PEDAL
(Prediction and Early Detection of ALgal blooms in lakes and reservoirs)
Algal blooms damage water quality and wildlife and are costly to treat. By predicting them in advance we protect nature, reduce water treatment costs and keep water safe and affordable for everyone.
About the project
The pioneering collaborative project has received almost £2 million in funding from the Ofwat Innovation Fund’s Water Breakthrough Challenge and will use ground-breaking new techniques to tackle the scourge of algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs.
The project will focus on using satellite and drone remote sensing, Artificial Intelligence, conventional water quality monitoring, and input from citizen science to build a digital twin that can forecast Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), which lead to poor water quality and ecosystem loss, enabling the water companies to take preventative action faster.
The pivotal new project is led by South West Water and in partnership with a significant number of partners, including experts from the University of Exeter’s Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW).
The project is lead by Dr Diego Panici from the University of Exeter and Andrew Pennington, Innovation Programme & Partnerships Manager at South West Water.
Duration: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2028
Project Team
- Dr Diego Panici – Project Lead
- Dr Alan Puttock – Co Investigator
- Professor Karen Anderson – Co Investigator
- Professor Richard Brazier – Co-Investigator
- Dr Bob Brewin – Co-Investigator
- Dr Garry Codling – Co-Investigator
- Dr Gareth Bradbury, Research Associate
- Dr Ben Jackson, Research Fellow
- Dr Jess Kitch, Research Associate
- Dr Jaeyoung Lee, Research Fellow
- Dr Mandy Robinson, Research Fellow
- Chris Watson – Project Officer
- Olivia Hawtin – Research Technician
- Abbie Chamberlin – Research Technician
Funded by
- Ofwat Innovation Fund, Breakthrough 5: Catalyst
Project partners
Led by: South West Water
Industry Partners: Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water), Anglian Water, Severn Trent Water, Northumbrian Water, Wessex Water, Affinity Water
Research Partners: University of Exeter, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, South West Lakes Trust, Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water), Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Anglian Water, Severn Trent Water, Northumbrian Water, Wessex Water, Affinity Water, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Cardiff University, CSIR, Environment Agency, University of Waikato, NexusBit Integral, Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation, NASA BioScape, Korea Environment Institute, Northern Ireland Water, Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.