship, like a marriage. For a marriage to work, you need communication, where you work together to find solutions,” she says. “The culture needs to be aligned. If there is a difference in culture, if there's a difference in our value systems and the way we look at things, communication will break down. Similar visions, similar values, similar ambitions in terms of what we’re trying to achieve is important.”
Professional and personal
Successful client/consultant relationships require professional compatibility, but a personal touch can make a difference.
“I took a trip to Iceland a few weeks ago, and I told Emma about it,” Gower says. “She sent me an email and, because she and her family had been previously, sent me some suggestions on restaurants and sights we should see. She didn’t have to do that. She’s just a genuine person and lovely to be around.”
While Steel and Gower may not have walked in the same shoes, they did share experiences. And it strengthens a bond—whether for work or otherwise.
With every community, we redefine what’s possible. Through collaboration with our clients, together we will unlock outcomes neither could achieve alone.
