Water Breakthrough Challenge 2

The Home Energy Recovery Unit (HERU) is a waste recovery system developed to manage domestic and commercial waste on site.

About the size of a chest freezer, this solution uses heat pipe technology developed from satellites, to turn screenings into energy, that can be recycled.

It’s an innovative solution to a growing and challenging waste problem for the UK water industry.

One of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from the water industry is nitrous oxide – 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

It’s produced by bacteria that plays a vital role in removing toxic ammonia from wastewater. If ammonia isn’t removed, it damages aquatic life.

Recently researchers have identified naturally occurring bacteria that can remove ammonia without producing nitrous oxide but these don’t ordinarily thrive in treatment plants.

This project will develop innovative techniques for capturing these game-changing bacteria and putting them to work in our existing treatment processes.

Nitrate pollution has long been a threat to Chalk drinking water and dependent environments in Southern England. To reduce nitrate in drinking water requires expensive treatment or changes in farming practice.

Water companies work with farmers to reduce nitrate inputs, but lack detailed knowledge of where to focus efforts for efficient, rapid results.

The project will develop modelling software that can predict concentrations throughout the Chalk so that land use options can be tested to select those that deliver efficient nitrate reduction.

This will reduce treatment costs and energy consumption and help to protect habitats and biodiversity.

Pipe lining is 50% cheaper than the more traditional method of digging up and replacing broken pipes.

It also generates less carbon and is less disruptive for customers because there’s no need to dig up the road.

There’s a gap in the current market to provide a lining solution fit for a 21st century water network.

Water companies, led by Yorkshire Water, will collaborate to create a lining solution for clean water pipes with a much longer lifespan than existing linings and with the potential to include other technologies too.

This will make water networks more resilient for the future and equip them to become smarter than ever before.

Rising mains are sewage pipes which are pressurised so sewage can be pumped up hills to be treated at sewage works.

It is difficult to survey these pipes because they are hard to access and to shut off so they can be inspected internally.

Using robots on rising mains will help the industry spot, predict and fix pipes which are deteriorating before they burst preventing pollutions to the environment.

This project will test the use of robots to assess the internal condition of these types of pipes to radically change the way how the industry takes care of this type of infrastructure.

The water industry already uses human-controlled robots to assess its partially filled sewer tunnels and sewers which use gravity to move sewage.

This project will pave the way for the autonomous robotics technology to be used in fully pressurised sewer pipes.

“Support for All” will involve designing, building and delivering a hub to securely host data on customers in vulnerable circumstances – when submitted once, the data can then be shared with other relevant utilities.

Each utility company has Priority Services Registers of customers requiring additional support, and customers must currently register with each utility separately – inaccurate data means additional support isn’t always offered.

The new solution allows customers to ‘tell us once’, informing all relevant utility companies of the support they need.

The aim is to develop a pilot of a working model, implement this at a regional level and then scale nationally.

Northumbrian Water, with Northumbria University, the University of Newcastle, and Welsh Water will trial the use of an innovative loofah to remove and recover phosphorous from wastewater.

This prevents it from causing damaging algal blooms, which can suffocate local ecosystems.

This innovative ‘SuPR Loofah’ treatment system will place micro-algae on a loofah material, and use this to capture phosphorous from wastewater.

As well as being a more affordable and sustainable process to wastewater treatment, this world-leading circular approach will generate a vital form of phosphorous which can be used as fertiliser.

Our project will develop the use of genetic sequencing in drinking water treatment.

Unlike current tests, genetic sequencing can determine all the bacterial species present in water. This will significantly improve the speed and accuracy of water quality investigations.

We hope customers in England and Wales will benefit from a £3-5m/year reduction in bills, enabled by improve efficiency in water quality investigations; as well as a reduction in unplanned remedial work and disruption to supplies.

This project will create a reliable weather impact modelling and forecasting system which will help water companies forecast weather events beyond 10-14 days, up to 4-6 weeks ahead.

These systems will improve water companies’ understanding of how the weather impacts their water and wastewater management.

Using these systems will improve their resourcing and operational management capabilities for areas at risk from severe weather events, for example, rapid changes in customer demand for water and regions which are prone to surface water flooding.

Thames Water has partnered with Anglian Water, South West Water, Indepen, Isle Utilities and Our Rainwater to encourage communities in their regions to adopt rainwater capture tools and solutions, to help prevent rainwater from entering the sewer network.

When it rains heavily, excess water runs off people’s homes and driveways and enters the sewer network which can contribute to the network being overwhelmed and lead to surface water flooding, sewer flooding and sewage discharges.

The project will encourage the widespread adoption of rainwater capture methods at a grass roots level. It will test and measure how communities can be incentivised to take up these measures and help protect the environment.

