Entering its second year, the Water-AI Nexus advances its role as a global hub for knowledge and collaboration at the intersection of water and artificial intelligence
Celebrating one year since its launch, the Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence today announced the addition of Veolia, WaterISAC, Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturer’s Association, and Rural Community Assistance Partnership as the next participants in its Advisory Council, alongside the launch of workforce development programs and foundational insight reports for sustainable water use.
Founding leaders of the organization are the Water Environment Federation (WEF), Amazon, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leading Utilities of the World.
The Water-AI Nexus was formed to address critical challenges at the intersection of AI and water. Its work ranges from establishing sustainable water practices for AI infrastructure to harnessing AI for plant operation modernization, and safeguarding public water supplies.
Global Advisory Council Brings Together Academic, Policy, Tech, and Utility Leaders
In 2026, the Center of Excellence welcomed 20 new organizations into its Advisory Council, uniting a mix of tech hyperscalers, engineering firms, municipal utilities, academic researchers, and water advocates as well as volunteers from the Water Environment Federation community under a shared mission.
“Addressing the growing water needs of AI infrastructure while supporting our municipal utilities requires every stakeholder at the table,” said Ralph Exton, Executive Director of the Water Environment Federation. “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.”
Milestones: Industry Insight Reports & AI 101 for Water Professionals
Since its launch, the Center of Excellence has published several free insight reports and educational resources to establish cross-sector frameworks and best practices across water and AI:
Principles for Sustainable Water Use by Data Centers (Insight Report): Guidelines establishing benchmarks for data center developers, focusing on facility siting, Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) metrics, closed-loop non-potable cooling systems, and localized aquifer replenishment.
Principles for AI and the Future of Work in Water (Insight Report): A framework examining AI’s impact on utility labor, outlining operational safety guardrails, human-in-the-loop governance, and methods to capture institutional knowledge from retiring operators.
AI 101 for Water Professionals (Online Course): A self-paced 1.5-hour training course developed with learning platform Watura. Approved for 0.15 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) across 40+ states, the course provides frontline operators with practical digital literacy; covering predictive leak detection and automated reporting.
All content is available on the Resource Hub of the Water-AI Nexus website.
Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence at Climate Week NYC 2026
Throughout Climate Week NYC, representatives from the Water-AI Nexus will participate in roundtables and panels focused on circular water economics, corporate water positivity, and sustainable compute siting including:
Monday, Sept. 21:
- Veolia’s Chris Low @ Data Center Summit – Fireside: Cooling and Scaling Data Centers: From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs
- Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst @ Axios House – “Forging the Energy Solutions of the Future”
Tuesday, Sept. 22
- Xylem and XPRIZE – Future of Water
- Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kara Hurst @ Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion Summit
Wednesday, Sept. 23
- Water Environment Federation’s John Ikeda @ RBC Capital Markets’ Resilience Finance Day – Opening Fireside: Why Water, Why Now
- The Water Center at Penn’s Ellen Kohler, ImagineH2O’s Noah McColl @ Climate × Water Venture Exchange and Showcase
Thursday, Sept. 24
- HDR’s Lauren Barbir @ NACWA’s Virtual Workshop on Navigating Partnerships with Data Centers: Strategies Every Utility Leader Needs – Opening Keynote: Stakeholder Perspectives
- Water Environment Federation Cohosted Panel and Tour: Island(ing) Adaptations – Water Loops
Organizations across the water and technology sectors are invited to engage in this collaborative effort. To learn more, visit water-ai-nexus.org.
About the Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence
Founded by the Water Environment Federation, Amazon, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Leading Utilities of the World, the Water-AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence is a global knowledge hub dedicated to developing sustainable water practices for AI infrastructure while harnessing artificial intelligence to solve critical water challenges.
About WEF
Contact: Trinity Foreman, Director of Communications, tforeman@wef.org
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization 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 wellbeing. WEFTEC, WEF’s premiere event, is the largest annual water quality in the world. More than 23,000 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.