Water warnings

Oliver Silcock, Chief Operating Officer at Water Direct warns of the growing threat of water supply interruptions and how facilities managers should respond

Unplanned water outages are increasing across the UK. Ageing infrastructure, rising demand, and the effects of climate change, from droughts to freeze-thaw cycles are placing growing pressure on supplies. These challenges are amplified by stricter regulatory requirements, ESG commitments, and increasing expectations from employees, customers, and communities for uninterrupted services.

This means that water resilience is fast becoming an essential part of business continuity planning, and facilities managers who act now will be best placed to keep their sites operational, safe and compliant during supply interruptions.

These challenges also present opportunities to FMs in being recognised for taking a leading role in resilience by safeguarding continuity while demonstrating good governance. By treating water with the same strategic importance as other critical utilities, organisations can reduce risk, improve compliance, and build stakeholder confidence.

We are seeing more organisations recognise that water is a cornerstone of operational continuity. By putting structured plans in place, facilities managers can not only minimise disruption but also improve compliance, protect reputations and demonstrate proactive risk management to stakeholders.

THE COST OF INACTION

Water interruptions can have an immediate operational, financial and reputational impact. In manufacturing, a single day without water can halt production, with losses potentially exceeding £100,000. In high-dependency environments such as data centres, the figure can rise to as much as £9,000 per minute.

For healthcare providers, the implications are particularly severe: without water, hygiene and sterilisation processes cannot function, putting patients at risk and potentially breaching Care Quality Commission standards. Likewise, without adequate sanitation, employers cannot meet the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, which can result in enforced site closures.

From a facilities management perspective, water resilience isn’t just about avoiding inconvenience, it’s about safeguarding people, processes and compliance. Those who prepare in advance are in a far stronger position to respond effectively.

A PRACTICAL FRAMEWORK FOR RESILIENCE

Building water resilience starts with a structured plan that combines operational strategies with physical measures. Key steps include:

• Auditing water dependencies across sites to identify critical points of failure, informed by past incidents and seasonal risks.
• Engaging with water utilities to understand vulnerabilities and service expectations.
• Building incident response protocols covering communication, welfare provision, and supply logistics.
• Implementing physical resilience measures such as onsite storage tanks or bowsers.
• Securing alternative supply arrangements in advance.

At the core of this approach is Alternative Water Supply (AWS). Scalable to each site’s requirements, AWS provides a flexible contingency solution. Many businesses now install onsite water storage tanks or deploy static bulk water containers as temporary measures. Mobile bowsers can provide portable backup, particularly for welfare facilities, while pre-arranged water tankers can deliver supply directly into a building’s mains network to keep business-critical systems online.

Far from being a last-resort measure, AWS supports a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience. By planning ahead, organisations can better safeguard staff and customers, maintain operations, and meet both regulatory and operational obligations. Importantly, these solutions should not be seen as emergency-only interventions. Contingency planning reframes water continuity: it is a protective framework, tailored to each site’s requirements and capable of supporting everything from planned maintenance to sudden, large-scale supply loss.

LEARNING FROM THE REAL WORLD: MANUFACTURING DOWNTIME AVOIDED

Lockheed Martin UK operates a global defence manufacturing site where any disruption poses serious risks – from operational downtime and financial losses to potential regulatory or security breaches.

By having an AWS agreement in place with Water Direct, the company was able to quickly mitigate the effects of an unexpected supply interruption and maintain essential operations. Following this, they strengthened their long-term resilience by working with Water Direct to implement a robust contingency and business continuity plan.

Real-world examples like Lockheed Martin demonstrate the benefits of proactive planning and AWS agreements, highlighting why facilities managers should prioritise resilience.

As Jenny Quarterman, Head of Facilities at Lockheed Martin UK, explains: “Water is a vital resource that most businesses simply can’t run without. My advice to other facilities managers would be, don’t underestimate your water supply. Take it seriously, because you can’t assume it will always be there. Find out what your site needs, put contingencies in place, and test them regularly.”

A SHIFT OF FOCUS

Too often, businesses only discover their vulnerabilities after the damage is done. Facilities managers are increasingly recognising the need to shift from compliance-focused approaches to resilience-focused strategies. With foresight and support, it is possible to anticipate and outmanoeuvre water-related disruption.

The risks are real, but they’re also manageable. By taking a structured, proactive approach, and by partnering with a specialist who understands both the challenges and the solutions, facilities teams can turn a potential point of failure into a strength.