2026 Shortlist

What is it?

A Saudi desalination and power project developer with a portfolio of 9.3 million m³/d of seawater desalination capacity, tackling water scarcity at scale for over two decades.

What has it done?

2025 was a landmark year for Acwa. It successfully commissioned the Shoaiba 3 IWP, Saudi Arabia’s first large-scale MSF-to-RO conversion, while securing Ras Mohaisen, the sole major Gulf IWP to reach financial close last year. Its international portfolio blossomed with new projects in Senegal and Azerbaijan.

What makes it special?

Acwa stands at the forefront of a new paradigm in global desalination, one where the GCC exports rather than imports world-class expertise. Building on an SWRO project win in Azerbaijan, Acwa notched up Senegal’s first desalination mega-project at Grande Côte.

The successful commissioning of Saudi Arabia’s first large-scale MSF replacement plant at Shoaiba 3 marks the largest such conversion anywhere in the world. It sets the gold standard for all future thermal-to-RO conversions in the GCC.

Acwa’s win at Ras Mohaisen was complemented by the signing of a water purchase agreement for Kuwait’s latest IWPP at Az Zour. In an increasingly competitive environment, the company’s role in driving down the cost of desalinated water has ensured its lasting reputation as the region’s pre-eminent desalination developer.

What is it?

A Spanish EPC contractor specialising in integrated water cycle projects, with a rapidly expanding international presence in large-scale desalination.

What has it done?

2025 saw Lantania cement its position as one of the rising stars of the global desalination EPC market, building on its landmark Jubail 3A reference in Saudi Arabia by winning more than 900,000m³/d of new capacity across the Gulf and North Africa.

What makes it special?

2025 saw Lantania consolidate its beachhead in the notoriously competitive GCC project market, taking its reference portfolio to more than 1.5 million m³/d.

In a deal that marked a turning point for Lantania’s global ambitions, the company announced a majority acquisition of its water EPC arm by Abu Dhabi-based NMDC Group. The partnership promises to combine Lantania’s desalination expertise and engineering credentials with NMDC’s commercial firepower, unlocking new markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

2025 saw Lantania sign its first contract in North Africa for a reverse osmosis plant in Tunisia supplying irrigation water for greenhouse operations. The project signals the company’s impressive flexibility in applying its technical capabilities to serve an ever broader range of end-uses.

What is it?

A Chinese energy and engineering group delivering large-scale seawater desalination and industrial water solutions through thermal, membrane, and hybrid systems, with 1.66 million m³/d of installed capacity.

What has it done?

In 2025 Shanghai Electric delivered milestone projects that illustrate its growing international ambition and domestic technological leadership. The award of the RO membrane systems contract for Morocco’s landmark Safi Wave 2 project was complemented by the completion of the Yulong F-MED-RO plant, establishing a world first in industrial hybrid desalination.

What makes it special?

Shanghai Electric represents the vanguard of a new paradigm reshaping the global desalination landscape: as thinning margins and escalating project risk deter established Western contractors, Chinese companies’ greater appetite for risk and lower return thresholds are enabling them to capture market share at scale.

The Yulong Petrochemical F-MED-RO plant is the world’s first industrial-scale application of Shanghai Electric’s proprietary Flash MED technology. By harnessing lower-grade industrial waste heat to both drive thermal desalination and maintain consistent RO feedwater temperatures year-round, the company demonstrated an innovative new take on a technology many had written off.

While most large-scale desalination contractors are effectively pure-play SWRO specialists, Shanghai Electric demonstrated in a single year its ability to operate at the frontier of both membrane and thermal technology – on opposite sides of the world

What is it?

An Indian EPC contractor and long-term operator with three decades of experience delivering seawater and brackish water desalination solutions across municipal and industrial markets.

What has it done?

In 2025, Wabag successfully re-secured the 300,000m³/d Yanbu SWRO project, while executing more than 1,000,000 m³/d of capacity across India and the Middle East. Its technical capabilities saw it tackle radium removal in brackish feedwater and ultrapure water production for cutting-edge industrial applications.

What makes it special?

2025 saw Wabag consolidate its position as one of the most active desalination contractors in the Middle East and South Asia. Its active portfolio spans municipal mega-projects in Saudi Arabia and India, as well as industrial water packages in Senegal.

Meeting challenging specifications is second nature to Wabag. At Al Jouf in Saudi Arabia, it deployed ceramic UF pre-treatment to remove radium isotopes in a brackish feedwater stream, while in India, it is delivering an end-to-end ZLD RO system for a refinery and a ZLD UPW system for a solar cell production facility.

In an impressive feat of marine engineering, Wabag fast-tracked the installation of India’s longest single seawater intake pipeline (>1.1km) at the Perur SWRO plant in Chennai. It is this sort of capability that underpins Wabag’s ability to deliver to spec at mega-scale, time after time.

What is it?

A Saudi Arabia-based desalination, water, and wastewater EPC contractor active across the MENA region.

What has it done?

In 2025 Wetico delivered on the most ambitious programme in its history, successfully commissioning its 900,000m³/d share of Algeria’s five-plant desalination build-out, while simultaneously advancing Rabigh 4 to the final stages of its performance run. It also extended its reach with new contracts in Egypt and the UAE.

What makes it special?

In a remarkable feat of parallel execution in the face of logistical disruption, 2025 saw Wetico successfully deliver its 900,000m³/d majority share of Algeria’s massive 1.5 million m³/d build-out, while simultaneously advancing Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh 4 mega-project to the final stages of its performance run.

Despite the speed of delivery, Wetico demonstrated its commitment to balancing technical performance, sustainability, and risk management, employing process optimisation to deliver cost and performance benefits, all while ensuring environmental compliance.

The full acquisition of Wetico’s  Seville-based design subsidiary, Innovative Water Applications Company, shows a company determined to own the technical depth that underpins its competitiveness. The deal brought critical engineering expertise fully in-house, deepening the self-sufficiency that will define its next chapter of growth.

What is it?

A Boston-based provider of polymeric and ceramic membranes.

What has it done?

The 2025 merger of Solecta and Nanostone Water to form Acuriant Technologies created an unrivalled membrane platform spanning ceramic ultrafiltration and polymeric MF, NF and RO technologies. Acuriant expertly expanded its portfolio to three ceramic modules, including a high-capacity product to challenge polymerics, bringing ceramics from specialist deployments into mainstream evaluation.

What makes it special?

Acuriant’s new CUF | Flow product increases ceramic membrane surface area by 40%, cutting system footprints and significantly improving project economics. The combination of economic feasibility and membrane durability is making ceramic ultrafiltration an increasingly compelling choice. An order book promising 50% revenue growth in 2026 is testament to Acuriant’s efforts to take ceramics to new heights.

Few companies are as well equipped to optimise a full membrane treatment train, delivering robust system performance to ensure uptime in a world of increasing raw water variability. Acuriant’s system at the Putatan water treatment plant in Metro Manila delivers consistent filtrate turbidity during extreme algal bloom events.

Semiconductor expansion is accelerating demand for space-efficient, high-recovery water reuse systems with incredibly challenging feed streams. Ceramic ultrafiltration is the ideal pretreatment solution for the job, with Acuriant’s reference base now exceeding 50 installations globally.

What is it?

A Netherlands-based international engineering consultant with an innovative water technology and software development arm.

What has it done?

Haskoning moved the needle in wastewater treatment beyond its Nereda solution, as 2025 saw it secure new references for its Ephyra sludge technology, while also achieving its first full-scale Aurea installation for micropollutant removal. Nereda continued to conquer new markets by outcompeting membrane bioreactors, while Haskoning’s Aquasuite digital solution is driving impact at some of the world’s leading utilities.

What makes it special?

Ephyra is shaking up the anaerobic sludge digestion market, offering a compelling retrofit option for ageing digesters as disposal costs rise. The reference base surged past 20 projects in 2025, with maiden contracts signed in North America and Italy, amid growing interest from Brazil and the Middle East.

Haskoning continues to push the well-established Nereda technology, pairing it with ultrafiltration to compete successfully in tenders that heavily favour MBRs. Wins in Brazil, Australia, and the Middle East demonstrate that Nereda continues to unlock new opportunities.

Haskoning’s co-creation model with its partner network is unparalleled, effectively combining technology development with an expansive route to market for new product launches. This foundation is already enabling faster adoption for solutions like Ephyra.

What is it?

A Tokyo-listed Japanese water technology, chemicals, and services giant.

What has it done?

In 2025, Kurita brought its decades of water expertise to bear in new markets, accelerating solutions for lithium recovery and PFAS removal, while striking agreements to develop water treatment solutions for space missions. It accomplished this while effortlessly maintaining its focus on core markets by introducing off-the-line ultrapure water systems to cut EPC lead times.

What makes it special?

Few companies understand the needs of ultrapure water customers better than Kurita. By leveraging digital solutions for design automation and operational optimisation, it has made systems more accessible with its off-the-line e-WT UPW system. By connecting pipes and electricity between modular units, its software enables ultrapure water production to ramp up in double-quick time.

In 2025, Kurita backed multiple innovative third-party technologies to tackle the PFAS challenge. It will accelerate the adoption of FREDsense’s rapid PFAS testing kit, and apply its engineering capability to support Cyclopure’s adsorbent media, reducing treatment costs and improving compliance.

While delivering value on today’s challenges, Kurita remains primed for tomorrow’s opportunities. A landmark deal will see it deploy membrane-based direct lithium extraction with Evove for the UK’s first commercial-scale DLE plant – placing it at the cutting edge of the clean energy transition.

What is it?

A generative design company based in Princeton, New Jersey, which offers software for creating critical infrastructure.

What has it done?

Transcend’s game-changing asset design and engineering solution for transforming the delivery of water projects was everywhere in 2025. Whether driving an ambitious infrastructure build-out for Brazil’s largest utility or working with technology providers on major pollutant challenges, Transcend has made its software indispensable for meeting the global water sector’s needs.

What makes it special?

