What’s next in the UK water sector

As the global digital economy accelerates, data centres have become indispensable to modern life. Yet the same infrastructure that powers AI, cloud computing, and digital communications also consumes vast amounts of energy and water.

The water sector uses approximately 10% of the industrial energy consumption in the UK, and Energy Assets Ltd is offering the sector a no win no fee opportunity to reduce energy consumption by up to 10%, whilst also enhancing resilience and asset life of expensive motors, pumps, and inductive load equipment.

Future Water Association exists for one reason: to help transform the UK water sector. That mission is as urgent now as it has ever been. Our Impact Report shows how progress has been made through collaboration, innovation, and honest conversation across the sector.

The Environmental Monitoring & Measurement Achievement Awards (the EMMAs) will return to Birmingham in 2026, building on a record-breaking year and further cementing their position as the premier celebration of excellence across the environmental monitoring sector.

The UK water sector is about to generate more data than ever before. Over the next five years, millions of smart meters will be rolled out. Monitoring across networks, treatment works and catchments is becoming more sophisticated. Data will move closer to real time, more granular, and more widely available. But more data is not the goal. Better decisions are.

Several UK water companies are actively planning indirect water reuse projects as part of their long-term drought resilience strategies. The projects reflect a transition towards new supplies that are independent from rainfall, helping address the five billion litres a day shortfall predicted by 2055 for water supplies in England. In this Q&A, Barry Hopton, Head of Client Relationships – UK Water Utilities, Xylem, highlights the proven technologies available to support these critical initiatives:

AUMA Actuators Limited is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Anglian Water, a partnership that has delivered measurable operational benefits through the rapid supply, repair and refurbishment of electric actuators across the water and wastewater network.

At Smart Eco Engineering Ltd., we are proud to introduce the Smart Water Reuse Platform (SWRP), an innovative solution that integrates advanced wastewater treatment with IoT-enabled monitoring to deliver efficient and scalable water recycling.

New research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Cavendish Consulting reveals a complex and often contradictory picture of public attitudes towards the UK water sector, highlighting both deep-rooted distrust and a significant opportunity for companies to rebuild confidence during the upcoming Asset Management Period 8 (AMP8).

The water sector is not short of data, and that’s a good thing. Sensors monitor reservoirs and rivers in real time. Environmental monitoring continues to expand. Weather feeds and satellite data are increasingly accessible. New digital platforms are emerging across the industry. And yet many operational decisions are still made reactively. So what does this tell us? The challenge isn’t the availability of data. It’s how fragmented that data still is. If the sector wants to move from reacting to water quality issues toward anticipating them, the next step is not collecting more information. It is connecting the intelligence we already have.

World Water Day 2026 carries a powerful message: “Where waterflows, equality grows.” Globally, this highlights the critical link between access to clean water, sanitation, and gender equality. While that global WASH context is vital, I want to reflect closer to home—on equality within the UK water sector, and specifically the experience of women working within it.

The water sector is facing increasing pressure. In 2024, Ofwat issued £168m in fines for sewage discharges, highlighting the urgent need for pollution prevention and long-term solutions. At the same time, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of rainfall, putting further stress, which will only increase over time, on ageing sewer networks.