South West Water is exploring new opportunities in artificial intelligence, environmental monitoring and workforce skills after contributing to one of the UK water sector’s most collaborative events – the 2025 Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival.
The four-day event in Newcastle last month brought together more than 1,000 participants from across the industry, including utilities, regulators, researchers and technology providers, to tackle real-world challenges facing the sector.
Central to the festival were a series of focused innovation sprints – which are intensive, time-boxed workshops where people can collaborate to rapidly generate ideas, prototype solutions and identify practical next steps.
South West Water colleagues took part in eight innovation sprints at the festival focused on unlocking operational data, improving bathing water monitoring, planning for biosolids, and building a future-ready workforce – with several ideas now being taken forward.
One key area under discussion was how large language models (LLMs), the technology behind tools like ChatGPT, could help frontline teams access and interpret operational data more effectively. The sprint explored how this approach could support decision-making across areas such as leakage, asset management and customer service, breaking down silos between data sources and making information easier to use.
Another sprint, Smart Skies, Healthy Waters, focused on innovation in bathing water quality monitoring. The team explored the use of drones, rapid bacterial testing and predictive modelling to improve how information is collected and communicated.
With a third of England’s designated bathing waters located in the South West, this work aligns closely with regional priorities. As a next step, South West Water will host an Autumn roundtable at the Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW), bringing together regulators, academics, local authorities and industry representatives to explore opportunities in this area.
The company also contributed to discussions around the future of biosolids, including the implications of emerging contaminants such as microplastics and PFAS, and the potential role of new treatment technologies.
A separate sprint on Workforce 2030 looked at how the industry can respond to changing skills needs, digital transformation and new ways of working, including how to attract and retain future talent.
David Baldock, CREWW Programme Manager, said:
“The Innovation Festival is a unique opportunity to connect with experts from across sectors, share ideas and come away with tangible actions.
“The collaborations we started in Newcastle will help us push forward on critical priorities for the South West – from cleaner bathing waters to smarter data use.”
Andrew Pennington, Innovation Programme & Partnerships Manager at South West Water, added:
“It was such a pleasure to be part of the Northumbrian Water Innovation Festival. Events like this spark the ideas that shape the industry’s future. The real value is in turning these concepts into real-world solutions – and we’re already taking steps to make that happen here in the South West.”
Festival organisers are now reviewing outcomes from more than 80 workshops, with South West Water working alongside partners to develop the most promising ideas into live projects.
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