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Executive overview
Why this report matters
Summary Insight: London’s water-security model is shifting from predominantly supply-led planning toward an integrated approach in which customers participate directly in demand management and system resilience. Smart metering, end-use disaggregation, artificial-intelligence-enabled leakage detection, and digital twins can improve consumption visibility and enable more targeted customer engagement. Their strategic value will depend on affordability, accessibility, cybersecurity, data governance, and public trust.
This Our Future Water Intelligence report provides an independent assessment of how utilities, regulators, investors, and policymakers can align digital transformation with customer protection, infrastructure legitimacy, and climate-resilient water management across London and the Thames basin.
The supply-demand shortfall identified for 2050. This briefing explores the digital transformation needed to support reductions toward the 110L resilience target.
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Buyer relevance
Who the report is for
- Utility Executives & System Operators: Understand how customer-facing digital services can support demand management, leak identification, and operational resilience.
- Regulators & Policymakers: Examine how affordability, data governance, and performance transparency shape public confidence.
- Infrastructure Investors & Financiers: Assess how digital capability can improve capital prioritisation and reinforce the legitimacy of long-term investment.
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Decision scope
Questions answered
How can customer demand management support London’s water resilience?
Customer demand management can combine timely consumption information, personalised guidance, leak alerts, and behavioural engagement. Its effectiveness depends on clear communication, accessible services, and interventions that customers consider practical and fair.
What role does digital transformation play in water-resource planning?
Digital transformation can connect customer consumption information with network operations and long-term resource planning. This improves demand visibility and supports more informed decisions about leakage control, infrastructure investment, and resilience measures.
How can the water prosumer model strengthen urban resilience?
The water prosumer model gives customers information and tools that help them participate in demand management. This can improve responsiveness during drought and other periods of system pressure while strengthening shared responsibility for water security.
What are the principal risks of a digital water network?
The principal risks include cybersecurity exposure, misuse of customer data, automated decision bias, digital exclusion, and declining trust. These risks require strong governance, transparent consent, secure system design, and non-digital service alternatives.
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Inside the report
Analytical coverage
Architectures: Demand Visibility
Smart metering and end-use insight can provide customers and utilities with a clearer understanding of consumption patterns, abnormal use, and potential leakage.
Enablement: The Water Prosumer
Digital services can help reposition customers as active resilience participants who respond to timely information and support system balancing during periods of stress.
Resolution: Predictive Customer Intelligence
Artificial intelligence and customer segmentation can support earlier leak identification, more relevant interventions, and better-targeted affordability assistance.
Alignment: Infrastructure Legitimacy
Transparent reporting on leakage, environmental performance, service outcomes, and investment delivery can strengthen public confidence in long-term infrastructure decisions.
Capability Building: Integrated Digital Resilience
Customer-facing transformation must be integrated with cybersecurity, inclusive service design, climate adaptation, operational control, and basin-wide water-resource planning.
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Included
What you receive
Complete digital report
The full analysis in a professionally formatted PDF.
Decision-focused analysis
Evidence interpreted around the report’s central strategic and operational questions.
Supporting evidence
Relevant data, documented developments and source material used throughout the assessment.
Analytical frameworks
Structured interpretation of the financial, operational, governance, resilience or resource issues relevant to the report.
Forward priorities
Key developments, risks and issues to monitor following publication.
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Evidence & method
Built for defensible decisions
The report is grounded in documented public, institutional, regulatory, utility and sector evidence appropriate to its stated scope. Source periods, definitions and reported claims are retained within the complete analysis.
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Lead analyst
Robert C. Brears
Lead Analyst, Our Future Water Intelligence
Robert C. Brears is a water-security specialist and author whose work examines utility transformation, infrastructure, governance, finance and climate resilience for executive and policy audiences.
- Evidence-led water intelligence
- Decision-focused system analysis
- Report-specific treatment of scope and terminology
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The Water Customer of the Future: Digital Transformation In London
- Format
- Digital report · PDF
- Length
- 40 pages
- Edition
- 2026
- Price
- USD 499
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Report details
Publication details
- Publisher
- Our Future Water Intelligence
- Report family
- Thematic Intelligence Report
- Report type
- Customers of the Future
- Edition
- 2026
- Format
- Digital report · PDF
- Length
- 40 pages
- Reference
- WATER-CUSTOMER-FUTURE-LONDON