Building the future of water from the ground up

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 in our sector: biofactories operated by ACCIONA that generate energy and recover nutrients from wastewater; the full reconversion of the Shuaibah 3 desalination plant by the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), now operating on reverse osmosis; 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 Heat Exchangers, and how carbon and energy efficiency are being embedded into the entire water cycle. We also feature the people and projects making it happen: from ACCIONA’s large-scale O&M contracts in Brazil and Spain, to Molecor’s durable OPVC infrastructure supporting India’s drinking water and irrigation networks.

Smart Water Magazine exists to connect these actors, share their breakthroughs, and help accelerate the transition to smarter, more resilient water systems. Thank you for being part of this community and for helping lead a transformation where reuse defines not only how we treat water, but how we value it.