We are delighted to announce the upcoming Conference of the UK Wastewater Network set to take place at Cranfield University on 2 December 2025.

Overview

This conference marks the 13th in an annual series addressing innovative treatment options for wastewater treatment. Building on two successful editions — Ammonia (2023) and Bioresources Management (2024) — this year’s event will spotlight projects funded by Ofwat’s Innovation Fund, which is driving groundbreaking work across the sector.

Water utilities face converging pressures: ageing assets, climate volatility, tighter nutrient limits, net-zero commitments, affordability, and growth. This focused conference creates space to test practical responses—energy-positive treatment, manging emissions, resource recovery, and safe reuse—against real operating constraints. It convenes water utilities thinkers and practicians, technical teams, scientist, researchers, regulators, and suppliers to examine data integration, interoperability, compare pilot evidence, and translate lessons into scalable approaches. Site visits and early-career contributions surface tacit knowledge and future skill needs. The result is shared understanding and actionable pathways for a resilient water sector.

This year we will hear from leading industry and regulatory voices including Jeannette Henderson, Principal, Ofwat Innovation Fund, UK and Bernard Koh, Assistant Chief Executive of PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, as well as from fantastic speakers from across the sector who will spotlight projects funded by Ofwat’s Innovation Fund including:

💧Francesca McKendrick, Chemical Engineer and Innovation Project Manager at United Utilities. On: Biopolymers in the Circular Economy (BICE): Recovering valuable resources from wastewater and sludge.
💧Chiara Coleman, Senior Research Scientist/Engineer, Innovation Team, Thames Water, UK. On: Experiences of Trialling and Operating Cold Anaerobic Systems in the UK
💧Giulia Pizzagalli, Innovation Projects Manager, Anglian Water Services, UK. On: Cutting Carbon, Not Corners: the Triple Carbon Reduction journey towards achieving our Net Zero ambitions.
💧Alireza Abbassi Monjezi, Director, Waterwhelm, UK. Can water reuse become an environmental and commercial opportunity at wastewater treatment works?
💧Ziye Dai , Severn Trent , UK. On: OFWAT – Net Zero.

Programme

Check our schedule for the day here.

The full programme including speaker profiles and abstracts can be found here.

Cost & Concessions

£250 per delegate;
£90 per student.
Alumni discount – 10% off the standard delegate fee.

UK Water Network members: Free registration for up to three delegates per member organisation, then standard delegate fees apply.

Registration: please contact Kristell Le Corre Pidou at:  k.s.lecorrepidou@cranfield.ac.uk