To meet its 2029 universalisation targets, Sabesp is expanding wastewater infrastructure at breakneck speed, made possible by cutting budgeting and design timelines by months thanks to Transcend’s software solution. Rapidly evaluating multiple treatment options helps optimise and lock in project economics on day one.

Utilities and industrial end-users must rapidly assess solutions as they respond to tightening contaminant regulations. By automating repetitive design tasks and workflows, Transcend enables providers like Xylem and AqueoUS Vets to focus value elsewhere, giving customers more choice at the optimal cost point.

Transcend has further elevated its design generator offering with additional insight, compressing the design-phase iteration loop by 90% while maintaining full transparency on the underlying calculations. It is no wonder Transcend has quickly gained the trust of leading industry players across the globe.

What is it?

An Illinois-based water treatment equipment and systems provider with innovative RO expertise.

What has it done?

In 2025, WaterSurplus took high-recovery reverse osmosis (RO) to new heights as it impressively capitalised on three breakthrough RO technologies. It deployed its ImpactRO solution at the world’s largest beverage plant, and installed its NanoStack membranes at Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System, the largest reuse project in the world.

What makes it special?

Sales of ImpactRO – which balances flux across various stages to reduce the membrane fouling load – rocketed in 2025, shaking up the high-recovery RO landscape. Across more than 30 field installations, from small municipal PFAS and nitrate treatment systems to 7,000m³/d+ beverage plant references, ImpactRO has demonstrated up to a 2.5× reduction in clean-in-place frequency, while achieving recoveries of up to 95%.

The company’s NanoStack biomimetic hydrophilic polymer coating is another leap forward in RO technology, enabling membranes to recover up to 100% of their flux after clean-in-place. Based on a successful pilot, OCWD will now install 1,050 NanoStack-coated membranes to treat 18,900m³/d for indirect potable reuse.

WaterSurplus’ intelligent RO platform signals the onset of fouling, paired with novel prevention methods that promote membrane healing, delivering a more resilient, adaptive and sustainable RO process than ever before.

What is it?

A Kentucky-based provider of UV-C LED disinfection systems for water treatment.

What has it done?

In 2025, AquiSense broke new ground in larger-scale municipal and industrial projects, proving that UV-C LED is a viable alternative to UV mercury lamps. AquiSense sold systems to utilities in the UK, Norway, and the US, and secured the world’s first full-scale UV-C LED installation in a beverage plant, helping it to double revenue and become profitable.

What makes it special?

AquiSense has brought UV-C LED into the municipal mainstream, delivering the world’s first full-scale wastewater project using the technology, and securing a repeat order from Las Vegas Valley Water District. As concerns grow over the availability of mercury-based equipment, UV-C LED is rapidly becoming the smart choice for utilities to future-proof their assets.

AquiSense’s systems have reached capex and opex parity with medium-pressure UV lamps in many applications, meaning adoption is no longer solely reliant on the regulatory-driven phase-out of mercury-based systems.

With an existing installed base of low-flow systems worldwide, nobody has mastered UV-C LED technology as well as AquiSense, which has positioned itself as the spearhead of the revolution in water disinfection.

What is it?

A Spanish start-up developing a portfolio of biological treatment technologies and digital solutions for wastewater.

What has it done?

Cimico exploded onto the global scene in 2025, doubling its project portfolio after it was selected to deliver its biological treatment systems across the municipal, oil & gas, and food & beverage sectors. Its digital prowess was also deployed in major Spanish WWTPs, helping the company to multiply its revenues fourfold in 2025.

What makes it special?

Cimico’s core strength is optimising bacterial behaviour across microbiological processes, enabling levels of control and efficiency rarely seen in biological treatment. Its MOBED technology has breathed new life into moving bed bioreactors, enabling their use in saline or high-load conditions while excelling in energy efficiency and physical footprint.

Its branded Helinia operational intelligence solution has boosted performance at WWTPs in Madrid, Málaga, and Sevilla. At the Ranilla WWTP, it cut aeration energy use by 15% and lifted biological phosphorus removal beyond 90%, sharply reducing chemical consumption and achieving payback in 12 months.

Cimico’s integration of biology, process engineering, and digitisation is exceptional for a small company, turning overengineered biological treatment into optimised, predictable systems. Proven to reduce capex and opex, it has impressed industry giants including Acciona, GS Inima, and TAQA Water Solutions.

What is it?

A provider of an alkalinity enhancement technology for process intensification while capturing carbon dioxide in wastewater.

What has it done?

CREW Carbon deployed its pioneering Wastewater Alkalinity Enhancement (WAE) solution to outstanding effect in 2025, enabling enhanced wastewater treatment outcomes in the US and Europe, while transforming facilities into platforms for permanent CO₂ removal. The delivery of hundreds of high-quality carbon credits saw CREW cement itself at the heart of the water-carbon nexus.

What makes it special?

By simply dosing calcium carbonate, CREW’s WAE technology takes a clever dual-value approach, simultaneously improving wastewater treatment while converting CO₂ into stable bicarbonate. By delivering high-quality carbon credits – over 400 in 2025 alone – CREW has rapidly built up a revenue base, while offering a compelling price point for customers with rapid payback.

CREW’s 2025 coup de grâce was securing a five-year deployment agreement with Hampton Roads Sanitation District, extending WAE to four more treatment plants and enabling HRSD to eliminate caustic soda use while delaying or avoiding multi-million-dollar upgrades.

An offtake agreement for CREW’s carbon credits from leading consumer companies like Alphabet and Shopify will contribute to the removal of over 70,000 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere by 2030, positioning WAE as a valuable tool for global decarbonisation.

What is it?

A US-based developer of cyclodextrin-based adsorbent Dexsorb, aimed at PFAS and micropollutant removal.

What has it done?

In 2025, Cyclopure entered the industrial-scale PFAS treatment market, taking the fight to established technologies. Full-scale systems in drinking water and industrial wastewater -alongside groundwater remediation pilots – show that a versatile alternative with less waste and a lower footprint has arrived.

What makes it special?

Cyclopure’s cyclodextrin adsorbent can treat equivalent flows with one fifth of the mass of activated carbon, while offering superior selectivity to ion exchange, meaning municipal drinking water systems can more effectively tackle one of today’s most urgent environmental challenges. This mass advantage rises to 10x in industrial applications, positioning Dexsorb as a solution for multiple waste streams.

Spent media waste is a key concern in the fight against PFAS, and Cyclopure is rising to the challenge impressively. Its PFAS adsorbent is fully regenerable through a sustainable process for multiple cycles, with strategic partner Kurita America helping to scale the regeneration effort.

Cyclopure has also expanded into PFAS testing, helping citizens check water safety more conveniently and accurately. In 2025, it analysed 15,000 samples for Colorado’s state PFAS testing programme, blazing the trail for the next generation of PFAS solutions.

What is it?

A UK-based provider of leak detection and trenchless pipe repair technologies.

What has it done?

Origin Tech changed the game in leakage management in 2025, securing several commercial deployments for its Find and Fix leak detection and trenchless repair solution in the UK, while also expanding into Europe. Its No Dig repair solution hit new heights, and the Orbit satellite solution was rolled out to new markets – all backed by a £10 million investment.

What makes it special?

The Origin No Dig product line directly addresses the long-standing challenge of disruptive and costly pipe repairs, enabling utilities to seal leaks in under 20 minutes without excavation. Its food-grade calcium carbonate-based product has made even small leaks cost-effective to fix, helping to meet ambitious leakage targets.

Pairing the No Dig technology with satellite leak detection is a formidable combination, as pinpointing the leak is unnecessary. No Dig fixes a leak in a pre-identified section of pipe, saving time, cost, and wasted dig efforts.

Origin is bringing the benefits of No Dig beyond customer-side pipes to help utilities quickly repair water mains: targeted development of the product for Severn Trent has shown No Dig to be suitable for fixing 94% of leaks. Origin is leading the shift towards smart, resilient, and sustainable water networks.

What is it?

Brazil’s national water and sanitation regulator. Operating in a highly fragmented system of thousands of municipalities and multiple regulatory regimes, ANA sits at the centre of Brazil’s effort to bring coherence, credibility, and scale to sanitation reform.

What has it done?

In 2025, ANA used its expanded mandate under Brazil’s sanitation law to introduce national normative references for tariffs, risk allocation, contract adjustment, and compensation.

What makes it special?

The introduction of new references created sector defining rules that resolved longstanding disputes and reduced uncertainty for operators and investors.

ANA also set national targets for universal access and introduced common performance indicators, enabling regulators across Brazil to benchmark utilities and enforce accountability for the first time.

ANA has shown how regulation can unlock delivery at scale. By creating consistency in a fragmented market, it has lowered barriers to entry, restored investor confidence, and catalysed a new wave of concessions and partnerships in underserved regions. This is regulatory leadership delivering tangible impact nationwide.

What is it?

South Korea’s national water authority, responsible for river basins, dams, bulk supply, and flood control under a single mandate. Managing the full water cycle at national scale, it operates as both infrastructure owner and system steward in an increasingly volatile climate.

What has it done?

K-water has completed one of the most ambitious digital transformations in the sector, achieving full system integration at national scale. Planning, infrastructure, and operations sit within one authority, enabling fast, coordinated decision-making across the entire water cycle. It has closed the gap between innovation and delivery. Technologies that remain pilots elsewhere have been embedded nationwide, proving its ability to scale with pace and discipline. K-water has redefined the role of water infrastructure. By combining resilience, digital control, and renewable energy, it positions water systems as productive national assets in a climate-constrained future.

What makes it special?

In 2025, its Digital GARAM Plus platform, the world’s first basin-scale water digital twin, was deployed across all major river basins, enabling real-time monitoring, predictive simulation, and coordinated system control.

At the same time, AI-driven treatment systems have been rolled out across 42 facilities, while Smart Water Network Management has reduced losses and strengthened reliability nationwide.

Alongside this, K-water has expanded floating solar and hydrothermal energy, embedding decarbonisation into core operations.

What is it?

Orange County Water District safeguards one of the most heavily used groundwater basins in the United States, securing supply for 2.5 million people.

