Highlights Of The Program
2 days business program:
Learn from real-world case studies by industry leaders.
SHOWCASING INNOVATION:
Discover the latest technology and techniques from across the industry.
leaders talk:
Hear from top-level experts about how to stay ahead in a fast-changing industry.
MULTIPLE STREAMS:
A business program that is multi-disciplinary, giving you a broad view of the industry.
SMART TECHNOLOGIES:
Explore the latest smart and AI-driven solutions, and see how they can be used in your business.
roundtable discussion:
Join talks with industry peers. Share ideas, make connections, and find new partners.
Program 2026
DAY 1 :
MONDAY, JULY 13, 2026
08:00 - 08:50
REGISTRATION AND MORNING REFRESHMENTS
08:50 - 09:00
OPENING ADDRESS
09:00 - 09:25
INTEGRATING AI IN PROCESS OPTIMIZATION, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT, AND WORKFORCE CAPACITY BUILDING IN A REGIONAL WASTEWATER UTILITY
Rebecca West
ReWa
- Optimizing treatment and collection system operations with AI to enhance compliance and efficiency
- Aligning AI-driven capital planning with rapid regional growth and long-term infrastructure needs
- Building workforce capacity by mapping human oversight to AI adoption and cultural change
09:25 - 09:30
Q&A SESSION ON STRATEGIC AI INTEGRATION FOR REGIONAL WASTEWATER UTILITIES
09:30 - 09:55
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION UNIT (TIU) STATUS UPDATE AND NEXT STEPS
Donald Rocha
Valley Water
- Identifying workforce needs, market solutions, and external technology partnerships
- Implementing AI, BI, ML, and predictive analytics for agency-wide deployment to support agency operations
Kevin Brown
Valley Water
- Scaling pilots into full solutions and expanding IT upgrades to drive water-management impact
- Enhancing cross-agency collaboration to align innovation efforts and maximize ROI outcomes
09:55 - 10:00
Q&A SESSION ON ADVANCING AI AND INNOVATION IN WATER UTILITY OPERATIONS
10:00 - 10:30
SPEED NETWORKING SESSION
- Exchange business cards and get connected in short one-to-one meetings
- Start the conversation to arrange a more formal meeting later on in the conference
- Share your professional background and discuss your biggest business issues – don't forget your business cards!
10:30 - 11:00
MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
SPONSORED BY GLOBAL SOLUTIONS GROUP, INC.
11:00 - 11:30
PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIGITALIZATION IN THE WATER INDUSTRY
- Advancing AI/ML adoption through practical first steps, key innovations, and measurable utility benefits
- Exploring AI adoption and simulation-driven learning, and their impact on water sector expertise development
- Addressing cyber risks from data exposure, digitalization, and a shift to intelligence-led prevention
Vamsi Seeta | Accenture
Clive Harrison | Independent Engineering Consultant
Sandra Stibbards | Camelot Investigations
11:30 - 11:55
PURPOSE-BUILT AI FOR RESILIENT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Zheng Yi Wu
Bentley Systems
- Integrating system visualization, physics-based modeling, and analytics for proactive decisions
- Enhancing network visibility and resilience using secure cloud-agnostic AI frameworks
- Improving asset performance and capital planning with near-real-time operational insights
11:55 - 12:00
Q&A SESSION ON PHYSICS-INFORMED AI FOR WATER NETWORK MANAGEMENT
12:00 - 12:25
FROM ALERTS TO IMPACT: AN AI-DRIVEN ARCHITECTURE FOR WATER UTILITY OPERATIONAL PROTECTION
Manoj Kumar
Global Solutions Group, Inc.
- Correlating OT/IT security signals with process data to reveal which alerts pose real utility risks
- Translating cyber alert volumes into operational risk scores layered on existing SCADA and SOC tools
- Quantifying service disruption exposure from OT threats to speed response across utility operations
12:25 - 12:30
Q&A SESSION ON AI-DRIVEN CYBER RISK QUANTIFICATION FOR WATER UTILITY OPERATIONS
12:30 - 13:30
NETWORKING LUNCH AND VISITING THE WATER AI EXHIBITION
13:30 - 14:00
PANEL DISCUSSION ON AI FOR ENHANCED DATA MANAGEMENT IN PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE AND DECISION-MAKING
- Leveraging AI to turn data into actionable decisions, address brain drain, and tackle siloed data challenges
- Bridging data and AI readiness to unlock predictive maintenance outcomes across water systems
- Closing the gap between AI insights and operational action through explainability and field-ready decisions
Dave Kanter | TeamSolve
Valerie Schneider | Inframark
Deepak Garg | SEW.AI
14:00 - 14:25
REDUCING TREATMENT COSTS: EXPLORING AI-DRIVEN WATER QUALITY AND ENERGY MONITORING
Thobekile Gambu
uMngeni-uThukela Water
- Tracking water quality and energy use in real time to address key treatment-cost drivers
- Refining chemical dosing and power consumption using AI to reduce operational waste
- Supporting efficient, sustainable service through smarter data and compliance monitoring
14:25 - 14:30
Q&A SESSION ON HARNESSING AI TO CUT COSTS IN TREATMENT OPERATIONS
14:30 - 14:55
OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF FAILURE AND SUPERCHARGING YOUR CAREER
Richard Greenberg
Layer 8 Masters
- Reframing failure as a strategic asset to unlock innovation, growth, and organizational resilience
- Sharing personal missteps as examples of how risks foster breakthroughs and enhance leadership
- Building cultures that reward experimentation, normalize discomfort, and drive security innovation
14:55 - 15:00
Q&A SESSION ON LEVERAGING FAILURE FOR SECURITY LEADERSHIP GROWTH
15:00 - 15:20
AFTERNOON COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
15:20 - 15:45
AI AND PREDICTIVE INSIGHTS FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED WASTEWATER UTILITIES
Valerie Schneider
Inframark
- Leveraging ML models for chemical dosing and pump efficiency to reduce reagent and energy costs
- Boosting operational resilience with role-based dashboards and mobile access for field teams
- Deploying secure SCADA cloud platforms to deliver AI insights without a major system overhaul
15:45 - 15:50
Q&A SESSION ON SCALING AI FOR WASTEWATER UTILITY OPERATIONS
15:50 - 16:15
SATELLITE AND AI-DRIVEN WATER QUALITY MONITORING AT WATERSHED SCALE
Vamsi Seeta
Accenture
- Harnessing hyperspectral satellite monitoring to track water quality across watersheds at scale
- Grounding satellite insights with continuous IoT-based in-situ sampling and advanced analytics
- Connecting satellite and sensor outputs to existing SCADA systems for seamless regulatory reporting
16:15 - 16:20
Q&A SESSION ON SATELLITE AND AI MONITORING FOR WATERSHED WATER QUALITY
16:20 - 16:45
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE MODEL DEVELOPMENT – PREDICTING THE HEALTH STATE OF A WATER PUMP
Dipendra Wagle
STV
- Developing a machine-learning model to assess pump health using real-time sensor data
- Improving maintenance scheduling and reducing the risk of failures in water-system operations
- Validating the model to ensure accuracy and support long-term deployment and uptime
16:45 - 16:50
Q&A SESSION ON IMPROVING PUMP RELIABILITY THROUGH SMART MAINTENANCE
16:50 - 17:15
THE MOST OVERLOOKED WAY TO OPTIMIZE WATER OPS WITH AI? YOUR TEAM
Yvette Brown
XPROMOS
- Demonstrating how non-technical staff can drive AI value through role-based prompt design
- Building foundational AI fluency to reduce friction and increase operational efficiency
- Sharing real-world prompts for applying AI across utility roles, functions, and workflows
17:15 - 17:20