Anglian Water will work with four water companies to develop a collaborative strategic planning capability, underpinned by Business Modelling Associates’ adaptive systems planning software.

This will identify opportunities to trade bioresources across existing assets and determine the optimal blend of future inter-company investments; tackling common challenges and maximising environmental and customer value.

A ‘digital twin’ is a virtual representation of a water company’s physical assets or processes, for example a digital version of its pipe network and water treatment process.

Water companies use these digital twins to unlock new data-driven innovations, which can improve their services and how they manage their networks for the benefit of customers.

More companies are using digital twins but there is no agreed standard model and process for creating them, which has the potential to create inefficiencies, reduce the value delivered by these systems and increase costs.

This project will create standards to support consistent digital twins throughout the industry.

Treatment-to-Tap will demonstrate a step-change in the management of the water quality (WQ) for customers.

By the end of the project, Northumbrian Water will be operating Europe’s largest integrated network of WQ and leakage management sensors and analytics software.

Managing WQ is an increasing challenge due to ageing networks serving a growing population. This new behavioural science research will assess how best to engage and support customers when real-time WQ insight is available – meaning water company operations will be more intimately connected to customers than ever.

A consortium of five water companies will all input to define and validate best practice on how new insights can be built into proactive operations.

A new business model template will then enable all water companies to see how they can share risk and scope with the supply chain to deliver at scale and pace for least cost and best service to the customer.

This project will demonstrate a first-of-its-kind technology to remove carbon, and convert it into useful eco-friendly products such as paint and fertiliser.

This project will explore how integrated water management can prepare communities for frequent floods and sustained droughts.

This project aims to convert biogas into hydrogen, while maximising the amount of CO2 captured and minimising other emissions.

This project aims to redefine the detectable limit of leakage, to help pinpoint and repair hidden leaks.

The National Leakage Research and Test Centre will be a 5km buried water pipe network specifically for developing and testing inventions without disrupting customers’ supplies or affecting water quality.

Stream will design and deliver the ‘network of data pipes’ needed to share useful industry datasets in a secure, standardised and easy to access way.

This project will bring together a consortium of multi-sector experts to identify vulnerable customers, allowing water companies to provide support.

Director Resilient Cities, Arcadis , BEng, CEng, FICE, Chair

Anusha is Director-Resilient Cities at Arcadis. She is also a Royal Academy of Engineering-Visiting Professor at King’s College London on Climate Adaptation, Sustainability and Inclusive Design. A Fellow with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), she is the third woman and only BAME Vice President in 200 years of ICE’s history and is set to be President in 2023 (subject to interim council elections). She has recently been appointed as a Non-Executive Director at the Met Office, UK.

Anusha is an External Examiner at Leeds Beckett University, an Honorary Professor at University of Wolverhampton and a Visiting Professor at University of Edinburgh. She is also Past Chair of the Thames Estuary Partnership Board a charity working towards sustainable management of the Thames Estuary. Anusha has held various roles at the ICE including youngest and first female Chair of ICE London. She has specialisation in Water & Environmental Engineering with over 20 years’ experience in designing, managing and leading projects and programmes both in the UK and internationally. Anusha sits on various industry NetZero groups and represents Arcadis at the London Climate Change Partnership and 50L Home Initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. A recipient of several awards including 2020 – Top 50 UK Women Engineers Sustainability Award and CECA FIR Inspiring Engineers Award 2019, Anusha is regularly invited to panel discussions and for delivering keynote speeches at various high profile industry events. She was recognised by Climate Reframe as one of the UK’s leading BAME voices on climate change.

Anusha was invited to the panel due to her innovation and sustainability expertise and experience in transferable sectors.

Founder, Open Data Institute Leeds

Paul founded Open Data Institute Leeds (ODI Leeds) in 2013 with the mission to create a place and community to unleash the power of open data and deliver innovation across the region. He is an entrepreneur who has built ODI Leeds into an open data institution and co-founded DataCity, a data-as-service company whilst running his own innovation company.

Paul was invited to the panel due to his expertise in open data and his experience in transferable sectors.

Visiting Professor, Sheffield University and prior Executive Director, United Utilities

Tony’s career has been devoted to the water industry and with a particular focus on innovation. He is a former Executive Director of United Utilities and has led Asset Management, Operations and Engineering functions, as well as business transformation programmes. In his role as Strategic Asset Planning and Engineering Director he led on United Utilities’ £3.6 billion AMP5 capital investment programme and shaped the company’s systems thinking based “Future Concept of Operation”.

