Real-time parasite detection among challenge winners

An on-line automated system that can detect parasites in water and deliver results to water companies within hours, rather than days is one of 16 winners of the latest Water Breakthrough Challenge in the UK.

 

Preventing outbreaks of water-borne illness

In 2024, a faulty air valve in a water pipe led to 100 reported cases of illness caused by the Cryptosporidium parasite. More than 17,000 homes were issued with a ‘boil water’ notice, which lasted for two months.

It took South West Water eight weeks to isolate the source of the infection and clean its network. This involved flushing over 34km of water pipes a total of 27 times. It also involved 17 phases of ice-pigging and swabbing. During this period, the company provided bottled water for its affected customers. To reduce the chances of such an outbreak re-occurring, the company installed ultraviolet solutions and microfilters to provide barriers that can remove cryptosporidium in its network.

Addressing the reasons behind the incident, South West Water published a response update which stated:

‘One of the key lessons we have learned is the importance of early detection. Our processes did not detect this outbreak early enough and so we need to look at improving our monitoring technologies so contaminants can be detected more quickly and accurately.’

 

Innovation to address the challenge

The utility is not alone in facing these challenges. To address the issue of detection delay, Severn Trent has partnered with FluiDect and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, South West Water, United Utilities, Scottish Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy to develop an on-line automated system to deliver results within hours; allowing water companies to identify and address issues quickly and reduce any potential risk to customers.

After being chosen as a winner, the partnership has been awarded €1.9million develop its solution.

Keiron Maher, innovation architect, Severn Trent Water, told media: “The support of the Ofwat Innovation Fund will enable us bring advances in cutting edge monitoring techniques to improve the safety drinking water supplies. Our project will reduce the global risk from cryptosporidium through the provision rapid automated results allowing water companies to make decisions based on near real-time data.”

 

What is the Water Breakthrough Challenge?

Ofwat’s awards funding to innovative projects that aim to address some of the major challenges found in the water industry. The projects must have potential to deliver tangible benefits for water users and the environment. The challenges aim to:

• Bring ‘what if’ ideas to life and help to scale solutions to major issues affecting customers, society and the environment
• Turbo-charge the water sector’s response to major challenges such as climate change, net zero and conservation
• Draw in new perspectives and fresh ideas from across the world of business and academia
• Enable new ideas and new ways of working to come to the fore
• Generate learning and insights about how innovation in the water sector can be further enabled and accelerated.

Entries must be submitted with a water company partner and must answer one of the Challenges’ themes. Water Breakthrough Challenge 4, which concluded in 2024, awarded a total of £40 million to 17 winning entries.

The challenge is run on behalf of Ofsted by Challenge Works, and in partnership with Arun and Isle Utilities.

 

Breakthrough Challenge 5 winners

Announcing the winners, David Black, CEO of Ofwat, said: “The level of ambition of this year’s winners – including deploying robots, drones, satellites and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence – is remarkable. The 16 winning projects involve 15 water companies working with 70 partners – from world-class universities to engineering powerhouses, environmental charities and even NASA.

He added: “We are supporting these projects to prove their impact so that they can be scaled, not only here in England and Wales, but exported around the world as a driver of economic growth”.

 

What is the Transform Stream?

The Breakthrough Challenge’s Transform Stream provides funding to help ‘spark ambitious innovation and enable new approaches and ways of working, equipping the water sector to address the big challenges facing the sector’. Winning entries bid for funding between €2.4 million and €11.9 million, which can be no more than 90 per cent of total project costs.

 

Next Gen Digestion

The project’s goal is to enable water companies to generate additional biogas from anaerobic digestion processes. This biogas can be converted into energy and used to power the treatment processes.

 

PyroPlas: Transforming sewage sludge to sustainable transport fuels and materials

The project’s goals are to convert wastewater sludge into high-value sustainable fuel, biochar (that improves soils) and carbon (used in water purification and energy storage). At the same time, it will also remove harmful chemicals and microplastics.

