Data, AI and the digital future of the water sector

Slowing down in an age of acceleration

The opening presentation from Farid Tabarki (StudioZeitgeist) set the tone. He drew a picture of the ‘hyper-nervous society’: everything is accelerating and plunging ahead regardless. It is precisely at times like these that slowing down becomes a strategic quality. Stepping back for a moment. Reflection. Anticipating, rather than reacting. A lesson in slowing down in an age of acceleration.

Data as backbone

We were all struck during the course of the day by the extent to which data now constitute the backbone of almost every solution. Whether AI applications, sensors, models, dashboards or digital platforms: in the end, almost every presentation revolved around data. Many organisations presented solutions that would seem to be different at first sight – from sensor technology and monitoring to predictive models and digital twins – but that all drive on the same fuel: analysing, standardising, sharing and exploiting data.

That was also clear to see on the floor of the event, noticed René. Many companies today position themselves as data providers, data platforms or data service providers. Sensor companies provide not only monitoring equipment but complete data streams. Software companies are building platforms to access, analyse and visualise data. And consultancies are developing models that run on increasingly large data sets.

The strength of shared data

Ina attended the session from Dick Konings, Guus Huuls (Waterschapshuis) and René Klint (Dutch Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning). Last year, the water authorities won the first-ever Federated Data System Award presented by the IBDS Realisation programme in recognition for a decade of committed teamwork on data sharing. This is a good example of what is possible. A shared goal is essential. In this case: making data uniformly available, referable and stackable in order to produce area information. And indeed, a government that provides a clear mandate obviously helps, too. Ina sees this as an example for her work on Digilab – our own digital knowledge infrastructure as a tool and flywheel for research, innovation and implementation. The session provided inspiration and insights: ‘be patient, this is a long-term thing’.

Stefan and René listened to Thijs van Loon and Tahir Balçik talk about ‘opening the data floodgates’. Rijkswaterstaat already monitors water levels, flows and water quality extensively and it will increasingly be making the measurements publicly available via Waterdata in the years ahead. The data can be shared if they are stored uniformly and use the Aquo standard. This allows external parties to use them in other platforms such as ANWB water maps that use real-time water levels. It may also be possible in that case to link water quality data to discharge permits in the future.

From data to insights and even more data

Stefan and René listened to Thijs van Loon and Tahir Balçik talk about ‘opening the data floodgates’. Rijkswaterstaat already monitors water levels, flows and water quality extensively and it will increasingly be making the measurements publicly available via Waterdata in the years ahead. The data can be shared if they are stored uniformly and use the Aquo standard. This allows external parties to use them in other platforms such as ANWB water maps that use real-time water levels. It may also be possible in that case to link water quality data to discharge permits in the future.

Hans Korving (Deltares) was not looking for predictions but for explanatory patterns in data on pesticide concentrations in Rhineland in relation to weather data such as precipitation and dry periods.

Rijkswaterstaat and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management showed examples of monitoring at sea (marine vessels) and of fresh water (water quality), and also discussed the opportunities afforded by quantum technology (quantum sensing). If more sensors of this kind are installed, even more data will become available. Here, then, there is surely another link to statistics or real AI – a combination with sensor technology that is also the focus of KWR research.

Data-driven or driven by data?

Arvid identified ‘data-driven’ as the keyword of this water info day. The vast majority of sessions and stands presented a vision of the future in which more data and data sharing will naturally result in greater control and therefore better, faster and more accurate decisions. But the feeling that stuck with Arvid is that this does not actually happen naturally.

‘Data-driven’ is a buzzword but it also seems to have become a goal in itself. But what is that goal? Why do we want to achieve this? To engage meaningfully in digitalisation, we need to start asking these questions more often and more seriously.

The call to slow down at the start of the day was nevertheless drowned out slightly by the enthusiasm and optimism about a new, data-driven water sector. Even though slowing down actually means: taking the time to let changes crystallise properly and thinking about motivation and destination.This does not mean ‘taking a long time’; it means making sure that everyone is brought on board, making sure changes move in the right direction, and making sure that different points of view are heard and considered.

A good example came from the Zuiderzeeland water authority, where the objective of appealing work was included in automation projects and where there was a strong focus on teamwork involving employees from different backgrounds.

Not everything is AI

Like ‘data-driven’, AI is a buzzword. AI was often equated with LLMs and sometimes it seemed as though those LLMs are now expected to be the answer to every question – while some questions can be solved with traditional statistics. We should continue to be critical.

Fortunately, Ina and Arvid also attended the session on AI literacy at the water authorities, an area that KWR also wants to focus on with the drinking water sector. We are waiting for the report that will be shared with us soon and, in the meantime, we are taking note of the insights from this session:

• AI literacy is not solely a question of training and policy, but also of a change in behaviour and mentality, from: can we do this? to: how can we do we do this responsibly, adding value?
• AI literacy starts with data literacy and it requires a responsible approach to different forms of information.
• There are different learning needs for each job and each AI application.
• Organisations benefit from low-threshold exchanges of tips and tricks. Practical knowledge is needed to ensure responsible use.

Digital autonomy

The session from Rozemarijn ter Horst (Het Waterschapshuis) and Nicole de Keizer (Dutch Association of Water Authorities) addressed geopolitical developments, increasing dependence on Big Tech and the risk of losing control of our digital infrastructure. Their message was clear: digital autonomy is something we need to tackle together as the water sector as a whole. Digital autonomy has now been included in the national coalition agreement, in the Dutch Digitalisation Strategy and in the national government’s vision of digital autonomy. The direction is clear: grip on technology, data and digital processes; less dependence on foreign suppliers; strengthening European solutions; value-driven choices.

Open where possible, protection where needed.

According to Ina, the call for digital autonomy fits in directly with our own sector vision for drinking water utilities, in which future-resilient drinking water supplies will be possible only with European independence in the areas of crucial technology and data, strong digital security and a resilient infrastructure that can cope with disruption and geopolitical risks. The vision explicitly calls for strategic decisions, value-driven governance and the strengthening of continuity and resilience – which is precisely the essence of digital autonomy.

If we see digital technology as an essential part of our resilience, then it almost naturally follows that the drinking water sector must engage with the broader movement towards digital sovereignty. Rozemarijn formulated this in a striking way: “Make choices based on principles,” and our conclusion is clear: digital autonomy should be on every strategic agenda.

Ina adds: “The urgency has only increased in recent months. In a podcast by Bureau Buitenland the other day, I heard (this was about why we have become dependent on Big Tech): ‘In recent decades, we have allowed convenience to take over from strategic thinking.’ That is a sentence you just can’t get out of your head. Do we want to carry on down that road?”

Conclusion: thinking in terms of the future as a duty

One of the final sessions of the day was about thinking in terms of the future. Marije Stronks said: Humans are naturally ‘short-sighted here and now’. That may be the case. And at the same time… there is research in the academic world and in the drinking water sector on future studies. KWR has been working for some time on decision-making under deep uncertainty and deep adaptation. So we think it would be a wonderful aim to have one of our colleagues talk about this at next year’s Water Info Day! The time is also ripe to present our research in the area of AI and data analytics and to showcase the power of data sharing combined with expert knowledge.

In short, let us link developments from the drinking water sector more with these parties. And this quote stuck: “Nothing we do now can change the past. Everything we do now changes the future.”