The development builds on more than 30 years of membrane technology expertise and forms part of Veolia’s broader strategy to adapt its solutions to changing regulatory and market conditions. The company will continue to offer its existing PVDF-based membranes alongside the new alternatives, allowing customers to select technologies suited to their operating environments without compromising on performance.

The expansion reflects Veolia’s ambition to anticipate regulatory shifts and diversify its technology offering, particularly in Europe, while maintaining its global position in water treatment. Its membranes are used in drinking water production, wastewater treatment and water reuse applications across municipal and industrial markets.

“By expanding our membrane technology portfolio, we’re enabling customers to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes without compromising on performance,” said Anne Le Guennec, CEO of Veolia’s water technology activities.

The new membranes will be manufactured at Veolia’s facility in Oroszlány, Hungary, and introduced as regulatory requirements and market conditions warrant. The facility will complement the company’s existing manufacturing footprint across North America, Asia and Europe, supporting its ability to deliver solutions tailored to regional needs.

The move aligns with Veolia’s GreenUp strategic programme, positioning portfolio diversification as a means of strengthening its responsiveness to regulatory change and customer demand. Rather than replacing its established PVDF-based technology, the company is broadening its options to support customers across different regulatory environments as requirements for water treatment technologies continue to evolve.

Sébastien Picollo is operations manager at SATEG, a subsidiary of SAUR that distributes drinking water to more than 35,000 subscribers across nearly 200 municipalities in the Pau region of south-western France.

SAUR operates six drinking water production plants supplying several large reservoirs, with an annual production volume of 8.5 million m³. The distribution network spans 1,200km and comprises predominantly cast iron and asbestos-cement pipes in nominal diameters of DN100, DN150 and DN200, alongside PVC pipes in smaller sections ranging from DN60 to DN110.

Repairing a suspended pipeline in Arzacq-Arraziguet

SATEG was notified of a leak on a pipeline running alongside a bridge and crossing a river in Arzacq-Arraziguet, a village of 1,093 inhabitants in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of south-western France.

The affected section was a suspended DN200 steel pipe forming part of a network consisting largely of asbestos-cement pipes. The leak, visible from the road, was discharging water at 15m³/h under a pressure of 11 bar.

Isolating the pipeline was not possible, as it supplied several nearby farms. Draining the pipe was also not an option, making conventional welding impractical while water remained in the line. Access was further complicated by the pipe’s position above the river.

SATEG needed to restore the pipeline quickly while minimising service interruptions and ensuring the safety of its repair crew. An aerial work platform was deployed to provide safe access to the suspended pipe. With two other leaks requiring attention that day, the team also needed to complete the repair efficiently.

SATEG selected Krausz’s Repamax permanent repair sleeve, citing its ease of installation and reliability under high-pressure conditions. The sleeve is available for nominal diameters ranging from DN40 to DN1800. For this application, a 210mm-wide sleeve was selected. Although the repair involved a steel pipe, the product can also be used on asbestos-cement pipelines.

A pressure-assisted seal without welding

The Repamax sleeve offered an alternative to welding, which was unsuitable for a live pipeline that could not be drained. Its lightweight construction and clamping mechanism allowed the crew to handle and install the sleeve without substantial additional support.

The sleeve’s radial closure design and sealing system also helped reduce the risk of installation errors. These features were particularly important because the pipe remained pressurised throughout the repair.

According to Picollo, the installation process was straightforward compared with older repair sleeves that used rigid rubber gaskets and did not consistently achieve a reliable seal.

The sleeve incorporates a hydraulically pressure-assisted gasket that expands as internal water pressure increases, helping maintain the seal. Its design also accommodates up to three degrees of dynamic deflection at each end, helping reduce the risk of future damage associated with heavy traffic on the bridge and temperature variations.

The absence of welding and the use of fully stainless-steel components provide corrosion resistance, making the sleeve suitable for demanding water infrastructure applications.

