• Pioneering innovation projects have been awarded £58 million by the Water Innovation Fund.
• The sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge sought bold solutions that tackle the water sector's biggest challenges.
• Winners include fungi that clean water, AI-enabled microphones to monitor river life, 3D printed concrete infrastructure to cut the cost and emissions of upgrades, and AI wastewater monitoring to alert the NHS to superbugs.
• Winning partnerships see water companies working with multi-sector partners, including the King's Trust, NHS, National Trust, Thames 21, SUEZ, and 11 of the UK's leading universities.

Nineteen pioneering solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the water sector have been awarded £58 million, as the winners of the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge are announced.

The successful projects, which span technological, engineering and nature-based approaches, will receive the funding from Ofwat's Water Innovation Fund, which is investing £600 million between 2020 and 2030 to advance and scale innovative projects in England and Wales that can help to achieve net zero, protect natural ecosystems, and prevent leaks and pollution.

Each project sees water companies work in collaboration with a diverse set of partners - from environmental charities and leading universities to technology and engineering companies - with the purpose of changing how the water sector operates to transform its impact for customers, communities and the environment.

The winning projects include Mycofiltration: Using Fungi as a Natural Way to Improve Water Quality, which has been awarded £1.5 million to trial fungal-based filters at storm overflows and run-off sites to remove pollutants from river water in a low-carbon, cost-effective way.

Mycelia are exceptional at filtering water – a process known as mycofiltration – due to their dense, fibrous structure, which acts as a physical mesh, and their ability to secrete powerful enzymes that chemically break down contaminants including heavy metals, insecticides, and bacteria - turning them into harmless compounds. The project is led by Anglian Water, in partnership with Spore & Anvil, Flete Field Lab, Barhale, University of Essex, Imperial College London, South East Water, Spring Innovation and others.

Good Vibrations: Ecoacoustic river health monitoring has been awarded £1.5 million to develop technology that uses acoustic signals and AI to listen to the health of rivers. Healthy rivers are rich in life, which in turn produces sound and this project will use underwater microphones to capture these acoustic signals. AI will then analyse the recordings and translate them into insights about river ecosystem health. This solution overcomes challenges faced by traditional monitoring techniques, which offer only occasional snapshots of river health. It is led by Severn Trent Water, in partnership with SUEZ, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and others.

Tackling the challenge of upgrading infrastructure and building additional capacity in the water system, Printfrastructure 2.0 has been awarded £1.9 million to advance 3D concrete printing for wastewater infrastructure to enable onsite construction of larger storage tanks using low-carbon, water-approved materials. Building on earlier success in Water Breakthrough Challenge 3, which demonstrated up to 50% reduction in CO2e for concrete infrastructure while cutting construction costs by 8%, Printfrastructure 2.0 aims to speed up delivery, cut costs and carbon, and reduce pressure on constrained supply chains. It is led by Northumbrian Water, in partnership with Changemaker 3D Limited and others.

£2 million has been awarded to a 12-month pilot project in Leicester to monitor wastewater in the city for antibiotic resistant infections – also known as superbugs. Smoke in the Water: Uncovering Public Health Data in Sewers, will combine AI, clinical data, and in-sewer monitoring to identify resistance trends – working to support public health protection across the UK. It is led by Severn Trent Water in partnership with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Kando Environmental, Resistomap and others.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of bacteria to resist antibiotics – it is a silent pandemic predicted to kill 10 million people a year by 2050 globally. Wastewater monitoring can be used to detect AMR within populations earlier, since antibiotic resistant microbes are discharged into wastewater from people taking antibiotics who have drug resistant bacteria.

Jo Jolly, Director, Innovation, 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. Multiple urgent challenges must be solved. And, importantly, our mindset must change. So that's our mission: bold, innovative solutions that take a long-term approach to the health of our vital water system and the impact of the water industry on environments and communities. This line-up of winners shows us just what can be achieved when we set our minds to it."

Phil Buckingham, Head of Research and Innovation, Anglian Water, lead partner of Mycofiltration: Using Fungi as a Natural Way to Improve Water Quality, said:

"This funding will play a pivotal role in expanding natural technologies across the water sector. It will enable us to scale up our innovative approach: harnessing the filtration superpower of mycelia to enhance water quality, which will have a direct benefit on local wildlife and ecosystems, as well as the communities who use these environments day-to-day. Our immediate focus is to trial our fungal-based filters at storm overflows and run-off sites and gather the evidence needed to scale what works."

Dr Lori Lawson Handley, Senior Freshwater Molecular Ecologist UK at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, partner of the Good Vibrations: Ecoacoustic river health monitoring project, said:

"Our project is a unique opportunity to combine eco-acoustics with environmental DNA analyses to provide detailed, real-time insights into how river biodiversity responds to stress from pollution and climate change. This helps us to understand the health of our rivers and showcase their biodiversity, which is normally hidden from view. With the £1.5 million that we've received through the challenge, we will ground truth and upscale emerging technologies to have a far-reaching impact on river biodiversity monitoring, while delivering benefits to the water sector and communities nationwide." 

Other winners include Headstart: unlocking the value of headwater catchments, which is led by Anglian Water in partnership with the National Trust, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Nottingham Trent University and others. It has been awarded £7 million to test practical upgrades to treatment works and nature‑based solutions in headwater catchments – which is where rivers and streams begin.

Community Water Enterprises: Local People Caring for Local Nature and Water, led by Wessex Water in partnership with the King's Trust, National Trust, Thames 21, Rivers Trust and others, has won £5 million to bring together customers, communities, utilities, councils, charities and beyond, to look after and maintain nature-based water management solutions such as rain gardens and wetlands.

I'm a P-Leaver: Utilising Biochar for Phosphorus and PFAS removal, led by Severn Trent Water in partnership with Harper Adams University, the University of Exeter, Shropshire County Council, Nijhuis Saur Industries and others, has been awarded £1.6 million to engineer a circular solution to remove PFAS and phosphorus from wastewater using biochar made from pyrolysed sewage sludge.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is delivered by innovation prize experts Challenge Works (part of Nesta), in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities, and funded by Ofwat's Water Innovation Fund. The seventh Water Breakthrough Challenge will open for entries on 7 September 2026.

The Water Innovation Fund is a key pillar in Ofwat's mission to drive innovation that ensures the water sector is ready for the challenges of the future and results in better outcomes for customers and the environment. 

To find out more about all 19 winners of the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge or to discover previous winners, visit waterinnovation.challenges.org