In 2025, Acciona deepened its reach in Latin America by securing greenfield concessions in Brazil, while completing Argentina’s biggest…
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2026 Shortlist
Water Company of the Year
For the water company that made the most significant contribution to the development of the international water sector in 2025.
Aqualia
Visit "Ten years' patience paid off in Peru."
Aqualia reaped rich rewards from its bold expansionist strategy in 2025. Its entry into the Japanese water market was complemented by…
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Aquatech
Visit "Thorniest problems tackled: the year Aquatech came of age."
In 2025, Aquatech proved beyond all doubt that it can take on the most complex roles as a long-term partner to industrial and….
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Desalination Company of the Year
For the company that made the greatest overall contribution to the desalination industry in 2025.
Acwa
Visit "Pre-eminent developer driving down the cost of water."
An innovative Saudi desalination and power generation project developer, investor, owner, and operator with over two decades of expertise…
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Lantania
Visit "Rising star conquers the Gulf's toughest market."
A Spanish EPC contractor specialising in integrated water cycle projects, with a rapidly expanding international presence in large-scale desalination…
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Shanghai Electric
Visit "Membrane and thermal: frontier mastered in one year."
A Chinese energy and engineering group delivering large-scale seawater desalination and industrial water solutions through thermal…
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Water Technology Company of the Year
For the company which made the most significant contribution to the field of water and digital technology in 2025.
Acuriant Technologies
Visit "Ceramics from specialist deployments into mainstream evaluation."
A Boston-based provider of polymeric and ceramic membranes. The 2025 merger of Solecta and Nanostone Water to form Acuriant…
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Haskoning
Visit "Nereda, Ephyra, Aurea: outcompeting MBRs globally."
A Netherlands-based international engineering consultant with an innovative water technology and software development arm…
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Kurita
Visit "Lithium, PFAS, space: tomorrow's challenges, mastered today."
A Tokyo-listed Japanese water technology, chemicals, and services giant. In 2025, Kurita brought its decades of water expertise…
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Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year
For the early-stage technology company which made the most impressive commercial breakthrough into the global water technology market in 2025.
AquiSense Inc.
Visit "UV-C LED enters the municipal mainstream."
A Kentucky-based provider of UV-C LED disinfection systems for water treatment. In 2025, AquiSense broke new ground in large-scale…
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Cimico
Visit "Bacteria mastered, revenues quadrupled, industry giants impressed."
A Spanish start-up developing a portfolio of biological treatment technologies and digital solutions for wastewater. Cimico…
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Crew Carbon
Visit "Dosing carbonate, capturing carbon, generating credits."
A provider of an alkalinity enhancement technology for process intensification while capturing carbon dioxide in wastewater….
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Public Water Agency of the Year
For the governmental agency or public body that made the biggest difference to water and wastewater service provision and utility management in 2025.
Agência Nacional de Águas e Saneamento Básico (ANA), Brazil
Visit "Regulation unlocking delivery, at national scale."
Brazil’s national water and sanitation regulator. Operating in a highly fragmented system of thousands of municipalities and…
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Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water), South Korea
Visit "World-first basin-scale digital twin, deployed nationwide."
South Korea’s national water authority, responsible for river basins, dams, bulk supply, and flood control under a single mandate. Managing the full…
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Orange County Water District, United States
Visit "Three years: zero imported water purchased."
Orange County Water District safeguards one of the most heavily used groundwater basins in the United States, securing supply for 2.5 million people…
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AI Project of the Year
A new category for 2026, for the most impressive use of Artificial Intelligence in the water sector over 2025.
Balibot AI Knowledge Twin, Philippines
Visit "AI twin shifts leak strategy, saves time."
Balibot AI Knowledge Twin is an AI assistant for asset management, preventive maintenance and leak management for…
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SEDIF digital asset modelling, France
Visit "One site, fully mapped, in a day."
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…
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Shenzhen AI Leakage Control, China
Visit "Mega-city loss rate: world-class benchmark achieved."
The Shenzhen AI Leakage Control Project is a proactive, mega-city water loss management system serving 18 million residents across…
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SWW Sewer Optimisation, United Kingdom
Visit "9,500 phantom alerts filtered, spills halved."
