Increasingly unpredictable weather is highlighting the need for greater operational flexibility and accelerating the shift towards managed services, writes Tony Gwynne, leakage solutions director, Ovarro 

 

With almost three-quarters of England still officially in drought, the UK government is urging water companies to maintain momentum on leakage reduction - while preparing for the challenges of winter.  At a meeting of the National Drought Group, led by the Environment Agency, in September 2026, chief executives were asked to provide updates on leakage reduction, as well as their autumn and winter preparedness plans.  

 

Data shared during the session revealed that recent rainfall has not been enough to replenish water resources, following the hottest summer on record, and almost three-quarters of England remained in drought. While companies continue their drought response, they must simultaneously prepare for winter challenges, including flooding and freezing conditions which can cause outbreaks of pipe bursts and leaks. 

 

These increasingly volatile weather patterns show the need for operational flexibility. Against this backdrop, momentum continues to build behind managed services for water, in which a specialist provider takes responsibility for a specific business function.  The model allows companies to rapidly access specialist technology, expertise and resource, providing an immediate and scalable response to seasonal pressures. 

 

The rapid evolution of water conservation technologies over the past decade is also driving greater adoption of managed services. Devices such as acoustic loggers, correlators and monitors are smarter, cheaper and capable of producing vast amounts of real-time data. Thanks to improved connectivity and intelligence, these tools are becoming increasingly powerful. 

 

As deployments scale into the tens or even hundreds of thousands, utilities face the new challenge of how to manage these assets and interpret the data they generate. In the past, updates from dataloggers were daily or hourly - now utilities receive continuous real-time information, amounting to billions of data-reads annually.   

 

This expanding asset base and data capture is prompting utilities to question whether they need to own this hardware at all - and whether they have the resources to analyse unprecedented data volumes effectively?  

 

Rather than simply supplying equipment, a managed service provider uses its advanced technology and in-house expertise to deliver agreed outcomes – such as a measurable reduction in water loss – along with insights that support proactive asset management.  

 

This approach frees up utilities’ internal teams to focus on core business areas, while handing over specialist tasks, such as data analytics, to experts. Far-reaching benefits include cost efficiency, scalability, predictable costs, and access to the latest technology – all contributing to improved performance and greater resilience. This is particularly beneficial in areas where there may be skills shortages.  

 

Significant growth  

 

Ovarro has provided managed services to the water sector for several years and is seeing significant growth - anticipated to continue into 2027 and beyond. Its suite of services includes control and monitoring, pipeline management, pollution reduction and water conservation, with a key focus on leak reduction – a strong example of how managed services can deliver measurable outcomes.  

 

Newest service, LeakCommander, takes ownership of lift-and-shift leak detection - from equipment selection and logger deployment through to data analysis, validation and leak detection teams with a clear identified handover to repair field teams via an app. The model has been adopted by several UK water companies, helping them meet - and often exceed - leakage targets. 

 

Helping utilities reduce water loss further is Ovarro's recently launched automatic meter reading (AMR) installation and maintenance service. Designed for water wholesalers and retailers, the service supports the deployment, maintenance and ongoing performance of AMR loggers, enabling customers to monitor consumption more effectively and identify anomalies that may indicate leaks.  

 

Positive partnership  

 

For many water companies, adopting a managed service represents a significant change. When selecting a partner, they should look for proven expertise and a track record of delivering measurable results, with the financial stability and capacity to scale services as demands change.  

 

As extreme weather events become more frequent, the need for flexible managed service models will continue to grow.