Navigating the Choppy Waters of Simplicity, Trust, and Persistence – Insights from SWAN’s 14th Annual Conference

Beautiful British Columbia hosted the 14th Annual SWAN Conference in Vancouver in May 2024. Hundreds of energised attendees representing utilities, consultants, water technologies, and more from around the world gathered around the theme of “Bridging Water Realities: Embracing Collaborative Innovation”. Over the three days, attendees enjoyed many opportunities to collaborate via workshops, roundtables, panel discussions, and the requisite coffee breaks and happy hours. As SWAN’s RiSWP Global Ambassadors, we summarised our three main takeaways from the event within the lens of the below three values: simplicity, trust, and persistance.

Simplicity

Throughout the Conference it was apparent that the concept of simplicity is essential in the ever-changing world of smart water and data technologies. During the Day 1 interactive roundtables, water utilities from around the globe highlighted the importance of the problem definition phase before undertaking the system digitisation journey. Several key factors were identified in making digital transformation a success, particularly in the context of digital twins – buy-in from all levels of the organisation, data quality, and defining use cases (ranging from operations and maintenance, emergency planning, environmental monitoring, and public education).

On Day 2, the engaging “Simple Tools” demo by Subeca spotlighted an IoT data sensor device compatible with most types of water meters. This device provides utilities and customers with meter readings, usage data, and network monitoring. Simple and effective change management strategies were shared during the “Empowering El Paso: Integrating Technology and Human Touch for Sustainable Water Operations” presentation, including focusing on easy wins during the initial digitisation journey to keep staff inspired. The “Cybersecurity Role Reversal” session simplified cyberattack management by emphasising staff training and awareness.

The “Leak Busters: Innovating Water Conservation” talk on Day 3 highlighted the value of simple tools, such as field-related work to create network models that can then be combined with data analytics and hydraulic simulations to detect leaks via pressure monitoring. Overall, the topics discussed at the event showed how utilities and organisations worldwide are tackling water challenges by using simple, practical solutions in tandem with the latest data technologies.

Trust

Whether the topic was global collaboration or new emerging technologies, the word “trust” was at the heart of the discussion. This year, SWAN held their first ever UnConference – a dynamic and interactive atmosphere centered around three key principles: participation, purpose, and productivity. Ganesh Hegde (KETOS) & Don Soriano (CIMA+) opened up the workshop by establishing that trust is the foundation of the above principles, encouraging diverse stakeholders to collectively share insights to shape relevant outcomes.

This was particularly evident the following day during the opening panel session focused on “Global Collaboration to Deliver Impact at Scale”. Matthew Hughes (Anglian Water) and Kate Willison (Jacobs) shared that trust in their partners and vendors is helping them achieve their goal in establishing an automated and sustainable water system. They emphasised that incentivising cooperation and trust over competition enabled the multi-disciplinary network of vendors and contractors to embrace innovation and flexibility much easier than they have seen in the past.

With technology being a core focus at the Conference, controversial discussions surfaced surrounding the level of trust in technology. This was reflected across cutting-edge topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twins, and Cybersecurity, where Conference participants raised various perspectives on whether technology can be trusted, and if so, to what extent? With water being considered core to critical infrastructure, several voices expressed the need to start trusting technology to bridge gaps in workforce shortages, generational knowledge gaps, and aging infrastructure. Meanwhile, others expressed that analog and legacy systems must be kept in place to combat the widespread rise of cyber threats on critical infrastructure.

Despite the various perspectives of the level of trust that can be placed in technology, most agreed that Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twins, & other emerging technologies are here to stay. Freddie Guerra (GHD) highlighted in a panel discussion on optimising asset health the responsibility that falls on utilities, consultants, and vendors alike: “As we look to the next decade, the prevalence of connectivity, through the Internet of Things and the creation of ‘intelligent assets’, will accelerate. The question is how can these technological advances enable smarter economic growth and asset optimisation while meeting our environmental and societal commitments?”

Persistence

Whether your big goal is to run a marathon, earn that degree, learn a new language, raise a family, or bring smart water to your utility, time and effort are equally necessary. All the best accomplishments in life require the combination of BOTH time and consistent effort which when combined into a single word equal ‘persistence’. This third theme was mentioned repeatedly at the SWAN Conference.

During the Digital Twin Workshop day, Mike Karl (AECOM) referred to the term “Valley of Despair” when discussing how every digital smart water initiative must push through to realise longer term results and greater returns on investment. Other roundtables noted that incremental progress is the key to digital transformation to keep people, processes, and technology as in line as possible and moving forward. Early wins and returns on digital investments should be celebrated, but also remembered as the digital initiative continues and road bumps are encountered.

During a panel discussion on Day 2, Susan Ancel (EPCOR) highlighted the acronym ADKAR from the 2006 book by Jeff Hiatt to further drive home the need for persistence. ADKAR stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and (most importantly according to Ancel) Reinforcement. The need to continually come back to first principles and persist in standardised methods of data collection, methodology, people, process, etc. to accomplish a smart water objective is vital.

Overall, digital solution vendors have an obligation to help utilities and consultants keep their focus over the long term when staffing changes, budget cuts, or the immediate crisis can often derail digital transformation. However, persistence cannot be a singular quality of just one party within a smart water initiative; it must be shared by all to lead to sustainable success.

Conclusion

SWAN 2024 voiced a commitment to simplicity, trust, and persistence in addressing global water challenges. Throughout the event, attendees emphasised the significance of simplicity in navigating the complexities of digital transformation within water utilities, advocating for practical solutions alongside cutting-edge technologies. Moreover, discussions highlighted the pivotal role trust plays in fostering collaboration, innovation, and the adoption of emerging technologies, despite differing perspectives on the extent of technology adoption. Lastly, the theme of persistence resonated strongly, emphasising the necessity of ongoing effort and resilience in achieving long-term success in smart water initiatives.

As the Conference drew to a close, it became evident that by embracing these core values, stakeholders can continue on the path towards sustainable and resilient water management practices, ensuring a brighter future of water for generations to come.