With the informal title of Director of Curiosity, he focused on identifying world leading water utility innovation, engaging with hubs around the globe. Tony is a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield, chairs the Leadership Board of the TWENTY65 Water Research Programme and is co-author of the TWENTY65 Industry Guide for Collaborative Innovation.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and a Director of British Water and of the Water Industry Forum. He serves on the Leadership Council of the UK Water Partnership (UKWP) and was lead author of the UKWP Digital Water White paper. Tony provides strategic advisory services to a wide range of organisations operating across the water sector, from start-up innovators to global organisations.

Tony was invited to the panel due to his experience of innovation and leadership within the water sector in England and Wales and expertise in delivering public value.

Director, Sustainability First

Sharon is Director of Sustainability First and since 2017 has established major multi-party projects on fairness, purpose and the public interest in utilities. She is a member of the British Academy’s Public Policy Committee and until March 2021 was a member of the UK Regulators Network Expert Panel.

A qualified accountant, Sharon began her career working on value for money studies at the National Audit Office. With a strong background in consumer issues, she was a board member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority until 2020, a Council member of Which? until 2019 and previously a Trustee and Risk Committee Chair of pension provider NEST, lay member of the Standards Committee of the House of Commons and a board member of Consumer Focus and Energy Watch.

Sharon has been a member of Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition Expert Panel and the RIIO ‘Challenge Group’.

Sharon was invited to the panel due to her expertise in sustainability and her experience in consumer representation the water sector and other transferable sectors.

Founder & CEO, BlueTech Research & Brave Blue World

After being awarded a bio-chemistry degree, Paul’s first role was for the Body Shop working alongside the pioneering environmentalist Anita Roddick. Paul then volunteered for the World Wildlife Fund in Malaysia, and after completing a Master’s degree he later returned to research the effects that deforestation was having on water quality. Paul’s next role was with Atkins, one of the globally leading engineering management consultancies who are pioneering in their approaches to projects.

Whilst working as an engineering consultant, he observed the prolonged length of time it took to bring water technologies to the marketplace, so he founded BlueTech Research in 2011 to support innovation.

Paul’s latest project “Brave Blue World” is designed to increase awareness of existing solutions to the water crisis, he co-produced the documentary that has attracted support from a host of A-list celebrities. It is available to view in 29 languages on Netflix. Paul regularly lectures and has recently spoken at Davos 2020, Web Summit 2020 and at Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Paul now advises many global Fortune 500 corporates including L’Oréal, Microsoft and PepsiCo on their water strategy policies and has completed a PhD in Water Innovation.

Paul was invited to the panel due to his technical expertise and experience of the water sector within and outside England and Wales.

President, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management , Director and Co-Founder of AxiaOrigin, FCIWEM, CEnv

Niki is the President of CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) and a Director and Co-Founder of AxiaOrigin.

She is convinced that by connecting the right people and thinking at a systems-level, anything is possible. This belief is reflected in her Presidential theme – “Everything is Connected”. She has spent her career trying to do just that. Over her 20 years working in and around the UK water sector Niki has delivered operational and strategic change, often through enabling others to perform at their best. A passionate environmentalist at heart, Niki spends her time thinking about how we can drive real change to improve global resilience and has particular interests in water efficiency, bioresources and the circular economy.

Niki was invited to the panel due to her technical and innovation expertise and her experience of the water sector.

Director of Innovation and Technology, Aqualia (Spain)

Frank manages the Innovation Team at Aqualia (Madrid, Spain), which provides water services for 30 million people in 20 countries.

He studied Environmental Engineering in Germany, followed by an MSc as a Fulbright student in the USA.

After ten years at Veolia Research Center in France, he was stationed in New York and Sao Paulo, then led the Global Technology Team for a large contractor based in London, UK, coordinating water projects worldwide.

Since 2008 he has coordinated and participated in more than 10 projects each in the EU R&D programs LIFE and H2020.

Frank was invited to the panel due to his technical expertise and experience in the water sector internationally.

Executive Director, International Water Association

Kala Vairavamoorthy is an internationally recognised water resource management expert, with particular expertise in urban water issues. He combines a strong engineering background with practical international experience. He has published extensively and has a strong international profile working closely with the World Bank, UN-Habitat, UNESCO, GWP, SIWI and the EU. This includes leading several urban water management projects for the World Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank and DFID.

Prior to joining the International Water Association, he was the Deputy Director General for Research at the International Water Management Institute. Kala was also the Founding Dean of the Patel College of Global Sustainability and a tenured Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at the University of South Florida (USA). Prior to that, he was a full professor and Chair of Water Engineering at the University of Birmingham (UK), and Professor and Head of Core of Sustainable Urban Water Infrastructure Systems at UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands). He is currently Professor (adjunct) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM). Kala has a PhD and MSc in Environmental Engineering from Imperial College, University of London and a BSc (Hons) from King’s College.

Kalanithy was invited to the panel due to his technical expertise and experience in the international water sector.