A Southern Water funded project identifying alternative phosphorus removal approaches at rural wastewater treatment plants has been announced as a winner in Ofwat’s £36 million Water Breakthrough Challenge.
Led by United Utilities and supported by Southern Water alongside Thames Water and the University of Portsmouth, a trial will take place at the Petersfield Sewage Treatment Plant in Hampshire looking to reduce the dependence on metal-based coagulants in removing phosphorus from wastewater, a nutrient which can have negative impacts on marine life.
Southern Water is pleased to be supporting a project that will develop more sustainable and resilient methods for improving river quality within our region and beyond.
The sector spends around £39 million on metal coagulants annually and finding an alternative to these would help to reduce the carbon associated with their manufacture bringing potential cost savings to consumers.
Garry Waterhouse, Infrastructure Plan Manager, Southern Water, said:
“We’re very excited to begin working with our partners to deliver on this project which will significantly advance the adoption of alternative methods for phosphorus removal from wastewater.
"Environmental sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and adopting these new methods will help us make more cost-effective improvements to the environment which could reduce customers’ bills and reduce our carbon footprint.”
Entries to the Water Breakthrough Challenge were encouraged from water companies in England and Wales in partnerships with organisations in and outside the water sector, including universities and institutes, retailers, start-ups, or small businesses in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, health, or financial services.
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About Ofwat’s Innovation Fund
Ofwat has established a £200 million Innovation Fund to grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, enabling it to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment.
The Water Breakthrough Challenge is run by Ofwat and Nesta Challenges in partnership with Arup and is the second in a series of competitions funded through the Fund following the Innovation in Water Challenge earlier this year.
Entries were encouraged from water companies in England and Wales, alongside partnerships with organisations within and outside the water sector, including universities and institutes, retailers, start-ups, or small businesses in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, health, or financial services.