17th Conference of the UK Network on Drinking Water Production from Source to Tap | 2024

Our annual conference of the UK Water Network took place at Cranfield University on Wednesday 19 June 2024.

This conference was the seventeenth in an annual series focusing on drinking water production from source to tap. Attendees of the conference hade the excellent opportunity to get the latest information on water treatment and supply, and interact on the topic with scientists and researchers from water utilities and leading global academic institutions.

“As a vital industry we are seeing the impact of climate change and increasing demand on resources, water quality and operations. There is also an expectation of higher standards for our operations set against a background of achieving net zero. Sharing and exchanging knowledge between academia and industry, scientists and engineers, universities and industry practitioners is increasingly important for us to facilitate the development and identification of sustainable solutions to a range of emerging issues.”

Prof John Fawell, Chair of the UK Water Network.

Event Programme

Once again we welcomed exceptional speakers to discuss water treatment technologies, water monitoring, distribution system, water quality and catchment management.

• Paul Westerhoff, Regents Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University and the Fulton Chair of Environmental Engineering, USA. On: Wastewater effluents impact PFAS concentrations at Drinking water treatment plants.
• Emmanuel van Houtte , Geologist, Aquaduin, Belgium. On: Experiences with indirect potable reuse in the Flemish dunes, Belgium.
• Katherine Fish, Research Fellow in Water Systems Microbiology, University of Sheffield, UK. On: Unintended impacts of chlorine on biofilms: Is less, more?
• John Fawell, visiting Professor, Cranfield University, UK. On: PFAS – A challenge for Regulators and Water Suppliers.
• Andrew Kennedy, Operations Team Leader, Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland, UK. On: The future of lead in drinking water – A Scottish perspective.
• Jenny Banks, Technical Specialist, Yorkshire Water, UK. On: Evolving strategies for a changing environment. 
• Gareth Herron, Associate Process Engineer, Mott McDonald, UK. On: Disinfection by-products: Managing the chlorate risk.
• Jean Philippe Croué, Professor in Environmental Science and Engineering, Université de Poitiers, France. Combination of physical and chemical treatment processes to remove and degrade PFAS from contaminated resources.
• Anna Whittaker, Sales Manager – Northern Europe, bNovate Technologies, UK. Bring chlorination under control with Online Microbial monitoring.

Our conference also featured our now famous session dedicated to early career researchers, consisting of 5 minute flash presentations, with a best presentation prize sponsored by the IWA UK Committee awarded to Polly Grundy, PhD student, Cranfield University for her presentation about “Investigating
the role of aliphatic carbonyls in the formation of brominated haloacetic acids”.

Sponsor

The 17th conference of the UK Water Network wass ponsored by CPL/Puragen Activated Carbons

CPL/Puragen Activated Carbons is a leading UK-based supplier of activated carbon purification solutions, to a range of industries including drinking water, renewable energy and waste management. In addition to a wide selection of FiltraCarb® media, we can also supply AquaSorber® mobile carbon filters on a convenient ‘plug & play’ rental basis. Wherever possible, spent carbons are recycled via our REACT-Sys™ thermal reactivation process at our award-winning facility in Immingham. Our aim is technical excellence, recent examples including the development of the FiltraCarb® CH range optimised for PFAS removal and subsequent destruction. We hold ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO45001 and UK REACH accreditation.