FEATURES
OCU Group: Award-winning water delivery Celebrating innovation and collaboration in sustainable infrastructure
OCU’s water teams have achieved a series of award wins this year, recognising our commitment to innovation, technical excellence and sustainable delivery across some of the UK’s most complex water infrastructure programmes.
From specialist trenchless equipment to low-carbon solutions, these...
Water consumption savings – cutting out the customer
Running taps, leisurely showers and using hosepipes all contribute massively to the use of water within the home - usage that could use that could be significantly reduced to meet consumption targets.
For most water companies the focus has previously...
Digital transformation – from compliance to value creation
AMP8 is already revealing an investment in digital technology for the UK water sector. The question now is how fast and how boldly will it go in delivering value beyond compliance, says Lila Thompson, chief executive of British Water.
The...
Surge in cyber threats against water
The water sector must step up the fight against malicious cyberattacks and ‘hacktivists’, says Daniel dos Santos, Vice President of Research at Forescout.
Recent reports have revealed that Britain’s drinking water suppliers have faced a new wave of cyber incidents,...
Pump Station Alerting: A proactive approach to pump performance for Southern Water
Case Study
The Background
Southern Water previously relied on static Hi-Hi alarms to monitor its pump stations. During periods of heavy rainfall, these alarms would trigger, offering little clarity on which sites genuinely required attention.
As a result, many alerts were routinely...
Advanced AI: transforming performance and reliability
Scientific machine learning is key to re-engineering maintenance and reducing process emissions across water operations, says Tom Ray, director of digital products & services at Binnies UK.
As ageing infrastructure meets tightening environmental standards, the water sector needs smarter, more...
Pipeline tech is central to water’s green agenda
Water management is central to climate resilience and sustainable growth yet remains under-prioritised. If we want a genuinely green economy, pipeline technology and treatment systems must move from the margins to the mainstream, says Graham Morrell,
CEO, Flowmax Group.
Why water...
Clamping down on non-revenue water loss
A range of advanced technologies are available to help utilities tackle NRW effectively, focusing on pipe condition assessment, leak detection, and pressure management, says Laura Dority, Mueller Water Products.
of the most significant challenges facing water utilities, with losses stemming...
Smarter pipeline monitoring for a more resilient wastewater network
Tackling the toughest challenges in wastewater network management
Across the wastewater sector, operators face mounting pressure to reduce pollution, improve efficiency and maintain compliance in the face of aging infrastructure and changing weather patterns. The challenge is particularly acute in...
Redefining pipelines: GRP pipes as high-pressure carrier solutions
Advances in material science and installation techniques are changing how water and wastewater pipelines can be built – especially in constrained environments – as Ovi Frunza, Tunnelling Director, Barhale, explains.
New high-strength Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) jacking pipes, engineered to...
Ofwat and BMG report reveals key insights into customer satisfaction
The latest Ofwat Annual Customer and Developer Measure of Experience Report 2025, delivered by BMG Research, provides a comprehensive view of customer and developer experiences across the England and Wales water sector, identifying the top performers and where challenges...
Why providers must tap into all their CX data now
UK water utilities face potential fines of up to 10% their annual turnover if their customer experience strategies fall flat, warns Phil Smith, CEO at QPC Group.
The water industry continues to struggle to meet the performance commitments it made...
New Milk of Lime plant commissioned at Tunstead Quarry
Buxton Lime is proud to announce the successful commissioning of a brand-new High Solids Milk of Lime (HSMOL) production plant at our Tunstead quarry site.
The £600,000 investment marks a significant milestone for the business, bringing High Solids Milk of...
Fines grab headlines, but investment fixes pipes
Fining water companies only diverts investment from improving assets, but there is an alternative that could serve everyone better, says Tim Farley, of Sanivar UK.
Across the UK, water company assets are in a critical condition and service failures on...
€32 million sustainable treatment project launches in Fermanagh
The Water Enhancements through Sustainable Treatment (WEST) project is designed to address water pollution in seven Irish counties through catchment modelling and sustainable wastewater treatment.
