The concept of biological stability is poorly defined, assessed or applied to the management of drinking water systems. This PhD project aims to address the three in the context of the UK. In practice, managing regrowth of microorganisms from treatment to tap can mitigate aesthetic (taste, odour, colour), technical and health impacts on drinking water. If we can understand how to produce and maintain biologically stable water, then we can look to offset climate change impacts such as warmer water temperature and lower quality raw water, without increasing chemical addition. 

This collaborative research between The University of Sheffield and The University of Glasgow will study and model the impact of disinfectant residual strategies on biofilms within Drinking Water Distribution Systems (DWDS).

By developing knowledge and tools to predict pathogen risk across DWDS this research will ensure transition towards minimising chemical and energy use while ensuring water safety and public health, making the best long-term sustainable use of our existing and ageing infrastructure.

www.tochlorinate.ac.uk/home

The National Distributed Water Infrastructure Facility (NDWIF) is a major facility housed within the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR) at the University of Sheffield.  ICAIR is funded jointly by the University of Sheffield, EPSRC and ERDF.  NDWIF includes a 45m long by 5m deep by 6m wide test cell and the facility can generate in-pipe and surface flows of up to 200 l/s and subject pipes to pressure transient shocks of up to 10 bar. 

https://icair.ac.uk/capabilities 

Understanding the hydrodynamics affecting water quality processes and pollutant transport. 

Current projects include 'Modelling Mixing Mechanism' aiming to produce more robust residence time distribution (RTD) based descriptions of flows with low turbulence, complex 3D shapes and unsteady flows; and 'Residence times in vegetated stormwater ponds', bringing together lab work, field work, and computational modelling to present a complete picture of mixing processes in vegetated ponds.

Pipebots is a 6-year EPSRC Programme Grant which is developing technologies to enable autonomous inspection of buried sewer and water pipes. These pipe assets are ageing, deteriorating, and failing, but prediction of condition and failures is hampered by a lack of system knowledge as data is limited and conventional inspection is expensive, and the data has uncertainties. Autonomous robots carrying a range of sensors have been developed and demonstrated in controlled environments.

https://pipebots.ac.uk/ 

In collaboration with Network Rail (NR), we have developed both deterministic and probabilistic machine learning models to simulate drainage performance, failure risks, and asset degradation within the rail network. These models now achieve up to 80% predictive accuracy for critical events, providing actionable insights to optimize maintenance strategies and improve both strategic and operational planning.  Academics / researchers working on this project: Andy Nichols, Simon Tait and Yiqi Wu. 

Ageing infrastructure and the complexity of interacting physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring within the vast hidden water distribution systems leads to discolouration, an indicator of water quality deterioration, and the number one service complaint by consumers. Over the last two decades, by combining world-leading knowledge with a fundamental understanding of the processes and delivery of practical tools and techniques, the University of Sheffield has built the ‘Prediction and management Of Discolouration in Distribution Systems’ (PODDS) consortium with the UK water sector to address these challenges. This innovative partnership has helped the sector achieve improved levels of service without increasing costs, delivering more than 35% reduction in customer contacts regarding water discolouration and increased operational efficiency through better targeting of limited resources.

www.PODDS.co.uk 

SuDS stands for Sustainable Drainage Systems, devices such as green roofs and rain gardens, which not only help to manage stormwater, but also support biodiversity and contribute amenity as part of urban Green Infrastructure (GI).

Our work focuses on the following aspects:

• Rainfall-runoff performance of SuDS devices - monitoring and model development work;

• Characterization of growing media/substrates used for SuDS & Green Infrastructure (GI);

• ET Quantification for GI, including remote sensing-based methods

https://sudsresearchgroup.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/ 

Cast iron pipes are still incredibly common in water distribution networks around the world, but we have a limited understanding of how leaks develop in these aging pipes. This PhD research used laboratory experiments to investigate how the shape of corrosion pits and the type of loading influence the fatigue strength and failure mode of cast iron water pipes, with the aim of reducing leakage by enabling informed proactive pipe replacement. The shape and alignment of corrosion pits were found to significantly affect a cast iron pipe’s fatigue strength and failure mode, and techniques to predict this behaviour were developed.

https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/leaking-cracks-phd/home 

Residual disinfection is commonplace within distribution networks, but the potential impacts of its application on antibiotic resistance, particularly within biofilms, are largely unknown. This PhD research is investigating the impact of residual disinfection on the presence, ingress, persistence, and mobilisation of antibiotic resistance genes within and between the biofilm and planktonic bacterial communities, critically considering the role of biofilm composition in these processes. Utilising experimental sites in the field and laboratory, this research will inform whether residual disinfection is a sustainable practice for safeguarding public health with respect to antibiotic resistance within DWDS.

This project has been instigated to conduct a UK & Ireland wide review of major bursts in close proximity to major road junctions and/or where traffic volume may be a contributory factor in order to examine whether there is a causal link between road conditions and the incidence of water main bursts.

Grantham Scholar Monica Martin Grau’s project brings more nuanced perspectives to the transition realm through Phenomenology and New Materialism theories, establishing transdisciplinary connections between arts, humanities and social sciences in the study of water practices. Monica is a PhD student doing research on water supply as a way to understand social change and governance processes in Nairobi (Kenya). The fieldwork process was done through a series of walks and workshops, and Monica also received funding from the GoFund and CEI-KE to develop a video within the communities that she worked with.

A reliable water supply and a successful energy transition are two necessary conditions for a sustainable future. Yet, we know little about how the switch to intermittent renewables (wind, solar) for our energy supply will affect the operation of our water infrastructure. The time for planning for this is now: unpreparedness in the face of energy supply fluctuations has wide-ranging economic impacts, as demonstrated by the energy crisis that struck Europe and the UK in 2022-23.

The dual aim of this project is (1) to develop a fast water-energy simulator to quantify the impacts of a decarbonised nationwide power grid on water resource systems, and (2) to demonstrate its integration into state-of-the-art strategic water resource planning. This simulator will be the first to enable the exploration of the joint dynamics of water resource systems and low carbon energy systems at timescales ranging from hourly to multi-annual. This project will also promote an improved understanding of flexibility as an opportunity to adapt to a decarbonised grid as well as to buffer against drought.