Water AI Nexus Adds 20 Advisory Council Members
Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence adds 20 Advisory Council organizations and releases reports and AI training for water professionals.
The Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence welcomed 20 new organizations into its Advisory Council in 2026. Since its launch it has published free insight reports and a 1.5-hour training course for water professionals. New participants include Veolia, WaterISAC, the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturer’s Association, and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership. The online course carries 0.15 Continuing Education Units across more than 40 states. Founded by the Water Environment Federation, Amazon, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leading Utilities of the World, the center is marking one year since launch at Climate Week NYC 2026.
Advisory Council Expands
The Advisory Council brings together technology hyperscalers, engineering firms, municipal utilities, academic researchers, water advocates, and volunteers from the Water Environment Federation community. The center’s work covers sustainable water practices for AI infrastructure, AI applications for plant operations modernization, and public water supply protection.
Ralph Exton, Executive Director at Water Environment Federation, said:
“Addressing the growing water needs of AI infrastructure while supporting our municipal utilities requires every stakeholder at the table. Over the past year, the Center of Excellence has focused on delivering practical tools, from data center guidelines to free operator AI training, that give water professionals on the ground the ability to adapt. As we enter our second year, we're leveraging our Advisory Council, including WEF's volunteer network and technical communities, to ensure water professionals remain at the center of conversations about AI's future.”
Reports And Operator Training
The center has published Principles for Sustainable Water Use by Data Centers, setting out guidelines on facility siting, Water Usage Effectiveness metrics, closed-loop non-potable cooling systems, and localized aquifer replenishment. Another insight report, Principles for AI and the Future of Work in Water, examines AI’s effect on utility labor, including operational safety guardrails, human-in-the-loop governance, and methods to capture institutional knowledge from retiring operators.
AI 101 for Water Professionals is a self-paced course developed with learning platform Watura. The course covers predictive leak detection and automated reporting for frontline operators and is approved for 0.15 CEUs across more than 40 states.
Climate Week Program
During Climate Week NYC 2026, representatives of the Water-AI Nexus are scheduled to join roundtables and panels on circular water economics, corporate water positivity, and sustainable compute siting. The program includes Veolia’s Chris Low at the Cooling and Scaling Data Centers: From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs session, plus events involving Amazon, Xylem, XPRIZE, HDR, and the Water Environment Federation.
The center’s reports, course information, and other materials are available through its Resource Hub.
