IWA Glasgow 2026: A world of water challenges. A city ready for the conversation.

In October, Glasgow will host the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition - the world's leading gathering for water professionals.

Utility leaders, researchers, policymakers, innovators and industry experts from around the world will come together to talk about the biggest issues facing water and wastewater. And, of course, there will be a bit of Scottish sparkle too.

But this is about much more than a date in the diary. It is about the conversations we start, the ideas we sharpen, the partnerships we build, and what we then go on and do.

I am honoured to be serving alongside Peter Simpson as Co-President of the Congress. Peter and I both believe 2026 is an important moment for progress.

Look around the world and it is not hard to see why. Climate change, geopolitical instability, population growth and shifting demographics are creating huge challenges for water. We need to think hard about how we manage water resources, how they connect with food, energy and the rapid growth of digital infrastructure, and how we do that in a properly joined-up way. And we need to do all of this while billions of people still do not have access to safe drinking water and effective sanitation.

That is why Glasgow 2026 matters. It gives us a chance to bring the best thinking from around the world into one place, and to focus it on practical solutions. There is something fitting about bringing that conversation here to Scotland. We are a country shaped by water. It runs through our history, has powered our industries, and has helped create the landscapes we are known for around the world.

At Scottish Water, we see every day how fundamental it is to people's lives, to the economy, to our environment and to our future.
Scotland's approach to managing water also gives us a useful story to share with colleagues from elsewhere. But just as importantly, we have plenty to learn too. And right now, the need for fresh thinking and practical ideas could hardly be greater.

Glasgow is also exactly the right city to host it. This is a city that knows how to bring people together. With the Commonwealth Games returning to Scotland's biggest city that sense of welcome, energy and shared endeavour feels especially strong. Glasgow will be ready - and, knowing Glasgow, it will not be shy about it.

Behind every digital breakthrough sits physical infrastructure, and behind much of that infrastructure sits water. It is easy to overlook it - right up until the moment you cannot. That is why the sector's voice, expertise and leadership have never mattered more.

Wherever we live, we are facing many of the same questions. How do we respond to a changing climate? How do we build resilience in the face of growing uncertainty? How do we use new technologies responsibly? How do we protect and restore the natural environment? And how do we make sure the benefits of progress are shared more fairly?

They are big questions. But they are also shared ones.

As preparations for Glasgow 2026 gather pace, I find myself thinking less about individual sessions and more about the bigger conversations this Congress can help move forward. For me, five stand out.

The first is resilience. In a world of more volatile weather, where drought and flooding can increasingly affect the same communities in quick succession, resilience is about much more than pipes, pumps and treatment works. It is about people, communities, catchments, systems and how the choices we make now affect resilience in the future.

Glasgow will bring together expertise in engineering, nature-based solutions and innovation. But it will also remind us that resilience is not just technical. It depends on trust, collaboration and a shared sense of responsibility.

The second is fairness, and the simple truth that safe water and sanitation are still out of reach for far too many people. Organisations such as Unicef, WaterAid and many others have helped drive extraordinary progress. But billions of people still lack what so many of us take for granted, and funding for this work is under pressure. Water and sanitation are about health, dignity, education, opportunity and economic prosperity. When people are denied access, the impact is felt hardest by women and girls. So fairness here is about doing what we can to help everyone not just survive, but thrive.

The third is collaboration. One of the things I admire most about the global water community is its generosity. At Scottish Water, we do not have all the answers. None of us do.

But I have seen time and again what becomes possible when utilities, researchers, communities, governments, suppliers and young professionals come together with a shared purpose.

None of us has a monopoly on the best ideas - and that is one of the things I value most about this sector. Whether we are talking about artificial intelligence, digital transformation, resource recovery or biodiversity, Glasgow should create space for ideas to be shared, tested and strengthened together.

The fourth is water's place in the world. Too often, water is invisible until something goes wrong. When it works, it is easy to take for granted. But it underpins almost everything we value: public health, food production, thriving places, economic growth, healthy ecosystems and the digital infrastructure modern life increasingly depends on.

One of the most important things this Congress can do is make that more visible and make the case to governments and industry that water is not simply another utility. It is critical national infrastructure, and one of the foundations of resilient, prosperous societies.
And the fifth, perhaps most importantly, is hope.

Not blind optimism, and certainly not complacency. The challenges facing our sector are too significant for that.

What matters is real hope - grounded in the talent, ingenuity and commitment that exists across the global water community.

In a world that can sometimes feel increasingly fragmented, that matters. This Congress is a chance to remind ourselves what is possible when people from different countries, cultures and disciplines come together around a shared purpose: to improve lives and leave things better than they found them. There is something quietly powerful - and very human - about that.

That shared purpose gives me real confidence about the future. Good people, with a shared purpose, can do remarkable things. We should never lose sight of that.

So when the world comes to Glasgow, I hope it finds a city ready to host a bold, outward-looking conversation about the future of water - and a sector ready to lead it with confidence, generosity and ambition. If we get that right, a few good things might just happen.

Because conferences come and go. Conversations last. And some of the conversations that begin in Glasgow in 2026 could help shape a more resilient, more prosperous and more compassionate world for years to come. That feels well worth showing up for.

That would be a legacy worth building.

So come and be part of the conversations that could help shape a sustainable future for all of us. Register here for the event: Registration - IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition