By Michele Turitto and Xuan Li, Sagentia Innovation
Climate change, ageing infrastructure and evolving regulations – including stricter requirements around micropollutants and targets for energy-neutral operations – are putting pressure on water system owners, operators and integrators. For OEMs supplying these organisations, this influences everything from product design and system integration to performance validation and lifecycle cost.
The water sector is at the start of a long-term upgrade cycle that will reshape product development and investment priorities. So, what are the key trends and how can OEMs remain competitive through practical, engineering-led innovation?
- Climate resilience and the need to design for extremes
Extreme weather events expose the limits of ageing equipment that was designed for more stable, predictable conditions. Water infrastructure must increasingly withstand more variable operating conditions while continuing to meet performance and regulatory requirements.
Retrofit-friendly and modular solutions represent a cost-effective way to enhance the performance of ageing equipment, reducing overall cost of ownership by extending the life of existing infrastructure. However, these technologies must perform reliably under variable scenarios, which brings a host of practical engineering challenges. For example, pumps need to accommodate rapid changes in flow, filtration systems need to cope with exposure to higher levels of debris, and sensors need to deliver reliable data under more challenging conditions.
- Digitalisation and the shift to intelligent water systems
Increasingly, water systems rely on networks of sensors, smart meters and data platforms to provide real-time visibility into flow, pressure and water quality. Digital monitoring is also becoming more important to demonstrate regulatory compliance and operational performance.
For OEMs, this brings a significant change in technical requirements. As the transition from standalone hardware to connected devices continues, new engineering and commercial challenges are emerging. For example, the integration of sensors designed to detect real-time pressure drops, flow variations and contamination may introduce trade-offs around power consumption and cost. These matters require careful analysis to ensure technologies are value-driven and competitive, while supporting adaptability as digital requirements evolve.
- Managing contaminants: the PFAS challenge
Emerging regulations around PFAS bring a sense of urgency to the upgrade of drinking water and wastewater treatment capabilities. Yet PFAS compounds are typically present at low concentrations which makes them difficult to detect and measure.
OEM opportunities exist in the removal and destruction of PFAS as well as monitoring and measurement. However, the effectiveness of removal solutions such as granular activated carbon and ozonation depends on wider factors such as system design and operating conditions. New approaches, including advanced oxidation and plasma-based treatments, offer potential routes for complete destruction of PFAS, but introduce their own complexities around scalability and cost.
- Unlocking alternative sources to ease water scarcity
As climate stress intensifies, desalination, reuse and recycling, wastewater valorisation and stormwater capture are being explored to reduce reliance on traditional water sources.
These alternatives improve resilience, but they also introduce complexity; variable input conditions mean systems may need to handle fluctuations in salinity, contamination load and overall water quality.
For OEMs, this means designing technologies capable of reliable operation across a wider range of conditions. In desalination and reuse applications, for example, this can influence the design parameters of pre-treatment processes, membrane systems and brine management tools to maintain performance in the face of changing inputs.
- Decentralised water treatment and modular infrastructure
Decentralised solutions are commanding attention as a flexible alternative to traditional water treatment. Rather than relying solely on large-scale assets, processes are distributed across smaller, localised units that can be deployed closer to point of use.
From an OEM perspective, there are opportunities around the development of compact, integrated solutions that perform reliably within operational constraints. Targeted use of technologies such as membrane filtration and biological treatment offers ways to deliver consistent performance at a local level while supporting replication across sites.
Compatibility with different system architectures is a priority here. It’s about striking an effective balance between flexibility and scalability to achieve reliable, consistent performance across different deployment contexts.
- Circular water systems and wastewater valorisation
Growing emphasis on circularity, resource efficiency and water reuse is redefining how wastewater is viewed and managed.
Reuse applications often require more sophisticated processes, alongside tighter controls to ensure consistent, safe outputs. Growing emphasis on energy efficiency, energy recovery, and integration with wider systems also needs to be considered.
Advanced filtration and membrane systems are needed to support high-quality water reuse as well as the recovery of materials such as nutrients and minerals. Meanwhile, energy recovery solutions – including heat extraction – must be engineered for reliable operation within complex environments. Modular approaches play an important role here, enabling localised reuse and recovery of water. Digital monitoring and control systems are also important for validating water quality, process stability and safety.
OEM priorities for the next generation of water systems
Together, these trends point to a fundamental shift in how water systems are designed, deployed and operated. For OEMs, this reshapes priorities at every stage of development. Success will depend on anticipating evolving regulatory requirements, integrating technologies with connected systems and demonstrating validated performance under real-world operating conditions. Engineering expertise and system-level thinking will become increasingly important as the water sector continues to evolve.
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