Anglian Water faces one of the toughest water resource challenges in the UK. Without any action, the company is forecast to face a shortfall of 593 megalitres of water per day by 2050, roughly half of the water currently supplied across its network.
THE CHALLENGE
Operating in the driest region of England, Anglian Water has very limited surplus water available to meet future demand. The company also faces tight environmental regulations that restrict how much water it can take from natural sources, and there are few opportunities to trade or share water with neighbouring regions. With supply-side options so constrained, Anglian Water has to make the most of the water it already has, improving efficiency, reducing leakage, and helping customers use less water.
Recognising that incremental improvements would never match the scale of the challenge, Anglian Water set out early to pursue a scalable, data-driven approach to managing demand and building long-term resilience.
THE SOLUTION
A key element of Anglian Water’s smart metering rollout has been the creation of a customer portal, giving households direct access to their own water-use data. This visibility has helped customers understand their consumption patterns and encouraged them to make positive changes. The portal also enables personalised “nudges” and advice, helping people reduce water waste and manage their bills more effectively.
This more transparent, data-driven relationship has had a measurable impact on trust. A recent customer engagement study found tha trust in Anglian Water is 15% higher among customers with a smart meter compared to those without, largely because these customers have been directly supported to fix leaks and save money through improved water efficiency.
What’s more, the programme has delivered a material uplift in customer satisfaction (C-MeX). Among customers with a smart meter, 52% say they trust Anglian Water. 43% agree that Anglian Water offers good value for money, compared with 29% of customers without a meter.
RESULTS
Smart water metering has delivered a step change in Anglian Water’s ability to identify and respond to customer-side leaks. Since April 2021, Anglian Water’s smart water meters have identified 577,410 continuous flows. In 2024 alone, the company handled over 170,000 continuous flow identifications, compared with around 9,000 a year before AMI metering.
The results have been worth the effort. The company is now ahead of schedule on its AMP8 leakage reduction targets. By January 2026, it had delivered an average reduction of 14.75 litres per household per day across customer supply-pipe leakage and public leakage—exceeding the WRMP target of 11.28 litres per household per day. This improvement equates to a 20 million litre per day reduction in distribution input, reducing overall demand on the network and strengthening resilience.
– Doug Spencer, Smart Metering Lead, Anglian WaterIt feels like we’ve flicked a switch. We’re no longer scrambling to get meters in — we’re now focused on what’s working, what’s not, and how we can keep improving.
