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This MCC insight looks “across the pond” for practical ideas to strengthen UK water asset health, connecting regulatory design with engineering rigour and resilience outcomes. Discover what US approaches can teach the UK about proactive maintenance, governance, and nature-based solutions.
The paper argues for a shift from reactive renewal (driven by failures) to proactive asset health assessment and oversight. It highlights how some US frameworks incorporate engineering expertise into regulation through standardised reporting, certification, and inspections, offering potential models for UK adaptation. The note also discusses strategic consolidation where fragmentation creates risk, and the role of nature-based solutions in reducing stress on traditional assets while improving environmental outcomes.
Asset health is central to the delivery of safe and reliable water services. In both the UK and the US, ageing infrastructure and growing environmental pressures have exposed the need for more proactive asset management. These challenges highlight an opportunity: learning from each other’s approaches to build a stronger, more resilient sector.
Asset health is central to the delivery of safe and reliable water services. In both the UK
and the US, ageing infrastructure and growing environmental pressures have exposed
the need for more proactive asset management. These challenges highlight an
opportunity: learning from each other’s approaches to build a stronger, more resilient
sector.
The recently published interim report by the Independent Water Commission (IWC) states that many UK water companies still lack a clear understanding of the condition of their assets. Funding for renewal and maintenance continues to be based primarily on past capital maintenance and instances of asset failure, rather than a forward-looking, risk-based assessment of future needs. It stresses the importance of shifting towards more proactive, prognostic asset health assessments that take into account future stresses such as climate change and population growth. Currently, the UK has no consistent, industry-wide resilience standards to help guide asset health, leaving a critical gap in the sector’s ability to plan and invest effectively.
The Commission sees a strong case for setting a forward-looking infrastructure resilience framework and standards at a national level for England and Wales respectively, with a consistent set of targets applied across all companies. This could include requirements on companies to make forward looking, prognostic, assessments of asset health and provide reports to regulators. Such assessments should inform company plans and funding in price reviews. A more supervisory approach to regulation could support this, including the regulator increasing its engineering capability and developing an in-depth understanding of a company’s asset base and investment needs.
Source: UK Government Independent Water Commission interim report
Data quality is another stumbling block. The accuracy of data around asset health has often been neglected in the UK, eroding trust in asset information. A new UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) report highlighted this problem, offering a practical 2 of 12 www.mcceconomics.co.uk© www.linkedin.com/company/mcc-economics-ltd/ framework to quantify and improve data confidence in asset management decisions. Better data and prognostic analytics are essential if companies are to anticipate issues before they lead to failures. Overall, the UK water sector is grappling with ageing pipes and plants, patchy asset knowledge, and a culture of short-term fixes. These challenges underscore the need for a more proactive, strategic approach – and they create an opportunity to learn from how others have tackled similar issues. Nevertheless, it's not all bad. On leakage, Ofwat say that the water utilities in England and Wales leak less (per person per day) than those in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and that leakage has greatly reduced since privatisation (ignoring inconsistent collection and monitoring standards).
framework to quantify and improve data confidence in asset management decisions. Better data and prognostic analytics are essential if companies are to anticipate issues before they lead to failures. Overall, the UK water sector is grappling with ageing pipes and plants, patchy asset knowledge, and a culture of short-term fixes. These challenges underscore the need for a more proactive, strategic approach – and they create an opportunity to learn from how others have tackled similar issues
Nevertheless, it's not all bad. On leakage, Ofwat say that the water utilities in England and Wales leak less (per person per day) than those in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and that leakage has greatly reduced since privatisation (ignoring inconsistent collection and monitoring standards).
Source:
America’s Infrastructure – 2025 Report Card
ASCE’s 2024 Bridging the Gap economic study found that the projected gap between drinking water infrastructure needs and investments in 2024 stood at $309 billion and is expected to grow to $620 billion by 2043. According to the EPA’s 2023 national needs assessment, America needs $625 billion over the next 20 years to reach a state of good repair. That is 30% more than its previous assessment in 2018.
Across the Atlantic, the United States faces its own asset health hurdles. Ageing infrastructure is a nationwide concern – particularly for the thousands ofsmall and rural water systems that dot states like Georgia and North Carolina. For context, more than half of America’s ~50,000 community water systems serve fewer than 500 people. These 4 of 12 www.mcceconomics.co.uk© www.linkedin.com/company/mcc-economics-ltd/ small systems often struggle with limited customer bases and resources, making it hard to invest in system upgrades or even retain qualified staff.
The fragmented nature of so many tiny systems means many communities have water networks barely viable on their own. This has reinforced the importance of robust planning and close regulatory engagement to safeguard long-term system viability. As one LinkedIn article noted, the challenges for small systems aren’t just financial – they also implicate health equity, since rural and lower-income populations disproportionately rely on these under-resourced utilities.
The nation’s water infrastructure is aging and underfunded. More than 9 million existing lead service lines pose health concerns, and in 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the nation’s water infrastructure needs stand at $625 billion over 20 years. That exceeds EPA’s 2018 assessment by more than $150 billion.
Source: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2025 Infrastructure Report Card
Drinking water infrastructure in the U.S. comprises more than 2 million miles of underground transmission and distribution lines. Some of the nation’s oldest pipes were laid in the 19th century, and pipes laid post–World War II have an average lifespan of 75 to 100 years, meaning that many of even the newer pipe segments are reaching or have reached the end of their design life. As of 2023, the average life expectancy of these pipes is just over 78 years, which is 6 years less than in 2018.
Across the US, asset health is shaped by a blend of economic regulation and environmental oversight. State-level regulation frequently emphasises not only environmental compliance, but also the financial health and engineering capacity of utilities. This approach creates a more direct link between the physical condition of assets and the funding needed to maintain them, encouraging a more proactive stance on infrastructure renewal.
Several US practices stand out as relevant to the UK’s efforts to improve asset health in the water and wastewater sectors:
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