Q&A SESSION ON TURNING YOUR TEAM INTO AN AI-POWERED WATER FORCE
17:20 - 18:20
NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION
DAY 2 :
TUESDAY, JULY 14, 2026
08:00 - 08:30
MORNING REFRESHMENTS
08:30 - 08:40
OPENING ADDRESS
08:40 - 09:05
VERTICAL–AI FOR WATER: TRANSFORMING CUSTOMER AND WORKFORCE EXPERIENCES
Deepak Garg
SEW.AI
- Improving customer touchpoints with AI for leak detection, billing, and proactive service
- Upgrading workforce operations through predictive AI insights and faster field response
- Overcoming challenges such as data silos and governance to drive adoption and trust
09:05 - 09:10
Q&A SESSION ON ADVANCING UTILITY SERVICE THROUGH VERTICAL AI SOLUTIONS
09:10 - 09:35
AI, ROBOTICS, PREDICTION, AND DECISION VISUALIZATION FOR UTILITIES
Kenneth Hayes
Core & Main
- Synthesizing disparate sensor and meter data into normalized inputs that drive utility predictive models
- Curating AI use cases that balance rate determination, cost control, and customer satisfaction outcomes
- Rethinking utility workforce models as AI absorbs repetitive tasks, and younger operators demand smarter tools
09:35 - 09:40
Q&A SESSION ON AI ADOPTION STRATEGIES IN WATER UTILITY OPERATIONS
09:40 - 10:05
OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES OF DATA-DRIVEN AND AI-BASED WATER MANAGEMENT
Omer Bab
IOSIGHT
- Analyzing core objectives and foundational principles in AI and data-driven water management
- Presenting essential strategies for deploying and managing data-centric projects
- Demonstrating the effectiveness of data-focused methodologies through real-world case studies
10:05 - 10:10
Q&A SESSION ON DATA-DRIVEN AND AI STRATEGIES IN THE WATER SECTOR
10:10 - 10:30
MORNING COFFEE BREAK IN THE EXHIBIT AREA
SPONSORED BY SNF POLYDYNE
10:30 - 10:55
SEEING THROUGH UNCERTAINTY: USING LIDAR TO REDEFINE PUMP STATION REHABILITATION
Maziar Mahdavi
Freese and Nichols, Inc.
- Employing LiDAR scanning to perform non-invasive pump station condition assessments efficiently
- Modeling the digital twin of the pump station to visualize and analyze rehabilitation needs accurately
- Calculating precise repair scopes using LiDAR data for cost-effective estimates and optimal planning
- Providing a data-driven rehabilitation plan with accessible datasets for monitoring and comparison
10:55 - 11:00
Q&A SESSION ON USING LIDAR FOR PUMP STATION REPAIRS
11:00 - 11:25
OPTIMIZING POWER MANAGEMENT WITH SMART TRANSFORMERS
Jeff Somerville
Hammond Power Solutions
- Enhancing performance through smart monitoring and real-time transformer data analytics
- Maximizing asset utilization to improve efficiency and reduce operational overhead
- Detecting anomalies early to support preventive maintenance and extend equipment lifespan
11:25 - 11:30
Q&A SESSION ON BOOSTING MAINTENANCE PERFORMANCE THROUGH SMART MONITORING
11:30 - 11:55
TURNING SMART METER DATA INTO ACTIONABLE WATER INTELLIGENCE
Tracy Hernandez
Kamstrup
- Connecting smart meter data to drive actionable leak detection and network visibility insights
- Curbing non-revenue water through continuous monitoring, acoustic detection, and data-driven prioritization
- Translating intelligent analytics into sustainable, proactive water management decisions
11:55 - 12:00
Q&A SESSION ON TURNING SMART METER DATA INTO ACTIONABLE WATER INTELLIGENCE
12:00 - 12:25
ZERO TRUST AS THE DEFENSE FRAMEWORK FOR WATER UTILITY OT SECURITY
Don Bowman
Agilicus
- Dissecting the specific cyber threats facing water and wastewater utilities as IT/OT environments converge
- Reframing the castle-and-moat perimeter model as a liability when SCADA, HMI, and PLC systems are exposed
- Securing the foundation for safe AI and automation deployment through a never-trust-always-verify architecture
12:25 - 12:30
Q&A SESSION ON ZERO TRUST CYBERSECURITY FOR WATER UTILITY OT ENVIRONMENTS
12:30 - 12:45
FEEDBACK AND RAFFLE DRAW
12:45 - 13:00
CLOSING REMARKS
13:00 - 14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
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