The Future Water Association has announced a formal partnership with the Sheffield Water Centre at the University of Sheffield.

Both organisations have a clear goal of meeting the growing challenges faced by the water sector with innovative thinking and practical solutions.

The Future Water Association said creating a formal partnership is a logical way forward which will not only benefit Association members, but the water sector as whole.

Sheffield’s highly collaborative and innovative approach to meeting the challenges faced by the water sector over the coming years made them an obvious partner for the Future Water Association which is itself dedicated to promoting innovation within the supply chain.

Commenting on the partnership, Alastair Moseley, Chair of the Association’s Innovation Steering Group said:

“The leadership demonstrated by Sheffield in promotion of innovation and R&D in our sector led us to the firm conclusion that they were an organisation that we should be working with. Their recent grant award of £3.9m from the EPSRC for the development of the TWENTY65 research consortium involving 6 universities and 26 companies further demonstrates their leading position in driving the future development of our sector.”

As part of the collaboration, the 120+ member companies of the Future Water Association will have the opportunity to participate in ‘Thought Leadership Clubs’. Launched in March 2015, these are multi-disciplinary consortiums working with innovators from a variety of industries and perspectives to find novel solutions for water challenges.

The new partnership will allow members to work closely with researchers and take advantage of the R&D facilities in Sheffield - an exciting opportunity as the Water Centre has ambitious plans to develop and extend these facilities. This will nclude a new pipe infrastructure facility comprising a containment chamber in which infrastructure elements (water pipes, sewer pipes/chambers) and their interaction with natural artefacts such as soil layers and voids can be studied.

Martyn Hopkinson, Chairman of the Future Water Association, commented:

 “With the future challenges faced by our industry ever pressing, all stakeholders need to be even more innovative in their approach. The recent major flooding events have exacerbated these challenges and the opportunity for collaboration with academia, water companies and the supply chain is something the Future Water Association will embrace on behalf of our members and for the benefit of society as we seek to protect our most valuable resource for future generations.”

Professor Joby Boxall, University of Sheffield, added:

“TWENTY65 is an exciting opportunity to take a radical look at what urban water systems could and should be.  Working closely across the water sector will be key to generating a genuine shared vision for this”. 

The Future Water Association (formerly the Society of British Water & Wastewater Industries) represents some 120+ companies in the water and wastewater sector. Working with other key stakeholders, FWA is dedicated to playing a major role in meeting the current and future challenges of the sector.