Water management starts where few look: beneath our cities, in the pipelines that carry our wastewater, and in the treatment plants that return this transformed resource to nature. This edition of Smart Water Magazine Print Edition spotlights that essential, often overlooked infrastructure: sanitation, wastewater treatment, and reuse.
In our cover interview, Jon Freedman, President of the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA), makes a powerful case for reuse as a foundational pillar of the circular water economy. Reuse, he argues, turns treated wastewater into a secure, local and sustainable resource. Desalination plays a vital supporting role, especially when integrated into broader reuse frameworks and powered by renewables.
This vision finds strong institutional support in Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. In our feature on the new European Water Resilience Strategy, she sets out the EU’s ambition to act decisively in the face of growing water stress. Her message is clear: resilience requires shared political, financial, and technological commitment. Roberta Maffettone, from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, outlines in an exclusive interview how the EU’s Water Reuse Regulation is taking shape across Member States. While Blanca Antizar, Director at Isle Utilities, brings the innovation ecosystem into focus, showcasing how initiatives like the Trial Reservoir and Water Action Platform are helping scale real-world reuse.
Water management starts where few look: beneath our cities, in the pipelines that carry our wastewater, and in the treatment plants that return this transformed resource to nature
We’re not just talking about potential—we’re seeing real transformation: biofactories that generate energy and recover nutrients from wastewater; the full reconversion of the Shuaibah 3 plant by the Saudi Water Partnership Company, now operating on reverse osmosis and solar power; real-time pressure monitoring from Badger Meter deployed in rising mains across the UK; and ZwitterCo’s breakthrough membranes tackling challenging industrial reuse scenarios.
This issue also explores decentralised reuse, PFAS mitigation, sludge treatment technologies from HRS, green hydrogen potential, and how carbon and energy efficiency are being embedded into the entire water cycle.
And we feature the people and projects making it happen: from large-scale operation and maintenance contracts in Brazil and Spain led by one of the sector’s most active global players, to Molecor’s durable OPVC infrastructure supporting India’s drinking water and irrigation networks. Across Europe, North America and the Middle East, we see how regulation, finance and innovation are converging to deliver impact.