UK utility South West Water (SWW) is turning big data from its Event Duration Monitoring of sewer overflows into actionable insights…
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Tampa Bay Early Detection Water Quality Monitoring System, United States
Visit "Two hours' warning before the plant knows."
An intelligent platform capable of predicting turbidity levels, salinity spikes and red tide episodes, among other critical parameters…
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Desalination Plant of the Year
For the desalination plant representing the most impressive technical or ecologically sustainable achievement in the industry, having entered its commercial phase in 2025.
Arrecife containerised SWRO, Spain
Visit "Mega-scale efficiency, decentralised and rapidly deployable."
Five identical 2,500m³/d containerised seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants commissioned in 2025 on Lanzarote, Canary Islands…
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Ashdod Rehabilitation, Israel
Visit "Cutting-edge: bypassing electricity entirely for the first time."
A comprehensive rehabilitation of the 274,000m3/d Ashdod seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Israel, upgrading an ageing…
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Cap Blanc SWRO, Algeria
Visit "Emergency programme bearing tangible fruit, fast."
A 300,000m³/d seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant in Oran Province, Algeria, supplying water to around three million people…
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Water Project of the Year
For the water project, commissioned in 2025, showing the greatest innovation in optimising its physical or environmental footprint.
Haikou Jiangdong New Area water treatment plant, China
Visit "Fully underground, typhoon-proof, greener water production."
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…
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Surat advanced ultrafiltration plant, India
Visit "World's largest ceramic UF: PFAS-ready, future-proof."
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…
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Thorekadanahalli (TK Halli) water treatment plant, India
Visit "One of Asia's largest: Bengaluru's ambition delivered."
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…
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Wastewater Project of the Year
For the wastewater project, commissioned in 2025, showing the greatest innovation in optimising its physical or environmental footprint.
Digha and Kankarbagh integrated wastewater, India
Visit "New scale of action for the holy river."
An integrated wastewater programme, consisting of 150,000m3/d combined wastewater treatment capacity at two sites and a 450km sewerage…
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The NICE project, Spain
Visit "Zero energy, minimal footprint, nature does the work."
A multi-site programme deploying and testing nature-based solutions and their integration into the urban water cycle. Aqualia was responsible…
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Okhla sewage treatment plant, India
Visit "Asia's largest: Yamuna's burden dramatically reduced."
A 564,000m3/d wastewater treatment plant in Okhla, Delhi, replacing four smaller plants on the site and serving up to 4 million people…
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Ringsend WWTP upgrade, Ireland
Visit "40% of Ireland's wastewater: biggest ever infrastructure turnaround."
A €550 million upgrade to the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant in Dublin, and the largest wastewater treatment project ever undertaken in Ireland…
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Industrial Project of the Year
For the industrial project, commissioned in 2025, representing the most impressive technical or environmental achievement in industrial water and wastewater.
Bayer Self-neutralising Wastewater Treatment Plant, Belgium
Visit "Alkalinity as resource, not side-effect: 40% savings."
A major transformation of Bayer’s wastewater treatment plant in Antwerp, harnessing digital engineering and biological expertise…
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Jafurah Desalination Project, Saudi Arabia
Visit "500,000 barrels daily, 97.2% availability, zero compromise."
A full-scope desalination and transmission system dedicated to Saudi Aramco’s unconventional gas operations at Jafurah. It supplies…
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Salt Lake Lithium Extraction Project, Tibet
Visit "DLE at commercial scale, cold brine conquered."
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…
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Municipal Reuse Project of the Year
A new category for 2026, for the project delivered during 2025 representing the most significant advancement in terms of municipal water reuse.
Béziers hybrid batch RO plant, France
Visit "98% recovery: world-first, aquifer resilience restored."
A world-first proving ground in southern France for the use of high-recovery reverse osmosis in wastewater treatment for indirect potable…
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Hofstade Water Production Center, Belgium
Visit "Europe's first direct potable reuse, at utility scale."
