The Past, Present, And Future Of Digitalization In Water

By Tom Walski, Ph.D., P.E., Bentley Systems

Every once in a while, I hear someone saying that digitalization (or going digital) is the next big thing in the water industry. Don’t look now but digitalization is here, and it has been here for a few decades. At least parts of the water industry have been digital for some time now.

Water utilities have been going digital since computers first became practical in the 1950s. The first people who took advantage of digital technology were the financial folks who realized you could use computers to print bills and keep track of customers who did or didn’t pay.

Maybe these computers weren’t just toys. Let’s take a look at how technological progression has led us to the vibrant and well-established current use of Digital Twin technology.