Reducing repair time and service disruption

For water network operators, repairing leaks on live pipelines presents operational and safety challenges, particularly where isolation is not possible and access is restricted. Equipment that enables a reliable repair without draining the pipe can reduce both service disruption and the time crews spend working in potentially hazardous conditions.

Picollo said the team completed the repair in 30mins, allowing it to move on to the other leaks scheduled for the day.

The Repamax sleeve can be installed either as a push-fit connection between pipes or wrapped around a damaged section to carry out a repair. Its versatility and wide diameter tolerance allow it to accommodate different pipe sizes and applications across water and wastewater networks.

By covering a broad range of diameters and serving both connection and repair functions, the sleeve can also reduce the need for operators to stock separate coupling and wrap-around repair products, potentially lowering inventory costs and storage requirements.

The technology, supplied by IXOM Watercare, is intended to address a challenge that can affect the performance of downstream PFAS treatment. DOC can compete with PFAS for adsorption sites, reducing the capacity of treatment media. Removing the organic material earlier in the treatment train is therefore intended to improve the efficiency of subsequent PFAS treatment while also reducing compounds that contribute to disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation.

“Based on pilot study results, IXOM Watercare’s MIEX system has proven to be effective at removing the organic contaminants that are not only precursors that cause high levels of DBP formation in the finished water, but also interfere or reduce the capacity of the PFAS removal solutions,” said Ryan Neyland, vice-president at engineering firm Tata & Howard.

The treatment train will combine magnetic ion exchange with GreensandPlus pressure filtration and an organo-clay PFAS removal media. The approach reflects the need for utilities to address multiple water quality challenges within an integrated treatment process, rather than treating PFAS removal as a standalone step.

The magnetic ion exchange system uses a fluidised bed process and regenerable resin to continuously remove DOC from the water stream. Automated resin regeneration is designed to maintain removal performance while limiting operator intervention.

Attleboro, a city in Bristol County in the US state of Massachusetts, is developing the new plant as requirements around PFAS and other drinking water contaminants become more stringent. Massachusetts established a state-enforceable maximum contaminant level for six PFAS compounds in drinking water in 2020, while federal requirements are set to introduce additional reporting obligations from 2027 and enforcement of federal PFAS regulations from 2031.

The Wading River WTP is currently in the early stages of construction, with the magnetic ion exchange system expected to be operational by summer 2028.

For Attleboro, the project illustrates how treatment sequencing can influence the performance of PFAS removal. By controlling organic material upstream, the city aims to reduce DBP precursors while preserving the capacity of downstream treatment processes.

The platform is the latest addition to the Hach WIMS platform and integrates SCADA, laboratory, operational and simulated data within a single environment. Powered by wastewater modelling software and predictive digital twin technology, it allows operators to forecast treatment outcomes up to 24 hours in advance and test process adjustments virtually before implementing them at the plant.

The technology is intended to move wastewater operations beyond reactive troubleshooting by helping facilities identify performance risks earlier, validate potential interventions and optimise existing infrastructure. Operators can evaluate individual treatment stages against regulatory compliance, sustainability and cost objectives using real-time event detection and process performance validation.

“Traditional systems often highlight issues during or after they occur,” said Megan Baxter, general manager at Aquatic Informatics. “This limits the ability to fix issues quickly which can result in plant downtime and costly solutions. With WIMS Process Manager, wastewater facilities can view dynamic, virtual replicas of physical plant processes.”

According to Aquatic Informatics, facilities currently using WIMS Process Manager have recorded reductions of up to 20% in energy and chemical consumption through more precise dosing and optimised aeration setpoints. The company also reported reductions of up to 35% in nitrous oxide emissions, demonstrating how process optimisation can deliver both financial and environmental gains.

Energy use is a significant operating cost for wastewater treatment facilities, especially for aeration-intensive biological processes. The ability to model changes before they are introduced could help utilities lower consumption without compromising effluent quality or regulatory performance.

