Grundfos, the global water technology company, has welcomed the findings of the Cunliffe Report, which sets out 88 recommendations for reforming water regulation in England and Wales to create a more resilient network.
The report, commissioned by the UK government and published in July 2025, emphasises infrastructure renewal, smart system planning and inter-regional connectivity. Grundfos has highlighted the importance of these measures for securing long-term water supply and improving resilience against climate and population pressures.
Bent Jensen, EVP and Divisional CEO of Commercial Building Services at Grundfos, said: “We welcome the findings of the Cunliffe Report and its focus on making the UK’s water network more resilient. The emphasis on infrastructure renewal, smart planning and improved connectivity offers a vital opportunity to rethink how the sector operates for a new era.”
The Role of Innovation
The report recognises the importance of high-capacity pumping in enabling water transfers and calls for improved asset visibility and digital integration. Grundfos noted that these technologies, together with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, can help build more efficient, reliable and sustainable networks.
SCADA systems are already used widely in industry and can provide major benefits for water utilities, from optimising energy use to preventing failures through predictive monitoring. In addition, digital asset mapping offers the opportunity to create a complete picture of infrastructure such as pumps, reservoirs, tanks and pipelines, allowing performance to be monitored in real time and upgrades to be planned strategically.
Bent Jensen added: “Innovation and technology are central to widening the benefits of resilience. From regulatory sandboxes that allow new ideas to be tested in real-world conditions, to the deployment of proven digital tools, the recommendations in the report provide a constructive path forward.”
Grundfos said it looks forward to working with stakeholders across the sector to support the implementation of the report’s recommendations and to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s water networks.
