UK water regulator Ofwat has awarded £42.7m in funding across 16 projects from firms developing technology supporting the sector as part of the group’s Water Breakthrough Challenge.
The projects funded include Smart Skies, Healthy Waters, a plan to use automated drones, robotics and sampling to improve coastal water monitoring and SandSCAPE, a collaboration between four groups, including Thames Water, to test robotic sand filtration tanks.
The funding comes from the Ofwat Innovation Fund which is investing £600m between 2020 and 2030 in technology improving the safety and reliability of the UK water system.
“Water underpins our society and economy, and the water sector faces a range of challenges requiring urgent solutions,” said Ofwat chief executive David Black.
“The Ofwat Innovation Fund was established five years ago to incentivise the water sector to collaborate with partners across industry, charities, and academia to accelerate the pace of transformation and create lasting benefits for customers and the environment.”
Another funded project, Space Eye, will see micro-satellites deployed to provide continual imaging of the UK water pipe network.
“The water and wastewater pipe network in the UK is long enough to reach beyond the moon,” said Caroline Cooper, strategy and regulation director at South Staffordshire Water, lead partner in the Space Eye project.
“Satellite technology can help us keep an eye on the whole network at once, while machine learning algorithms can identify anomalies quickly – like leaks in remote areas – so that water companies can dispatch engineers to fix them.”
The British water sector has come under intense scrutiny recently for irresponsible sewage pollution practices.
Thames Water has warned that fines against it, which could reach up to £900m over the next five years, could risk its survival.
Register for Free
Bookmark your favorite posts, get daily updates, and enjoy an ad-reduced experience.
Already have an account? Log in
