British Water, the membership body representing the UK water and wastewater supply chain, has published its 2026 Water & Wastewater Company Performance Survey. The British Water 2026 survey found that collaboration between water companies and their suppliers is improving. Industry-wide collaboration reached an average score of 7.0 out of 10. Scottish Water kept first place overall.
The annual survey asks organisations and individuals across the supply chain to rate their work with UK water companies. Both British Water members and non-members take part. H2O Global News has previously reported on Scottish Water topping the 2025 survey.
Collaboration scores rise across the sector
More than half of the 12 water companies in the report increased their collaboration scores. The largest gains were at Southern Water, which rose from 5.9 to 6.8, and United Utilities, which rose from 6.9 to 7.7.
Scottish Water’s score rose from 8.0 to 8.6 and Northern Ireland Water‘s from 6.6 to 7.0. Thames Water went from 7.0 to 7.4.
Innovation edges upwards
Innovation has historically been the lowest-scoring area in the survey. This year its overall score rose from 6.3 to 6.4.
Every industry-average measure within innovation either improved or stayed the same. These measures are appetite for innovation, willingness to collaborate on innovation R&D and testing, feedback on innovation and progress, and overall speed of adoption.
Scottish Water, United Utilities and Anglian Water lead the table
Scottish Water scored highest for both collaboration and innovation. United Utilities moved up from joint third to second place, with higher scores for attitude, professional qualities and collaboration.
Anglian Water kept third place. It continued to score strongly in areas including following policy, professional qualities and sustainability.
Southern Water was the biggest improver of the 12 companies. Its overall score rose from 5.9 to 6.7, lifting it from 11th to 7th place. It improved in collaboration, innovation, communication, professional qualities and supply-chain impact.
Pipeline visibility ahead of AMP8 delivery
Two further measures relate to supplier readiness for AMP8, the current asset management period. The score for ‘visibility of opportunities’ rose from 5.8 to 6.2. This was one of the largest increases across all individual measures.
Visibility of opportunities improved at Southern Water (4.7 to 6.3), United Utilities (5.7 to 7.1), South West Water (4.5 to 5.8) and Thames Water (5.7 to 6.4). The score for ‘future plans’ rose from 6.5 to 6.7, with nine of the 12 companies improving.
Lila Thompson, CEO at British Water, said: “This year’s survey results show marked improvements at a time when water companies and its supply chain are being asked to deliver at an unprecedented scale. It is encouraging to see improvements around collaboration as well as visibility of opportunities, all of which are important foundations for a successful AMP8 delivery. This demonstrates the step up in engagement that water companies have had with British Water, its members and the wider sector to foster closer working relationships for the benefit of the environment and customers.”
She added: “The focus now needs to be on turning this positive direction of travel into a consistent experience across the supply chain – giving suppliers early and continuous visibility of future opportunities, engaging with them meaningfully. There is still work to do however to create quicker routes to test and adopt innovation. We see SPRING as playing a key role in this and hope to see wider scale cross-working to speed up the deployment of innovation. These factors will all help build the capacity and capability to continue delivering AMP8 and beyond.”
The SPRING innovation centre has previously consulted the sector through a survey on the UK 2050 Water Innovation Strategy.
How the British Water 2026 survey works
The survey gathers confidential feedback from people working across the supply chain. Respondents rate only the companies they have worked with, giving a score out of 10 in each of 12 areas.
The 12 areas are contract approach, attitude, professional qualities, impact on supply chain, innovation, procurement, policy, communication, partners and main contractors, AMP8 transition, working digitally and sustainability. The results are used to calculate an average score for each water company and an industry average for each measure and area. The full survey results can be downloaded from British Water’s website.
Frequently asked questions
Which water company came top in the British Water 2026 performance survey?
Scottish Water kept its number one position overall. It also scored highest for both collaboration and innovation.
Which water company improved the most in the 2026 survey?
Southern Water was the biggest improver among the 12 water companies. Its overall score rose from 5.9 to 6.7 and it moved from 11th to 7th place.
What was the industry-wide collaboration score in 2026?
Industry-wide collaboration reached an average score of 7.0 out of 10. More than half of the 12 water companies increased their scores.
How is the British Water performance survey carried out?
Supply chain respondents give confidential feedback, rating out of 10 only the water companies they have worked with across 12 areas. The results produce an average score for each company and an industry average for each measure.
Did innovation scores improve in the 2026 survey?
Yes. The overall innovation score rose from 6.3 to 6.4, and every industry-average innovation measure either improved or stayed the same.
