South West Water

South West Water serves a population of approximately 1.7 million in Cornwall, Devon, and parts of Somerset and Dorset, with additional water services to 0.5 million in the Bournemouth Water region since 2016. Surrounded by heritage coastlines and a National Park, South West Water must balance excellent customer service with environmental preservation. To help them develop their PR19 business plan, they needed a solution to optimise investment decisions and maintenance strategies across their infrastructure assets. 

Partnering with Arcadis, South West Water implemented the Enterprise Decision Analytics (EDA) platform. This solution used modelling techniques to predict failure probability, consequence, and risk, optimizing models within EDA to minimise whole life costs. The system also employed deterioration profiles to forecast long-term asset performance. EDA enabled South West Water to create and compare different investment scenarios, providing a robust strategy to maintain and improve their services. The outputs of these models informed the PR19 business plan to the regulator OFWAT. 

With EDA, South West Water gained better insights and more efficient processes, leading to higher confidence in decision-making. The platform evaluated pipe replacement benefits, considered leakage detection and pressure reduction, and provided a holistic view of total expenditure. This comprehensive approach ensured that investment decisions delivered the best value for customers and long-term asset resilience.