What has it done?

Operating in a region exposed to drought and import risk, OCWD has built a system that combines recharge, advanced treatment, and long-term planning into a single, resilient supply model, reinforcing its position as the global reference point for potable reuse.

What makes it special?

In 2025, its Groundwater Replenishment System produced 118,000 acre-feet and surpassed 500 billion gallons since inception, recycling 100% of reclaimable flows into a dependable drinking water source. At the same time, it has responded decisively to emerging risks.

OCWD’s PFAS programme has returned more than 50 wells to service, supported by over $150 million in funding. Meanwhile, Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations has unlocked new stormwater supply without new infrastructure.

OCWD has achieved what few utilities can: local water independence. It has avoided imported water purchases for three consecutive years, shielding customers from cost and volatility. It moves from challenge to delivery with speed. From PFAS response to advanced reservoir operations, OCWD turns complex problems into implemented solutions with discipline and clarity.

What is it?

Saudi Arabia’s central offtaker and project developer for water and wastewater infrastructure. Owned by the Ministry of Finance, it leads the Kingdom’s PPP model, procuring desalination, treatment, storage, and transmission capacity from the private sector. In a nation defined by scarcity, Sharakat is the engine turning ambition into delivered infrastructure at scale.

What has it done?

Sharakat has built one of the most active water infrastructure pipelines in the world. By 2025, its portfolio included 15 projects in operation, with 6 under construction, 8 in tendering, and 19 in planning.

What makes it special?

The group’s level of sustained procurement activity unmatched globally. This has been achieved while maintaining strong investor confidence. With around SAR 56 billion committed, Sharakat has consistently attracted international capital while delivering competitive tariffs and robust contractual structures.

Sharakat has set the benchmark for water infrastructure procurement. Its standardised PPP model delivers complex projects with speed, transparency, and consistency in a challenging global market.

Redefining the role of private finance in water — by structuring bankable, repeatable projects, Sharakat has unlocked sustained global investment at scale. The company operates with rare strategic clarity. Its pipeline is not just large, but coordinated, ensuring desalination, treatment, and storage develop as a single system for national water security.

What is it?

Malaysia’s national water services regulator, covering Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, and responsible for setting the standards that underpin utility performance and affordability across the country.

What has it done?

In 2025, SPAN led the most significant water tariff reform in over a decade.

What makes it special?

The 2025 reform closed the gap between tariffs and the true cost of service while protecting affordability, unlocking new investment for infrastructure renewal and nonrevenue water reduction.

SPAN also introduced pioneering regulatory requirements for data centres, mandating alternative water sources such as reuse, new tariff categories, and clear approval thresholds to safeguard domestic water security.

SPAN regulates with bold vision. By combining tariff reform and hands on support for NRW reduction pilots already delivering measurable savings, it has positioned regulation as a driver of innovation, resilience, and national water security.

What is it?

Balibot AI Knowledge Twin is an AI assistant for asset management, preventive maintenance and leak management for Balibago Waterworks in the Philippines.

Who is involved?

Balibago Waterworks is the client and TeamSolve, a Singapore-based start-up, developed the Knowledge Twin.

What makes it special?

Balibot has enabled Balibago Waterworks to effortlessly transition from manual data gathering and ad-hoc scheduling to instant field-data capture and insight generation, helping prioritise maintenance with AI-guided workflows. Automated reporting centralises knowledge and speeds up crew mobilisation, with field crews reporting up to 50% time savings.

AI has proved game-changing for Balibago’s non-revenue water strategy, where recovered revenue is precious in an underfunded sector. Balibago had assumed mainline pipes were the problem, but leak survey reports from Balibot showed service connections were a larger issue, shifting strategy to replacing old service connections. Balibot also identified the pipe material driving the most leaks and recommended how to prevent future leaks, enabling a more proactive stance.

Scaling AI solutions is difficult without organisational buy-in. Crucial to the success of the project was the focus on adoption: continuous training of around 100 plumbers and pump operators and strong executive buy-in were paramount to the utility embracing the mindset of digital transformation. Five municipal franchises and two water treatment plants are now being optimised thanks to Balibot.

What is it?

AI-driven 3D digital asset modelling for France’s largest drinking water authority, the Syndicat des Eaux d’Île-de-France (SEDIF), supplying 4 million people across 133 municipalities. The asset scope is three water treatment plants, 91 reservoirs, 43 pumping and 45 chlorination stations, with 60,000 pieces of equipment modelled.

Who is involved?

Veolia Franciliane is the delegated operator of SEDIF and deployed the AI-based solution at full operational scale. The solution was supplied by French start-up Samp

What makes it special?

Digitising tens of thousands of assets demands quality and speed. Starting from 3D scans, AI automatically recognises and structures equipment directly in the real environment, delivering accurate, asset-based 3D reality models within days to support an accelerated timeline. One site can be fully mapped in a day, a step change in efficiency for a project of this magnitude.

3D scans link easily to operational and maintenance data in the utility’s computerised maintenance management system, replacing fragmented documentation approaches with a shared, reliable operational reality across SEDIF’s production sites and slashing the need for costly site visits.

The project shows AI can be deployed at true industrial scale, with Veolia brilliantly bridging the gap between AI and field-level maintenance to ensure optimised maintenance and operational excellence for critical drinking water infrastructure serving four million people.

What is it?

The Shenzhen AI Leakage Control Project is a proactive, mega-city water loss management system serving 18 million residents across a 20,000km distribution network.

Who is involved?

Shenzhen Water and Environment Group is the client and developer, partnering with the Water Authority of Shenzhen Municipality, Alibaba Cloud, and Baidu.

What makes it special?

This project fundamentally shifts mega-city water management, transitioning Shenzhen from reactive reporting to proactive, AI-optimised intervention for infrastructure upgrades. Powered by over 3.5 million smart meters alongside a city-wide array of flow, pressure, and acoustic sensors, the AI ingests real-time data to pinpoint leaks with a scale and precision unattainable by human inspection.

The system’s true power lies in integrating machine learning with China’s largest urban hydraulic model. With over 1.6 million simulation nodes, the AI draws on 300,000 real-time monitoring points to cross-validate live data against predicted outcomes. This revolutionised emergency response, slashing the time to locate and repair leaks across thousands of DMA zones from 30 days to 10.

Ultimately, this integration delivered a critical breakthrough, with Shenzhen’s water loss rate dropping to 4.4% in 2025 after stalling at 4.6% for three years. Achieving the lowest rate among China’s first-tier cities, it sets a world-class benchmark translating to massive gains: conserving 3.5 million cubic metres of water a year.

What is it?

UK utility South West Water (SWW) is turning big data from its Event Duration Monitoring of sewer overflows into actionable insights, using AI to reduce sewer spills and ensure targeted environmental action, all while avoiding false positives.

Who is involved?

Metasphere – part of Grundfos – provided the MAP analytics platform for SWW and Grundfos provided predictive AI capabilities.

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What makes it special?

SWW previously faced 95% non-genuine alerts when monitoring sewer overflows, creating alarm fatigue that risked burying critical failures while teams wasted time investigating non-existent problems. Grundfos integrated datasets like real-time rainfall and ground saturation and used 12-hour predictive sewer-level AI to filter up to 9,500 phantom alerts per month so SWW could focus on the right issues.

With 95% alert accuracy, the shift from reactive monitoring to AI-driven intelligence turned huge datasets into a precision tool, proactively clearing 240 confirmed blockages before they could become spills. The result was a 50% year-on-year reduction in storm spills and pollution incidents and the removal of over 7,000 avoidable blockages, underscoring the need for targeted intervention.

A sophisticated “management-by-exception” approach restored systemic integrity and renewed confidence in SWW’s digital infrastructure. Grundfos’ scalable, low-cost AI model helps utilities turn mountains of data into usable insights, invaluable for achieving swimmable rivers in the UK and beyond.

What is it?

An intelligent platform capable of predicting turbidity levels, salinity spikes and red tide episodes, among other critical parameters, through monitoring data in the bay and open water prior to the intake of Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Facility.

Who is involved?

Acciona, in collaboration with its technological partner SkyTL. Tampa Bay Water owns the desalination facility.

What makes it special?

The project analyses real-time data from both the bay and open waters, enabling the prediction and notification of incidents at least two hours before the instruments installed at the plant. This lead time allows operators to take proactive measures and avoid facility shutdown, maintaining efficient, safe, and reliable operation of the Tampa Bay desalination plant.

Machine learning analyses data from a dizzying array of information sources, such as weather, runoff, bay discharges as well as fixed cameras and drones. Acciona and SkyTL’s expert combination of ingesting diverse data and predictive algorithms provides a comprehensive view that enhances operational reliability and strengthens water security for the region.

The system also optimises chemical usage, extends equipment lifespan and reduces emergency repairs. With desalination becoming an increasingly important water security option, the platform is a huge step towards ensuring such facilities can continue to operate in the face of ever extreme climate events.

What is it?

Five identical 2,500m³/d containerised seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants commissioned in 2025 on Lanzarote, Canary Islands, delivering agricultural water in one of Europe’s most water-stressed island environments. Each unit was delivered in less than nine months from award to commissioning.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered by a joint venture of TAGUA and IMESAPI, with key technology contributions from Danfoss (high-pressure pumps and active ERDs), LG Chem (RO membranes), Düchting Pumpen (booster pumps), and Protec (pressure vessel ports).

What makes it special?

Through a fully integrated design combining Danfoss active isobaric MPE70 ERDs, high-efficiency pumping, and an optimised membrane configuration, the RO system achieved a specific energy consumption of 1.819 kWh/m³, challenging the assumption that energy efficiency is the preserve of mega-scale plants.

The Arrecife project makes an important argument for decentralised, containerised desalination as a component of a viable resilience strategy. In a world where the vulnerabilities of large, centralised water infrastructure are increasingly apparent, the ability to rapidly deploy, replicate, and remotely operate highly efficient small-scale installations represents a powerful capability that will only become more important with time.

What is it?

