Case Study: UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) achieves proactive sewer-blockage monitoring and 70 global solutions with Wazoku

UKWIR - Customer Case Study

UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR), which shapes and manages the UK water sector’s research agenda, ran an open Challenge to find a proactive way to detect sewer and drain blockages before they cause flooding and pollution. The brief required solutions that were robust, safe, low‑cost, easy to install and operate, and capable of early detection, prompting UKWIR to reach beyond its usual experts for fresh ideas.

The top prize ($10,000) went to MCA GROUPE for a sewer‑monitoring system using a network of fixed sensors, an approach inspired by monitoring in power, rail and telecoms networks. The Challenge attracted 70 submissions from a global Solver community, brought cross‑industry expertise into UK water research, changed UKWIR’s thinking on open innovation through training, and has led to discussions with MCA about developing a pilot system.

UKWIR

Steve Whipp

Project Manager