Anglian Water's leakage reached 215.27 megaliters a day (Ml/d) in 2025/26, up 28.23 Ml/d in a single year. That left it 32.37 Ml/d above the 182.9 Ml/d target in its Water Resources Management Plan, in the first year of the 2025–2030 price control.
A burst-main year
Reactive mains repairs rose from 3,842 in 2024/25 to 4,633 in 2025/26, an increase of 21%. The company links the rise to exceptionally dry ground from May to mid-November 2025, then a cold spell in the first week of January 2026. The East of England has a high share of shrink-swell clay soils, and Anglian Water describes around 8,000 km of its mains as vulnerable to climate impacts.
Fewer customers cut off
The bursts did not translate into wider outages. Properties affected by supply interruptions fell from 481,169 in 2024/25 to 412,294 in 2025/26. The three-year average leakage figure, which Ofwat uses for the performance commitment, stood at 194.8 Ml/d.
Renewal starts from a low base
In 2025/26 Anglian Water renewed 140.5 km of water mains, part of a plan to replace 1,100 km, and four times its average annual rate in the previous five years. Smart meter data helped customers fix leaks and plumbing losses worth 69.5 Ml/d. Even so, the renewal rate is small against the 8,000 km the company itself flags as at risk.
Why it matters
Leakage is the water Anglian Water has already abstracted, treated and pumped. With 23 of its 27 water resource zones projected to face a deficit by 2050 without action, every megaliter lost raises the pressure on new reservoirs and pipelines that are years from service.
Whether leakage can return to target before the new grid and reservoirs arrive, how the 2026 hosepipe ban fits the supply picture, and where governance and regulatory reform leave the investment program are examined in the report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: Anglian Water, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the Anglian Water Utility Snapshot.