• Regulatory expectations for water quality across Europe in comparison with the UK.
• Managing competing treatment priorities between PFAS, microplastics, pesticides, as well as infrastructure needs.
• Are regulations enabling enough innovation?
• Can we expect any major changes to water quality guidelines? How can we expect mandatory monitoring to evolve?
• What policies will force or incentivise polluters to reduce contamination?

• Adapting water company risk-based approaches to drinking water management, utilising WSPs, hazard management and geographic demands.
• How can the sector best prepare for changes to contaminant limits including PFAS, lead, microplastics and more?
• What do upcoming guideline changes mean for consumers? To what extent do they understand toxicological impacts?
• Targeting support to enable smaller regions to achieve a superior level of drinking water quality.

• How can we better collaborate amongst water utilities, regulators, solution providers and upstream stakeholders while balancing cost, carbon and customer expectations?
• What more can be done to improve strategic planning processes to manage regulatory pressure and compliance timelines?
• How is Europe working to prevent groundwater contamination including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and metabolites?
• What infrastructure upgrades are needed to support large-scale water reuse and circular water systems? What role should modular and decentralised treatment systems play in future infrastructure planning?

• How can we stay ahead of upcoming challenges to emerging contaminants and prevent a continental crisis.
• Assigning resource priorities amid new unknown contaminants.
• To what extent can we expect the number of contaminants of concern to increase?
• TFAs, nano plastics, pharmaceuticals etc. – what's the next PFAS?
• What physical long-term impacts can increased chemical treatment have on pipe networks?

Hear 3 short case studies highlighting water utility approaches to PFAS detection, management and treatment across varying geographies. 

• Case Study 1: Jersey Water's PFAS Journey – Jeanette Sheldon, Head of Water Quality, Jersey Water
• Case Study 2: A collaborative approach to tackling Netherland's PFAS – Sanne Brekelmans, Senior Advisor for Chemical Water Quality, Het Waterlaboratorium (Dunea, PWN, Waternet)
• Case Study 3: Exploring Thessaloniki's approaches to PFAS – Nikoletta Xanthopoulou, Sr Analytical Chemist, Analytical Laboratories Manager, Thessaloniki Water Supply & Sewerage Company

A fast-paced discussion format designed to spark ideas and fresh perspectives to tackle contaminants in water supplies. Choose a table to begin and spend 10 minutes discussing the topic with your group and make your way around to 3 tables in total - creating 30 minutes of dynamic brainstorming and cross-pollination of ideas across the room, with the opportunity to carry on conversations over the break. Maximise your discussion time to ensure we’re equipped as a sector to tackle a range of contaminants at scale, in budget, and while protecting the environment. 

Themes and questions: 

• Regulatory & Policy: What more needs to be done from a policy perspective to tackle contaminants efficiently across Europe? Are regulations clear enough for PFAS compared to pesticides, metals, pharmaceuticals etc.? 
• Source Control & Catchment: How can we increase microbiological stability across the sector and minimise risks to distribution systems? E.g. Managing algal toxins, iron, manganese 
• Science & Monitoring: What role can non-targeted analysis & chemical fingerprinting play in better understanding contaminant behaviour across Europe’s range of geographies? 
• Treatment: How can we optimise our use of popular treatment solutions in tandem with each other for the best outcome? E.g. GAC, membranes, AOP etc.
• Infrastructure & Assets: How can utilities retrofit existing assets versus building new infrastructure to tackle contaminants, and where are hybrid approaches proving most effective today? 

• Focusing on minimising the risk of formation of toxic byproducts. 

• Insight into Northern Germany's FITWAS project
• Utilising porous membranes to reuse water effectively.

• Expanding the role of desalination where drought and source scarcity threaten supply reliability.

• Innovating on a large scale to overcome organic raw water challenges.
• Exploring the effectiveness of contaminant removal.
• Understanding new DWTPs to comply with current and future regulations.

Introducing our new ‘Dragons’ Den’ quickfire solutions session. Hear from our best-in-class partners who will deliver a 90-second pitch, designed to help you identify the latest treatment innovations.  

Pitches will help to create discussion towards tackling sector questions including:  

• How can we design flexibility into treatment for unknown future contaminants?
• Which solutions are scalable?
• How can we increase treatment efficiency while prioritising the environment? 

• How are different countries interpreting and implementing the same EU directives from the DWD?
• How are different countries interpreting and implementing the same EU directives from the DWD? 
• Where are the biggest gaps between EU-level and national-level policy?
• How can Europe move towards more standardised approaches without losing local flexibility?
• How do utilities in water-scarce regions (Southern Europe) prioritise differently compared to water-abundant regions (Nordics/Benelux)?
• How are different regions balancing prevention vs treatment when it comes to contamination? How do varying geographies come into play? 
• What are the current barriers to cross-border collaboration in accelerating innovation and implementation? 
• Are we doing enough to share learnings across Europe to minimise risk? 
   

Stand up and find someone you haven't spoken to yet today, introduce yourself and one key takeaway from today.

Join us for a relaxed drinks reception following the first day of the conference. This is a great opportunity to unwind, network with fellow attendees, and continue the day's conversations over refreshments.