The Tools Are Ready. Are We?

This insight from Joana Araújo (Aguas do Porto) captured a theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout the SWAN 16th Annual Conference. For three days in Tampa, Florida, one message emerged: the biggest barriers to digital transformation are no longer technological – they are organisational, cultural, and human. This year’s Conference  brought together 400 participants from more than 20 countries for interactive workshops, inspiring panels, engaging roundtables, and thought-provoking masterclasses. Under the overarching theme of “Adapting Your Digital Journey,” this flagship smart water event sparked some of the most candid conversations we have been part of in this industry. Below are our key takeaways of smart water discovery.

Start With the Data

Every conversation about Digital Twins, AI, smart metering, etc. eventually circled back to the same uncomfortable reality: the technology is outpacing the data it relies on. For example, getting data ready for a digital twin takes one to three years. That means identifying sources, standardising formats, validating quality, and deploying on a usable platform before any of the promising tools can deliver on their promises. The Conference’s most repeated message was surprisingly simple: before utilities can unlock the value of AI, digital twins, and advanced analytics, they must first address the quality and accessibility of their data. We spend a lot of time in this industry talking about what AI can do for water, but not enough time asking whether the data being fed into it is trustworthy.

One comment from a roundtable really stayed with us: without a validation process, it is difficult to trust data-driven insights. Niraj Patel, Director of Public Utilities (City of St. Louis) showed what is possible when that foundation is in place. Using physics-based models and neural networks, their team achieved approximately 75% efficiency gains in boil water advisory response and saved $300,000 in operational costs. 

In another notable remark, when data fails, and it will, the advice from the “When the Data Fails” panel was simple: communicate early, personally, and legally. Guard Automation Business Developer Caroline Holt put it plainly: “adoption beats sophistication”. You do not need the most advanced system. You need the one people will actually use.

It Always Comes Back to People

This theme surfaced in almost every room, even when the conversation was supposed to be about something else entirely. Georges Gonzalez, Water Resources Enterprise Solutions Director (Hillsborough County, Florida), opened Day 2 by acknowledging that transformation in the water sector is not clean or linear, and that progress beats perfection every time. We are essentially in “The Messy Middle” that Georges referenced. In other words, many utilities understand where they want to go digitally, but are still navigating the organisational, cultural, and operational challenges required to get there.

 The room felt that.

Arcadis representatives, Jaime Parson, Principal Management Consultant and Emma Petke, Senior Management Consultant, during the panel “Adapting to Thrive: Leading Your Digital Transformation”, were equally candid. Speaking about their initiative titled “The Way Behind the Water: Digital Transformation Beyond Technology at Tampa Bay Water”, they listed improved communication with clients as one of the items they would do differently should they redo their digital transformation. Not the technology stack. Not the budget. The communication. A quick win, they noted, is not just a milestone. It is proof that the team is working together. Trust is built before the technology goes live, not after. That seems obvious until you realise how rarely it actually happens.

The workforce dimension came up repeatedly and with real urgency. Training needs to start now, not after the tools arrive. Excluding workers from the process does not just slow things down; it actively disrupts efficiency. One line from the closing session cut through everything else: your biggest obstacle is not technology, but the people who have to work with it.

Innovation Is Not the Hard Part

Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, digital twins, and advanced analytics, were widely discussed throughout the Conference. There was genuine excitement around their potential, and also an honest reckoning with the practical challenges of implementation. The sector is not short on ambition. Rather, we are all still working through how to turn that ambition into something operational, and whether the internal conditions exist to make it happen.

The RLCore.ai roundtable on AI agents in water infrastructure named the real barriers plainly: sensor reliability, explainability, cybersecurity, and integration with people. Sabrina Rodrigues Coelho, Engineer at Sanasa in Brazil framed it well: “digital architecture should transform data into execution.” The question is how many organisations are genuinely structured to do that, and how many are still treating digital transformation as a project rather than a shift in how they operate?

Participants emphasised that new technologies add significant value when targeting the right problems, though existing systems remain important. Building confidence in new tools involves investing in training, ensuring data quality, and adopting a phased approach. The IT and OT integration panel noted an ongoing live risk resulting from the lack of a standard framework for cybersecurity ownership of digital twins. Without clearly defined ownership, accountability gaps can emerge, creating additional risk when incidents occur or decisions need to be made quickly.

Keeping It Moving

A strong theme across the event was the importance of turning ideas into practical, measurable steps rather than waiting for perfect conditions. Success is often driven by clear problem definition at the outset, alignment across teams and stakeholders, and a focus on use cases that deliver immediate value. 

Examples shared throughout the Conference showed how targeted initiatives such as improved monitoring, operational efficiency, and better data visibility are building momentum in real utilities. These early efforts do more than deliver results. They build internal confidence and will to go further. Transformation in the water sector is not immediate, and speakers were honest about that. Resource constraints, shifting priorities, and evolving risks can all disrupt progress. Staying consistent and continuing to build on existing foundations is what separates organisations that truly transform from those that only talk about it.

So, Where Does That Leave Us?

Water is, and always will be, at its core about people. Three days in Tampa made clear that the water sector is sitting at a genuinely interesting crossroads, not between the old and the new, but between knowing and doing. The tools are ready. The data is getting there. The willingness to move forward is there, but the work of bringing people, processes, and technology into alignment remains ongoing. From the utilities, start-ups, consultancies, and executives who filled that room, it was clear that the work of closing that gap is already well underway. The question is no longer whether the sector is moving forward. It is whether it can continue to build the alignment, trust, and collaboration needed to truly transform water, together.

Curious to uncover more SWAN 2026 findings? Check out the insightful presentations here.