Anglian Water has vowed to support and fund the best ideas it sees at the inaugural Big Water Challenge 2016 event in May.

The challenge, which kicks off in Peterborough on May 6th is shaping up to be one of the biggest events in the water industry innovation calendar with some of the most influential names in the sector attending. As well as Anglian Water; Clancy Docwra and Kier MG are on board to help businesses and innovators shape their ideas. Enzen Global and Grundfos have also recently signed up to take part in the event.

The event is being organised by the Water Innovation Network - a partnership between Anglian Water and Opportunity Peterborough - and the theme for the inaugural year is 'Keeping the Water Flowing'. Entrants will be asked to come up with new ways for Anglian Water to maintain supplies to customers' homes and restore water after a burst pipe as quickly as possible.

There is now four weeks left to register for the challenge. After registering all participants will be invited to take part in an innovation session on May 6th where they will get to quiz experts and get all the information they need to shape their proposal. They will then have six weeks to refine their idea and submit it. The best ideas will make it to a shortlist and the finalists will have the chance to pitch their proposals to a panel of senior Anglian Water staff.

David Ward, Anglian Water's Head of Networks, said:

"I don't want to be restricted to choosing a single winner - if we get two or three ideas that really excite us then we won't be picking one and leaving the others stranded. This is about finding the ideas that will help us transform our industry - we could come away with more than one new business partner after the challenge is complete.”

"If you're a small business - or even a one man band - with an idea which will reduce the impact of bursts on our customers then we want to develop that idea. It could be an engineering invention, an IT solution or something else entirely. So long as it helps us provide a better service for our customers we want to hear about it.

"We're really pleased to see the 30 businesses on board with the event - their proven experience and expertise in the industry will help us challenge participants to hone and shape their ideas into something really compelling."

 Information will be emailed to those who sign up with all the information they need to start developing their idea. They will also gain entry to the event at the Kingsgate Centre in Peterborough on May 6th where they can find out everything they will need to know to develop the idea into a business pitch.

To register for a place click here