Bridging The Gap: Bringing Agile Innovation To The Water Sector

By Pooja Mahajan and Ashwin Dhanasekar

The water industry has long been grounded in reliability, regulatory compliance, and proven engineering practices. These strengths have kept our systems running for decades — but they have also made the sector slow to adopt modern technologies. As utilities face rising challenges — from aging infrastructure and climate volatility to workforce shortages and increasing public expectations — the need for digital tools has never been clearer.

Yet our approach to building and implementing technology often clashes with how digital solutions are actually developed. To meet the moment, we need to rethink not just what tools we use, but how we partner to build them.

From Capital Projects To Digital Solutions: A Misalignment

In the civil infrastructure world, projects typically follow a well-established, linear sequence: planning, design, construction, and closeout. This approach works well when building physical assets like treatment plants, pipelines, or pump stations — where scope is clearly defined, risk needs to be tightly managed, and deliverables are fixed.

But when it comes to software and digital tools, this linear method breaks down. Why? Because technology development is inherently iterative. User needs evolve as tools are tested. Problems only become clear when people actually use the product. And requirements often shift as new insights emerge.

Applying traditional waterfall-style delivery to digital innovation can lead to frustration on both sides. It’s not uncommon to spend months (or years) specifying a perfect set of requirements — only to receive a final product that doesn’t meet practical needs.

The Agile Alternative: Iteration Over Phases

In the tech world, Agile development is widely adopted. Agile breaks the work into short, iterative cycles (called sprints), focusing on delivering small but functional increments of a product. Teams collect feedback early and often, adjusting direction as needed. This approach is especially effective when user needs are unclear or likely to evolve — a common scenario when developing new digital tools in the water sector.

Whether it's modernizing a legacy application, building internal dashboards to generate insights, or developing customer-facing platforms to support engagement and service delivery, Agile methodologies offer a flexible framework to handle shifting requirements, integrate user feedback early, and reduce the risk of misalignment. These practices are particularly effective when solutions must be tailored for specific utility operations, allowing teams to experiment, adapt, and deliver value incrementally — without waiting for a fully completed system.

You Don’t Need To Be A Tech Company — But You Should Know How They Work

Most utilities, public agencies, and engineering firms won’t be writing code — and they don’t need to. But understanding the basics of how digital tools are built can make or break a project.

When collaborating with technology vendors, knowing what a sprint, a user story, or an MVP (minimum viable product) is can dramatically improve outcomes. It empowers water professionals to contribute effectively — to test early versions, flag gaps, and shape the tool as it’s being developed. Without this involvement, critical context gets lost.

Rethinking Risk: Learning While Building

Adopting Agile doesn’t mean giving up control or structure. It means planning to learn. Instead of locking everything down in the early stages, Agile development acknowledges uncertainty and uses iteration to reduce risk. For a sector used to “build it right the first time,” this can feel unfamiliar — even risky.

But in the digital world, perfection on day one is a myth. Progress comes from collaboration, iteration, and continuous refinement.

Real-World Examples In The Water Sector

​​WatEner Platform Deployment (Inclam Group, Spain): The Inclam Group successfully implemented the Agile philosophy to develop and expand their WatEner platform for smart water management. By starting with specific, measurable challenges and iteratively expanding features, they involved water utility operators as active collaborators. This approach enabled real-time hydraulic model operation and continuous improvement based on user feedback, leading to greater efficiency and smoother change management within the utility.

Valmont Industries – Irrigation Division (Global): Valmont Industries, a leader in water-conserving irrigation equipment, adopted Lean Business Agility (an Agile-inspired approach) beyond their IT department. Agile training and coaching were rolled out across product development, engineering, marketing, and even supply chain management. The result was faster product development cycles, improved alignment with customer needs, and widespread adoption of Agile practices across functional areas, demonstrating measurable improvements in speed to market and process efficiency.

Agile in Water Network Asset Management (WNAM): While direct, large-scale case studies in the water sector are still emerging, Agile principles have been piloted in water network infrastructure asset management. For example, some utilities have adapted Scrum (an Agile framework) to prioritize and manage maintenance tasks, using real-time data from IoT sensors to detect leaks and trigger rapid, iterative responses. These pilots have shown that Agile can help utilities respond more effectively to aging infrastructure and regulatory demands by enabling continuous stakeholder engagement and faster decision-making.

Veolia Water: Veolia Water leveraged IoT sensors, advanced analytics, and digital platforms to continuously monitor and optimize energy use and production processes across its facilities. By adopting an Agile-like iterative approach-piloting new tools, gathering real-time feedback, and refining solutions, Veolia achieved up to a 15% reduction in energy consumption and a 20% improvement in production efficiency. Centralized control centers enabled rapid response and ongoing optimization, demonstrating how combining digital technology with Agile methodologies can drive significant operational improvements and scalable, sustainable water management solutions.

SA Water (Australia): SA Water, South Australia's leading water utility, transitioned from traditional project management to Agile methodologies for its IT and operational technology initiatives, most notably in developing a world-class smart water network in Adelaide’s CBD. By adopting Agile, SA Water shifted to a flexible, customer-centric approach that emphasized rapid iteration, real-time feedback, and adaptive governance, enabling faster delivery of digital solutions tailored to customer needs. The smart network, featuring over 300 sensors for continuous monitoring of flow, pressure, and water quality, allowed SA Water to proactively detect and address leaks and faults before they affected customers, significantly reducing water loss and service disruptions. This transformation not only improved operational efficiency and customer experience but also earned SA Water national recognition, including the Digital Utility of the Year award, highlighting its leadership in digital innovation within the water sector.

Cross-industry analogues with direct water sector applications:

• Manufacturing: Smart manufacturing systems use Agile-inspired feedback loops and IoT sensors to optimize production and maintenance. This model has been adapted by water utilities to monitor pipeline conditions and schedule repairs dynamically.
• Urban Mobility/Transportation: Agile principles used in dynamic transport scheduling have inspired water utilities to adjust water distribution in real time, improving service reliability and efficiency.

The key takeaway from these examples is that agile empowers operators and staff to shape solutions as they are developed, ensuring tools are relevant and practical. Solutions are continuously refined based on real-world feedback, reducing the risk of costly misalignments. Agile is not limited to IT or software; it can truly transform engineering, asset management, and operational planning for utilities.

The Path Forward

As digital transformation accelerates, water agencies and utilities must rethink how they engage with technology partners. Learning to speak the language of Agile — even at a high level — empowers teams to get better results from vendors, deliver more relevant tools for staff, and avoid expensive misalignment and rework.

We don't need to become software developers. But we do need to become better digital collaborators. Embracing Agile isn’t just a methodology shift — it’s a cultural one. And it’s key to building tools that are resilient, responsive, and ready for the future.

Pooja Mahajan is a Product Manager at Stantec specializing in digital solutions for the infrastructure and environmental sectors. She brings a unique perspective to digital product development, with a professional background in civil and environmental engineering and over 12 years of experience. At Stantec, she leads the development of innovative digital tools that integrate traditional infrastructure practices with cutting-edge technology. Additionally, Pooja has taught a professional training course on IT Foundations for Water Utilities and co-authored the book Secrets of the Construction Industry.

Ashwin Dhanasekar is a Principal at Brown & Caldwell serving in Research and Innovation, and Digital Solutions. Ashwin’s expertise encompasses biosolids management, microplastics, intelligent water systems and the energy-water nexus. Ashwin also co-found a company, Ajax Analytics, which provides data-driven environmental monitoring solutions. Ashwin possesses a background in chemical and environmental engineering, combined with over 15 years of professional experience in the water sector, providing solutions to a diverse array of clients.