“WIMS Process Manager allows us to model changes in advance, and helped us identify opportunities to reduce aeration energy costs while keeping effluent quality well within target limits,” said Tanner Thorson, wastewater plant superintendent in Louisville, Colorado. “The digital twin will also help inform decisions related to our upcoming plant expansion.”

Beyond day-to-day optimisation, the technology could support longer-term infrastructure planning by allowing utilities to simulate operational changes, assess capacity constraints and evaluate plant expansion scenarios before committing capital.

WIMS Process Manager is now available across the Americas, Australia and Europe. Aquatic Informatics will demonstrate the platform at WEFTEC at booth #3814.

For water utilities and municipal authorities, stormwater management is becoming more challenging as heavier rainfall events and increasing urbanisation place greater pressure on drainage infrastructure.

Impervious surfaces such as rooftops, parking lots and roads prevent rainfall from naturally soaking into the ground. Instead, large volumes of runoff enter storm drains, sewer systems and drainage channels, many of which were designed decades ago for very different hydrological conditions.

In cities that rely on combined sewer systems, where stormwater and sewage share the same network, intense rainfall can also cause sewage to flow backwards through Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), potentially contaminating waterways and urban areas.

The role of check valves

Check valves are a critical component of stormwater and wastewater systems. These passive devices allow fluid to flow in one direction while automatically closing to prevent reverse flow. They operate through flow velocity or differential pressure, without manual activation, electronic controls or an external power source.

When functioning correctly, check valves prevent discharges from treatment plants and outfalls from reversing into water supplies, help contain sanitary sewer overflows, and protect infrastructure from backflow. They can also mitigate water hammer, a potentially damaging pressure surge caused by sudden changes in flow velocity.

However, conventional check valve designs, including swing, flap, ball and disc valves, rely on mechanical components that can be vulnerable to corrosion, erosion and debris accumulation.

A swing valve, for example, uses a rotating disc that can wear over time, while ball valves can struggle to seat properly when exposed to abrasive slurries. Flap valves can also become obstructed or remain open when solids accumulate.

A different approach to flow control

Duckbill check valves use a fundamentally different mechanism. Instead of a mechanical disc, gate or ball, they use a one-piece flexible elastomeric sleeve shaped like a duck’s bill.

Positive differential pressure opens the sleeve to allow flow. When the pressure differential reverses, the flexible lips close together to form a seal against backflow.

With no mechanical moving parts, pivot points, springs or metal components, duckbill valves eliminate several of the failure points associated with conventional check valve designs.

This makes them suited to stormwater outfalls and combined sewer systems, where flows can contain sand, grit and other suspended solids. The flexible elastomer can compress around trapped solids while maintaining a seal, helping the valve continue to operate under less-than-ideal conditions.

The material is also resistant to organic fouling, including algae and barnacles, which can be an issue in marine and tidal outfall environments. Depending on the elastomer specified, duckbill valves can also offer resistance to corrosive effluents and comply with ANSI/ NSF-61 requirements for applications involving potable water.

Operating temperature ranges of approximately -65°F to +250°F can accommodate a range of climate and process conditions. The valves also close without the loud impact associated with some swing and flap designs, which can be beneficial where outfalls are located close to residential areas.

Addressing water accumulation

Another consideration in stormwater outfalls and sewer manholes is water accumulation at the base of a check valve after a flow event.

Some duckbill valve designs incorporate a sloping bottom that allows the valve body to drain completely once flow stops. Certain designs can crack open at as little as one to two inches of head pressure, allowing even low flows to pass through rather than remain trapped behind the valve.

The sloping configuration can also help prevent rags, grit and other debris from settling within the valve.

Retrofitting existing infrastructure

Duckbill check valves have been deployed at stormwater outfalls, CSO structures and sewer systems in configurations ranging from 1-inch residential drainage pipes to 108-inch large-bore outfall structures.

Their ability to be retrofitted onto existing infrastructure is relevant for cities dealing with ageing drainage networks. Upgrading backflow protection does not necessarily require extensive modification to surrounding pipework or structures.

