An initiative that could see farmers reimbursed for storing water on their land to help manage drought and a leak-monitoring technique inspired by ground-stability measurement systems are amongst those awarded a portion of the £40 million made available in Ofwat’s latest innovation competition.
Ofwat’s Innovation Fund today announces 16 winners from the third Water Breakthrough Challenge, a competition that invited solutions with potential to deliver wide-scale, transformational change benefitting customers, society and the environment.
Farmers could soon be reimbursed for creating water storage ponds or water “batteries” as part of an innovative drought-prevention project that has today received funding from Ofwat’s Innovation Fund. With droughts affecting the UK for much of last summer, the project, from Westcountry Rivers Trust and South West Water, will not only contribute to better hydrated wetlands, woodlands and fields, but can help farms manage water demand through dry weather, as well as boost aquatic biodiversity.
The project is one of 16 solutions being awarded a share of £40 million today in the water regulator’s latest innovation competition – the Water Breakthrough Challenge.
The initiative will work with farmers to create stores of water – both in soil “sponges” as well as lakes and ponds – that can be “re-charged” through wet weather, then drawn on through ever-more common dry seasons, to the benefit of either the farmers themselves, or local communities. These water “batteries” could form the basis of a smart water grid, improving the resilience of the water supply in the wake of climate change – in the same way solar batteries in homes store excess electricity that can be sold back to the National Grid.
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Posted On: 16/05/2023