New Delhi (India) recently hosted the World Water Summit, which is a key event on the international water calendar. The theme of the meeting this year was “Water Security and Innovative Water Solutions for Sustainable Growth.”
The event, which brought together a large number of international experts, institutional representatives, and leading water innovation organizations, highlighted the importance of addressing relevant issues such as water security and sustainability. These are key concerns in a country marked by significant water stress, with growing demand for water from the population, agriculture, and industry, and with limited access to safe drinking water due to contamination of surface and groundwater sources.
A large number of companies attended the event, including Xylem, which participated through its water digital transformation platform, Xylem Vue. Pablo Montalvillo, Water Consultant at Idrica, gave a presentation entitled “Digital platform for advanced control and mitigation of industrial discharges in sewer networks and WWTPs.” In his speech, the specialist highlighted the importance of implementing platforms that drive the digital transformation of water.
Digital transformation as a necessity
Specifically, Pablo Montalvillo addressed the importance of using advanced optimization and machine-learning algorithms to transform sewer network management. “Our solutions, such as Sewer Tracker, help utilities to anticipate polluting events, protect their infrastructure and ensure better service to consumers and the environment, especially in a country like India, where digital transformation is no longer a choice but a necessity.”
In this regard, Montalvillo demonstrated the potential of digital transformation by sharing a real success story from the implementation of the platform in a European municipality of 20,000 inhabitants. Montalvillo explained how the information provided by this platform, obtained through the installation of 11 continuous monitoring sensors, together with the WWTP's own SCADA, laboratory analyses, and data collected from GIS systems, enabled the identification of over 330 discharge episodes in just a few months, with a detection reliability rate of over 80%, bringing rapid, effective operational responses that improved the WWTP's performance.
According to the specialist, the system “improves the operational efficiency of treatment plants, as well as representing a key step forward in protecting aquatic ecosystems by significantly reducing the impact of uncontrolled discharges.”
The World Water Summit is already gearing up for next year’s event, building on the recognition that international collaboration and technological innovation are the cornerstones on which to shape a more sustainable water future.