A comprehensive rehabilitation of the 274,000m³/d Ashdod seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Israel, upgrading an ageing facility with a suite of cutting-edge process, energy, and control innovations.

Who is involved?

The plant is owned and operated by a consortium of BlueGen (formerly GES) and Shapir Engineering and Industry.  The key technology suppliers were MAN Energy Solutions (direct-drive gas engines), TPI (CO₂ capture system), Energy Recovery (pressure exchangers), LG Chem (RO membranes), Flowserve (high-pressure pumps), and Entegris (cartridge filters).

What makes it special?

For the first time in desalination, an existing plant was retrofitted to bypass the conventional fuel-to-electricity-to-mechanical-energy chain entirely, coupling high-pressure pumps directly to MAN gas engines to minimise energy conversion losses at source. The result is a 30% reduction in energy costs and a plant not merely brought back to life, but to the cutting edge of modern SWRO design.

The rehabilitation repurposes CO₂ emissions from onsite power generation as a cost-free substitute for commercially purchased acid in the remineralisation process, eliminating a recurring procurement cost while simultaneously reducing the plant’s carbon footprint. Combined with a new multi-media filtration system that cut overall chemical costs by 40%, the project demonstrates that circularity in desalination can be as much a financial argument as an environmental one.

What is it?

A 300,000m³/d seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Oran Province, Algeria, supplying water to around three million people. Commissioned in February 2025, Cap Blanc is the first of five new-build facilities completed under Algeria’s $2.4 billion national emergency desalination programme.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered by national civil engineering company GCB for the client and owner, Algerian Energy Company, with Hangzhou Water Treatment Technology Development Center (HWTT) acting as the systems integrator. Key equipment suppliers included DuPont (RO membranes), Energy Recovery (ERDs), and Andritz (high-pressure pumps).

What makes it special?

The first project to be commissioned under Algeria’s emergency desalination build-out, Cap Blanc is compelling proof that the programme is bearing tangible fruit. Delivered within 24 months of breaking ground, the project sets a benchmark for fast-track execution at scale.

Cap Blanc is a case study in the value of intelligently applied marginal gains. By repurposing the residual pressure in the RO concentrate stream to convey brine to elevated storage, the design team created a gravity-fed backwash system for the flap filters, eliminating dedicated backwash pumps and replacing fresh water backwash with concentrate, delivering a 2% improvement in water recovery. Further process optimisations contributed to a reported whole-plant SEC of 2.9 kWh/m³, reflecting disciplined, out-of-the-box thinking.

What is it?

A 600,000m³/d seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Shoaiba, Saudi Arabia, supplying potable water to over three million people. It replaces a co-located MSF thermal desalination facility with a modern, renewables-integrated RO plant.

Who is involved?

The project was developed by a consortium of Acwa, Badeel/PIF, and Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co., with NOMAC acting as O&M contractor. The EPC work was contracted to Doosan Enerbility, with key technology contributions from Toray (RO membranes), Hyundai and Torishima (main process pumps), ABB (MV variable frequency drives), and LBP KSA (captive solar PV installation).

What makes it special?

The project is the largest conversion of thermal desalination capacity to reverse osmosis anywhere in the world. The project was delivered ahead of time, allowing the legacy MSF facility to be shut down 50 days earlier than planned, meaningfully accelerating fuel savings and carbon reduction.

The new plant powerfully showcases the step change in efficiency offered by a switch to membrane technology, delivering water at a tariff 45% lower than its predecessor, and saving over 22 million barrels of crude oil and 9.7 million tonnes of CO₂ annually. The project team also outperformed their contractual specific power consumption target by 4%, achieving 2.93 kWh/m³.

What is it?

A 160,000m³/d seawater desalination system supplying process and domestic water for the Yulong integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Shandong, China.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered and is operated by Shanghai Electric, incorporating its proprietary waste heat-driven F-MED-RO hybrid configuration. The client is Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd.

What makes it special?

The project represents a fundamental rethink of the relationship between thermal and membrane desalination. Rather than running in parallel and blending outputs as in conventional hybrid plants, the thermal component directly supports the membrane process, utilising the residual heat from the F-MED step to preheat RO feedwater. This maintains stable operation through cold coastal winters, saving significantly on energy costs. It is the first time thermal and membrane desalination systems have been deployed in a directly symbiotic manner.

The world’s first industrial-scale application of F-MED-RO hybrid desalination, Yulong pioneers Shanghai Electric’s proprietary Flash MED (F-MED) technology, a low-temperature MED variant that introduces an additional flash evaporation step to extract more vapour from the brine stream at each effect, improving thermal efficiency at the lower heat grades typical of industrial waste streams. CO₂ emissions are reduced by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year.

What is it?

A drinking water treatment plant with a capacity of 600,000m³/d. It was designed to supply high-quality drinking water to approximately 1.2 million residents in the Haikou Jiangdong New Area. The total project cost was RMB1.7 billion ($250 million).

Who is involved?

Design was carried out by Central & Southern China Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, and construction was undertaken by China Communications Construction Company First Harbor Engineering Bureau. Key equipment suppliers include Hainan Litree Purifying Technology (ultrafiltration membrane systems), Suez (clarifiers), KSB (water pumps), Ozonia (ozone generators), and De Nora (sodium hypochlorite generators). The client was Haikou Water Group.

What makes it special?

The project is fully underground (the largest of its type to date in China), allowing the plant to be situated at the centre of the water supply service area, reducing investment and energy consumption in the pipeline system while significantly enhancing the security of water supply during frequent typhoon conditions.

The process flow incorporates a flexible bypass piping system, allowing raw water to skip the clarifying step without the need for polyaluminium chloride for the majority of the year. After screening, the water directly enters the primary ultrafiltration system, significantly reducing chemical usage and enabling greener water production.

The primary ultrafiltration system employs pressurised ultrafiltration membrane prefabricated tank. When raw water enters this system directly after screening, the available hydraulic head is used for membrane filtration. As a result, for over 80% of the year, no additional lifting is required in the treatment process, ensuring water quality while substantially reducing electricity consumption.

What is it?

Phase one of a 160,000m3/d ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) facility, serving around 1.2 million people and installed as an upgrade to an existing 50,000m3/d river water treatment plant in Surat, India. It is the world’s largest ceramic UF installation, and removes long-chain PFAS compounds from drinking water sources.

Who is involved?

Enviro Control delivered the project as lead EPC contractor and was also responsible for design. Germany’s Cerafiltec supplied the ceramic membrane systems. The client was the Surat Municipal Corporation.

What makes it special?

As the first test for deploying ceramic UF membranes at this scale, the project sets a global benchmark for advanced water treatment, handling severe operational challenges with odour, colour, frequent filter choking from turbidity and algal blooms, as well as increasingly unreliable raw water quality levels driven by climate change.

The ability to handle PFAS at this scale makes the plant one of the first future-ready facilities in India, positioning it ready for future regulation in developing markets of one of the world’s most high-profile and pressing pollutants.

In completing a revolutionary plant overhaul within the same physical footprint, the project team relied on innovative reuse design strategies to deliver significant capex savings compared to developing a new plant in a dense urban area with near-zero land availability.

What is it?

One of Asia’s largest drinking water treatment plants, treating 775,000m3/d of water to supply water to the peri-urban population in more than 100 villages around Bengaluru. It is the fifth stage of the huge multi-decade Cauvery Water Supply Scheme, and will enable around 5 million people to receive water connections.

Who is involved?

The plant was designed and built by a joint venture of Suez and Toshiba, and is operated by Suez for its client, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

What makes it special?

As one of Asia’s largest water treatment plants, the colossal scale of the project dovetails with India’s massive drinking water ambitions: as the country looks to further expand its Jal Jeevan rural piped water connection programme, projects like TK Halli indicate that the advanced water treatment capacity can be deftly delivered in parallel.

The plant is designed for ultra-low operational requirements: reduced chemical and power consumption were baked in from the start, a crucial component in a region where operating costs are a key issue for water service providers.

High-rate inclined tube clarifiers were deployed on a very minimal footprint, taking up a third of the space needed for conventional treatment and ensuring minimal disruption to the development area.

What is it?

A dam and bulk water delivery service creating an alternative strategic water supply for the East Zone of Manila, through the supply of up to 710,000m3/d of raw water, bolstering security for around 7.8 million people in the Philippine capital.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered and operated by developer WawaJVCo, a Prime Infrastructure-led joint venture that was later fully acquired by local offtaker and concessionaire Manila Water. The project was supported by regulator Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. Design and construction was led by PowerChina (dam and reservoir works) and PrimeBMD (pumping station and transmission).

What makes it special?

The project represents a colossal stride towards system reliability in one of Southeast Asia’s largest and most climate-exposed water systems. It backs up the Angat Dam system that had previously been the sole source for the region and represented a single-point-of-failure risk that was exposed in a major water shortage crisis in 2019.

It has also become a crucial measure in reducing the serious risk of floods for communities downstream in extreme weather events, with a structure designed to dissipate water energy, reduce turbulence and control downstream flow.

By replacing systemic vulnerability with engineered resilience, the project puts Manila on course to capably handle its expanding population and surging water demand, even as El Niño conditions look set to make a return this year.

What is it?

One of the most significant urban water infrastructure reforms in the Balkans; the upgrading, expansion and long-term operation of a water treatment plant serving around 70,000 people in the northern Serbian city. Local water sources deal with a highly complex hydrogeological profile, including elevated arsenic, ammonia, methane, and increased mineralisation.

Who is involved?

The project was developed and will be operated by Metito Utilities under a 25-year PPP contract. The contract was awarded by the City of Zrenjanin, in partnership with public water utility Vodovod i Kanalizacija Zrenjanin. Metito Overseas was EPC lead for the first phase of construction, supported by an extensive team of Serbian contractors.

What makes it special?

The project allows for an astounding and immediate historical milestone: following successful commissioning, a 2004 ban on the use of municipal tap water for drinking was lifted, putting an end to more than two decades of water worries.

The success of the contract, in a city that has had a chequered experience with the private water sector, shows that PPP can continue to make effects for water service and security in new markets.

Following commissioning, the plant threw open its doors: it is now host to educational and informative visits through its “Behind the tap programme”, fostering local understanding of the technology and expertise behind utility services.

What is it?

An integrated wastewater programme, consisting of 150,000m3/d combined wastewater treatment capacity at two sites and a 450km sewerage network serving the Digha (100,000m3/d) and Kankarbagh (50,000m3/d) zones of Patna city, Bihar.

Who is involved?

VA Tech Wabag delivered the project as lead EPC contractor, and will operate for 15 years. The facility was tendered by the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCO), as part of the Indian government’s Namami Gange river cleanup programme. Artelia was project management consultant.

What makes it special?

The integrated approach creates a tailored wastewater service that directly guarantees safe sanitation for around half a million residents in one of India’s most densely populated urban regions, and marking a huge step towards BUIDCO’s target of universal wastewater treatment coverage.

As one of the largest single contracts awarded under the Namami Gange programme, the project marks a new scale of action for reducing the uncontrolled discharge of sewage into the holy river. Arresting pollution at source, it dramatically improves water quality, public health, and the surrounding ecosystem all at the same time.

The complex contracting process combining directly financed design-build-operate (sewerage) and independently financed hybrid annuity model (sewage treatment) delicately balanced risk between contractor and client, while opening new sources of finance for one of the world’s most capital-heavy environmental efforts.

What is it?

A multi-site programme deploying and testing nature-based solutions and their integration into the urban water cycle.

Who is involved?

Aqualia was responsible for the design and construction of key installations, in partnership with a string of research and academic institutions across the wider programme. The programme was backed by the EU through its Horizon 2020 research and innovation funding scheme.

What makes it special?

In 2025, Aqualia completed works on a series of key pilot-scale installations at sites across Spain, in Talavera, Algeciras and Benalmádena municipalities. The successful deployment of focused, multi-stage urban wetland schemes require minimal footprint and zero energy consumption to effectively filter wastewater from urban sites, in contrast to the energy-heavy established model for urban treatment.

Localised nature-based treatment elements can act as water storage facilities as well as water treatment elements; a key situation when urban areas are more exposed than ever to flooding and storm surges in increasingly unreliable climactic conditions.

The project is starting to take effect outside Europe: pilots in Cairo (Egypt) and Pereira (Colombia), show that nature-based solutions are not a luxury for wealthier European cities but a genuine part of the environmental struggle.

What is it?

A 564,000m3/d wastewater treatment plant in Okhla, Delhi, replacing four smaller plants on the site and serving up to 4 million people across south and central parts of the mega-city.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered and will be operated by Suez under an 11-year design-build operate contract. Key equipment suppliers included Sulzer and KSB (pumps), Aqua Aerobics (disc filters), Xylem (UV), Siemens (gas engines), Schneider Electric (SCADA), Endress+Hauser and Hach (instrumentation). The client was the Delhi Jal Board.

What makes it special?

As one of the largest single-phase wastewater treatment plants in Asia, the project sets a new benchmark for scale and impact both in terms of utility service coverage and the reduction of the pollutant load entering the overtaxed Yamuna river.

The project integrated advanced sludge management into the wastewater process to an extent never seen in India so far. The installation of an advanced heat recovery system led to an 80% reduction in the operating cost of the anaerobic digestion process, while biogas generated can provide for up to 55% of the energy burden of the entire site.

Completion of the plant allowed for the go-ahead of one of India’s largest ever circularity programmes: while sludge facilities produce Class A sludge for safe reuse, 180,000m3/d of recycled water is made available for non-potable reuse networks, reducing dependence on freshwater infrastructure.

What is it?

A €550 million upgrade to the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant in Dublin, and the largest wastewater treatment project ever undertaken in Ireland. The upgrade meets the needs of the city’s growing population, safeguards the water quality of Dublin Bay, and makes the plant compliant with EU standards on urban wastewater treatment.

Who is involved?

Design and engineering was delivered by a joint venture comprising Haskoning, TJ O’Connor and Egis, while Veolia acted as EPC contractor. Haskoning provided its Nereda biological treatment and Ephyra digestion technology, while further equipment came from Xylem (diffusers), Cambi (thermal hydrolysis), Ostara (resource recovery) and Hach (instrumentation). The client is national utility Uisce Éireann.

What makes it special?

The phased upgrade marks a huge expansion to a plant already operating well over peak capacity: the plant now serves the needs of up to 2.4 million population equivalent from both domestic and commercial/industrial sources, treating more than 40% of Ireland’s wastewater in one of the biggest national infrastructure turnarounds the country has ever seen.

As well as a capacity revolution, the project represents a revolution in self-sustaining wastewater processing. Recoverable nutrients like struvite are extracted from biosolids, while the sludge handling means that up to half of energy consumed by the plant is now generated internally from biogas.

Innovation in vertical and retrofit engineering solutions meant that the highly-complex project was delivered on a congested site with barely any room for expansion, while full operations were maintained at the existing plant throughout the eight-year upgrade process.

What is it?

The largest individual water infrastructure programme ever undertaken in the UK; a £4.6 billion, 25km-long tunnel running under central London, intercepting tens of millions of tonnes of sewage that had previously been discharged untreated into the Thames.

Who is involved?

Jacobs acted as programme manager for the Tideway project vehicle, while Amey was lead systems integrator. Construction was led by BAM Nuttall/Morgan Sindall/Balfour Beatty (west section), Ferrovial Agroman/Laing O’Rourke (central) and Costain/Vinci Construction/Bachy Soletanch (east).

What makes it special?

The most radical modernisation to date on London’s 150-year-old sewer system, the Tunnel is the keystone of a master plan reducing untreated discharges into the River Thames by 95%, virtually eliminating the harmful effects of river sewage pollution in the urban Thames.

Against a background of a growing PR disaster over river sewage in the UK, the tunnel’s 1.6 million m3 storage capability protects against overflows, cleaning up one of London’s greatest natural assets and promising to future-proof a clean Thames for the next century and beyond.

At a time when the UK’s unique private water utility structure was coming under unprecedented pressure, the programme leveraged a first-of-its-kind business delivery model, with independent infrastructure delivery keeping the risk profile low, while the vehicle issued the UK’s first “blue project bond” to support innovative and low-cost financing.

What is it?

A major transformation of Bayer’s wastewater treatment plant in Antwerp, harnessing digital engineering and biological expertise to minimise chemical dosing and sludge production. An innovative approach introduced a self-neutralising concept to a facility that treats approximately 5,500m³/d of complex life sciences and chemical manufacturing wastewater, consisting of eight production streams.

Who is involved?

Bayer provided internal process expertise and testing facilities while Waterleau contributed batch-scale investigation of the biological process. AM-Team provided digital twin models for virtual piloting and model-based process design, and Air Liquide provided jet mixing technology.

What makes it special?

The self-neutralisation approach challenged traditional biological treatment assumptions: instead of treating alkalinity during denitrification as a side-effect, the project strategically employed it as a process resource, generating a variety of savings. Sodium hydroxide consumption fell by 40% and sludge production by 35%, alongside significant reductions in dewatering chemicals, filter cake production and disposal costs.

Engineering innovation solved the biotoxicity risks posed by introducing partially neutralised acid into a living biological system, through toxicity validation, sequential experiments and modelling. This minimised local low-pH toxicity and optimised high-intensity mixing technology design while preserving biological stability.

A fully integrated digital engineering approach combined real‑world testing with virtual full‑scale simulation, replacing costly onsite piloting to enable rapid de‑risking and accelerate implementation.

What is it?

A full-scope desalination and transmission system dedicated to Saudi Aramco’s unconventional gas operations at Jafurah. It supplies the field with 80,000m³/d of high-quality water through 200km of pipelines, supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 strategy and setting a new standard for seamless integration of industrial water supply with upstream energy operations.

Who is involved?

Developed by a Mowah–Lamar–Albawani consortium, the project was executed by SEPCO as the EPC contractor, with IDOM providing detailed engineering design. TECTON supplied the major treatment equipment including electrochlorination, DAF, media filtration and two-pass RO. Endress+Hauser provided analysers and monitoring instrumentation.

What makes it special?

The deep infrastructure megaproject integrates desalination, long distance water and power transmission, and in-field distribution, supplying Aramco’s operations with 500,000 barrels per day of treated seawater.

The system delivers industry-critical reliability despite sharp swings in intake salinity and temperature, achieving 97.2% treated water availability. Redundant RO trains, advanced real-time monitoring, and 85,000m³ of storage capacity ensure a continuous and resilient supply of water to the field.

As one of the world’s first large-scale desalination systems purpose-built for unconventional gas development, it is enabling rapid development of the Kingdom’s energy diversification programme while protecting stressed groundwater resources.

What is it?

A 2,300m3/hr (55,200m3/d) expansion of a lithium brine project jointly developed by Sunresin New Materials and Tibet Guoneng Mining in Tibet, realising direct lithium extraction (DLE) at scale under challenging conditions.

Who is involved?

PSP.US provided ultrafiltration membranes and process design for the magnesium removal step, with PolyCera Shanghai as equipment supplier and technical execution partner. Sunresin New Materials supplied the adsorption and separation systems used for DLE and is responsible for plant operations.

What makes it special?

The project is an impressive demonstration of DLE at commercial scale. This second phase has more than doubled the total plant capacity to over 100,000m3/d, supporting the extraction of up to 60,000 tonnes per year of lithium salts to fuel the energy transition.

The Jieza Chaka Salt Lake mining area is a difficult environment, with winter brine temperatures dropping below 4°C. An integrated process ensures stable extraction from cold, high-pH, hypersaline brines, operating without conventional pretreatment to cut system complexity and operating costs.

Coupling membrane separation for magnesium removal with adsorption-based DLE provided a scalable blueprint for project expansion. The use of robust PolyCera Hydro-UF membranes tackled high levels of suspended solids while reducing energy consumption, aligning lithium production with sustainability objectives.

What is it?

