Nineteen projects have been awarded a combined £58 million through the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge, spanning approaches from nature-based filtration and acoustic river monitoring to infrastructure innovation.
Among the most striking is "Smoke in the Water", led by Severn Trent Water in partnership with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which will combine artificial intelligence, clinical data and wastewater surveillance to track antimicrobial resistance (AMR). By cross-referencing sewage signals with hospital data, the project aims to identify resistance trends weeks before they surface through clinical channels, with the ambition of developing a replicable monitoring framework.
The competition is backed by £600 million in innovation funding from Ofwat, committed over ten years to address the sector's most pressing challenges: pollution, ageing infrastructure, biodiversity loss and the path to net zero. Since 2020, the programme has supported 128 projects involving 323 partners.
On environmental monitoring, "Good Vibrations" will deploy underwater microphones and AI to assess river health through acoustic signals, training models to interpret the soundscapes produced by healthy aquatic ecosystems as indicators of ecological condition. Led by Severn Trent Water alongside partners including SUEZ and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the project received £1.5 million.
Nature-based approaches feature prominently among the winners. The "Mycofiltration" project will trial fungal filters at storm overflow and run-off sites, using the enzymatic properties of mycelia to break down heavy metals, insecticides and bacteria, while "Community Water Enterprises" will mobilise local communities to maintain rain gardens, wetlands and other nature-based assets over the long term.
On the infrastructure side, "Printfrastructure 2.0" scales 3D concrete printing for on-site wastewater storage construction, and "Hydrothermal Oxidation", the largest single award at £9.2 million, converts sewage sludge into reusable bioresources without incineration.
Jo Jolly, Director of Innovation at Ofwat, said: "The water sector is going through its biggest transformation in 30 years. We have to make sure these changes drive far better outcomes for society and the environment."
All 19 winners: Water Breakthrough Challenge 6
Carbon Harvesting for Energy (CH4NGE) | £1,632,265 Lead: Yorkshire Water Services | Partners: Xylem Water Solutions, Cranfield University, Thames Water, United Utilities Trialling a new wastewater treatment process to capture and reuse carbon-based resources, produce more renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sludge treatment.
Chemnovate | £1,931,201 Lead: Anglian Water | Partners: Cranfield University, Essex and Suffolk Water, Northumbrian Water, Scottish Water, Spring Innovation Developing low-energy techniques to recover and reuse water treatment chemicals, reducing the cost, waste and carbon burden of drinking water treatment.
Community Water Enterprises | £4,982,762 Lead: Wessex Water | Partners: King's Trust, National Trust, Thames 21, Rivers Trust Bringing together communities, utilities, councils and charities to maintain nature-based water management solutions such as rain gardens and wetlands.
Good Vibrations | £1,567,846 Lead: Severn Trent Water | Partners: SUEZ, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water Using underwater microphones and AI to monitor river health through acoustic signals, providing continuous real-time ecosystem insights.
Headstart | £6,954,765 Lead: Anglian Water | Partners: National Trust, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Nottingham Trent University Testing practical upgrades to treatment works and nature-based solutions in headwater catchments to improve river health and biodiversity.
Hydrothermal Oxidation | £9,240,088 Lead: Anglian Water | Partners: AtkinsRealis, Cetogenix, Cranfield University, Severn Trent Water, Northumbrian Water, Spring Innovation Developing a commercial-scale process that destroys organic waste using water at extreme temperature and pressure, converting sewage sludge into reusable bioresources.
I'm a P-Leaver | £1,628,842 Lead: Severn Trent Water | Partners: Harper Adams University, University of Exeter, Shropshire County Council, Nijhuis Saur Industries Engineering a circular solution to remove PFAS and phosphorus from wastewater using biochar derived from pyrolysed sewage sludge.
Mycofiltration | £1,522,159 Lead: Anglian Water | Partners: Spore & Anvil, Flete Field Lab, Barhale, University of Essex, Imperial College London, South East Water, Spring Innovation Trialling fungal-based filters at storm overflows and run-off sites to remove pollutants including heavy metals, insecticides and bacteria in a low-carbon, cost-effective way.
OCI3 | £1,997,820 Lead: Northumbrian Water | Partners: Xylem, Water Research Centre, Rivers Trust, Cognizant Ocean, Thames21, Westcountry Rivers Trust Building the UK's first free open-source tool combining data from regulators, water companies, citizen scientists and satellites into a live model of catchment health.
PipeUP | £1,571,565 Lead: Yorkshire Water Services | Partners: RPS Environmental Management Limited Creating a secure shared platform for water companies to access standardised data and knowledge to detect leaks faster and reduce water loss.
Printfrastructure 2.0 | £1,911,437 Lead: Northumbrian Water | Partners: Changemaker 3D Limited, United Utilities, Scottish Water, Anglian Water Scaling 3D concrete printing for on-site construction of larger wastewater storage structures, cutting costs, carbon and supply chain pressure.
SCWO With the Flow | £611,012 Lead: United Utilities | Partners: General Atomics, Cleanfields Technologies, Queen's University Belfast, Yorkshire Water Developing supercritical water oxidation as a treatment option for biosolids and wastewater sludge, enabling resource recovery and cleaner disposal.
SI12 Challenge | £150,000 Lead: Thames Water | Partners: Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, South West Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water Testing whether planned supply interruptions of up to 12 hours could enable faster, lower-impact pipe repair methods using robotic and lining technologies.
Smart Alarm Management (SAM) | £1,661,838 Lead: Northumbrian Water | Partners: Softwire Technology Limited, EEMUA, Wessex Water, Anglian Water Using AI and machine learning to help water industry control rooms prioritise alarms, identify root causes and respond more effectively to operational issues.
Smart Watch | £1,035,000 Lead: Affinity Water | Partners: SatSense, Prifysgol Aberystwyth, Welsh Water, Wessex Water, South West Water Developing automated remote sensing tools to detect risks to drinking water quality across catchments at higher frequency and speed.
Smoke in the Water | £2,000,000 Lead: Severn Trent Water | Partners: University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Kando Environmental, Resistomap Combining AI, clinical data and wastewater surveillance to detect antimicrobial resistance trends, supporting early public health intervention.
Splitting Biogas, Multiplying Value | £8,922,380 Lead: United Utilities | Partners: Tarmac, Levidian Nanosystems, Concretene, Severn Trent Water Transforming wastewater biogas into clean-burning hydrogen and graphene to unlock greater commercial and environmental value from bioresources.
SuDS through Streetworks Market | £6,869,054 Lead: Thames Water | Partners: Greater London Authority Developing a market-based approach to install sustainable drainage systems during streetworks, reducing urban flood risk and improving delivery efficiency.
Waste Not Want Not | £1,701,203 Lead: Severn Trent Water | Partners: Nijhuis Saur Industries, WRM, Yorkshire Water, Dŵr Cymru Cyfyngedig Recovering iron-based coagulants from drinking water treatment sludge for reuse, creating a circular solution that cuts chemical costs and carbon emissions.
