Smart pumps power wastewater evolution
by Andrew Welsh, Sales Director, Xylem UK
As utilities balance the immediate pressures of reducing pollution with the long-term need to modernise ageing infrastructure, the potential of smarter pumping systems is only growing.
Seven months into AMP8, water companies in England and Wales are moving forward with the £12bn programme to deliver a 45% reduction in storm overflow spills, while reducing carbon emissions.
Much of the sector’s infrastructure needs upgrading and smarter management, as the Independent Water Commission’s Final Report emphasised. Utilities are seeking solutions that balance compliance and cost and improve climate resilience – all while under unprecedented public scrutiny.
Against this backdrop, utilities are beginning to trial and scale new approaches that combine proven engineering with digital intelligence - speaking at the Asset Management and Capital Delivery Conference in October, it was great to hear details of many of them.
Smart pumping systems, which integrate advanced hardware, real-time monitoring, and data-driven optimisation, are showing measurable impact by improving efficiency and performance, cutting operational costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Beyond improving day-to-day efficiency, these systems generate actionable data that supports operational decision-making, predictive maintenance and long-term asset strategies. The result is rapid return on investment, alongside visible progress for regulators and customers.
Xylem, the only wastewater pump OEM with framework agreements across all UK and Irish water utilities, has been at the forefront of this shift. Xylem’s Flygt Concertor – the world’s first wastewater pump with built-in intelligence – automatically adapts to changing conditions, combining clog-resistant, self-cleaning hydraulics with remote monitoring.
Successful early deployments have already taken place at hundreds of pumping stations across facilities operated by Yorkshire Water and Scottish Water, delivering major reductions in maintenance callouts and energy consumption.
Yorkshire Water faced costly and time-consuming pump blockages across hundreds of pumping stations throughout the region. After testing Flygt Concertor at one problematic site – and eliminating all blockages – the utility expanded the technology across more than 150 dual and triple stations within a year. Blockages and reactive callouts have since fallen by 51%, saving over 800 site visits and significantly cutting emissions from travel. Energy savings of up to 29% have been recorded compared with the legacy pumps.
Public utility Scottish Water saw similar results. An initial trial delivered a 99.8% reduction in unplanned maintenance and energy savings of up to 60 percent. The utility has since rolled out Concertor at more than 300 stations, unlocking multimillion-pound operational savings ahead of SR27 – the regulatory Strategic Review of charges 2027-2033. In parallel, over 270 sites now use Xylem’s Avensor remote monitoring tool.
These examples highlight how digital innovation is transforming core infrastructure. By optimising existing assets, utilities can significantly reduce costs, emissions, and environmental impacts.
As pumping continues to evolve, so do the opportunities: predictive tools now offer the ability to remotely connect, monitor and manage entire networks across both water and wastewater. The technology is here and is already transforming the way utilities manage their networks. This is a big step forward in the shared effort to build a more water-secure world.
Written for and first published in Water Magazine, November 2025