How YWPs are leading digital transformation in water

Equipped with digital mindsets and fresh perspectives, Young Water Professionals (YWPs) are leading the charge in transforming Australia’s water sector with data-driven solutions, driving smarter, more sustainable outcomes across the water community. 

Earlier this year, a new International Water Association Young Water Professionals (IWA YWPs) branded chapter was officially launched in Australia – a voluntary network open to water professionals aged 35 or below who are passionate about water-related issues. 

The Australian Water Association YWP networks offer national initiatives, however, many YWPs are seeking stronger international connections to expand their networks and deepen their understanding of global water issues. 

Phillip Meng, IWA YWP Australia Chapter Committee Member and Water Corporation Data Science Principal, said the data revolution is in full swing, and YWPs are uniquely positioned to lead digital transformation and closely consider how data is helping create sustainable solutions to international challenges, too.  

“Digital natives, including younger professionals in the sector, are driving data-informed decisions and changes. We’ve grown up with technology and adapting to new ways of working comes naturally to us,” he said. 

“At the moment, the water sector has an ageing workforce. Everyone has different strengths, but change is challenging, especially when it involves shifting technology and mindsets, too. 

“The need to build data capability across the workforce is growing, and those of us with digital skills are well-positioned to lead the transformation.” 

Meng said the new IWA YWP Australia Chapter will enable deeper knowledge sharing across crucial developments relating to next-generation data applications, but also enable Australia’s YWPs to develop and maintain a global perspective.  

“The generational shift is not limited to Australia – it’s happening globally. As YWPs, we need to stay connected internationally in order to learn from our peers,” he said. 

“Challenges and opportunities in data analytics are not unique to Australia, either. They are global, and we need to keep learning from and connecting with other countries, particularly developing ones, where smarter decisions driven by data could have a profound impact.” 

Navigating the revolution 

In order to navigate the data revolution well, Meng said the sector needs to develop a balance between understanding how the water industry works and working with data, which requires educating internal stakeholders to be data savvy. 

“The water sector is data-rich; we’ve had SCADA systems collecting data for years. However, it’s not just about making graphs or reports anymore; it’s about supporting better decision-making,” he said.  

“In large networks like ours, with sprawling infrastructure, we need efficient ways to automate calculations. One challenge is that analysis often happens in spreadsheets managed by one person.  

“We are now aiming to automate these processes, allowing specialists – like engineers and operations experts – to focus on higher-value tasks instead of just wrangling data.” 

Meng said adoption of technology varies among people, particularly in traditional organisations like water utilities, but what’s most important is fit-for-purpose application of new approaches. 

“There’s a tension between embracing AI tools and the governance frameworks that slow down their implementation,” he said.  

“Some people are eager to use new tools, like ChatGPT, but we need to make sure we help teams evaluate whether simpler, more efficient solutions might work better. Ultimately, it’s about using the right tool for the job.” 

Meng said a significant challenge currently occurring within the water sector is related to data quality – a lot of data is captured, but it’s not always sufficient for analysis. 

“Sometimes, calibration drifts or data is incomplete, making it hard to draw reliable conclusions. Verifying data through manual inspections is costly, so it’s a persistent challenge for the entire sector,” he said.  

“But improving data capture is not always feasible. Instead, we need to focus on working with what we have and identifying the most critical data to improve first.  

“In older organisations, changing systems takes time, but it's essential to make the right investments in data quality over time.” 

Exemplary work

While transitional challenges exist, Meng said there are already loads of examples where data analysis and digital approaches are making a big difference and creating significant gains.  

“One internal project at Water Corporation involves optimising groundwater usage. In Perth, groundwater has a natural but variable abundance of minerals and other characteristics, so we blend various groundwater sources from multiple bores to produce high and safe drinking water for our customers, whilst meeting licensing requirements,” he said.  

“This used to be managed manually in a spreadsheet, but it became too complex. We built an optimisation model that now generates an annual schedule within five minutes. It ensures that water demand, quality and licence constraints are all balanced.  

“This optimisation will become even more critical by 2028, when the regulator will reduce our groundwater allocation by 30GL annually.” 

Another area of notable improvement for the water sector is in energy-use optimisation and predicting pipe bursts with machine learning – both areas of work that stand to save water utilities millions of dollars annually.  

"Instead of inspecting pipes on a fixed schedule, we’re exploring ways to predict where failures are more likely to occur. This allows us to focus maintenance efforts more efficiently," Meng said.  

Interested in learning more about how to get involved with the AWA YWP community? Take a look at what’s on offer here.