Mission ImPossible: Future Proofing Digital Twins in AI Era
The water sector stands at a pivotal moment. AI is no longer a future concept — it’s reshaping how utilities predict, decide, and act. But what does that really mean for the people running our water systems? How does this impact differ amongst utilities? How is it impacting stakeholder engagement and ecosystem collaboration?
During this edition’s workshop, we brought together water professionals, technologists, and innovators to explore the art of the possible at the intersection of digital twins and AI. Through bold debate, future scenario building, and real-world case studies from global utilities, we tackled the questions that matter most: How do we move from proof of concept to genuine transformation? Who — and what — should make operational decisions? And what does a water utility with digital twin and AI capabilities look like by 2030?
Hosted by the SWAN Digital Twin Group and AI Community of Practice.
Conference Attendees can now access the presentation slides and photos HERE. If you can’t retrieve the password, please contact Maayan Schiller: maayan@swan-forum.com
SWAN Members can access all materials when logged in to the website.
AGENDA
9:00-9:15 AM Welcome to Your Mission
- Lindsey Stuvick, Sustainable Resources Officer (Moulton Niguel Water District, California)
9:15-10:00 AM Opening Debate at Intersection of Digital Twins & AI
Statement: AI-enabled digital twins will fundamentally change who — and what — makes operational decisions in water utilities.
Moderator: Lisa Haney, Executive Director of Planning & Natural Resources (Orange County Water District, California)
- Juan Vega, Assistant General Manager (Stockton East Water District, California)
- Ross Volkwein, Professional Engineer, Wet Weather Technical Lead (Wade Trim) “Driving Innovation in Water Infrastructure through AI, Optimization, and Digital Twins“
10:00-11:00 AM Interactive Roundtables Session 1: Current Blockers to Realising the Vision
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
In this first session, you will get to know your mission co-pilots and break down current challenges, exploring building blocks to reach the future scenario. This is an optimal time to discuss whether group agrees on the ‘by 2030 goal’ and if any tweaks should be made to best align people, processes and technologies. Your mission here is to agree on one defining challenge statement that will unlock future impactful possibilities.
By 2030, we will have…
1. Phase-Based Planning: Utilities leveraging predictive insights, risk prioritization, and long horizon planning to transform data into confident decisions and resilient operations.
- Miguel Soares, Senior Product Manager (Bentley Systems)
- Farayi Chiro, Enterprise Asset Management Systems Manager (Seattle Public Utilities)
2. Decision/Process Workflows: Fully auditable, human-centred decision workflows where digital twins predict, AI recommends, and humans approve — with every step logged, explainable, and defensible to regulators, boards, and the communities utilities serve.
- Mark Zito, Vice President of Product & AI (Trinnex)
- Seung Park, Senior Water Resource Engineer (City of Tampa Water Department)
3. Data Management: Harmonised, utility-owned data ecosystems — with automated quality pipelines, open interoperability standards, and clear governance of data rights — making data the most trusted and strategically valuable asset in water sector operations worldwide.
- Vito Gironda, Digital Twin Program Manager (Xylem) “From Data to Diagnosis: Real-Time Head Loss Analytics at Nashville Metro Water”
- Wouter Huisman, Program Manager (Brabant Water, Netherlands)“Data-driven operations of the distribution network: The journey of Brabant Water”
4. NRW & Customer Engagement: AI-powered digital twins that detect, localise, and prioritise water losses in real time, reducing NRW to operationally optimal levels, while simultaneously transforming customer engagement from reactive billing to proactive.
- Baker Bozeyeh, Director (Flowless) “AI-Powered Water Transformation: How SABESP Uses AI to Reduce Water Losses in Sao Paulo”
- Sherri Bailey, Member Services Consultant (Georgia Municipal Association)
5. Maturity: A universally adopted AI-enabled digital twin maturity framework — one that benchmarks utility performance globally, guides investment decisions, and gives boards and regulators a shared language for what ‘good’ looks like at every stage of the journey.