One example is Long Branch, New Jersey, where Hurricane Sandy caused storm surge flooding and reverse flow through the city’s outfall network. Following the event, the city upgraded its drainage infrastructure by retrofitting rubber duckbill check valves at its outfalls, providing additional protection against flow reversal during storm surge events.

Lifecycle and maintenance considerations

The absence of mechanical components also has implications for maintenance and lifecycle costs.

Conventional mechanical check valves can require periodic inspection, cleaning and servicing as corrosion, wear and debris accumulation affect performance. Duckbill valves, by contrast, have no metal components to rust and no mechanical parts requiring routine maintenance.

Manufacturers report life expectancies of 35-50 years for duckbill valves under normal operating conditions, compared with approximately 5-10 years for some conventional mechanical check valves, depending on operating conditions and maintenance requirements.

The reduced maintenance requirement can be relevant for outfall structures that are difficult to access or submerged, as well as sewer infrastructure where confined-space entry creates additional cost and safety considerations.

Specifying for more resilient drainage systems

Stormwater resilience will increasingly depend on how well existing infrastructure can manage higher volumes and more frequent flow reversals.

Green infrastructure, permeable pavements, retention ponds and increased sewer capacity all have roles to play in a comprehensive stormwater strategy. At individual outfalls, CSO structures and sewer manholes, however, reliable backflow protection remains an important part of the system.

For utilities replacing ageing flap gates, swing valves or other mechanical check valves, duckbill valves offer an alternative technology based on a simple, passive elastomeric design. Their resistance to debris, corrosion and biological fouling, combined with low maintenance requirements and retrofit capability, makes them a technology worth considering as cities upgrade ageing stormwater infrastructure.

Pipe condition assessment

Effective non-revenue water (NRW) management begins with understanding the structural condition of water distribution assets. Pipe condition assessment technologies provide utilities with actionable data to prioritise rehabilitation and replacement based on actual asset condition rather than pipe age.

Acoustic condition assessment is a non-invasive technique that evaluates the structural integrity of pressurised pipelines by analysing the propagation of low-frequency sound waves through the pipe wall. The measured wave velocity is used to estimate remaining wall thickness and structural condition across a range of materials, including asbestos cement (AC), cast iron (CI), ductile iron (DI), steel, and prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP).

Solutions such as ePulse can simultaneously identify structural deterioration and existing leaks, allowing utilities to target intervention on the highest-risk assets. Assessment reports typically include leak locations, estimated wall loss, qualitative condition ratings, and, where historical asset data is available, projected remaining service life. This condition-based approach enables utilities to optimise capital expenditure, extend asset life, and reduce long-term NRW by replacing only the most deteriorated pipeline segments.

Leak detection

Continuous leak detection has become an essential component of NRW management, enabling utilities to identify and address water losses before they escalate into major failures.

Permanent acoustic monitoring systems use sensors installed on existing network infrastructure, such as hydrants and valves, to continuously monitor pipeline conditions. Acoustic data is processed using machine learning and signal analysis algorithms to detect leak signatures and generate real-time alerts for utility operators.

The EchoShore permanent leak monitoring system is available in configurations for both distribution and transmission networks. EchoShore-DX is designed for distribution mains, providing continuous monitoring of developing leaks and supporting maintenance prioritisation. EchoShore-TX is intended for transmission mains 400mm and larger, using hydrophone sensors capable of monitoring long pipeline sections, including critical crossings and high-consequence assets.

Monitoring data is integrated into the Sentryx Water Intelligence platform, which provides network visualisation, sensor diagnostics, key performance indicators, and mobile tools for field investigations. Utilities can track leak progression, document inspection outcomes, and coordinate repair activities through a centralised interface. Human analyst review can also be incorporated alongside automated analytics to validate alerts and reduce false positives.