A retrofitted and modernised seawater cooling system for high-density AI workloads at the 1.2GW Start Campus, Microsoft and Nscale data center in Sines, Portugal. The pioneering approach delivers precise cooling with zero freshwater use and unmatched energy efficiency.

Who is involved?

Jacobs led project management and technical delivery, supported by specialist subcontractors including AFA Consult Architectural and Prospectiva for engineering support, and CME for integration of the heat exchange system. Hydrodynamic modelling was carried out by Hidromod and new intake and outfall systems were constructed by Conduril.

What makes it special?

A 30m deep wet well minimises pumping demands and delivers 20m³/s of seawater to the heat exchange system, feeding an advanced dual loop design. This unique cooling architecture does not consume any water, a critical advantage in the operation of modern AI-scale data centers.

By relying on seawater cooling instead of mechanical chillers, the facility cuts non-IT energy use to just 9% of total demand, significantly outperforming the 36% global average. This shift in sustainable infrastructure enables total reliance on renewable energy and minimised cooling costs.

The brownfield design has repurposed local legacy infrastructure, limiting new construction and embodied carbon. Tightly controlled treatment and discharge limits are supported by continuous monitoring, ensuring minimal impact on the surrounding marine environment.

What is it?

A landmark 30,000m³/d industrial wastewater treatment facility serving the Yibin Wuliangye Industrial Park for liquor production in Sichuan, China. The world’s largest wastewater treatment plant dedicated to baijiu distillery effluent, it began operations in June 2025 and combines resilience, resource recovery, and carbon-negative performance in an integrated solution.

Who is involved?

The project was developed and is operated by Wuliangye Group, with design by Central and Southern China Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, and construction by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group. Key equipment was delivered by CGN, Hach, Endress+Hauser, Wilo, Ohmesel, Guangzhou Shengqi and Shandong Pacific.

What makes it special?

A multi-barrier process combines anaerobic digestion, a two-stage anaerobic-aerobic system, sedimentation, electron-beam irradiation, and deep-bed filtration. The site has pioneered electron beam irradiation for treating baijiu effluent, producing no secondary pollution and reducing operating costs by 20%.

The fully integrated sludge-to-energy system converts 100% of sludge into power, delivering 11 million kWh annually via offsite co-combustion.

An energy-positive design combines biogas, solar power and waste heat recovery, generating 61 million kWh per year. This exceeds plant needs, with 7 million kWh of surplus electricity exported to the grid to generate $600,000 in annual revenue.

What is it?

A world-first proving ground in southern France for the use of high-recovery reverse osmosis in wastewater treatment for indirect potable reuse purposes, recycling municipal wastewater for reinjection into aquifers.

Who is involved?

The plant was developed by Suez, supported by ADEME (the French Agency for Ecological Transition). UK-based Salinity Solutions designed, built and supplied its HyBatch reverse osmosis (RO) system for the plant.

What makes it special?

By generating water for aquifer recharge, the project supports strategic long-term resilience in a region facing increasing water scarcity, climate stress and saline aquifer intrusion that all pile pressure on freshwater resources.

The use of the HyBatch system’s piston-driven pressure exchanger system to recirculate feedwater until the target recovery is met dramatically reduces the energy consumption by more than 20% and significantly cuts both the potential for scaling and the need for chemical cleaning while extending membrane lifespan.

By delivering extremely high recovery rates of up to 98%, a smaller, more concentrated waste stream means reduced downstream processing requirements, overall contributing to the carbon footprint and energy reduction credentials of the reuse programme.

What is it?

Europe’s first municipal direct potable reuse (DPR) facility treating around 1,300m3/d of wastewater at a facility in Hofstade (Aalst), Flanders. Treated wastewater is blended into the national grid, forming a new climate-resilient source of resource security in the water-stressed region.

Who is involved?

The facility was developed by Waterunie, the regional utility consolidated in 2025. Lead engineering for the plant was supplied by partner Nuoro, while equipment was provided by Aquafin (biological treatment) and DuPont Water Solutions (reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration modules).

What makes it special?

The project has made DPR a reality at utility scale for Europe, bringing a laggardly region into alignment with the most water-serious parts of the world in terms of technological expertise and regulatory flexibility.

The direct reuse credentials of the project are boosted by the inclusion of aquifer storage and recovery capabilities, forming a seasonal buffer that means water recycling can pay off at every point of the year, aligning production with demand and building system-level resilience in an area that suffers from wet winters and dry summers.

By offering a design that simultaneously satisfies water quality and carbon footprint requirements through judicious use of energy recovery, the facility offers a crucial template for advanced water recycling strategies throughout the European Union even in an environment of strict and tightening regulations.

What is it?

A membrane bio-reactor (MBR)-based overhaul of the 9,750m3/d sewage treatment plant on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, delivering high-quality, reliable recycled water for non-potable purposes, meeting the stringent recycled water quality standards set by the emirate’s Department of Energy and allowing for safe, sustainable reuse on one of the key development hubs for the city.

Who is involved?

The project is owned and operated by Taqa Water Solutions. Veolia Water Technologies supplied and integrated its Zenon hollow-fibre MBR system.

What makes it special?

The integration of MBR to the plant’s capabilities allows it to effectively handle significantly higher flow rates while consistently meeting the stringent reuse standards, a crucial requirement in one of the rapidly growing emirate’s urban development hot-spots.

By creating a reliable source of recycled water for landscaping, district cooling and other non-potable applications across the island, the facility strengthens the water resilience of the ever-expanding city at a time when water resources are under unprecedented pressure.

The project also offers significant operating cost savings, reducing its energy footprint by up to 15%. It clears the way for a huge expansion in overall capacity for the plant as Saadiyat Island continues to expand and creates a scaleable blueprint for future reuse expansion in Abu Dhabi.

What is it?

A pioneering indirect potable reuse (IPR) project, treating 60 litres a second (~3,500m3/d) of municipal wastewater from the city of León, Guanajuato, for reinjection into the reservoir, and forming a critical plank of the client’s ground-breaking ERA (estaciones regeneradoras de agua) municipal reuse scheme.

Who is involved?

The project was delivered by Mexico’s EcoAzur, partnering with system supplier NX Filtration using its hollow fibre nanofiltration (HFNF) technology. Equipment was also supplied by Xylem (ozonation) and Invent (filtration). The client was Sistema de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de León (SAPAL).

What makes it special?

The deployment of IPR at a world-leading scale decouples the growing city from volatile surface and groundwater conditions, in a region that has seen rapidly degrading natural resources – Guanajuato was the first state in Mexico to declare an aquifer closed, and has imported water from neighbouring states since the 1970s.

The ground-breaking multi-barrier treatment approach (HFNF, advanced oxidation, UV) removes over 95% of organic micropollutants, bacteria, viruses, PFAS, pesticides, and natural organic matter without the need for coagulants or complex chemical pretreatment, and underscores the role lower-pressure membrane technology can play as an alternative to reverse osmosis in reuse.

Successful completion of the first phase of the project has set the stage for an already-underway expansion that will expand capacity almost seven times over, making it the largest hollow fibre nanofiltration plant in the world and demonstrating that reuse technology can take effect even at the largest urban scale.

What is it?

The groundbreaking culmination of a decades-long regeneration of an urban river area, and the creation of a new source of recycled water for agricultural and other irrigation purposes, with the use of ultrafiltration to treat around 32,000m3/d of mixed surface water and supply it for reuse in local and agricultural irrigation.

Who is involved?

The project was originated by the Water Authority and delivered by national water company Mekorot through its EMS projects division as lead contractor. Mekorot owns and operates the plant. Water is treated by sunken UF membranes supplied by Veolia.

What makes it special?

The project brings to life a vital alternative source for the freshwater irrigation of the Yarkon Park, the largest green urban area of the extended Tel Aviv region, as well as for drought-hit regional agriculture through the development of an extensive distribution network.

By creating another recycling step from what had previously been the end-point of the natural water system, the project marks a blow for water reuse and demonstrates that further and further value can be squeezed from the water cycle without the need for more usage of scarce freshwater sources in an arid region.

The redemption of the waterway creates an attractive natural space and leisure space out of a river that had long suffered from a triple threat of over-abstraction for pumping, the dumping of sewage from surrounding urban areas and intrusion of saline water into its estuary.

What is it?

A private sector-led initiative to reduce, reuse, and restore over 1.2 billion m3 per year of water by 2030, helping California address its projected 10% water supply gap by 2040. The California Water Resilience Coalition (CWRI) is co-managed by the Pacific Institute and LimnoTech, with primary support from General Mills, Ecolab and Niagara Cares, alongside over 20 other corporate partners.

What has it done?

The CWRI is aligning basin-level corporate engagement with public policy to deliver measurable impact. As of 2025, the initiative funds 70 projects which will deliver 683 million m3 per year of water benefits by 2030, contributing to water availability, ecosystem restoration and climate resilience.

What makes it special?

The CWRI is galvanising corporate commitments to resolve California’s water crisis. Corporate funding grew 38% year over year to $24.5 million in 2025, leading to 41 million m3 per year in volumetric benefits allocated to corporate funding.

Through public-private partnerships and innovative financing, the CWRI is coordinating to deliver enough water to meet the needs of 3 million households annually.

Tackling the supply gap on multiple fronts, the initiative combines nature‑based solutions like floodplain and meadow restoration with community measures such as urban stormwater projects, water efficiency upgrades, groundwater recharge and irrigation modernisation.

What is it?

A pioneering initiative to phase out freshwater use in concrete production in Mexico by transitioning to alternative water sources. Cemex’s programme breaks new ground in collaboration among major water users, bringing together local stakeholders to repurpose industrial and municipal wastewater and reduce pressure on water resources.

What has it done?

Cemex championed numerous offtake agreements to achieve a 67% freshwater substitution rate across its Mexican sites in 2025, outperforming its annual target of 65% and saving the equivalent of the daily freshwater needs of 9 million people.

What makes it special?

