.{ background: linear-gradient(-45deg, #1ccdd8, #29194f, #1fa6ba, #29194f, #29194f); background-size: 400% 400%; animation: ci-gradient 10s ease infinite; } @keyframes ci-gradient { 0% { background-position: 0% 50%; } 50% { background-position: 100% 50%; } 100% { background-position: 0% 50%; } }
Water networks

Plan, optimise, and prioritise water infrastructure investment.

Optioneer helps water companies move from strategic planning to preferred pipeline alignment — whether for mains replacement, trunk mains, strategic transfers, or network reinforcement.

£104B

committed to AMP8 investment (2025–2030)

500+

supply-side options in WRMP 24

500km+

of strategic water infrastructure assessed with Optioneer

Teams supported

Every team member — internal and external — works in the same project environment, from strategy to consent.

Unlimited seats
Every licence includes your whole team — internal and external collaborators.

Asset Strategy & Investment

Strategic Asset Management
Asset Delivery Planning
Capital Investment Planning
PR24/PR29 planners
Asset Engineers
Regulatory Strategy

Network Planning & Engineering

Network Planners
Hydraulic Modellers
Pipeline Engineers
GIS Analysts
Civil & Geotechnical

Environment & Permitting

Environmental Planners
EIA Coordinators
WFD Compliance
Ecology
Catchment Management

Water Resources

Resource Planners
WRMP Leads
SRO Programme Teams
Drought Planning

Renewal Teams

Pre-construction Information
Renewal Prioritisation
Existing Route vs Greenfield Assessment

Wastewater & Spills Teams

Overflow Engineers
DWMP Planners
Sewer and Tunnel Planning
Green vs Grey Intervention 
Assessment

Operations & Delivery

Programme Delivery
Construction Planning
Customer Operations
Leakage Reduction

Platform highlights

Explore some core Water Network features of Optioneer. Visit our Platform page for a full, comprehensive overview of Optioneer’s capabilities.

14000+

built-in spatial datasets

80%

route confidence in under an hour

95%+

routing confidence within weeks

Rapid start

From data to 80% confidence in 1 hour

Leverage 14,000+ built-in spatial datasets—including infrastructure, environmental, regulatory, and land ownership data—with preset parameters to achieve 80% route confidence in under an hour. Existing pipeline corridors, geological data, water-specific data including source protection zones, DMA boundaries, flood zones, aquifer data, can all be taken into account.
Analysis allows to optimise between constraint impact and risks, and main cost drivers for the water industry. Move from initial results to 95%+ routing confidence within weeks by refining with local understanding, site-specific data, and custom parameters.

Workforce multiplier

Complete entire programmes of work with just one or two in-house users. The platform acts as a force multiplier for your team, providing collaborative access for any internal or external stakeholders needed to provide input or review.

TOTEX comparison built-in

Compare CAPEX and whole-life OPEX across pipeline options (includes a simple topographic and head loss model). Cost models align with Ofwat TOTEX efficiency challenges, AWWA benchmarking, and AMP8 delivery requirements.

Repurposing vs new-build

Evaluate existing pipeline corridors for mains renewal alongside new-build alternatives — using the same constraint baseline, scoring methodology, and cost framework. Compare scenarios side-by-side with auditable evidence.

Automated report generation

Create reports for environmental screening, crossing schedules, construction methods at various locations, and permitting matrices. Outputs aligned with Ofwat, EA, or internal reporting, based on templates provided.

Screening

Strategic network planning and investment prioritisation.

Evaluate reinforcement needs, mains replacement programmes, and growth-driven network extensions across a service area. Rank and sequence investment at a portfolio level—supporting both project-by-project analysis and holistic regional planning.

Asset Strategy & Investment
Network Planning & Engineering
Environment & Permitting
Renewal Teams

Automated feasibility

Once a network need and hydraulic connection points are identified, the platform automatically generates realistic route shapes and feasibility assessments.

Optimised investment

This "ground-truthing" provides realistic solutions for investment optimisation models (such as Optimatics and Copperleaf). By ensuring the route is viable before applying unit rates, the resulting costings are significantly more accurate and subject to less change in future delivery.

Streamlined WRMP & business planning

Realistic inputs allow Water Resources Management Plans (WRMP) to reach Business Plan and Price Review standards faster. This reduces the heavy refinement and rework typically required during the transition between planning stages.

Delivery-ready outputs

By providing delivery teams with viable, pre-vetted routes, the platform eliminates the need for teams to reassess feasibility from scratch, drastically reducing downstream rework and accelerating construction timelines.

