Our annual event on potable water treatment will take place on Thursday 19th June 2025.
This conference is the eighteenth in an annual series focusing on drinking water production from source to tap. The event provides an excellent opportunity for attendees to get the latest information on water treatment and supply, an interact on the topic with scientists and researchers from water utilities and leading global academic institutions.
The 18th conference of the UK Water Network is sponsored by Puragen
Activated Carbon filtration solutions for air, water and energy purification. Proven purification solutions to remove contaminants and improve water quality. We bring expert guidance and tailored solutions, with end-to-end services to support every step of our customers’ processes. With an extensive R&D program and a partnership approach, Puragen is at the forefront of developing and implementing solutions that set new standards in the industry, to provide solutions for today and prepare for purification needs of tomorrow.
As every year, our conference will also feature a session dedicated to young and early career researchers with a series of 5-minute presentations.
We invite early career researchers to submit an application for a talk on their work and most recent research advances on innovations for water treatment. A jury, composed of water professionals and researchers, will vote for the best early career researcher’s presentation, with a best presentation prize of £200 (as vouchers) being awarded during the conference.
Applications for a 5-minute early career researcher presentation can be summitted to Kristell Le Corre Pidou at: k.s.lecorrepidou@cranfield.ac.uk using the word template available here. Applications must include:
Deadline for submitting your application for 5-minute early career researcher presentation is : 30th of May 2025.
Please note that we have a limited number of short presentations slots, so if you apply for a talk, we cannot guarantee that your talk will be selected.
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Registration and welcome coffee. |
| 10:00 – 10:05 | Welcome. Irene Carra, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Processes, Cranfield Water Science Institute, UK. |
| 10:05 – 10:10 | Introduction to the conference. John Fawell, Visiting Professor and Chair of the UK Water Network, Cranfield Water Science Institute, UK. |
| SESSION 1 | |
| 10:10 – 10:40 | Treatment Technologies for PFAS in Drinking Water: Challenges and Emerging Opportunities. Yang Deng, Professor of Environmental Engineering, Montclair State University, USA. |
| 10:40 – 11:10 | Bench-Scale Water Treatment Efficacy Study of PFAS Removal (DWI project) Peter Jarvis, Professor of Water Science & Technology & Irene Carra, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Processes, Cranfield Water Science Institute, UK. |
| 11:10 – 11:30 | Managing PFAS at a Groundwater Water Treatment Works: A Case Study Sophie Moore, Water Quality Risk Scientist, Anglian Water, UK. |
| 11:30 – 11:50 | Coffee break |
| SESSION 2 | |
| 11:50 – 12:10 | When is 40 not 40? A Review of Approaches to UV Irradiation System Design and their Applicability to Surface Waters. Harriet Alford, Principal Process Engineer, Stantec, UK. |
| 12:10 – 12:30 | Unattributed Microbiological Failures During Water Treatment. Tom Bond, Principal Consultant – Water Treatment, WRC, UK. |
| 12:30 – 12:50 | Leakage in Distribution Networks (Title TBC) Richard P Collins, Senior Lecturer in Water Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK. |
| 12: 50 – 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 – 14:40 | Early Career Researchers Flash Presentations |
| SESSION 3 | |
| 14:40 – 15:10 | Challenges in Natural Organic Matter in Water Treatment Plants in Sydney. Saravanamuthu Vigneswaran, Emeritus Professor, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. |
| 15:10 – 15:30 | Coffee break |
| 15:30 – 15:50 | Slow Sand Filtration as Pretreatment for Ceramic Membrane Filters – A Pilot Trial Overview. Lee Cassidy, Water Quality Principal Scientist, Bournemouth Water, UK. |
| 15:50 – 16:10 | Remote Spot sampling in Service Reservoirs. Zoe Kellock, Affinity Water, UK and Ceris Van de Vyver, Project Director South, Panton McLeod, UK. |
| 16:10 – 16:20 | Early Career Researchers Best Presentation Prize. Awarded by the IWA UK Committee. |
| 16:20 – 16:30 | Concluding remarks and conference close. Irene Carra, Senior Lecturer in Chemical Processes, Cranfield Water Science Institute, UK. |
£225 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.
Register at: https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/events/events-2025/18th-conference-of-the-uk-water-network