The UK Water Report (September 2025 edition) has featured an in-depth article on how a groundbreaking partnership between Binnies, Williams Grand Prix Technologies and JuliaHub is set to transform asset health management in the UK water sector.

The article highlights how the industry currently faces major challenges: around 84% of maintenance programmes are either reactive or planned, leaving utilities exposed to costly unplanned failures, environmental risks, and financial penalties. The collaboration introduces scientific machine learning (SciML) as a way forward.

SciML blends physics-based modelling with machine learning to fill gaps in incomplete or inconsistent datasets. Unlike traditional approaches that depend on large volumes of clean historical data, SciML can build models with up to 80% accuracy from engineering specifications alone, and then refine predictions with available telemetry. This allows water companies to predict failures before they happen, without the prohibitive costs of deploying extensive new sensors.

The article also details how the approach has already been tested in other complex engineering environments from Formula 1 racing to aerospace to pharmaceuticals, where it has delivered faster modelling speeds, improved accuracy, and significant cost savings. In the case of water, early trials with Southern Water’s borehole pumps achieved up to 95% fault detection accuracy while also identifying opportunities for energy savings and carbon reduction.

According to Binnies’ digital director Tom Ray, this is more than just a technical improvement. It represents a mindset shift for the sector, enabling companies to move from reactive to predictive operations and build long-term resilience. Southern Water’s managing director of water, Tim McMahon, called the initiative “a vital step in improving service for customers and the environment.”

This collaboration “marks more than just a tech upgrade – it’s a mindset shift. The sector is moving from reactive to predictive operations, from lagging indicators to leading insights. By rethinking how existing data is used, risk is managed, and investment is targeted, this partnership unlocks a new level of operational resilience across the industry.” said the team.

By bringing proven innovation from elite motorsport and aerospace into the utility sector, this partnership positions UK water companies to unlock a future where failures are prevented rather than managed, and where efficiency, sustainability, and customer trust can be strengthened at the same time.

The full report can be downloaded using the button in this post.