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How Can Digital Water Meters Support The UK’s Water Resilience?

Back in October, the National Drought Group warned that much of England needs to prepare for ongoing drought into 2026 due to the record low rainfall that many regions of the country have experienced.

Since then, record levels of rainfall have helped some parts of England – including the West Country and Yorkshire – to come back from the brink of drought and move into drought recovery.

However, with the Environment Agency predicting that England needs to experience at least 100 per cent of its average rainfall every month until the end of March 2026 to ensure that everywhere largely recovers from the drought, even this boost in rainfall may not be enough.

There is increasing talk about what needs to be done to secure water supplies for the future, given that climate change is affecting weather systems and making rain less predictable in England. 

While systemic change is important, both individual businesses and households can also make changes in how they use water to help support ongoing water resilience. One type of technology that is becoming an increasing focus for water companies is digital smart meters. 

What are digital smart meters for water?

In a recent webinar for Smart Water Magazine, Sylvia Varga, head of UK & Ireland operations at Diehl Metering, and Vadim Lyu, managing director UK & Ireland at Netmore, discussed the different types of digital smart meters and how they can be used to save water. 

There are two main types of digital smart meter currently in use by water companies in the UK:

• LoRaWAN
• NB-IoT

LoRaWAN is able to cover the majority of the country, because it offers long-range, low-power communication for water providers to help them gather data about their networks. It’s used primarily in densely populated areas at present.

NB-IoT, meanwhile, relies on strong mobile network coverage as it is part of the Internet of Things (IoT). This form of metering is typically used in rural locations – although the need for a strong mobile network means it’s not appropriate everywhere. 

How do digital smart meters help save water?

For water companies, the reason to install digital smart meters is threefold: to improve leak detection, to improve customer service and to encourage data-driven operations. 

Varga explained that South West Water has already introduced digital smart meters to its area, with over 100,000 meters deployed within its network. To date, these meters have helped the water supplier uncover 3,400 leaks and save 1.67 million litres of water per day. 

In addition South West Water announced earlier this year that it is accelerating its rollout of smart meters for domestic customers to help them keep their bills down. 

Similarly, Lyu highlighted Yorkshire Water’s rollout of digital smart meters on its network, which is already saving two megalitres of water per day. As a result of the water savings the supplier has already seen, it is exploring how it can accelerate the rollout of such meters across its entire network. 

Are other water suppliers going to install digital smart meters?

Yes. The aim is to considerably increase meter coverage across the UK’s network. In 2025, water meter coverage stands at just 12 per cent, but the aim is to increase this to 51 per cent by 2030 and to 75 per cent by 2040.

The rollout of digital smart meters across the water network is supporting the ongoing work under asset management period 8 (AMP8), which aims to halve leakage within the country’s water infrastructure, reduce demand and increase water use efficiency. 

The Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID), which was launched in 2019, is leading the way with this work.

One of the key aspects of RAPID’s work has been bringing together water suppliers to ensure strategic collaboration to secure the country’s water supplies for decades to come. 

In addition to work to improve efficiency within the water system and reduce leaks, both of which can be supported by digital smart meters, RAPID is also working on significant infrastructure projects including the creation of new reservoirs and strategic large-scale water transfer schemes. 

The scale at which AMP8 is working means that working with partners, such as Netmore and Diehl Metering, is essential to deliver the water savings required to secure the water supply for England and Wales.

Can a business install its own digital smart meters?

Yes, a business can install its own smart meter to monitor its water usage. An automated meter reading (AMR) service will allow you to see how much water you are using in your organisation and where it is going. 

The smart meters available for businesses log water use on an hourly basis, providing consistent data which can be used to make decisions about water efficiency, as well as help identify leaks. 

AMR systems work by measuring the water flow. A spike in water flow might indicate a leak, for example. By knowing this has happened within an hour, you can find the leak and take action quickly, even if it isn’t immediately apparent through a visible burst pipe, for instance. 

For most businesses, the reason to install a smart meter is to reduce their water bills. In our experience, the cost of an AMR system is usually covered within a few weeks based on savings on a company’s water bill.

How can automated meter reading help my business?

When you have data about your organisation’s water usage, you can analyse it to identify peak periods of usage and explore how you can lower your water consumption consistently.

What’s more, by having AMR in place, you can ensure that you maintain those savings and that your water usage doesn’t creep up again over time. 

This gives you data you can use to highlight the importance of focusing on saving water to your teams, as well as to point you in the direction of which parts of the business may benefit from innovative water-saving technology.

Your system will also be set up to send an alert should your water consumption exceed the preset limits, which means you will be able to take action quickly if your water consumption spikes. 

This alone can save a business hundreds if not thousands, given the charges you pay for your water supply as a company.