Cemex has created a circular water ecosystem with major industrial and municipal water users, setting a new standard for collaboration to accelerate reuse. Partnerships to reuse the treated wastewater of global companies such as Danone and Coca‑Cola have helped reduce freshwater withdrawals and ease pressure on local aquifers.

Non-freshwater processes have been implemented at 61 additional sites in 2025, managing over 6 million litres of alternative water. 31 of these have been certified as ‘Zero Freshwater Concrete Plants’ by Spanish standards body AENOR.

Cemex doubled sustainable concrete production between 2024 and 2025, while achieving a 3% reduction in water consumption per cubic metre of concrete produced.

What is it?

A project led by Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages to tackle severe degradation, invasive overgrowth and chemical runoff in Thailand’s Khanom Chin Canal. Expert input from WWF Thailand, government agencies and academic partners ensured scientific rigour and local relevance, alongside community engagement.

What has it done?

The project has delivered a long-term, systemic solution built on education, prevention and restoration. Contributing a volumetric water benefit of approximately 1.2 million m3 in 2025, it has showcased significant long-term improvements in water quality and availability for 30,000 people living along the 21km canal.

What makes it special?

Water quality has dramatically improved, allowing its use for agriculture, fishing and drinking. Alongside a decrease in biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen levels increased from 2.29 to 3.32 mg/l (2017–2023) to around 8.5 mg/l in 2025.

In 2025, biodiversity reached over 117 species. Rebounded populations included 13 kinds of freshwater vegetation, 42 avian, 22 invertebrate and 53 fish species, eight of which were previously threatened or absent.

The project has also restored traditional livelihoods, improved food security and influenced policy. In 2025 it was selected as one of Thailand’s first pilot initiatives for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, formally counting the area’s management toward global conservation targets.

What is it?

An ambitious programme to strengthen community resilience, improve livelihoods and restore ecosystems in Hathras, one of India’s most water-stressed regions. PepsiCo helped build community ownership of local water management by empowering key stakeholders to embed water resilience into daily life.

What has it done?

PepsiCo supported the creation of 10 zero‑water‑outflow village plans in 2025, reaching 2,000 families by strengthening community‑led management of local water resources. This included 60 infrastructure repairs in local Hathras communities, while 1.48 billion litres of water were replenished more widely across India as part of PepsiCo’s 2030 water positive ambition.

What makes it special?

Two major water bodies were restored in 2025, a freshwater pond in Shahjadpur and a constructed wetland in Parsara. These now function as multi‑benefit ecological assets, supporting groundwater recharge, wastewater treatment, and habitat creation.

PepsiCo has helped strengthen collaboration between communities and government by co-developing the Jal Shakti Kendra water stewardship hub. This facility provides training and support for villages to develop their own water security plans and access government support schemes.

The programme’s success has already been replicated across the region, with water‑efficient agricultural practices spreading to more than 300 acres beyond the programme’s original target area.

What is it?

A portfolio of 30 flagship water initiatives driving impact around the world, with Unilever aiming to scale this to 100 projects in operation by 2030. Together, these projects not only provide environmental benefits and replenish water at an impressive scale, but also work to embed long-term water resilience within local communities.

What has it done?

Nine additional sites joined the programme in the 2024-5 financial year. Collectively, these projects replenished 58 billion litres of water, restored hydrological functionality across 65,000 hectares of land and generated an additional 4,647 tons of agricultural production.

What makes it special?

Over 4,000 farmers benefited from Unilever’s supply-side interventions, while more than 8,000 adopted improved agricultural practices. These efforts reduced water abstraction and resulted in over 15 billion litres of water saved in 2025.

In addition to providing volumetric benefits, Unilever has collaborated with local communities to enhance water governance. Over 100 villages participated in a programme to improve decision-making and planning for water security. Unilever supported 53 community-based organisations to hold nearly 600 water-focused meetings with local leaders over the year.

The programme deployed multiple nature-based solutions, including wetland restoration, invasive-species removal and reforestation, to restore hydrology while supporting biodiversity and ecosystem health.

What is it?

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the public utility responsible for water supply and sanitation in one of the world’s fastest growing metropolitan regions. Operating under intense urbanisation and climate pressure, BWSSB delivers essential services to more than 10 million people across Bengaluru and its expanding peri-urban areas.

What has it done?

In 2025, BWSSB completed Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage V, adding 775 MLD of new surface water capacity and achieving 100% piped water coverage across 110 periurban villages. Over 1.7 million people gained reliable, affordable, and safe drinking water, ending dependence on unsafe borewells and costly tanker supplies. This was matched by the delivery of over 3,000 km of water pipelines and nearly 2,000 km of sewerage networks, supported by inclusive connection policies and subsidised tariffs

What makes it special?

BWSSB has pioneered infrastructure delivery with digital leadership. Cityscale SCADA, GIS, IoT enabled tanker tracking, and smart billing have transformed operations with transparency and trust. By delivering reliable services at metropolitan scale, BWSSB has shown that SDG6 is achievable even in the world’s fastest growing cities.

What is it?

National Water Company is Saudi Arabia’s largest retail water and wastewater utility, delivering services across the Kingdom’s major cities. At the centre of national reform, it manages distribution and wastewater operations at scale, translating strategy into reliable service for millions.

What has it done?

NWC has delivered a step-change in water quality through its Water Quality Improvement Program in the Eastern Province. This $1.3 billion programme has replaced high-salinity groundwater with a fully integrated desalinated supply, serving more than 4.7 million people. The system delivers over 3.5 million m³/day through a 490 km transmission backbone. Salinity has been cut by over 90%, restoring trust in the tap while relieving pressure on non-renewable aquifers. At the same time, the network has been fundamentally re-engineered. A looped, digitally monitored system now enables continuous supply even during maintenance or disruption, marking a decisive shift from vulnerability to resilience.

What makes it special?

NWC has solved the problem at source. By eliminating reliance on degraded groundwater, it has secured long-term water quality and resource sustainability in a high-stress region. It has delivered infrastructure with intent. The move to a looped, intelligent network transforms reliability, ensuring consistent service under pressure. The impact is system-wide. By delivering high-quality water to all communities, NWC has closed the water quality gap and restored public confidence at scale.

What is it?

Moulton Niguel Water District is a retail water and wastewater utility operating on the frontline of scarcity in Southern California. Serving a diverse and growing population, it delivers potable and recycled water across a complex urban system, with a reputation for leadership in demand management and data-led operations.

What has it done?

MNWD has fundamentally changed how water is used in its service area, cutting demand by 40% since 2007 through a budget-based rate structure that makes conservation visible and fair. Over the past 18 months, this has been sharpened through expanded AMI and a more intuitive customer portal. It has matched demand reduction with supply strength. A recycled water system now offsets around 25% of demand, while non-revenue water has been reduced to 5.5% through sustained operational focus. Its headquarters has also reached net-zero energy.

What makes it special?

MNWD has embedded data into decision-making. Through initiatives like the California Data Collaborative and BLUE, it turns information into measurable operational gains. Pairing innovation with collaboration. Its work on AI capability building shows a utility actively shaping the future workforce. It is building the system of the future, not just improving the current one. Its OASIS programme sets out a clear one-water vision, combining reuse, stormwater, and resilience into a single strategy.

What is it?

Sabesp is one of the largest water and wastewater utilities in the world, serving more than 28 million people in São Paulo. Operating in a region defined by inequality and water stress, it sits at the centre of Brazil’s drive to universalise sanitation, combining public purpose with private discipline.

What has it done?

In 2025, Sabesp delivered one of the fastest service expansions seen at this scale. It extended water access to 1.8 million people, sewage collection to 2.1 million, and treatment to 3.8 million, putting São Paulo on track to achieve universal coverage by 2029. This expansion has been matched by financial strength. Sabesp executed a record investment programme and delivered the world’s largest blue bond, raising $1.5 billion and directly linking capital to water, sanitation, and climate outcomes.

What makes it special?

Sabesp has proved that scale is no barrier to speed. In its first full year under a new model, it combined rapid expansion with improved performance. Setting a new benchmark for water finance. Its blue bond and wider strategy align investment directly with measurable environmental and social outcomes. It is reshaping urban water security. By advancing reuse at scale, Sabesp is building resilience in one of the world’s most complex metropolitan systems.

What is it?

WASA Lahore is the public water and sanitation utility serving more than 5 million people in Lahore, one of South Asia’s fastest growing megacities. It operates at the frontline of urban growth, climate risk, and water service delivery in Punjab.

What has it done?

In 2025, WASA Lahore expanded its service area from 248 km² to 380 km², reaching 2.3 million additional people in just one year. Backed by USD 350 million in public investment, the utility upgraded water networks and climate resilient drainage while maintaining service quality during rapid growth. That same year, monthly revenue recovery increased fourfold to USD 7.10 million and collection efficiency reached 100%, securing the financial foundation for sustained service improvement.

What makes it special?

WASA Lahore fuelled operational transformation through remarkable financial turnaround. Centralised control rooms, SCADA, GIS based asset mapping, and smart monitoring cut nonrevenue water by 23% and strengthened resilience. Its model has since been replicated through the creation of 36 new WASAs across Punjab, providing a blueprint for utility excellence used to scale SDG6.

What is it?

A 2,400m3/d treatment plant delivering the first commercially viable, large-scale water reuse model for Bangladesh’s textile sector. The $1.7 million initiative cuts pressure on groundwater resources in the highly water-stressed Meghna basin, while strengthening long-term water security for both industry and surrounding communities.

Who is involved?

The project is anchored by Primark, H&M Group and their supply chain partner Fakir Knitwears Ltd. Panta Rei provided advanced treatment while Grundfos provided pumping technologies. WaterAid supported broader stewardship outcomes. The UK FCDO’s Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution programme supplemented 35% of the cost while the World Bank’s 2030 Water Resources Group supported strategically and technically.

What makes it special?

The project delivered immediate environmental benefits by enabling the reuse of 30% of site wastewater. By treating wastewater to ZDHC ‘Aspirational’ standards, pollutant loads are lowered and secondary pollution risks seen in typical zero liquid discharge systems are mitigated by blending concentrates into compliant flows.

