Rethinking rapid water testing

Troubled waters run clear with rapid tests, as a new wave of diagnostic tools and rapid water testing brings speed and precision to pollution detection.

When it comes to managing water quality, timing isn’t just everything – it’s the whole damn problem. The faster you know what’s in your water, the quicker you can do something about it. For decades, however, the water industry has been stuck waiting days for lab results, squinting at general indicators like E. coli, hoping they tell the whole story. Spoiler: They don’t.

Now, a quiet revolution is brewing in Australia’s back paddocks and lab benches, bringing lab-quality molecular diagnostics directly to the field.

ZiP Diagnostics is a Melbourne-based biotech firm focused on making molecular testing faster, cheaper and more accessible. Geared initially towards human health in remote and resource-limited settings, its portable nucleic acid amplification technology now finds itself squarely in the crosshairs of one of Australia’s most complex infrastructure sectors: water. In partnership with Bio2Lab, an environmental consulting company led by Dr David Sharley, the two outfits are changing how the industry thinks about detection, response, and accountability.

A new test in town

The flagship application? Rapid on-site testing for human Bacteroides – a precise indicator of sewage contamination.

It’s a big step from traditional E. coli testing, which is nonspecific and cannot distinguish between bird, dog, or human faecal matter. That is why Corrado Addessi, the head of marketing and sales at ZiP Diagnostics, is working with his colleagues to help the industry achieve this goal.

“Our goal was to move molecular testing out of the lab and into the hands of field technicians,” Addessi said. “You don’t need a science degree or years of lab experience to get a result anymore.”

Using ZiP’s portable diagnostic platform, utilities and councils can generate results in as little as 20 minutes– no esky, no courier, no lab lag. That kind of turnaround fundamentally shifts how spill events and contamination risks are managed, particularly when human health is on the line. ZiP is also pairing its rapid microbial testing with real-time data transmission and geospatial mapping to deliver an innovative field reporting system.

Changing minds, not just methods

While the technology is ready, meaningful change in the water industry doesn’t happen overnight. Integrating rapid molecular testing into routine operations requires more than technical validation. It demands cultural buy-in and trust.

“There’s still some hesitation,” Addessi said. “We’re asking people to rethink how they do their job. That takes time, training and trust.”

Establishing trust, both within the industry and among the communities it serves, is critical. Addessi said utilities and councils are accountable not just for infrastructure but also for public confidence in how they manage it. This demonstrates how providing timely, accurate data that can help guide decisions is part of building that credibility.

Sharley said the industry’s move to faster, more specific testing is a natural evolution of its commitment to safeguarding public health and the environment.

“For 50 years, we’ve relied on the same generic indicators,” he said. “They pick up any warm-blooded animal. What the industry needs now is specificity, speed and cost-efficiency. We approached ZiP because they had the tech to do that.”

According to Sharley, Bio2Lab is already working closely with local governments to integrate the platform into stormwater harvesting projects, ensuring that the reused water is safe from the outset.

Many of these systems are installed at great expense, only to discover too late that there’s a sewer issue upstream,” he said. “We help them identify those problems early, before committing to a major investment in a harvesting system. It’s real-time risk management—and a step toward building greater public trust.”

Expanding testing options for health and environment

The molecular platform isn’t limited to one test. ZiP is building an expandable menu of assays that can be deployed in the field, adding flexibility to a growing list of use cases – from urban stormwater and beach monitoring to livestock disease surveillance and human disease detection.

“We learned from COVID-19 that fast, accurate diagnostics are central to public health,” Addessi said. “That lesson applies to water, too. We need to be prepared. And that means being able to test quickly, onsite, and independently.”

For Bio2Lab, the test kit is just the beginning of a broader transformation in environmental health management.

“This is about enabling smarter, faster decisions—where the problem is, not where the lab is.”

For more information, visit zipdiag.com and bio2lab.com.au