Shortlisted for Drinking Water Initiative of the Year

We’re delighted to announce that IES Utility Solutions has been shortlisted for the Water Industry Awards 2026, in the Drinking Water Initiative of the Year category for our work at Saxmundham with Northumbrian Water.

The shortlist recognises projects that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, and measurable impact in the delivery of drinking water services, and our work at Saxmundham is a strong example of how focused delivery and technical expertise can make a real difference.

Our submission showcases how we worked in partnership to address critical challenges, deliver resilient solutions, and improve outcomes for communities.

Read the full case study below to learn more about the job, the approach we took, and the results we achieved.

Collaboration delivering cleaner water for Saxmundham

We are delighted to share a project the team worked with Northumbrian Water Group on using Comprex® last year in Suffolk. This project showed how innovative the Comprex® Technology is and that it is the future of trenchless cleaning methods in a more sustainable and efficient way.

Scope:

Following past attempts to clean these mains using traditional flushing cleaning methods which were unsuccessful fort this stretch of main and a full mains replacement was going to be both a costly and more environmentally damaging option. IES Utility Solutions were brought in to use Comprex® trenchless, low carbon technology to remove the heavy deposits without chemicals, excavation or customer disruption; and manage the cleaning programme, site co-ordination, system setup and environmental controls.

Challenges:

During this project the team worked within some tight operational windows to minimise customer disruption.

There were unexpected cross‑connections which complicated the isolation for the cleaning to take place with minimal disruption to customers. However, using combined expertise ensured rapid problem solving without delaying the programme.

Approach:

Delivery relied on close collaboration between NWG, IES Utility Solutions and our specialist Comprex® team. Joint planning established:

• Phased night-time cleaning programme using controlled air and water pulses to remove heavy deposits without chemicals, excavation or customer disruption.
• Daily go/no-go meetings gave teams full visibility of network conditions, weather and operational risks.
• Discharge water was fully dechlorinated and filtered through silt socks and straw barriers to protect local ditches and fields.
• Every main – spun iron, HPPE and AC – was pre- and post‑surveyed to validate the results.

Outcomes:

The result, all 9km of mains were safely cleaned across six nights with the turbidity reduces to below 2.5NU. There were no customer interruptions during the delivery, and supply resilience was maintained throughout.

Discolouration risks and customer contacts were dramatically reduced, restoring confidence for more than 15,000 customers.

Client Benefits: 

The initiative delivered several measurable financial, customer, operational and environmental benefits far beyond initial expectations.

Environmental and carbon benefits:

• Comprex® used approximately 90–95% less water than flushing, reducing abstraction and treatment demand.
• No chemicals were required and all discharges were safely dechlorinated and filtered, protecting local ecosystems.
• Avoiding full mains replacement prevented significant embodied carbon emissions, reduced heavy plant use, and avoided highway disruption.

Financial and operational benefits:

• The method delivered major cost savings by eliminating the need for 9km of mains replacement.
• The cleaning extended asset life and avoided future re-flushing cycles, delivering ongoing value.

Overall, the project delivered high-quality water, lower operational costs, reduced carbon footprint and improved system resilience — reinforcing the value of innovative, partnership-led solutions in the water industry.

We’re looking forward to attending the awards ceremony on the 24th of June!