Overcoming water leakage, pollution and resilience challenges as a collective
Atmos International (Atmos) recently hosted its first water and wastewater conference, bringing together water industry professionals, regulators, consultants and pipeline operators from across the world.
The two-day event, held at Mottram Hall in Cheshire (United Kingdom), created an open forum for collaboration and innovation focused on pipeline integrity, leakage reduction and futureproofing critical water and wastewater infrastructure.
Day one: Adapting quickly to rising challenges in wastewater pipelines
The first day centered on the growing complexity of wastewater network management and the urgent need to modernize aging infrastructure. Atmos’ Business Development Director for water Martin Duff opened the conference, with Jun Zhang, Atmos’ CEO, underlining the company’s commitment to helping utilities address their challenges.
Keynote speaker Sam Sloan, Head of Operational Intelligence at United Utilities, explored how utilities can embrace smarter, proactive strategies to manage wastewater risks under the next asset management period (AMP8). She highlighted the potential for real-time data to shift the industry from reactive maintenance toward proactive management.
Following the keynote, Kevin Reardon, Head of Delivery at M Group, explained the regulatory and funding changes defining AMP8, emphasizing how operators can translate them into performance improvement and better outcomes for river health. Chad Staddon, Professor of Resource Economics and Policy at the University of the West of England, added an environmental perspective, connecting network performance directly to ecological impact.
Later sessions featured practical and technical discussions, including Phillip Clisham (P.Clisham Consulting Ltd) on common causes of rising main failures, Atmos’ Technical Manager Phil Edwards on real-time sewer main leak detection, and United Utilities’ John Browne on the role of innovation programs in accelerating technology adoption.
A live demonstration showcased Atmos’ leak detection technologies in action using IoT, Edge processing and cloud computing. It was followed by a presentation from M Group’s AI specialists on applying generative AI to improve operational efficiency. The day concluded with an interactive design sprint that brought attendees together to define and prototype solutions for wastewater performance challenges.
Day two: Advancing pipeline integrity and water security
The second day shifted focus to clean water operations and the sector’s shared goal of achieving significant leakage reduction. Martin Duff opened the day explaining how Atmos’ oil and gas expertise is now driving innovation in the water sector.
Paul Horton, CEO of the Future Water Association, examined the upcoming regulatory cycle’s tougher performance commitments, including a 17% leakage reduction target and digital readiness requirements. A lively panel discussion followed, featuring Mikal Willmott from Severn Trent, Kenneth Cartwright from AtkinsRéalis, Sam Fox from United Utilities, and Luca Berardi from Atmos’ partner company in Italy, Aquanexa. The panelists shared practical insights on pressure management, leak detection, smart sensors and data integration, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between utilities and technology providers.
Leonardo Ambrosi, Group Innovation Officer at Italgas, demonstrated how digitalization and IoT have been successfully integrated in the gas sector to improve operations, highlighting lessons for the water industry. Later, Jun Zhang and Senior Research Engineer Harry Smith presented examples of how technologies such as theft detection, surge analysis, real-time simulation and AI-driven optimization, originally developed for oil and gas, are applicable to water pipelines.
Professor Chad Staddon addressed climate-driven water scarcity and the strategic importance of leak prevention. Stephen Jenkins from M Group explored flow-based leakage estimation to improve regulatory confidence.
The day closed with another live pipeline leak detection demonstration and a design sprint focused on clean water challenges, before Jun Zhang wrapped up the conference with a summary of shared insights and a call for continued collaboration.
Driving progress through partnership
The conference highlighted the value of cross-sector collaboration in tackling shared challenges such as aging infrastructure, pollution risk and leakage. Speakers and delegates emphasized the need for practical innovation that delivers measurable results for utilities and customers alike.
The event showcased how advanced, real-time, multi-sensor leak detection technologies are being leveraged to enable smarter, faster responses, and how a culture of innovation is driving meaningful change across the industry.
Reflecting on the event, Martin Duff said:
“This conference showed the appetite across the industry for meaningful change. By sharing knowledge and learning from other sectors, we can make real progress in leakage reduction and environmental performance. Atmos is proud to be part of this journey.”
Our water and wastewater conference has laid the groundwork for continued partnership and technology advancement, reinforcing Atmos’ commitment to helping utilities build smarter, more resilient water and wastewater networks.
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