The Ripple Effect: A Digitalization Playbook

The water sector is at a moment of profound challenge and opportunity. As the sector takes on the escalating challenges of accessibility, affordability, and resilience against climate change, digital solutions have demonstrated the potential to transform water systems.

For many utilities, transformation is well underway. The label “digital” gets applied to a host of technologies and services deployed across clean water and wastewater operations – for example, using software to automate critical operational workflows within and outside of plants, using remote monitoring and control solutions to improve connectivity for workers and customers, and using software platforms to integrate utilities’ diverse IT infrastructure.

But there is no prescribed digital water journey. With more than 400,000 water, wastewater, and stormwater systems worldwide – from small rural utilities to consolidated national providers serving millions – it is critical that digital adoption addresses unique community-level challenges. We spoke to 18 global water, wastewater, and stormwater utility leaders and experts to pull back the curtain on digital transformation. This paper charts their journey – and the practical lessons they have learned.