Our top three themes from Sensing in Water 2019

The 2019 Sensing in Water Conference & Exhibition brought together around 150 stakeholders from the supply chain, water companies, regulators and academia. The conference discusses the top themes for sensors in the water industry, as well as showcasing some of the latest innovations which can help transform the industry. Delighted to be attendees again this year, our Product Manager for Sensors, Trevor Hooton, and Technical Manager, Neil Young, have given their review of the top takeaways from this years’ event.

Adoption of innovation

Throughout the conference we saw a range of unique innovations designed to tackle some of the most difficult challenges that we face as an industry. However, what is clear is that the industry is still risk averse when it comes to new technologies and business models. The requirement for concepts to be fully validated is slowing adoption in the industry, with many players preferring to be the second mover, therefore minimising their own risk. In the next five years, it is predicted that we will see a shift in priorities which will facilitate a greater number of innovations and guarantee the future of water for UK consumers.

Photo by Richard Luxton, 2019

Drive for collaboration

As mentioned previously, the conference is the opportunity to showcase some of the latest sensor innovations in the water industry, and a key theme this year is that a lot of these successful projects have been created through a collaboration between utilities, private suppliers, regulators and/or academic institutions. The sharing and exchanging of ideas between companies will support the industry in becoming more efficient and reduces duplications of work in research and development. Overall it was clear from the conference that there is a growing appetite to work together to overcome the challenges of tomorrow.

Addressing clear challenges

Climate change, population growth, water scarcity, environmental protection, technology trends and an aging infrastructure all present challenges to the water industry.

MP Angela Smith was invited to be a keynote speaker at the conference. Despite being recalled to parliament, she had her speech shared at the conference. In this speech, she addressed the need for water to be at the heart of environmental and economic policies in the UK. Noting that, whilst we see growing environmental concerns for things like pollution and climate change amongst the public, we have not yet seen this shift towards the need for maintaining water resources. Pulling the industry together, her speech highlighted the need for all stakeholders to take responsibility, driving knowledge, innovation and awareness to help ensure that we can protect this precious resource.

Another great conference from SWIG, showcasing how members are driving the future of water in the UK. Palintest is excited to collaborate with our colleagues, responding to the industry challenges and helping to implement solutions which will safeguard water for everyone, every day.

To find out more about our sensor solutions and how they are helping to support water safety here.