In practice:

From identification to delivery

Optioneer acts as the "feasibility engine" that bridges the gap between hydraulic requirements and investment planning, ensuring that strategic plans are grounded in physical reality.
Optioneer supports AMP8 business plan delivery (2025–2030, £104B across England and Wales), Ofwat TOTEX challenge, and PR24 outcome delivery incentives. Equips WRMP29 & PR29 with realistic, buildable solutions to improve cost certainty and reduce funding shortfall risk during delivery. Aligned with DWI drinking water quality standards and EA environmental requirements.

Strategic Resource Options (SROs) and Transfers.

From concept to construction delivery. Evaluate complex, large-scale water transfer sites and routes—including new reservoirs, desalination connections, and inter-company transfers—Optioneer provides a consistent digital thread from day one.

Asset Strategy & Investment
Network Planning & Engineering
Operations & Delivery
Renewal Teams
Water Resources

Phase 1: Conceptual Screening (SRO Selection)

At the earliest stages of the Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), identify which options are truly viable before they are locked into long-term plans.

Infrastructure dependencies

Model how transfers interact with specific assets— desalination plants or new reservoir sites—to see system-wide impacts.

Broadening the option funnel

Rapidly assess a wide range of alternative connection points to ensure the most resilient and cost-effective strategic option is selected.

Front-loaded feasibility

Move beyond "lines on a map" by providing a high level of geographic and constraint-based understanding from the very first session.

Phase 2: Delivery & implementation

As a scheme moves into the Business Plan or Price Review (PR) phase, facilitate the transition from a strategic idea to a physical project.

Route & site maturation & iteration

Mature the preferred solution by incorporating survey data and stakeholder feedback, evolving the concept into a deliverable asset.

Evidence-based liaison

Support planning applications and regulatory discussions with auditable spatial evidence, significantly reducing the "discovery" time for delivery teams.

Minimising downstream rework

By handing over a vetted, realistic route to construction teams, you eliminate the need for them to start the feasibility process from scratch.

Capability at scale

Supporting complex infrastructure

The platform is built to handle the spatial complexity of RAPID-scale schemes. Whether it’s major inter-regional transfers (such as, Severn Thames or Grand Union Canal) or "once-in-a-generation" storage projects (such as Havant Thicket), Optioneer ensures ambition is grounded in buildable reality.
Optioneer directly supports RAPID SRO gate progression, WRMP option development & evidence, and regional water resource planning through WRSE, Water Resources West, Water Resources North, and Water Resources East.

Mains replacement and rehabilitation planning.

Evaluate and prioritise mains renewal programmes by layering existing network vulnerability data—such as leak frequency and pipe criticality—against real-world spatial constraints. Shift from simply identifying "where the leaks are" to understanding the difficulty and complexity of the intervention.

Asset Strategy & Investment
Network Planning & Engineering
Operations & Delivery
Renewal Teams
Wastewater & Spills Teams

Deliverability & access assessment

Prioritise interventions based on the difficulty of replacing the main. Identify where two assets have the same burst impact, but one is significantly harder to access due to physical or environmental constraints.

Non-greenfield development

Utilise specific functionality to evaluate renewals within existing, highly constrained pipeline corridors. Compare these "brownfield" options against new-build alternatives using the same scoring methodology.

Constraint-led prioritisation

Compare high-leakage areas to identify which require more complex traffic management, navigate higher utility congestion, or face stricter environmental hurdles.

Realistic costing & resource profiles

Integrate road classifications and utility density into early planning to build accurate resource profiles and cost estimates for the delivery phase.

Supply interruption risk

Overlay spatial constraints with District Metered Area (DMA) and pressure zone data. Assess the real-world risk to customer supply and the complexity of temporary bypasses during construction.

Save time with richer briefs

Optioneer automatically generates the detailed spatial and constraint data needed for Pre-Construction Information (PCI), significantly reducing the time delivery teams spend on initial site discovery and survey planning.

Storm Overflow and CSO Infrastructure.

Plan and evaluate interventions to meet strict discharge reduction targets. Optioneer provides a centralised workspace to explore thousands of solution pathways including storage tanks, sewer separation, and nature-based solutions. Moving you from concept to a constructible project brief.

Wastewater & Spills Teams
Renewal Teams
Water Resources
Operations & Delivery
£12B+

earmarked for storm overflows

>10

overflow ‘spills per year’ goal by 2025

4

reduction milestone opportunities

Meeting milestones

Accelerate AMP8 investment

Water companies use the platform to accelerate the massive scale of AMP8 investment—with £12B+ earmarked for storm overflows—to meet critical spill reduction milestones in 2027, 2030, and 2035. The ultimate goal is to reduce spills to an average of fewer than 10 per overflow per year by 2050.
Optioneer supports the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, Environment Agency (EA) monitoring requirements, and Ofwat ODI reporting for storm overflow performance.

