Reducing water losses without rebuilding the network: the role of hydrovar® X+ and HVX+ Smart Card Controller in large water supply networks

Today, the European water sector finds itself caught between two difficult-to-balance priorities: meeting increasingly stringent ESG goals and energy efficiency targets while operating with investment budgets that remain structurally limited compared to the size of the networks that must be managed. Replacing an entire water network is not a viable large-scale solution: the timeframes, costs, and territorial impact associated with complete pipeline replacement make a different approach necessary — one focused on extracting maximum efficiency from existing infrastructure before considering replacement.

It is precisely within this space — between regulatory pressure and available capital — that one of the most concrete challenges of Europe’s water transition is being played out today: reducing network losses, or Non-Revenue Water (NRW).

A widespread issue across Europe

The numbers speak for themselves. According to the European Commission, the average level of water loss across the continent’s drinking water networks stands at around 20–23%, with figures ranging from 8% to 57% depending on the Member State. This gap highlights the enormous room for improvement still available, especially through smart metering, pressure management, and remote monitoring. This is not an issue confined to a single country, but a structural characteristic of water networks often built decades ago, where capital expenditure has historically focused more on expansion than on predictive maintenance.

The regulatory framework driving action

The sector is being driven not only by good intentions, but by an increasingly demanding regulatory framework.

The Drinking Water Directive (EU 2020/2184) requires Member States to reduce losses within water distribution networks. Countries exceeding a loss threshold — to be defined by the European Commission by 2028 — will be required to submit national action plans for leakage reduction by 2030. In addition, the European Water Resilience Strategy, introduced in 2025, mobilized further resources, including a €15 billion commitment from the European Investment Bank for the 2025–2027 period to support the digitalization and resilience of water systems across the European Union.

At national level, several regulatory mechanisms are also linking utilities’ technical performance directly to economic consequences. Italy represents a particularly mature example of how this pressure translates into practice. Under the PNRR, €1.9 billion has been allocated to investments aimed at reducing network losses through 103 projects, with the objective of equipping approximately 45,000 kilometers of water infrastructure with district control systems. At the same time, the Italian regulatory authority ARERA has applied since 2017 a system of six macro-indicators for technical quality — from M1 to M6 — designed to assess utility performance and assign financial incentives or penalties accordingly. The M1 indicator, specifically focused on water losses, is among the most demanding, to the extent that in certain regions most financial penalties stem directly from failing to meet leakage reduction targets. It is a model closely observed by other European countries because it demonstrates how reducing NRW can directly impact a utility’s financial performance, rather than being viewed solely as an environmental objective.

Optimizing before replacing

Against this backdrop, the most immediate lever is not pipe replacement, but intelligent pressure management. A large proportion of network losses do not result from visible breaks, but from widespread micro-leakages distributed across thousands of kilometers of pipeline, whose volume is directly proportional to operating pressure: the more stable and optimized the pressure relative to actual demand, the lower the volume of water lost.

This is exactly where variable speed technology applied to large pumping stations within water supply systems becomes crucial. By continuously adjusting pump speed based on real demand — instead of operating at fixed and oversized speeds — an intelligent control system reduces excess pressure and, with it, water losses, without requiring any intervention on the existing pipeline infrastructure.

hydrovar® X+ and HVX+ Smart Card Controller: technology for large-scale networks

Lowara developed the hydrovar® X platform precisely around this principle, combining an IE5-assisted synchronous reluctance motor with an advanced variable speed drive to create an integrated system designed to adapt in real time to changing system loads. For larger-scale applications — typical of major pumping stations within public water supply networks — Lowara introduced the HVX+ Smart Card Controller: a scalable control system designed for installations above 22 kW that retains the same intuitive interface and functionalities as the hydrovar X+ range while ensuring greater flexibility and an IP66 protection rating suitable for demanding pumping station environments.

One of the key advantages for utilities is that the HVX+ Smart Card Controller is designed to be implemented on pumps already equipped with variable speed drives, without requiring the replacement of the entire pumping station. This is a decisive benefit when the primary constraint is not technological availability, but the capital available for infrastructure investments. Among the key functionalities for large water network management are multi-pump control — up to eight units in complex configurations without single points of failure — native Modbus and BACnet connectivity for integration into existing SCADA systems, and remote monitoring through Xylem’s digital platforms. These capabilities align directly with European and national requirements for continuous reporting and monitoring of flow rates, pressure levels, and water quality.

Practical outcomes

The impact of this approach can be measured on two levels. On one hand, reducing operating pressure lowers NRW volumes, producing measurable improvements in technical quality indicators that national regulators — as demonstrated by the Italian example — increasingly tie to economic rewards and penalties. On the other hand, variable speed operation combined with a compact, rare-earth-free IE5 motor reduces the energy consumption of pumping stations by 15–30%, traditionally one of the largest operational cost items in water network management. This contributes directly to the energy efficiency and sustainability goals required at European level.