Yorkshire Water Pipe Resilience Project Awarded £3.3M In Latest Ofwat Innovation Competition

• An initiative that could reduce leaks and burst water pipes is amongst those awarded a portion of the £40M made available in Ofwat’s latest innovation competition, Water Breakthrough Challenge 3.
• Ofwat’s Innovation Fund today announces 16 winners from the third Water Breakthrough Challenge, a competition that invited solutions with potential to deliver wide-scale, transformational change benefitting customers, society and the environment.

An initiative, called Designer Liner, which could reduce leaks and burst water pipes across the country has today received £3.3M in funding from Ofwat’s Innovation Fund.

The project is one of 16 solutions being awarded a share of £40M today in the water regulator’s latest innovation competition – the Water Breakthrough Challenge. This is the second phase of the project, with the first receiving funding from Ofwat last year.

Water companies, led by Yorkshire Water, will collaborate to develop a lining solution that is fit for a 21st century water network and complements other technologies, like smart networks and devices.

Water pipes are often underground and at mercy of the elements – meaning that they are prone to leaks and bursts. Repairing and replacing water pipes is costly, so one way to reduce issues and prolong the lifespan of a pipe is to line it and add an extra layer of protection. Pipe lining is 50% cheaper than more traditional methods, it generates less carbon and reduces disruption for customers because there’s less need to dig up the road.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge encourages initiatives that help to tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as delivering value to society.

Dr Katrina Flavell, innovation technical specialist at Yorkshire Water, said: “A lining solution that works for a 21st century water network could be a game changer for the industry – it will help to reduce leaks, bursts and in turn, supply interruptions and road works that are disruptive to our customers. By working with our partners to develop a new solution, we hope to create a pipe lining material that meets all needs.”

Martyn Hattersley, head of water strategy, planning & investment at Yorkshire Water, said: “The funding from the Ofwat Innovation Challenge allows us to develop a much-needed lining solution that benefits the water industry, its customers and the environment. Customers will see less disruptions to their water supply, fewer road works, and will benefit from the cost savings it enables.”

David Black, CEO at Ofwat said: “The water sector has faced mounting pressure over systemic challenges related to the environment and society, while the climate around us continues to drastically change shape. That’s why we’re funding ground-breaking innovations with potential to help us save and reuse water and wastewater products, while supporting wider society.”

Yorkshire Water is leading the project, with partners including Thames Water, Welsh Water, Scottish Water, RPS, National Composites Centre (NCC) and WRc Group.

The Water Breakthrough Challenge is part of a series of competitions from Ofwat, run by Challenge Works with Arup and Isle Utilities, designed to drive innovation and collaboration in the sector to benefit individuals, society and the environment.

Previous rounds of the competition have already seen numerous innovative projects win funding for their potential to benefit customers, society and the environment through solutions that introduce rainwater storage systems to local communities and minimise water demand in new building projects.

More information about the winners of the Water Breakthrough Challenge can be found here: https://waterinnovation.challenges.org/winners/

About Ofwat’s Innovation Fund
Ofwat has established a £200M 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. It is encouraging new ways of working that go beyond business-as-usual innovation practices in the water industry, in particular, increasing and improving collaboration and building partnerships from within and outside the water sector.

The Innovation in Water Challenge, Water Breakthrough Challenge 1, Water Breakthrough Challenge 2 and Water Breakthrough Challenge 3, and Water Discovery Challenge were delivered by challenge prize experts Challenge Works in partnership with Arup and Isle Utilities. Following the first two of these (the pilot competitions), Ofwat received 40 submissions in response to its consultation about the future direction of the Fund. In July 2022 Ofwat set out its headline decisions on the approach we will take for the Innovation Fund for 2022-25. Alongside opening Water Breakthrough Challenge 3, Ofwat has published 'Innovation fund – approach for 2022-25 companion decision document', which sets out further information on the headline decisions.

Ofwat consulted on its proposal to extend the Innovation Fund beyond 2025 in 'Creating tomorrow, together: consulting on our methodology for PR24' and will now consider extending the Fund. Details will be decided later in 2023.

The Innovation Fund forms part of Ofwat's approach to innovation in the water sector. Ofwat with the Environment Agency and Drinking Water Inspectorate also runs StreamLine, a joint service for innovators and businesses to get informal regulatory advice.

To contact Ofwat’s press office, please call 07458 126271

About Challenge Works
Challenge Works is a global leader in the design and delivery of high-impact challenge prizes that incentivise cutting-edge innovation for social good. In the last 10 years, we have run more than 80 prizes, distributed £84M in funding and engaged with 12,000 innovators.

Challenge prizes champion open innovation through competition. We specify a problem that needs solving, but not what the solution should be. We offer large cash incentives to encourage diverse innovators to apply their ingenuity to solving the problem. The most promising solutions are rewarded with seed funding and expert capacity building support, so that they can prove their impact and effectiveness. The first or best innovation to solve the problem wins. This approach levels the playing field for unknown and previously untested innovators so that the best ideas, no matter their origin, are brought to bear on the most difficult of global challenges. Visit us at challengeworks.org

About Arup
Arup is global collective of designers, engineering and sustainability consultants, advisors and experts dedicated to sustainable development, and to using imagination, technology and rigour to shape a better world. is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment. Together we help our clients solve their most complex challenges – turning exciting ideas into tangible reality as we strive to find a better way and shape a better world. With a community of over 1700 water professionals, Arup is leading global thinking across key areas like innovation, resilience, net zero carbon and sustainable water management.

About Isle Utilities
Isle is a global team of independent scientists, engineers, business and regulatory experts with a common drive to make a positive environmental, social and economic impact through the advancement of innovative technologies, solutions and practices.

About Yorkshire Water
We’re Yorkshire Water. The people trusted to take care of Yorkshire’s most valuable natural resource. On the surface, it sounds simple. We manage and look after the region’s water. But water is not quite like anything else. We’re not like any other business – and nowhere is quite like Yorkshire. Our work means much more than just supplying clean drinking water, taking away wastewater and looking after the region’s coast and countryside. We’re an integral part of Yorkshire life and millions of people who live and work here rely upon us, every single day.

We look after communities, protect the environment and plan ahead to look after Yorkshire’s water, today, tomorrow, always. 24/7, 365, we provide essential water and wastewater services to every corner of the Yorkshire region and play a key role in the region’s health, wellbeing and prosperity. That means over 5 million customers, and the millions of people who visit Yorkshire each year rely on us, every day. 140,000 businesses also depend upon the water we supply and the wastewater we take away to provide goods and services that support the economy – not only in Yorkshire, but across the United Kingdom and beyond.