Water Breakthrough Challenge Winners

The water industry is heavily dependent on the use of metal-based coagulants for the removal of phosphorus on rural wastewater treatment plants. The fragility of this approach has been highlighted as recently as September 2021 when the BBC reported on the need for the Environment Agency to allow reductions in chemical use to address lorry driver shortages. The sector needs more sustainable solutions if it is to maintain water quality within our watercourses and reduce our carbon footprints.  

United Utilities will lead a project providing a holistic view of what can be achieved using alternative phosphorus removal approaches. The UK water industry spends in the region of £39M/year on metal coagulants. Finding a suitable alternative would reduce this and the carbon associated with the manufacture and delivery of these chemicals.

Project partners: United Utilities, Southern Water, Thames Water, University of Portsmouth, Power & Water, Evergreen, Hydro Industries, Kolina

Lisa Mansell – United Utilities, Chief Engineer Innovation, said: “Securing funding for this project is a great achievement. It will significantly advance the adoption of alternative options for phosphorus removal from wastewaters. These options aim to reduce the cost of delivering environmental improvements (savings that could drive down customer bills), but could also significantly reduce our carbon footprint.”  

A cross-sector coalition, led by Seven Trent Water – with partners including Microsoft, BT, the National Cyber Security Centre and the University of Exeter – to pilot the use of artificial intelligence that monitors a waste catchment area in real time to minimise the risk of flooding and sewage pollution. With the water industry accounting for 35% of river pollution, the project has received around £2 million to develop new and integrated approaches for spill prevention.

Project partners: Severn Trent Water, South West Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy Water, Northumbrian Water, Microsoft, Rockwell, British Telecom, Blackburn-Starling, 8power, National Cyber Security Centre, Exeter University

Rich Walwyn – Head of Asset Intelligence & Innovation – Severn Trent Water, said: “This provides a brilliant opportunity for a ground-breaking collaboration with our water company partners and global innovators to deliver benefits for our customers and our environment. By leveraging the power of the internet of things, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, we will be able to maximise the use of the available capacity in our network to reduce floodings and storm overflows as well as optimising our treatment works to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Catchment Systems Thinking Cooperative (CaSTCo) – a partnership led by United Utilities between the Rivers Trust, twelve water and sewerage companies as well as academia and environmental charities– has been awarded £7.1 million to revolutionise the way crucial data about England and Wales’ water environment is gathered and shared, in particular on the health of the nation’s rivers. Only 14% of rivers in England are in ‘good health’ – one of the worst records in Europe. This project will ensure there is robust evidence base for tackling environmental challenges with direct support for local evidence gathering and community engagement in eight demonstration catchments, and a national framework of standardised tools and training.

Project partners: United Utilities, The River Trust, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, South West Water Ltd, Southern Water Services Ltd, Dŵr Cymru Anglian Water Services Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Northumbrian Water Ltd, Affinity Water, South East Water, Earthwatch Institute, The Freshwater Biological Association, The Zoological Society of London, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Cardiff University, University of Exeter, Natural Course EU Life Integrated Project, Hummingbird Technologies

Michelle Walker at the National Rivers Trust said: “This is a revolutionary new approach to the way we gather and use evidence to drive collective action and make decisions about the water environment. Thousands of trained and resourced citizen scientists and local communities will work with different partners to carry out monitoring and collection of high-density data, complemented by a network of sensors and hi-tech monitoring. This wealth of information will be gathered and shared into a central visualisation platform, helping us all to be part of decisions to invest in the right priorities, to give the biggest improvement to the state of our rivers.” 

Bristol Water, in partnership with Binnies, RWE, Castle Water and The University West of England has been awarded over £620,000 to pilot a novel solution to drought planning while reinventing the water retail market as we know it. The first of its kind project will pilot the design of localised third-party water supply and treatment, seeking to overcome current market blockers. The project could deliver huge benefits for drought resistance and put more freedom into the hands of water retailers to incentivise business customers to save water.

Project partners: Bristol Water, Binnies, RWE, Castle Water, University of the West of England.

Mel Karam, CEO of Bristol Water, said: “The industry needs an estimated £21billion to build resilience to drought over the next 30 years. To complement the industry’s focus on infrastructure to pump water further, with our partners we’re exploring the development of localised third party treated water supplies”.  

John Reynolds, CEO of Castle Water, said: “These third party treated water supplies could reinvent the retail and wholesale market as we know it today, fit with our low carbon future and provide much-needed incentives for a step change in business water efficiency.”  

Anglian Water and its partners Jacobs, Skanska, Imperial College, Airbus Defence and Space, Microsoft and the University of Sheffield, and fellow water companies South West Water, Portsmouth Water and Affinity Water, have been awarded £7.5 million for their Safe Smart Systems project. The project will use artificial intelligence and mathematical optimisation to improve long-term operational resilience in the face of climate change and rapid population growth. It will identify, predict, and manage vulnerabilities to reduce leakage, interruptions, and pressure issues across the whole water cycle. Safe Smart Systems focuses on the first steps to achieve autonomous control in water systems across the UK.