Pressure monitoring and management

Pressure management remains one of the most effective operational strategies for reducing leakage, extending asset life, and lowering the frequency of pipe bursts.

Advanced pressure management platforms combine real-time pressure and flow measurements with cloud-based analytics to continuously optimise pressure reducing valve (PRV) settings. Technologies such as i2O use dynamic head-loss modelling to maintain target pressures at critical downstream locations while automatically adjusting to changing demand patterns.

Rather than operating PRVs at fixed settings, the control algorithm recalculates optimal pressure profiles on a regular basis, preventing unnecessary over-pressurisation during periods of low demand, particularly overnight. This reduces background leakage, minimises pressure transients that contribute to pipe fatigue, and improves overall network stability.

By maintaining only the pressure required to meet customer demand, utilities can reduce water losses, lower burst frequency, decrease repair costs, and improve the long-term resilience of distribution infrastructure.

The new platforms — NUCLEX, HYPER-X-RO and MISTIL-PURE — target some of the most challenging industrial wastewater and high-salinity treatment applications, helping manufacturers increase water recovery, reduce waste generation, and improve resource efficiency.

Developed through years of research in membrane engineering, thermodynamics and process integration, the technologies are designed to address growing demand for sustainable water management solutions in sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, mining, energy and advanced manufacturing.

“The future of industrial sustainability will depend on how effectively industries manage water, energy and waste as interconnected resources rather than isolated operational challenges,” said Dr J Antony Prince, founder and CEO of Memsift Innovations.

“These platforms are the result of years of scientific innovation aimed at helping industries maximise resource recovery while reducing environmental impact.”

Among the new technologies, MISTIL-PURE is an advanced membrane distillation system engineered for UPW production. Designed for semiconductor fabrication and emerging AI-driven manufacturing facilities, the platform uses vapour-phase molecular separation to remove salts, metals, silica, organics, nanoparticles, endotoxins and ionic contaminants while producing high-quality UPW.

According to the company, the technology offers improved contaminant rejection, reduced chemical consumption, lower resin exhaustion and greater operational stability under varying feedwater conditions. The system can also utilise low-grade waste heat, supporting further energy efficiency gains.

HYPER-X-RO has been developed to address the limitations of conventional reverse osmosis when treating high-salinity industrial wastewater and brines. Using a high-pressure batch recirculation process, the platform progressively concentrates dissolved contaminants while recovering purified water.

The technology is designed to operate under ultra-high salinity conditions, enabling higher water recovery rates and lower specific energy consumption compared with traditional reverse osmosis (RO) systems. It also reduces residual brine volumes and improves compatibility with downstream crystallisation processes.

NUCLEX integrates membrane distillation and controlled crystallisation within a single process architecture, enabling simultaneous water recovery and resource extraction from hypersaline industrial waste streams. The platform recovers reusable water while producing high-purity salts and crystalline by-products, supporting circular resource management strategies.

Memsift added that NUCLEX can process brines beyond the practical operating limits of conventional RO systems while reducing membrane scaling and fouling. Its modular design also facilitates integration into zero liquid discharge (ZLD) facilities.

“The launch strengthens our position in the industrial water treatment and resource recovery market,” said Chris O’Connor, CFO and COO of Memsift Innovations.

“Together, these technologies create an integrated platform that spans concentration, UPW production and resource recovery, enabling industries to improve recovery rates, lower emissions and minimise liquid waste.”

The launch comes as industries worldwide face increasing pressure to reduce water consumption, lower carbon emissions and improve operational resilience. Advanced membrane technologies are emerging as a key enabler of these goals, in sectors where water quality, reuse and resource recovery are becoming strategic priorities.

The announcement comes as AI infrastructure growth accelerates worldwide, intensifying pressure on water resources. According to Gradiant, global data centre capacity is projected to increase six-fold between 2025 and 2035, with next-gen AI facilities consuming substantially more water for cooling than traditional computing infrastructure. A single 100MW hyperscale campus can require daily water volumes equivalent to that used by a city of 80,000 people.

