Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the global water sector—from predictive maintenance to sustainability gains. Yet adoption remains uneven. Isle’s new AI Horizons Partnership helps utilities overcome real-world barriers and unlock AI’s full potential. Learn how nearly 200 professionals across Europe and the USA are shaping the future of digital water.
AI and the Digital Water Revolution
Vanessa van Rossum, Principal Consultant, Isle Northern Europe
A Rapidly Expanding Market
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a distant promise. Rather, digital water is a transformative force revolutionizing the global water sector. As utilities grapple with escalating challenges like water scarcity, climate change, and aging infrastructure, AI is emerging as a critical enabler of smarter, more sustainable water management.
From predictive analytics to real-time leak detection, AI applications are driving operational efficiency, cost savings, regulatory compliance and enhanced customer satisfaction. In 2024 alone, the market for AI in water reached USD 7.5 billion, underscoring its pivotal role in the sector’s future.
Enabling Sustainable Water Management
Beyond operational gains, AI is helping utilities meet environmental goals by optimizing water usage, reducing waste, and minimizing projects’ environmental footprints. The evolution of Reactive and Limited Memory AI has already made a significant impact in water management, enabling more accurate demand forecasting, water quality monitoring, and efficient distribution.
Yet despite its clear potential, AI adoption within the water sector remains uneven. Utilities face a number of barriers, from fragmented data and legacy IT systems to concerns around cybersecurity and public trust.
Introducing the AI Horizons Partnership
Peer-to-peer learning and shared experience can be powerful tools for overcoming these challenges. That’s the idea behind Isle’s AI Horizons Partnership Project, a new initiative designed to help utilities navigate the evolving AI landscape Launched on March 19, the project brings together a diverse network of utility professionals across the USA and Europe. Nearly 200 participants from 20 different utilities joined the kickoff session, eager to explore the real-world AI use cases and implementation pathways.
The project offers:
● A comprehensive overview of AI maturity in the water sector
● Curate insight into leading-edge solutions
● Peer-based learning from early adopters
● Guidance on cybersecurity, vendor access, and governance
● A frank look at risks, such as over-reliance on AI and proprietary software
transparency
What Utilities Are Saying
Early feedback shows a wide range of AI readiness across the participating utilities. While most are not yet using AI in core operations (see Fig. 1), nearly 50% expressed optimism about its future potential. Many are experimenting with AI in document management or enterprise data systems.