Project partners: Anglian Water, Affinity Water Limited, Airbus Defence and Space, BIM4Water, Bristol Water, Centre for Digital Built Britain, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Jacobs UK Limited, Microsoft, Portsmouth Water Limited, Skanska UK PLC, South West Water Ltd, Unity Software Inc, The University of Sheffield.

Fionn Boyle, Shop Window Manager, Anglian Water, said: “This funding will enable us to deliver a step change in water sector collaboration on present and future resilience challenges. By embracing smart solutions we can predict, manage, and ultimately prevent leaks, supply interruptions and pressure issues in a more joined-up way than has ever been possible before, protecting our environment and enhancing customer experience.” 

The Fair Water project, led by Northumbrian Water alongside partners including National Energy Action, Northern Gas Networks, Newcastle University and Procter & Gamble, aims to test and develop more effective and sustainable water and energy solutions for people’s homes – including those on low-incomes, the elderly and vulnerable – to find tailored solutions to reducing carbon through energy and water efficiency. For example, this will focus on encouraging behaviour changes and developing new product innovations for task based water use in the home. To achieve this goal, the project was awarded almost £3.8 million.

Project partners: Northumbrian Water, Northern Gas Networks Ltd, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Proctor & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, National Energy Action

Angela MacOscar, Head of Innovation at Northumbrian Water, said: “This will be an incredibly important project. It will not only drive us towards our net zero targets but will also help to improve the quality of life for our customers – which is why we are extremely proud that we have been granted this funding by Ofwat.” 

A consortium led by  Thames Water – with the University of South Wales, Dwr Cyrmu Welsh Water, South West Water, United Utilities, Scottish Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water – has been awarded more than £6 million to decarbonise wastewater treatment – reducing nitrous oxide emissions and recovering beneficial resources including phosphorus and nitrogen. The water industry consumes between two and three per cent of electricity produced in the UK – the same as around two million households – and around 55 per cent of the energy consumed by a typical sewage works is processing wastewater. The project is developing solutions that would reduce the energy required for wastewater treatment.

Project partners: Thames Water, Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, University of South Wales, South West Water, and United Utilities

Sarah Bentley, Thames Water CEO, said: “I’m passionate about leaving a legacy for future generations, just like the Victorians did for us. So, I’m delighted that we’ve won this award, which will allow us to change our approach to the wastewater treatment process in a way that will reduce our carbon footprint. “It’s fantastic to be able to work alongside seven great organisations who share our drive to innovate and shape the future. “I’d also like to offer my huge congratulations to all those who’ve been successful in these awards. I’m excited to see the outcomes on all of the projects being worked on.”  

Prof Sandra Esteves, project lead at the University of South Wales, said: “We have been at the forefront of R&D for anaerobic processes and recognise the importance that these bioprocesses can play in numerous sectors. “The funding will enable the team to drive the novel concept integration and evaluate its impact in reducing society’s wastewater treatment energy footprint and in promoting sustainable resource recovery.” 

Anglian Water’s Triple Carbon Reduction solution, delivered in partnership with OxyMem, Element Energy Ltd, Jacobs, Cranfield University, University of East Anglia, Brunel University and Severn Trent, Scottish Water, Northern Ireland Water and United Utilities, has been awarded more than £3.5 million. It will use novel technologies to target a step change reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and electricity use in used water treatment, and provide a new renewable energy source through green hydrogen production. A ‘triple carbon’ synergy and contribution towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Project partners: Anglian Water, Jacobs UK Ltd, OxyMem Ltd, Element Energy Ltd, Northern Ireland Water Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Scottish Water Ltd, University of East Anglia, Brunel University, Cranfield University 

This project will deliver a sustainable, water-saving solution in response to new housing developments being built. Winning £2.9 million, it will minimise water demand and offset water consumption with new technologies, to ensure the total water use in the community remains the same as it was before the new homes were built. 

Affinity Water and its partners will do this by installing water saving devices in customers’ homes – such as shower heads, tap inserts and larger equipment that recycle washing machine water or collect rainwater. This will mean customers use less in their homes. The project team will also install larger technologies on commercial buildings like schools and leisure centres – for example greywater recycling and ultra-low flush toilets. By combining the reductions from customers and commercial building the total amount of water used within the area will remain the same. 

Affinity Water has partnered with three different NAV sites (smaller water companies that manage new build housing developments). This will allow to trial different approaches and see which options work best, as well as helping smaller companies break into the market. Customers will have lower bills, water companies will be able to trial water neutrality at scale and the smaller water providers (NAVs) will benefit from better access to the market and strengthened industry partnerships. 

Project partners: Affinity Water, Albion Water Limited, Aquality Trading & Consulting Ltd, BUUK Infrastructure UK No 2 Ltd, Grapviners Ltd, H2OiQ Ltd, Hydraloop International, Propelair – Phoenix Product Development Ltd,  SDS Ltd, Skewb.

Stuart Ledger, Interim CEO Affinity Water, said: “We need water neutrality to be delivered in the UK. Sustainable growth is essential given the ongoing impact of climate change and our pledge to net zero operational emissions by 2030. Thanks to Ofwat’s Water Breakthrough Challenge, we will kick start the launch of water neutrality in the UK with the world’s first at scale project. Our partnership of industry leading providers will install water reduction and recycling technologies and engage communities to ensure water savings, carbon reductions and support NAV partnerships.”