26.03.2025
A strategic partnership has helped to relieve the growing pressure on the UK’s ageing water management infrastructure and safeguard supply for half of the population.
The initiative, conducted between Wilo and Integrated Water Services Mechanical and Electrical (IWS M&E), has worked with 12 major water companies across the UK to identify and upgrade borehole pumping equipment responsible for providing over 30 million residents with 496 billion litres of drinking water per year.
This comes at a time when increasing pressure on the UK’s water infrastructure is leading to prominent leaks, sewage spills and subsequent shortages.[1] With funding challenges to upgrade clean water supply and wastewater removal systems, water companies face the task of addressing operational inefficiencies and securing supply for the population.
Here, 260 of Wilo’s high-efficiency Zetos K borehole pumps were installed to supply approximately 1.3 billion litres of water per day, delivering an average annual energy saving of £10 million across all pumps.
This has resulted in an 85% reduction in pump failure, in addition to a total energy saving of over 44 million kWh per annum – the equivalent of 39,700 metric tonnes of CO2 – based on a combined energy supply.
On the success of the partnership, Simon Oakes, Sales Director for Water Management at Wilo UK, said: “With a growing population, paired with the rising trend of urbanisation, the nation is currently staring at a deficit of almost five billion litres of water a day by 2050. Without immediate action, it can be argued that we are sleepwalking towards a major water crisis.
“Working with IWS M&E, we are proud to have protected the water supply to over 35 million citizens across 12 water authorities, significantly reducing equipment downtime, energy costs and carbon output in the process.”
The replacement borehole pumps incorporated low embedded carbon capture through hydrogen and biofuel technology at the manufacturing plant. This efficient energy supply was coupled with a reduction in raw material consumption by 14%, machining time of components by 74% and waste material produced in the manufacturing process by 86%.
Dean Adams, Operations Director at IWS M&E, said: “Our working partnership and the skills of the IWS M&E and Wilo teams have complemented each other and enabled us to deliver a fantastic, combined service to the water companies. Our efforts mean that a significant proportion of the population in the UK has a secure water supply. Wilo and the team’s knowledge of pumps were truly the difference maker in this project.”
To drive best practice among its customers and the wider industry, Wilo also conducted tailored lunch-and-learns which outlined the relevant regulations that water companies must adhere to when installing and operating borehole pumps.