 

Smart Skies, Healthy Waters (SSHW)

The project aims to transform how coastal bathing waters will be monitored in the future, by creating a cost effective and versatile ‘drone and lab in a box’ solution which harnesses cutting edge automation, robotics and water sampling technologies to deliver frequent near real- time lab-grade analysis and results.

 

What is the Catalyst Stream?

The Catalyst Stream encourages companies to collaborate both within and without the water sector, to go ‘beyond business-as-usual innovation practices’. Winning entries can bid for funding worth €178,000 to €2.4 million to make up no more than 90 per cent of project costs.

The Breakthrough 5 challenges winners in the Catalyst Stream were:

 

Metagenomics: Making Microbes Matter

The project aims to develop the UK water industry’s national biological infrastructure using metagenomics. This cutting-edge technique identifies specific microorganisms that are present in wastewater, providing insights into the health of wastewater treatment works to enable better management and control of treatment processes.

 

Microwave reactivation of Granular Activated Carbon – Building capacity to manage PFAS

The projects aims to develop an industrial-scale microwave solution to increase Granular Activated Carbon capacity and provide a faster, cheaper and sustainable low carbon alternative to traditional gas-powered reactivation furnaces.

 

Net Water PositHyve

The project aims to scale-up and deliver a new technology to increase water availability for long-term water resilience/security. Recycled water for industrial consumption will be sustainably produced using waste heat and wastewater. Implementation across the water sector will address increasing industrial freshwater demands, including for hydrogen production.

 

PEDAL Prediction and Early Detection of Algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs

The projects aims to reduce water treatment costs and keep water safe and affordable for everyone by the prediction and early detection of algal blooms.

 

PRIME (Power Resilience through Integrated Microbial Electrolysis)

Microbial Electrolysis Cells produce hydrogen while treating wastewater. The PRIME project will trial this wastewater treatment technology while creating sustainable energy.

 

Rapid Cryptosporidium detection to improve water safety and protect public health

The projects aims to develop an on-line automated system to detect Cryptosporidium, an intestinal parasite that can contaminate water supplies, that can reduce the time needed to deliver results from two days to hours.

 

Recovering energy from water to heat communities

This project will design and test a ground-breaking solution that safely and reliably removes heat from the water within large water pipes and delivers it to buildings as renewable energy.

 

SandSCAPE Science and Novel Devices for Sustainable Cleaning and Productivity Enhancement

Slow sand filtration is a nature-based chemical free drinking water technology in need of modernisation. The SandSCAPE project will test robotic underwater skimming machines to clean slow sand filtration filters, and remove algae, while they remain full of water.

 

Site-Agnostic AI Models for Water Quality and Safety

The project will develop an AI model for river water quality by monitoring and sampling 20 locations, providing near real-time information, offering a cost-effective solution for continuous water quality monitoring.

 

Space Eye

This project aims to transform the use of satellite technology and space science for the water industry. It will include design and launch of micro satellites to provide frequent satellite imagery covering the entire UK water network. Enabling water companies through machine-learning algorithms gain rich insights to make quicker decisions.

 

Stream – Scale and Reach

The project’s goal is to unlock the potential of water data by removing the barriers to opening and sharing water company data.

 

The Rainwater Management Platform (RMP)

The project aims to deliver a free, user-friendly online platform that will transform rainwater management. It will offer updated good practices, technical guidance, and tools to help manage rainwater where it falls, prevent pollution, use rainfall as a resource, and boost climate resilience.

 

Tool for Optimising decisions for Recovery of sewer Catchment Heat (TORCH)

The project aims to develop an AI-assisted decision tool to optimise heat energy recovery from sewers and water recycling centres by identifying and prioritising heat source location, heat energy recovery technology and transmission routes to enable lower cost heat energy, a reduction in carbon, and to maintain performance of sewer assets.