Rapid feasibility

Accelerate months of manual desktop study into just a few days. Automatically stress-test thousands of solutions against cost, installation risk, and technical constraints.

Regulator-ready evidence

Quickly generate visual and quantitative data to justify decisions to regulators, proving that social, economic, and environmental factors were balanced.

Self-serve insights

Empower project managers and engineers to identify the most promising solutions independently, easing the strain on over-demanded technical GIS teams.

Stakeholder communication materials

Use 3D visualisations and geolocated data to create a clear "story" behind infrastructure choices for local communities and planning authorities.

Development

Development for water networks.

Optioneer helps water network development teams move from constraints to a preferred, permit-ready pipeline route—using built-in datasets to map risk, compare options (TOTEX and impact), and produce auditable evidence aligned to regulatory requirements.

Asset Strategy & Investment
Network Planning & Engineering
Environment & Permitting
Renewal Teams

Constraint & risk mapping

97% of data already in the platform from 14,000+ datasets. Water-specific layers include source protection zones, aquifer boundaries, contaminated land registers, flood zone mapping, existing water and sewer infrastructure, and land parcels.

Comprehensive database with key requirements from key statutory stakeholders. Includes National Polygon Service data and Continuum Industries’ BNG biodiversity baseline dataset.

Pipeline routing and alignment

Route mains, trunk mains, and transfer pipelines against constraints. Design for construction, customer continuity, and regulatory compliance.

In practise:

Southern Water used Optioneer for strategic trunk main planning. Vitens (Netherlands) used Optioneer for pipeline route optimisation.

  • Open-cut vs trenchless construction — HDD, pipe bursting, slip-lining

  • Crossing identification — roads, railways, waterways, existing utilities

  • Siting — Valve, PRV, and pumping station siting

  • Class optimisation — Pipe diameter and pressure class optimisation

  • Assessments — Existing easement and RoW assessment

Multi-criteria option selection

Compare routes on engineering, environmental, cost, and customer impact. Weighted ranking aligned with internal governance and regulatory expectations.

  • Weighted ranking across engineering, environmental, cost, and customer impact
  • TOTEX comparison (CAPEX + whole-life OPEX)
  • Leakage reduction benefit per metre of replacement
  • Supply resilience and redundancy scoring
  • Custom metrics aligned with Ofwat ODIs or internal governance

Environmental & permitting support

Build the evidence base for environmental screening and permitting. Comparative risk profiles support regulatory defensibility and faster approvals.

Compliance in practice:

Optioneer supports WFD compliance, EA abstraction licences, Natural England consultation, and DCO evidence for nationally significant water schemes.

  • Comparative environmental risk profiles — across route options, with ability to focus on key risky crossings or open cut sections, or decisions to go trenchless to minimise impacts

  • EIA screening and scoping support — constraint maps, designated area summaries, impact tables.

  • Biodiversity assessment — using BNG baseline

  • Complete audit trail — for regulatory defensibility

Regulation ready design

Optioneer is built to meet the world’s most stringent water and infrastructure standards, ensuring every project is auditable, compliant, and ready for funding.

AMP8 / PR24

£104B investment period 2025–2030

Ofwat TOTEX

Efficiency challenge and cost assessment

RAPID SROs

Strategic resource option gate progression

DWI

Drinking Water Inspectorate standards

EA / WFD

Water Framework Directive compliance

Storm Overflows Plan

Discharge reduction by 2050

WRMP

Water Resources Management Plan evidence

BNG

Biodiversity Net Gain at option stage

AWWA Standards

Pipeline design and water quality

EPA SDWA

Safe Drinking Water Act compliance

WIFIA

Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loans

State Revolving Funds

SRF/DWSRF capital programme support

Clean Water Act

Section 404 and environmental permitting

EPA CSO Control

Combined sewer overflow compliance

NEPA

Federal project environmental review

Discuss your project with us.

Learn how Optioneer can accelerate your water infrastructure programme.

Discuss your project
Learn how Optioneer can accelerate your project development programmes
Ready to revolutionise your project development process? Schedule a no-obligation discussion with our team.
OPTIONEER CAN HELP YOU TO
Cut programme length
Demonstrate a robust selection process
Build consensus with key stakeholders
We’ll help you succeed
Our team of product experts will help set up your project in Optioneer and ensure you and your team achieve your goals.
 *
Please fill in the first name
 *
Please fill in the last name
 *
Please fill in a valid email
Please fill in the company name

By clicking the Get in touch button you accept Continuum Industries’ Privacy Policy and agree to receive promotional messages from Continuum Industries about its products and services. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the link at the bottom of our emails.

Clock
Thank you for contacting us!

We will be in touch with you shortly.

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.