Engineering student Amrie Singh has been appointed as the new Institution of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) Water Futures Ambassador, following the final event of Wavin’s Water Futures Challenge.
The competition, created by Wavin in partnership with the ICE, set out to find innovative solutions to tackle the UK’s growing water crisis.
The brief challenged engineering students and junior engineers to submit radical ideas connected to the built environment’s most pressing water-related issues. Categories covered safe and efficient water supply, better sanitation and hygiene, climate resilient cities, and better building performance.
Judges announced that engineer Amrie, who studies at the University of Leeds, was the winner for her entry: ‘Can my pipe handle it?’. Her concept looked at how to approach flood modelling where no detailed hydraulic model of the piped system is available.
Amrie said: “It’s critical that we have as much knowledge as possible about where our urban areas are most at risk of flooding, which is why I am absolutely delighted to have won the Water Futures Challenge.
“I will be using my prize money to share my idea more widely, visiting conferences around the world to look at how it can be used on a wider scale. Being able to showcase my idea and listen to feedback from the judges as part of the Water Futures Challenge has been invaluable.”
Martin Lambley, head judge for the Water Futures Challenge and Wavin product manager North West Europe, UK, and Ireland, said: “All the finalists did exceedingly well in presenting their ideas confidently and it’s wonderful to see that our industry is in good hands with the next generation. We chose Amrie as the winner because she was able to demonstrate the real-life and scalable potential of her concept, with a clear benefit to the future of the UK’s water infrastructure.”