Global best in water projects announced at IWA 2024 Project Innovation Awards
2024 IWA Project Innovation Awards
- Game-changing Chinese wastewater treatment plant concept announced as winner of IWA Global Grand Innovation Award
- 18 outstanding winners in six industry-critical project segments
- For event photos, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iwawater/albums/72177720319674475
Toronto, Canada, 13 August 2024. Outstanding global examples of the latest in project excellence, from research concept through to application at scale, were celebrated today at the International Water Association’s Project Innovation Awards Gala event in Toronto, Canada.
The overall Global Grand Innovation Award and 18 winners across six categories were revealed at a celebratory event, in the fine surroundings of Arcadian Court, downtown Toronto. The overall Global Grand Innovation Award winners were the Committee of China Concept Wastewater Treatment Plant and CSD Water Service Co., Ltd. The award was given in recognition of the success of application of the China Concept Wastewater Resource Facility.
Awarded biennially at the International Water Association’s World Water Congress & Exhibition, the Project Innovation Awards recognise and promote global excellence and innovation in water management, research and technology. The Project Innovation Awards (PIA) feature six categories with three finalists each. Each category recognises a distinct aspect of water innovation, from technology breakthroughs through to governance and performance improvement.
The Project Innovation Awards were launched by the International Water Association in 2006 to recognise that shared and pressing challenges can be overcome through the development and implementation of creative water solutions. The Awards are judged by a global group of expert water sector professionals highly qualified to recognise the practical relevance and global potential of the selected projects.
Grand Innovation Award
The Grand Innovation Award represents a truly outstanding project of global significance. This overall award is selected by the PIA’s expert judges from this year’s six ‘Gold’ PIA category winners.
This year’s Grand Innovation Award stems from the move, in 2013, of Professor Jiuhui Qu to found the Expert Committee for China’s Concept Wastewater Treatment Plants. The aim was to tackle climate change, resource scarcity, and sustainable living challenges. Following on from this, the Yixing Concept Water Resource Reclamation Facility (WRRF), a USD 42 million project, began operations in October 2021. It handles 20,000 m³ of wastewater and processes 100 tons of organic matter daily. The facility boosts local water resilience, supports agriculture with nutrient-rich soil, and serves as a model for sustainable wastewater management globally, inspiring further initiatives and international collaboration.
Project excellence across 6 categories
The PIA awards recognise excellence across six industry-critical dimensions of project innovation. For each of these categories, three awards were presented: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
IWA is proud to announce that the results of the 2024 are:
Category: Market-changing Water Technology and Infrastructure
GOLD: Inspiring Technological and Market Transformation: Practice of the China Concept Wastewater Resource Facility, by Committee of China Concept Wastewater Treatment Plant, CSD Water Service Co., Ltd., China
SILVER: The Linear Path to Circularity!, by Águas do Tejo Atlantico, Portugal
BRONZE: South African Sanitation Technology Enterprise Programme (SASTEP), by Water Research Commission, South Africa
Category: Breakthroughs in Research and Development
GOLD: Redefining Wastewater Treatment Technology – Design, Construction, and Operation of the World’s First Mainstream Partial Nitritation-Anammox Wastewater Treatment Facility, by Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd.; Beijing University of Technology, China
SILVER: Integration of TADOX® Technology to achieve Net Zero in Textile Wastewater Treatment, by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
BRONZE: IntensiCarb, All in One Process, by Brown and Caldwell, Trojan Technologies, US Peroxide Technologies, USA
Category: Governance, Institutions and Social Enterprise
GOLD: Wollert Community Farm, by Yarra Valley Water, Australia
SILVER: Tetra Safe Drinking Water Project: Leveraging Solar Energy to Support Lower Income Communities in Bangladesh’s Coastal Region, by Tetra Private Limited, Bangladesh
BRONZE: Jaldoot Programme, by Public Health Engineering Department & Jal Jeevan Mission, Assam, India
Category: Performance Improvement and Operational Solutions
GOLD: Government-led City-wide COVID-19 Sewage Surveillance in Hong Kong with Engineering and Smart Technology Applications, by Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government, China
SILVER: Whole Life Cycle Management System of Municipal Pipe Networks in Developing Areas by Three Gorges Smart Water Technology Company Limited and Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute, China
BRONZE: All-factor Collaborative Digital Governance Demonstration for Pollution and Waterlogging of the Shenzhen River Basin, by Shenzhen Water and Environment Group Co., Ltd., China
Category: Exceptional Project Execution and Delivery
GOLD: Ontario Wastewater Surveillance Initiative (Ontario WSI), by Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), Canada
SILVER: Huangxiao River and Airport River Water Environment Comprehensive Treatment PPP Project, Green Industry Investment Ltd. from the 3rd Bureau of China State Construction Engineering Co.Ltd.(CSCEC); Wuhan Municipal Water Authority; The 3rd Bureau of CSCEC, China
BRONZE: 120 MLD SWTP 9 Stage 6 Phase 1, Jubail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by VA Tech Wabag Ltd, India
Category: Smart Systems and the Digital Water Economy
GOLD: Digital Twin Platform for Water Distribution System in Fuzhou, by Fuzhou Water Group Co., Ltd., China
SILVER: Digital Dosing for Sustainable Sewer Protection, by The University of Queensland, Australia
BRONZE: The AI-Acoustic Underground Leak Detection System: A Case Study of Taiwan Water Corporation, by Taiwan Water Corporation (TWC), Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Chinese Taipei
More information
The awards were presented during the week of IWA’s biennial gathering of leading water sector professionals – the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition.
Find out more about the Congress, running 11-15 August in Toronto, Canada, at:
#WorldWaterCongress
