Futureproofing water: digital strategies that deliver

By Mary Kilkelly and Luke Collier
 

A fit-for-purpose digital strategy and road map will provide a valuable holistic framework to help water service organisations boost operational performance.

New council controlled water service organisations (WSOs) will be set up as delivery entities focused on large-scale asset management and customer delivery, moving away from council-operated water models. WSOs will be expected to deliver better service, show stronger regulatory compliance and build more resilient infrastructure, while closing gaps between planning, funding, and delivery.

Achieving this requires a clear road map guiding WSOs from establishment to their future state, integrating assets, systems, technologies, people, policies, and processes. A fit-for-purpose digital strategy and road map is key to enabling this journey, giving WSOs a holistic framework to guide decisions on using digital tools and data to meet their goals. By adopting the right technologies and systems, WSOs can manage assets more effectively, reduce risk, strengthen compliance, improve processes and procedures, and ultimately boost operational performance.

Fit-for-purpose: the water context

Traditionally, organisations have tackled digital transformation with large, cross-cutting initiatives, often disconnected from business benefits and operating realities. This lack of synchronisation across silos limits the ability to fully realise benefits, leverage investments across the enterprise, and deliver cohesive, organisation-wide improvements.

A fit-for-purpose digital strategy is not just a modernisation exercise; it acts as both an assessment and a road map for strengthening core systems, technologies, and processes that support organisational performance and service delivery. For new WSOs, an effective digital strategy must consider how existing and planned systems can deliver the greatest value, and align with organisational objectives. It should emphasise meeting regulatory, operational and community expectations, and adapting as these requirements evolve.

The strategy must ensure systems and technologies enable robust governance and risk management, while reflecting the core principles of Local Water Done Well (LWDW). When designed well, digital investments directly enable the organisation’s mission: delivering affordable, reliable and resilient water services to every community it serves.

Day-one ready, future focused

For many WSOs, creating a digital strategy and road map means updating legacy technologies and systems used for day-one operations and service delivery. This doesn’t require full-scale change from the start, but a long-term plan should be developed alongside day-one preparations. WSOs should shape their digital strategies and road maps to balance immediate operational readiness with longer-term needs for service delivery, asset management, and customer expectations.

As regulatory obligations, asset performance, operational requirements and customer priorities become clearer, a responsive and well-planned digital strategy will support staged investment decisions. To achieve day-one operational readiness, WSOs must deliver reliable services to customers, and ensure that technology and systems support core organisational needs, including:

• Data integrity: Integrated platforms for finance, HR/payroll, asset management, geographic information systems (GIS), and customer billing work to streamline workflows, cut duplication, and boost data accuracy.
• Efficient use of resources: Automating compliance reporting, procurement, and routine admin tasks lets staff focus on priorities like water quality, asset renewals, and customer service.
• Futureproofing: Interoperable systems ensure long-term adaptability, supporting smooth integration of new technology and changing regulatory needs. Secure-by-design principles (ISO-aligned controls, multi-factor authentication, and encryption) lower cybersecurity, and privacy risks during migration and early operations.
• Service management: Standardised service management using digital tools and data improves reliability, reduces downtime, and gives clearer performance visibility through consistent prioritisation and reporting.
• Project delivery: Integrated dashboards, scheduling and resource management, digital workflows, and real-time reporting improve visibility of scope, schedule, budget, and dependencies, enabling faster decisions, earlier risk detection, and more reliable delivery and benefits tracking.
• Health and safety: Digital reporting and monitoring improve visibility of safety risks and controls, support faster corrective action, and strengthen auditability and compliance across field and partner operations.

Beyond establishment and day-one readiness, WSOs will need digital strategies that support long-term objectives, outcomes, and future operations. Over time, WSOs should focus on transformation initiatives that enable:

• Proactive asset management: Fit-for-purpose asset management systems give real-time insights into asset condition and performance, supporting proactive maintenance and investment planning. For example, GIS integration boosts network visibility, helping resilience planning, reducing service interruptions and improving water quality.
• Tailored network monitoring: Better visibility of real-time and historical network performance lets operational teams make data-driven decisions to manage changing network demand and supply.
• Ongoing compliance: Embedded data governance, readiness testing and responsive systems support ongoing compliance with drinking water standards, health and safety, and regulation. Real-time reporting helps WSOs quickly spot and address compliance risks as regulatory expectations change.
• Disaster response: Digital twins are used for simulations and live events, helping WSOs plan for network constraints and disaster response. Virtual modelling lets WSOs practice response strategies, identify risks, and improve coordination before events. During live events, digital twins provide real-time data and visuals on proposed responses, helping decision-makers allocate resources where they are needed most.
• Procurement: Using core systems and digital twin technology improves the timing, specification, selection and overall procurement of assets, maintenance, and capital delivery. By integrating digital tools and data, WSOs can streamline procurement, reduce risks, and make better decisions for long-term efficiency and value.
• Process updates: Using technology and systems at an enterprise level helps WSOs align processes across assets, operations, and customer delivery. Integrating technology into processes builds capability, ensures alignment, improves efficiency and enables consistency. Teams can streamline support, enable process-driven decisions, and coordinate across the business.

A ‘customer facing’ environment

A core outcome of LWDW is the establishment of WSOs that ensure ‘consumers get quality and value from reliable essential services’. To meet and exceed these expectations, WSOs must ensure their digital strategies and supporting systems are capable of responding to, managing, and streamlining all aspects of customer interaction, touchpoints, and service delivery.

The digital strategy and road map need to consider how WSOs will implement robust, standardised tools that enhance the customer experience and service quality, aligning with global digital transformation trends in the utilities sector. In our experience, leading customer-focused organisations prioritise digital capabilities that enable them to:

• manage customer data safely and securely, ensuring privacy, trust and compliance with regulatory requirements
• provide unified billing and customer information through cohesive CRM systems that deliver consistency and integration across all customer touchpoints
• use omnichannel engagement, allowing WSOs to build and maintain customer and stakeholder confidence through targeted, consistent, and timely communication, ensuring communities receive seamless and transparent service
• maintain and report accurate customer, asset, and service information to support informed decision-making, provide real-time updates, and establish credibility during customer interactions.

Balancing cost and capability

Digital ambitions will be shaped by affordability and capacity. Many WSOs must carefully consider the costs of digital and data initiatives, as these are passed on to consumers. This is important because spending must be balanced with other needs like asset investment, renewal backlogs and stricter wastewater standards.

With many organisations making similar digital changes at once, specialist expertise to design, implement and operate new platforms may be in short supply. Digital strategies and road maps will therefore need to be prioritised and rolled out in practical phases.

Proven usefulness

A fit-for-purpose digital strategy and road map is not about disruptive ideas or replacing core and legacy systems; rather, it’s about providing organisations with a pathway for digital transformation. A well-designed strategy and road map allow WSOs to invest in technology and systems that integrate risk management, compliance, performance reporting, and customer service for the communities they serve.

By taking a long-term approach, WSOs can build strong foundations for growth and improvement. New water entities can prioritise key initiatives, allocate resources wisely, and adapt to change over time, without needing to overhaul everything at once. A clear strategy helps WSOs introduce new technologies and processes gradually, making it easier for staff to adapt and for the organisation to manage risks.

From our experience, this longer-term approach, supported by a good digital strategy and roadmap, enables gradual system transformation through ongoing learning and improvement. Each step is informed by experience and feedback, helping WSOs stay resilient and prepared for future challenges.