Research and Development

Centre of Excellence

Our UK business is a centre of excellence within the Veolia Water group for water resource management and distribution network management. Research here is carried out using either our own staff or in collaboration with external research organisations, for example, the Water Research Centre.

We actively participate in company-wide research. Our Client Managers are members of the UK Water Industry Research Council and participate in many steering group meetings.

Our main priorities are protecting and managing drinking water supplies, disinfection treatments and water quality and the development of techniques to repair and replace water infrastructure in the most efficient way.

Many projects are carried out, from desktop studies to full pilot plant construction, and we are actively involved in approximately 30 research and development projects.

Key projects include:

• Water quality in the distribution system
• Development of water safety plans
• Behaviour of soil conditions and their contribution to bursts and leakage
• Impacts of climate change on supply and demand balance
• Development of a pollution assessment tool for water resource protection
• Investigation of the ecological impacts of low flow rivers
• Application of a biodiversity methodology to pilot sites

Research and Development: A Group Priority

The Veolia Water research and development programme enables us to meet the changing needs of our customers and the water industry.

Throughout Europe, Veolia Water owns over 3,000 patents and has established partnerships with national ministries and international organisations, as well as over 20 agreements with major universities and research establishments.

Veolia Water research strategy is structured around ten key areas, covering the entire water cycle:

• Management of water resources
• Treatment and disinfection of drinking water
• Membrane technologies
• Water quality monitoring
• Network management
• Standard domestic water treatment equipment
• Domestic and industrial wastewater treatment
• Sludge treatment and management
• Wastewater re-use
• Desalination for drinking or irrigation