Co-benefits are reaped via the reduction in groundwater extraction and associated energy use, projected to save 46,202 tCO2e by 2031.

By integrating competing‑brand engagement, supplier leadership, NGO collaboration and multilateral policy alignment, a scalable industrial reuse blueprint for Bangladesh’s textile sector has been established, shaping the industry’s water secure future.

What is it?

A 7,500m³/d wastewater resource recovery facility at Hubei Yichang Yihua-Brunp New Materials, treating highly acidic effluent from iron phosphate production for lithium-ion battery materials. All recovered materials are reused onsite in battery precursor production, eliminating the need for external disposal.

Who is involved?

The project was developed by Yichang Yihua-Brunp New Materials, with Hangzhou Water Treatment Technology Development Centre serving as EPC contractor and supplier of core membrane, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis technologies.

What makes it special?

The pioneering system achieves full resource recovery from strongly acidic wastewater without conventional neutralisation, enabling circularity in iron phosphate production. 2.6 million tonnes of water is recovered annually, alongside 13,000 tonnes of acid and 3,000 tonnes of metal resources.

A membrane-based process coupled with electrodialysis allows separation and reuse under acidic conditions, while avoiding evaporative crystallisation. This has reduced capital costs by over 30%, with operations and maintenance costs slashed by around 70%.

The plant operates without neutralisers or routine chemical cleaning, thereby eliminating solid waste, reducing chemical use by 11,000 tonnes annually and delivering total cost savings of around $8 million per year.

What is it?

A zero-discharge water reuse system serving Jeddah Industrial Cities 2 and 3. The project brought a dormant wastewater plant back into service as a strategic utility capable of delivering up to 40,000m³/d of high-quality water to one of the region’s most dynamic industrial hubs.

Who is involved?

Tawzea Aquapor acted as concessionaire, engineering integrator and operations leader, delivering the project under a 25-year contract. SALFO & SAPL provided basic design, with civil and mechanical works carried out by multiple contractors. Tecofi supplied valves, KSB provided pumping systems, and Siemens delivered SCADA and metering.

What makes it special?

The project transformed a stranded, non-compliant treatment asset into a fully circular industrial water provider, integrating treatment, storage, and a dedicated distribution network. Serving over 700 industrial facilities, its modular design is already expanding to meet rising demand.

Upgraded treatment trains, including DAF, extended aeration and tertiary polishing to TSS of less than 1mg/L, deliver consistent quality. 72 hours of storage capacity and a 125,000m³/d pumping station ensure dependable service during peak demand.

The project provides a cost-effective alternative to energy-intensive desalination and stressed groundwater. Delivered in only 12 months, its integrated delivery, scalable approach, and long-term model will ensure resilience for Jeddah’s growing industrial base.

What is it?

A 65m³/h zero liquid discharge plant at Tesla’s electric vehicle Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, optimised through operational refinements in 2025 to save further water resources and set a new standard for water circularity in the automotive industry.

Who is involved?

Tesla led plant design and construction alongside Envirochemie. Kurita/DuPont supplied closed‑circuit RO skids, complementing existing Envirochemie systems. Steffen Hartmann installed RO units and evaporators, Jiarong supplied disc‑tube RO and Hager + Elsässer (now Gradiant) delivered high‑concentration RO.

What makes it special?

The facility is now reusing 100% of process effluent for production applications including painting, corresponding to over 300,000m³ since the start of ZLD operations. As a result, the site’s freshwater consumption has dropped by a third.

The ZLD treatment train was specially adapted to the facility’s complex wastewater characteristics, integrating energy-efficient, high-recovery RO systems alongside evaporators designed to handle high chloride concentrations. The site now achieves an average water consumption of 1.51m³ per vehicle, significantly below the industry average of 2.84m³ despite a higher degree of vertical integration of production processes.

The commissioning of the ZLD plant completed Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg’s adoption of a closed-loop model. It requires 46% less freshwater than the industry benchmark, pioneering effective water use within battery electric vehicle manufacturing.

What is it?

A 550m3/d water treatment and reuse project at the world’s largest food-grade PET recycling facility, processing 5.5 million bottles annually. It recovers 370m³/d for reuse, advancing PetStar towards its goal of water neutrality while maintaining quality standards for recycled resin production.

Who is involved?

Veolia designed and delivered the project as engineering and procurement contractor, providing proprietary treatment technologies and chemical treatment services to optimise reverse osmosis performance. Operations and maintenance are managed in-house by PetStar, Mexico’s leading food-grade PET recycler, as part of its sustainability and circular economy commitments.

What makes it special?

The fully integrated water reuse solution enables circular water management in large-scale PET recycling, reducing reliance on freshwater resources and closing the loop on plastic and water.

A multi-stage treatment train integrates Veolia’s proprietary technologies, Densator rapid sedimentation, ZeeWeed MBR, PROflex reverse osmosis, Aquaray UV disinfection, and activated carbon, producing high-quality recycled water for uses from irrigation to boiler feed and process reintegration.

The project enables 60% water reuse at the facility, reducing freshwater demand in the water-stressed Valle de Toluca region. The 370m³ recovered daily equals about half the water consumption of the nearby San Cayetano Morelos community, delivering impact beyond the plant fenceline.

What is it?

Aguas Nuevas is a regional water and wastewater services operator in Chile, providing drinking water and sanitation services across six highly diverse and water stressed regions, from the Atacama Desert to Patagonia. Operating through multiple subsidiary utilities, it combines private sector operating discipline with long term public service obligations, serving more than two million people under regulated concession frameworks

What has it done?

Aguas Nuevas has made astounding progress to reduce NRW, with levels reduced on average from 45% to 30% across 60 cities. It did this by recognising NRW reduction is not only a technical challenge but a strategic one. The initiative illuminates historically invisible water networks and transformed more than 90% of its network to be monitored remotely. The programme has reduced water losses totally 15 million m3 between 2015 and 2025. Repair times reduced from 10 days to less than 1 day – reinstating customer trust through reliable service.

What makes it special?

Aguas Nuevas proves that even in the face of extreme water stress – from the Atacama Desert to freezing conditions in southern Chile – strategic planning and stalwart programme delivery translates to operational excellence. This was not a pilot project but a full-scale organisational change that has protected its customers for years to come.

What is it?

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the public utility responsible for water supply and sanitation in one of the world’s fastest growing metropolitan regions. Operating under intense urbanisation and climate pressure, BWSSB delivers essential services to more than 10 million people across Bengaluru and its expanding peri urban areas.

What has it done?

In 2025, BWSSB expanded 100% piped water coverage across 110 periurban villages. Over 1.7 additional million people gained reliable, affordable, and safe drinking water, ending dependence on unsafe borewells and costly tanker supplies. The monumental expansion of services under this scheme makes the utility an SDG6 pioneer; showing what happens when challenge is met with leadership and vision.

What makes it special?

BWSSB manages water as a metropolitan system, not a set of projects. It’s services are equitable, affordable and inclusive. This level of service expansion shows the utility’s ability to be agile in the face of rapid urbanisation and do it with long-term financial resilience as the centre of its strategy.

What is it?

Indah Water Konsortium is the quiet force that keeps Malaysia healthy. As the national sanitation utility serving more than 30 million people, it meets its challenges with innovation and leadership, setting a global standard for sanitation management.

What has it done?

Indah Water has deployed solar energy across 16 sewage treatment plants through a performanceguaranteed PFI model. The programme delivers 6.3 MWp of capacity, generating 7,700 MWh each year to treat nearly 148 million cubic metres of wastewater. It secures reliable operations, avoids RM 41.8 million in grid costs, and cuts over 5 Gg of CO₂ annually.

What makes it special?

Indah Water has embedded renewable energy and financial sustainability at the heart of wastewater treatment. Through a pioneering PFI model it secured reliable energy with no upfront public cost. The programme cuts emissions, stabilises operations, and proves that sanitation performance can be strengthened through smart finance, not subsidy.

What is it?

SANASA is the municipally owned water and sanitation utility of Campinas, one of Brazil’s largest cities. It is responsible for drinking water supply and wastewater services for more than one million people, operating the full urban water cycle in a dense urban environment with high industrial demand.

What has it done?

Sanasa has implemented an AI-fuelled, outcome-based water loss programme aligned with corporate water goals through a long-term public-private partnership led by Amanco-Wavin. Microsoft finances the ten-year engagement through a “Volumetric Water Benefits” mechanism aligned with its Net Water Positive ambition. Covering about 300 districtmetered areas and 53% of connections, the utility now detects leaks in real time. In its first year, 367,000 m³ were recovered, with 18 million m³ of water savings projected over ten years.

What makes it special?

SANASA shows what is possible when utilities engage all stakeholders in a water system. This initiative represents a pioneering collaborative public-private partnership designed to enhance water security in a region facing water stress. Combining AI, collaboration and innovative financing mechanisms to deliver SDG6.

What is it?

Sanepar is the stateowned water and sanitation utility of Paraná, responsible for delivering drinking water and wastewater services to 10 million customers across the state. Operating under regulated public concessions, it manages the full water cycle from abstraction to treatment and reuse.

What has it done?

Sanepar has delivered a US$35 million waterenergyinnovation programme linking sanitation to reservoir protection and power security. Partnering with Itaipu Binacional and Itaipu ParqueTec, it built and upgraded six sewage collection and wastewater systems, expanded 230 km in sewer networks, and cut nutrient pollution in the Paraná basin by over 3,000 tonnes a year.

Protecting the water quality of the 29 billion m3 Itaipu reservoir directly safeguards the production of 10% of Brazil’s and 88% of Paraguay’s total energy output. Every dollar invested in the initiative yields an estimated return of over four dollars in socio-environmental results for the basin.

What makes it special?

This initiative transcends traditional sanitation; it is a blueprint for the developing world on managing the “Water–Energy–Innovation Nexus” through cross-sector coordination. This integrated, mission-orientated approach represents a benchmark for SDG6 implementation. Uniting water, energy and resilient systems for the future.