Digital solutions
Skyward Savings: How Satellites Saved 60m m³ of Drinking Water in 2025
Last month’s Satellite Leakage Detection Forum marked a milestone, celebrating measurable success while sharpening a shared view of next steps. Hosted by SUEZ with ASTERRA and Ramboll, it united nearly every UK water company and showed satellite intelligence moving from trial to business as usual.
The numbers are compelling. To date, satellite programmes across the UK have helped identify nearly 25,000 leaks and have saved more than 400 million m³ of treated drinking water. In 2025 alone satellites have already contributed to savings of over 60 million m³. These are tangible benefits: water retained in the network, fewer customer interruptions and reduced environmental impact.
A key reason for the growing effectiveness of satellite detection is data maturity. Over nine years of leakage records now underpin detection models, forming a rich longitudinal training set. Field-verified leak records create a closed feedback loop: confirmed POIs are used to retrain and recalibrate algorithms, reducing false positives, improving localisation and enabling seasonal and regional tuning. The outcome is an adaptive, continuously improving capability that increases technician confidence and speeds higher-confidence interventions.
Operational adoption is now widespread. Early scepticism about accuracy and resistance to new workflows have been overcome by trial evidence and operational results. Satellite-derived Points of Interest (POIs) are routinely trusted by field teams, and many organisations have embedded satellite outputs in standard operating processes.
The forum’s review showed how satellites are highly effective, especially in high‑leakage DMAs, over wide areas and on trunk mains and very useful for AMP8’s push for deeper leakage cuts and its stricter trunk‑main reporting requirements.
One of the most encouraging aspects of the forum was learning about complementary technologies that sit alongside satellites. This goes well beyond acoustic measures. The Optimal Sensor Placement from Optimatics demonstrated how data-driven approaches can improve placement of acoustic loggers and pressure sensors for field teams. Nautilus, AGANOVA’s inline inspection tool for large-diameter pipes, has been deployed successfully in recent trunk-main inspections across the UK. All help shorten the critical time from pinpointing leaks to repairs and reduce unnecessary excavations.
Thank you and congratulations to everyone involved, operators, technology providers, programme leads and field teams. The forum’s energy and collaboration showed what’s possible when industry and innovators work together. Satellites are now a central tool in protecting the UK’s precious water resources, and the next forum will no doubt highlight further improvements and savings as these systems continue to evolve.
A key reason for the growing effectiveness of satellite detection is data maturity. Over nine years of leakage records now underpin detection models, forming a rich longitudinal training set. Field-verified leak records create a closed feedback loop: confirmed POIs are used to retrain and recalibrate algorithms, reducing false positives, improving localisation and enabling seasonal and regional tuning. The outcome is an adaptive, continuously improving capability that increases technician confidence and speeds higher-confidence interventions.
Operational adoption is now widespread. Early scepticism about accuracy and resistance to new workflows have been overcome by trial evidence and operational results. Satellite-derived Points of Interest (POIs) are routinely trusted by field teams, and many organisations have embedded satellite outputs in standard operating processes.
The forum’s review showed how satellites are highly effective, especially in high‑leakage DMAs, over wide areas and on trunk mains and very useful for AMP8’s push for deeper leakage cuts and its stricter trunk‑main reporting requirements.
One of the most encouraging aspects of the forum was learning about complementary technologies that sit alongside satellites. This goes well beyond acoustic measures. The Optimal Sensor Placement from Optimatics demonstrated how data-driven approaches can improve placement of acoustic loggers and pressure sensors for field teams. Nautilus, AGANOVA’s inline inspection tool for large-diameter pipes, has been deployed successfully in recent trunk-main inspections across the UK. All help shorten the critical time from pinpointing leaks to repairs and reduce unnecessary excavations.
Thank you and congratulations to everyone involved, operators, technology providers, programme leads and field teams. The forum’s energy and collaboration showed what’s possible when industry and innovators work together. Satellites are now a central tool in protecting the UK’s precious water resources, and the next forum will no doubt highlight further improvements and savings as these systems continue to evolve.
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