What we’ve learned from Summer 2026

Unprecedented. Record-breaking. Never before.

They’re words that can be overused. But at Water Direct, they really aren’t an exaggeration. Summer 2026 was without question our busiest ever. By a considerable margin. Our utility partners needed Alternative Water Supply support more than ever, while demand from commercial customers intensified as hot, dry conditions persisted across the country.

Now that we’ve had some time to reflect, here are three lessons that stand out:

1. Planning and preparation really are everything

No plan survives reality exactly as written.

Conditions this summer tested assumptions across the sector. Our people and our assets were in constant demand and we’re very proud of the way everyone stepped up to meet the needs of our customers. But this was only possible because we were expecting a busy time – if not quite how intense the hot and dry summer months would turn out to be.

Even if plans don’t predict exactly what unfolds, a well thought out process of preparation remains the single best way to be ready for when the unexpected happens. A firm foundation of thinking and planning ahead gives you the agility to keep your plans, strategy and operational delivery consistently aligned when circumstances inevitably change.

2. Act on your learnings while they’re fresh

Operating at unprecedented scale week after week throughout this summer pushed our processes and systems harder than ever before. And there’s nothing like that level of intensity to really draw attention to areas ready to benefit from improvements.

Rather than waiting, we’ve already started implementing changes. The details may take time, but for us it’s vital that this work starts while the lessons are still fresh and the opportunities are clear.

3. Talk to your customers, partners and stakeholders

If your organisation experienced a challenging summer, chances are your customers and partners did too.

Now is the time to compare experiences, share learnings and explore how we can all be better prepared for future periods of disruption.

For us, that’s exactly what Alternative Water Supply is about: helping organisations respond to disruption, strengthen resilience and be ready for whatever comes next. We work with a huge variety of different organisations in vastly different sectors, from utilities to industry, events to facilities management and much more, and so sharing and learning from these diverse perspectives and how they navigate their resilience challenges is source of enormous strength.

Resilience isn’t about having impossible expectations of perfect forethought. As this truly unprecedented summer showed us, successful and meaningful resilience comes from putting in the work ahead of time so you are ready and able to react without missing a step when reality, inevitably, refuses to stick to the plan.