- Shawn Dent, Vice President (Carollo Engineers) “From Models to Meaning: Advancing Operational Intelligence with Digital Twins”
- Jeff Diaz, Chief Information and Services Officer (Startex Jackson Wellford Duncan Water District, South Carolina)
6. Cybersecurity/Resilience: Secure-by-design digital twin architectures where AI continuously detects threats, isolates anomalies, and protects critical water infrastructure from cyberattack, giving utilities the confidence to share real-time operational data across systems, teams, and technologies and making cyber resilience a built-in operational capability.
- Dr. Carolina Venegas Martinez, Senior Water Industry and Business Strategy Manager (Autodesk)
- Reginal Joseph, Assistant Commissioner for Digital Transformation (NYC Environmental Protection Bureau of Wastewater Treatment)
7. Procurement/Adoption: Agile, outcome-based procurement models that lower barriers to digital twin adoption, reward vendors for delivering measurable operational value, and enable interoperable technology ecosystems — making the path from pilot to full-scale deployment a matter of months, not years.
- Joana Ramirão Costa, Hydraulic Modelling Engineer – Asset Management Department (EPAL, Portugal) “Driving digital transformation in water supply systems, from hydraulic modeling to digital twins”
- Greg Norby, Deputy General Manager for Engineering & Technical Services (Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, US)
8. Roles/Workforce: A new generation of AI-fluent water professionals — engineers who understand machine learning, data scientists who understand infrastructure — and a water sector workforce development ecosystem that produces them at scale, making water one of the most technically exciting careers of the decade.
- Sydney Samples, Research Principal (The Water Research Foundation) “Adapting Your Digital Journey: Building Workforce Readiness and AI Adoption in the Water Sector”
- Elizabeth Keddy, Capital Projects Section Manager, Water Resources Department – Technical Services Division (Hillsborough County, Florida)
9. Wastewater & Risk Mitigation: AI-monitored wastewater networks operating in real time — predicting sewer overflows, detecting pollution incidents before they reach waterways, and automatically triggering response protocols — making surprise environmental incidents a thing of the past.
- Nitin Joshi, Environmental and Operations Technology Manager (City of Salem, Oregon) “Geospatial Live: Adapting the Digital Journey Through an Incremental Level 2 Digital Twin for Real-Time Wastewater Awareness”
- Patrick Dunlap, Senior Process Engineer, Treatment Solutions Modeling Leader (Black & Veatch)“Keeping It Simple: A Flexible Low-Code Digital Twin for a Capacity-Constrained Wastewater Facility”
11:00-11:30 AM Networking & Refreshments Break
11:30-11:40 AM Digital Twin Group & AI Community of Practice Updates
- Brian Melton, Technology Innovation Leader | G&E (Black & Veatch)
- Shirley Ben-Dak, Senior Advisor (SWAN Forum)
11:40-12:30 PM Interactive Roundtables Session 2: Prioritisation — Choosing the Right Remedy for the Right Challenge
In this second session, lunch awaits so do spend careful time prioritising ways to address the agreed upon challenge statement. Leverage ideation and brainstorming tools and techniques to steer your mission in the right direction. Consider how your approach impacts different stakeholders both within and outside the utility. Consider also different roles within organisations.
12:30-1:30 PM Lunch sponsored by Autodesk & Bentley
1:30-1:50 PM Keynote: “Building the Future with LEGO®: Human-Centered Innovation in the Age of AI and Digital Twins”
- William Manzi Freitas, Leadership Strategist & Experiential Facilitator (Independent Consultant) – View Bio
1:50-2:50 PM Interactive Roundtables Session 3: Connecting the Pieces — Tying It All Together
Ok, you have nearly made it to your final destination. Now it is time to put the puzzle pieces together and determine the last mile efforts to reach that coveted 2030 goal. Work on preparing a way to visualise this/best explain this to the larger group that didn’t have the privilege of being part of this mission. Go on and make it spark!
2:50-3:20 PM Networking & Refreshments Break
3:20-4:00 PM Rapid Fire & Closing Remarks
Workshop Photos
