Cardiff University and Dwr Cymru Cyfyngedig KTP 24_25 R2

Water companies are training customers to become active partners in service delivery rather than passive recipients of water and wastewater services. This matters because the UK's water infrastructure faces mounting pressure from population growth, climate change, and ageing assets. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water currently spends significant financial and human resources managing customer behaviours that hinder service delivery—such as flushing wet wipes or pouring fats down drains, which cause blockages and treatment problems. The research aims to embed a novel, adaptive process that shifts these behaviours toward actions that assist rather than hinder operations. If successful, this project could free up resources currently spent on reactive fixes, allowing the company to invest more in sustainable infrastructure for future generations. Customers might see fewer sewer blockages and more stable water services, while the company gains a scalable model for behaviour change that other UK water utilities could adopt. The work is applied and commercially focused—a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Cardiff University and Dŵr Cymru—so the impact is intended to be immediate and practical, not fundamental science.