The International Water Association’s (IWA’s) first Digital Water Summit was hosted in the city of Bilbao, Spain, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. The summit brought together industry members from around the world to share insights into digital technologies of the water sector.
The association’s summit focused on connecting water utility end users with digital innovators and solutions providers. Co-organized with local water utility Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia and AEAS — the Spanish Water and Wastewater Association — the aim of the summit was to support the sector on its ‘digital transformation journey’.
Held at Bilbao’s Euskalduna Conference Centre, the event featured keynote and technical presentations, InnoHub presentations and exhibits on commercial solutions, and interactive sessions in which participants were able to engage in the debate around the digital journey.
The summit explored key questions, such as: What is digital water? What is the difference between digital water and digitalization? How can we make the water industry more digitally aware?
“We can’t achieve Net Zero without digital tools, without measuring to manage,” said Oliver Grievson, Chair of IWA’s Digital Water Program, during the event. “Digital water is an integral part of how we address current challenges such as climate change.”
The summit builds on IWA’s established Digital Water Program, which aims to act as a catalyst for innovation, knowledge and best practices around digitalization for the water industry and to provide a platform to share experiences. It also aims to promote leadership in transitioning to digital water solutions and to consolidate lessons to guide the natural evolution from ‘business as usual’ to becoming a digital water utility.
