Water AI-Nexus Welcomes Global Organizations to Advisory Council

Water AI-Nexus Welcomes Global Organizations to Advisory Council

Major Partner Expansion to the Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence Signals Growing Urgency Around AI infrastructure and Water Sustainability

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - May 6, 2026 - The Water Environment Federation (WEF), alongside founding leaders Amazon, Leading Utilities of the World, and the Water Center at Penn, today announced a major expansion of the Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence Advisory Council, strengthening cross-sector collaboration at the intersection of water and artificial intelligence.

The Center welcomes leading associations and organizations including the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), ImagineH20, the International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC), the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN), WateReuse Association, alongside global companies Autodesk, CDM Smith, Grundfos, HDR, Raftelis, and Xylem.

These additions bring together mission aligned associations, technology companies, management consultancies, global engineering leaders, utilities, and academics to align AI innovation with sustainable, resilient water systems worldwide.

As members of the Advisory Council, new partners will help guide the Center's priorities through thought leadership, participation in events and roundtables, and collaboration on programming and awareness building initiatives.

In addition to these new partners, the Water-AI Nexus leverages WEF's role as a neutral, trusted convener and a voice for the water sector. In supporting the work of the Water-AI Nexus, WEF will draw on the expertise of thousands of volunteer experts across its 24 technical communities, while also engaging a broad cross-section of utility and community perspectives through its network of 75 state, provincial, and global member associations.

"From data centers to utilities, the challenge is clear: AI must be developed in ways that respect water limits, and water systems must be equipped with smarter tools," said Keith Hobson, WEF President. "The Water-AI Nexus exists to advance both 'Water for AI' and 'AI for Water'."

Together, the founding leaders and new partners represent a rare cross sector collaboration spanning non-profit associations, technology, management, utilities, engineering, academia, and public agencies, united around accelerating sustainable water management while championing responsible use of AI to solve our most pressing water challenges.

"We are thrilled to welcome new voices to expand the reach of our mission, built on the belief that sustainable water management and digital infrastructure can reinforce each other for good," said Ralph Exton, WEF Executive Director and Water-AI Nexus Steering Committee Chair. 

The Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence will convene partners and stakeholders at major global forums in 2026 and 2027, including Global Water Summit (Madrid), Singapore International Water Week, Industrial Water Solutions: Powering the Circular Water Economy (Chicago), Collection Systems & Stormwater Conference (Portland), and WEFTEC (New Orleans and Chicago).

To learn more about Water-AI Nexus participation opportunities, visit waterainexus.org.

About Water Environment Federation

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan global water federation providing water professionals with the latest in education and training. WEF is leading the transformation to the Circular Water Economy: reducing waste, recovering resources, and regenerating ecosystems. Founded in 1928, WEF's mission is to inspire its 31,000 members and 75 affiliated member organizations and the water community in pursuit of human and environmental well-being. WEFTEC, WEF's premiere event, is the largest annual water quality exhibition in North America, attracting a diverse, global audience. More than 24,000 registrants and 1,000 exhibitors convene at WEFTEC to experience innovative solutions and gain expert insights that positively impact the future of water. For more information, visit wef.org. 

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth's Best Employer, and Earth's Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About Leading Utilities of the World

Leading Utilities of the World is a network of the world's most forward-thinking water and wastewater utilities, as defined by the network's 14 distinct innovation areas. Its members represent the gold standard of utility innovation and performance throughout the developed world's water sector. Leading Utilities is an initiative of the Global Water Leaders Group, a not-for-profit organization helping to tell a better story for water worldwide by recognizing achievement, providing a network for sharing ideas, and inspiring others to improve. Primarily a CEO-level organization, it is funded by its Foundation Partner Jacobs and Corporate Member Grundfos and collaborates with Association Partner, the Water Environment Federation. There are no membership fees for its utilities, who meet three times a year at major water conferences around the world. www.leadingutilities.org.

About The Water Center at Penn

The Water Center at Penn is a community-focused research center working to find integrated solutions to the multiple challenges facing our world's water systems and their watersheds. We strive to be a trusted, reliable partner whose work accelerates water equity by connecting, convening, and collaborating across the sector. The Water Center's research approach is centered around working alongside communities, bringing their knowledge and expertise to the solutions addressing their water challenges, sharing power and responsibility, and encouraging communities to take the lead in determining priorities, questions to be asked, and the approach to answering those questions.  We share resources, education, training, and applied knowledge to support community goals. For more information, visit watercenter.sas.upenn.edu.