What’s next in the UK water sector

When a critical Scottish Water pumping station failed mid-maintenance, Xylem's Avensor real-time monitoring enabled controlled flow management, avoiding over-pumping and pollution risk.

With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”

The water sector is approaching a turning point in cyber resilience. For years, much of the focus has been on compliance: frameworks, standards, reporting obligations, and security controls. Those foundations still matter, but they are no longer enough.

Water UK is changing the way it oversees and contributes to standards across the water industry. After many years of relying on the Water UK Standards Board, the organisation has decided to adopt a network‑based approach.

The West is in a cyber 'phoney war' Charles Radclyffe at EA Global wrote in Forbes. Attacks are coming, utilities are dangerously exposed, and mandatory baseline cyber standards for every company and citizen are now essential.

January’s extreme weather initiated serious flood risk in the Somerset Levels. However, the Environment Agency (EA) and partners were able to manage potential impacts by implementing flood resilience strategies that included the rapid deployment of many additional transportable pumps.