The Digital Transformation Of Water Must Have The Right Technology, Strategy And Team To Organise It

With a firm commitment to advancing the protection of water resources, Seville (Spain) hosted WEX Global, the leading international forum in the water, energy, and climate change sectors, held from February 9 to 11, 2026.

Under the theme “Water, Energy and Climate Change: From Vision to Action – Towards a Water-Abundant World,” the congress, celebrating its 20th edition, brought together more than 270 participants from over 45 countries. The program featured panel discussions, technical site visits, networking meetings, a gala dinner, and a showcase of the World Water Film Festival.

More than 90 high-level experts contributed to 25 sessions at this global meeting point, addressing key issues such as sustainable water management, artificial intelligence and digital transformation applied to the water cycle, advanced public–private partnership models, and innovation in circular economy and energy transition. As Pedro Pina, Senior Director Europe at Xylem Vue, stated in his opening remarks, “WEX Global is the meeting place for conversations aimed at building systems worthy of the trust that society demands.”

Digital Transformation As A Strategic Pillar

One of the event’s main highlights was the series of technical visits to the Aljarafesa wastewater treatment plant, the Lower Guadalquivir Valley Irrigation Community (CRVIG), and EMASESA, Seville’s municipal water utility. Visitors were able to gain first-hand insight into the company’s digital transformation, driven by a centralized data lake and a digital twin integrated into the Xylem Vue platform. In this regard, CEO Manuel Romero emphasized that digital transformation “is a lever for change in the service of water justice, as pursued by EMASESA, understood as a combination of resilience, efficiency, and trust.”

Digital transformation underpinned several of the sessions organized throughout the congress, although many speakers stressed that it cannot function in isolation. Dr. Alaeldin Idris, Water Expert, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, UAE, underscored that without technology “time and money are lost,” while also noting the need for a governance framework to structure water management. Similarly, Darío Mauriño, Head of Innovation, Funding and Cooperation at EMASESA, emphasized that the water sector must embrace technology “but always within a strategy that fully engages the entire team.” For his part, Román Ponz, Director of Digital Transformation at Global Omnium, highlighted that successful digitalization requires “breaking down information silos.”

A key event was the gala dinner held on February 10, which served as the platform for the presentation of the WEX Global Awards, recognizing best practices and innovations in areas such as circular economy, climate resilience, digital transformation, and river basin management.

Xylem Vue is a secure, integrated, and vendor-agnostic analytics and software platform that can capture data from any source, including legacy solutions. It is headquartered in Valencia, Spain. Xylem Vue was developed as a result of the partnership between Xylem, a global leader in water technology, and Idrica, an international pioneer in water data management, analytics, and smart water solutions. The platform enables water utilities to maximize investments already made in existing technologies while moving further along their digital journey and breaking down data silos to provide a holistic, 360-degree view of their system. This alliance brings together Xylem and Idrica's technology, innovation and experience to solve critical global challenges in drinking water, wastewater and other water-related issues.