Europe’s first municipal direct potable reuse (DPR) facility treating around 1,300m3/d of wastewater at a facility in Hofstade (Aalst)…
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Saadiyat Sewage Treatment Plant 2 Upgrade, Abu Dhabi
Visit "MBR upgrade: stringent standards met, expansion unlocked."
A membrane bio-reactor (MBR)-based overhaul of the 9,750m3/d sewage treatment plant on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, delivering…
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Water Stewardship Programme of the Year
For the corporate programme which has delivered the greatest benefit to nature and/or people through water stewardship endeavours in 2025. *Judged by the Corporate Water Leaders initiative.
California Water Resilience Initiative, United States
Visit "Corporate funding galvanising California's 10% supply gap."
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%…
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Cemex’s freshwater-free concrete initiative, Mexico
Visit "67% freshwater substitution: nine million people's daily needs."
A pioneering initiative to phase out freshwater use in concrete production in Mexico by transitioning to alternative water sources. Cemex’s…
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Nestlé’s Khanom Chin Canal restoration programme, Thailand
Visit "Canal restored, 117 species returned, livelihoods revived."
A project led by Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages to tackle severe degradation, invasive overgrowth and chemical runoff in….
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PepsiCo’s Hathras District Watershed Health Initiative, India
Visit "Communities owning their own water resilience plans."
An ambitious programme to strengthen community resilience, improve livelihoods and restore ecosystems in Hathras, one of India’s most…
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Utility of the Year
A new category for 2026, for the utility that has made the most significant impact to water and wastewater service provision in 2025.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), India
Visit "SDG6 achievable, even in world's fastest-growing cities."
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the public utility responsible for water supply and sanitation in one of…
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National Water Company, Saudi Arabia
Visit Transforming water quality at large scale."
National Water Company is Saudi Arabia’s largest retail water and wastewater utility, delivering services across the Kingdom’s major…
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Moulton Niguel Water District, United States
Visit "40% demand cut since 2007: conservation made fair."
Moulton Niguel Water District is a retail water and wastewater utility operating on the frontline of scarcity in Southern California. Serving a diverse…
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Industrial Reuse Project of the Year
A new category for 2026, for the project delivered during 2025 representing the most significant advancement in terms of industrial water reuse.
Fakir Knitwears Water Reuse Project, Bangladesh
Visit "First viable large-scale reuse for Bangladesh textiles."
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…
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Hubei Yihua-Brunp Iron Phosphate Resource Recovery Project, China
Visit "Full circularity, no neutralisation, 70% lower opex."
A 7,500m³/d wastewater resource recovery facility at Hubei Yichang Yihua-Brunp New Materials, treating highly acidic effluent from iron…
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Jeddah Industrial Cities Zero-Discharge Water Reuse Project, Saudi Arabia
Visit "Stranded asset transformed into circular utility provider."
A zero-discharge water reuse system serving Jeddah Industrial Cities 2 and 3. The project brought a dormant wastewater plant back…
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SDG6 Champion of the Year
The most impactful SDG6 initiative implemented in 2025 by a member of the 300 Water Leaders. *Not open for public nominations.
Aguas Nuevas, Chile
Visit "45% to 30% NRW, 60 cities transformed."
Aguas Nuevas is a regional water and wastewater services operator in Chile, providing drinking water and sanitation services across six highly…
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Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), India
Visit "1.7 million people freed from unsafe borewells."
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the public utility responsible for water supply and sanitation in one of the…
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Indah Water Konsortium (IWK), Malaysia
Visit "Solar-powered sanitation: no upfront cost, cuts emissions."
Indah Water Konsortium is the quiet force that keeps Malaysia healthy. As the national sanitation utility serving more than 30 million people…
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SANASA, Brazil
Visit "Microsoft finances leaks fixed: 18 million m³ saved."
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…
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History
Since 2005, the Global Water Awards have celebrated the best the water industry has to offer. Often seen as a slow-moving sector, these awards change the narrative by shining a spotlight on the many inspiring innovations and breakthroughs emerging across the globe.
With awards for utilities, sustainability, desalination and more, these awards play crucial role in addressing the pressing challenges of water scarcity and management by championing world-wide collaboration.
