By Dr Katrina Flavell, Technical Specialist, Clean Water Networks, Yorkshire Water, with contributions from Dr Joe Sanders, Senior Technical Director, RPS, a Tetra Tech company, and Dr Leo Carswell, Head of Technology, WRc Group.
Designer Liner is an Ofwat Innovation Fund project led by Yorkshire Water, with the ambitious goal of designing a potable lining solution fit for a 21st century network. The Innovation Fund was set up by Ofwat, with contributions from each of the licensed water companies being pooled to fund a programme of work. The aim of the fund is to grow the water sector’s capacity to innovate, enabling it to better meet the evolving needs of customers, society and the environment. Over its two phases, Designer Liner has secured £3.45 million from this fund.
Stalwarts of the lining and rehabilitation world will undoubtedly say ‘This has been done before,’ and ‘We already have solutions to address this need’. But the strong support from both Ofwat and water company partners – Affinity Water, Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Scottish Water, and Thames Water Utilities – suggests that there is a need for a new way of thinking, and a truly disruptive approach.
The ultimate outcome of Designer Liner is to deliver a structural or semi-structural lining solution that is ready to be taken to market with an aspirational lifespan of 100 years. Other performance characteristics are also being carefully considered, including cost, installation time, connections and future repairs. In addition, we are evaluating the feasibility of additional benefits, including healable materials and low-friction surfaces.
Designer Liner is being delivered as a collaboration between water company partners and the National Composites Centre, The Bristol Composites Institute (part of the University of Bristol), the Water Research Centre (WRc) and RPS, A Tetra Tech Company. Dr Joe Sanders from RPS explains what makes the project distinctive:
“This collaboration has brought together both new entrants to the water sector and experienced firms. This provides a unique blend of innovative thinking, underpinned by solid knowledge and experience of the challenges faced by water companies maintaining ageing networks. This approach is truly disruptive. Ofwat has given water companies the freedom to conduct this research: a single entity would have neither the bandwidth nor funding to be able to do this.
“We want this innovation to drive wide-scale transformational change that benefits customers, the market and the environment. The UK has unsustainably low potable network replacement and rehabilitation rates (even with the Ofwat Draft Determination increases), and we need solutions that help us maintain our ageing network cost-effectively. Designer Liner has the potential to do this.”
This project is not about re-inventing the wheel. Having conducted an extensive global review of existing technologies, we were unable to identify any solutions that met both the requirements confirmed by water company partners and would be suitable for adoption within the constraints of the UK market. However, several solutions came close. The project team will be seeking to engage with the suppliers of these solutions over the next six to twelve-months to see if they would be keen to work with the Designer Liner project to adapt and develop their technologies. Dr Leo Carswell, Head of Technology, WRc talks more about the potential for collaboration with existing suppliers:
“Our findings are based on the opinion of the water industry, and we know this because we have consulted them. It is important that our research to-date, should be viewed as an opportunity and not a threat.
“However, a lot of the heavy lifting has already been done and we need an industry partner, or partners, with the vision to see the size of the prize and work with us during this current phase of the project to get the final stage of research and materials testing over the line.”
Joe Sanders continues: “We will be looking for commercial partners who want to take advantage of £3.45million worth of world-leading research. We hope that UK funders and regulators see and embrace the potential new technology can bring not just for the UK water industry, but world-wide.”
This collaborative approach is beneficial for three reasons:
1. It allows the very best suppliers and expertise in the lining sector to be part of the new solution
2. It facilitates the rapid turnaround of a ‘Designer Liner’ to market
3. It delivers good value for customers, by not designing from scratch
We have listened to the lining community, and acutely recognise that securing approval for any new lining in contact with potable water under Regulation 31 of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations is both time-consuming and expensive. The project team is focused on ensuring any solution will meet the standards outlined and deliver the highest quality water for customers. But this is also an opportunity to think big and push the boundary of what is possible.
As the project gears up to work with commercial partners, we will be continuing to engage across the lining sector. We will be presenting in December at the National Leakage Conference in Birmingham, and are planning a dissemination event in early 2025, with details due to be published via LinkedIn. Watch this space!