The €32 million WEST project is a cross-border initiative between NI Water and Uisce Éireann...
Talks begin for AMP8’s first strategic ‘interconnector’ pipeline
A new pipeline will link water supplies from Grafham to Cambridge to meet the immediate, critical need for water in the UK’s fastest-growing city*.
Anglian Water and Cambridge Water have launched their first public consultation – which runs until December...
The death of BIM: Why traditional approaches are failing critical industries
For over 15 years, the promise of BIM has echoed across industries like water: better data, better decisions, better operations. Yet today, critical sectors are waking up to a harsh truth. Traditional BIM, as it was conceived, is not...
London water bills automatically cut for low-income households
Londoners struggling with the cost of living will have their water bills cut automatically under a partnership led by Thames Water.
The company has teamed up with 17 borough councils and a data analytics company for the scheme - the...
Flush trials show positive behaviour change
Are customers ready to ditch the full flush? Recent tests by Affinity Water and Scottish Water seem to think so.
Toilet flushing accounts for a huge volume of clean water usage in the UK, with an average volume of 7.5...
How ballasted clarification is transforming phosphorus removal
Water companies are investing a record £6 billion in nutrient removal schemes during AMP8 (2025–2030) — around double the spend of PR19. This funding will enable phosphorus reduction at roughly 900 sites, helping utilities meet tightening environmental consents and...
OCU Group: Working in partnership with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water Since 2011
A long-lasting partnership that set the early foundations for OCU Water.
OCU is very proud of its long-standing and ongoing relationship with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW). The Pressurised Pipe Framework was one of the first major frameworks that OCU...
Navigating regulatory uncertainty through wastewater insight
A changing regulatory landscape
In light of recent government decisions about the future of UK water regulation,1 the UK water industry is in a period of structural uncertainty. While the implications remain speculative at this stage, what is certain is...
Repairing a suspended pipe within 30 minutes
Arzacq-Arraziguet is a French village with 1093 inhabitants, located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. SATEG, (a subsidiary of SAUR) which distributes drinking water to more than 35,000 subscribers in nearly 200 municipalities in the Pau region...
Space Eye sets sights on UK water leakage crisis
Seven water companies are collaborating on a unique satellite project that could transform how water leaks are detected across the UK.
The Space Eye venture, led by South Staffordshire Water and the University of Wolverhampton, includes partnerships with SES Water,...
Confronting leakage: The strategic opportunity water utilities can no longer afford to miss
By Shelley Copsey, CEO, FYLD
As Britain braces for another summer of hosepipe bans, the real challenge facing our industry is not public compliance but operational resilience. Every day, nearly 3 billion litres of clean, treated water escape through leaks...
Southern’s record year for leak busting
Is this the end for listening sticks? It could be at Southern Water.
The company – responsible for four million customers – is celebrating a record year of finding and fixing leaks.
And it’s all thanks to their new system of...
From detection to repair: complete solutions for water networks
Locating and fixing water leaks effectively and efficiently is one of the key drivers behind every UK water company from a regulatory, customer and financial basis.
The war on water leaks often gets lost, simply by searching for a single...
Data’s critical role in £88bn investment plan
Predictive asset maintenance, driven by location data, is a highly valuable tool for the water companies, says Chris Wilton, Sector Lead, Utilities, Ordnance Survey.
The water industry is under pressure to deliver infrastructure that is secure, sustainable and fit for...
Safety First, for Customers and the Utility Workforce
Drinking water treatment facilities have the critical job of producing a safe supply of high-quality drinking water. Complex operational processes demand the highest flow meter accuracy and reliability, as well as long-term stability and a low cost of ownership....
Plugging the data gap for accuracy
Smart water meters are transforming how utilities manage and deliver water, enabling precision in leak detection, consumption monitoring, and usage forecasting. Yet, for all their promise, they face a hidden but growing problem in inaccurate or incomplete data, says...