As hyperscalers face mounting constraints around water availability, discharge regulations and permitting, Gradiant is positioning HyperSolved as an alternative to the fragmented water management systems traditionally used in data centres. The platform integrates the full cooling water lifecycle — from sourcing and treatment to reuse and discharge — under a single operational model aimed at improving reliability and reducing deployment complexity.

“We are in the middle of a once-in-a-generation build-out of AI infrastructure,” said Prakash Govindan, CEO of Gradiant. “Today, water is still managed through a patchwork of vendors and solutions that were never designed for hyperscale. HyperSolved changes that by treating water as critical infrastructure.”

The platform incorporates alternative water sourcing, including municipal reuse and impaired water supplies, alongside integrated treatment systems, AI-enabled operational monitoring and high-recovery reuse technologies designed to reduce freshwater dependency and minimise discharge volumes.

Gradiant said demand for integrated water infrastructure among hyperscale operators is growing rapidly, with the company expecting data centres to account for approximately 25% of its global business by 2027. The company is currently deploying HyperSolved across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, supporting hyperscalers, developers and engineering partners seeking to scale AI infrastructure while managing rising environmental and operational risks.

“You run the data centre. We manage the water layer,” said Sankar Natarajan, head of special projects at Gradiant. “HyperSolved gives operators a clear path to scale with less risk and fewer constraints.”

The milestone allows federal agencies and their delivery partners to adopt Bentley’s connected data environment, ProjectWise, alongside OpenGround, its geotechnical information management and reporting software, within a compliant framework aligned to US government security standards.

FedRAMP is a US government-wide initiative designed to accelerate the adoption of secure cloud services. With this authorisation, agencies can deploy Bentley’s tools to strengthen data-centric workflows across critical sectors, including transport, water, defence and environmental infrastructure.

By enabling secure, interoperable and scalable digital workflows, the platforms support federal owners in modernising infrastructure delivery strategies. This includes improving cross-agency collaboration and integrating emerging technologies such as AI, digital twins, connected construction and real-time geotechnical intelligence within a compliant cloud environment.

“The FedRAMP authorisation signals Bentley’s commitment to trust, compliance, and safeguarding critical infrastructure information while improving how agencies securely share and manage project data in the cloud,” said Julien Moutte, chief technology officer, Bentley Systems.

“ProjectWise and OpenGround provide a trusted digital foundation for federal infrastructure programmes, connecting surface and subsurface intelligence in secure cloud environments to accelerate project delivery and improve infrastructure resilience, all while meeting the highest US government security standards.”

The authorisation, sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, covers ProjectWise Design Integration and OpenGround, with additional ProjectWise services expected to follow.

“In 2025, CENTUM and ProSafe-RS celebrated their 50th and 20th anniversaries, respectively, and our company has evolved both products by adapting technologies to meet customer needs. We will continue to contribute to the realisation of safe and secure plant operations by providing secure products and systems,” said Mitsuhiro Yamamoto, corporate officer and head of the systems business division at Yokogawa Electric.

In addition, Yokogawa’s IT Security Tools software has received CIS Benchmarks certification from the Centre for Internet Security, while its Exaopc OPC interface package has been certified for compliance with the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), an international standard established by the OPC Foundation.

ISASecure SSA Level 1 certification

ISASecure SSA Level 1 is based on the IEC 62443-3-3 framework for control system security. Certification by ISCI confirms that CENTUM VP and ProSafe-RS meet defined baseline cybersecurity requirements, supporting secure deployment in industrial environments.

CIS benchmarks certification for IT Security Tools

ITST is designed to harden Windows-based environments running Yokogawa systems. Certification confirms alignment with best-practice security configurations, helping to reduce system vulnerabilities.

OPC UA compliance for Exaopc

OPC UA is an open standard for secure and reliable data exchange in industrial automation. Certification of Exaopc supports secure system interoperability and mitigates cybersecurity risks.