Water Direct warns: make water resilience a board‑level priority

Water Direct has launched WaterTight, a new flagship water‑resilience solution designed to help UK organisations withstand and recover from increasingly frequent water supply interruptions.

The launch coincides with the publication of the company’s new industry report, State of UK Water Resilience 2025–26, which warns that water resilience must now be treated as a core operational risk, not an afterthought.

The report highlights a stark shift in the risk landscape. Ageing infrastructure, long‑term under‑investment, population growth and more volatile weather patterns are all driving a rise in supply interruptions.

Regulatory data shows the scale of the challenge: England experienced an average 518 million litres per day of outages in 2024–25, alongside 45,383 mains repairs and 556 drinking water quality events, up from 533 the previous year .

Despite this, many organisations still rely on reactive, unplanned contingency measures. Water Direct’s own research shows that 46% of large companies and 39% of SMEs have already experienced water disruption, yet preparedness remains low. For water‑critical sectors such as manufacturing and data centres, the financial impact can reach £100,000–£200,000 per day, or significantly higher for high‑risk sites.

WaterTight is being positioned as the UK’s first comprehensive water‑continuity solution, combining:

• Audited site readiness
• A tailored contingency plan
• Reserved emergency water capacity
• SLA‑backed rapid delivery

The service is designed to help organisations maintain minimum operations and recover quickly when supply or quality incidents occur. External reporting confirms WaterTight can provide guaranteed emergency water supply in as little as four hours, offering a structured, proactive approach to crisis management .

For boards and leadership teams, Water Direct says the key question is no longer “could this happen?” but “what is our exposure, and how quickly can we recover?”

Alongside the report, Water Direct has launched the Water Resilience Maturity Index (WRMI) — a free self‑assessment tool enabling organisations to benchmark their preparedness, identify gaps and prioritise actions.

A call for water resilience to be treated like power and IT risk Adam Johnson, CEO of Water Direct, said the UK’s historically reliable water network can no longer be taken for granted:

“Water underpins UK business performance and public services. Businesses depend on clean, safe supply not only for drinking water, but to sustain safe and compliant operations. Historically the UK has enjoyed a dependable water network. However, that is changing and businesses are facing increased risk from water supply interruptions.

There’s no question that water resilience should be a core part of operational risk management, not a nice to have.”

The report argues that water resilience must now sit alongside planning for power outages, cyber incidents and IT failures, echoing wider industry warnings that water continuity must move onto the board agenda as a strategic risk.