Deadline Date: April 03, 2026
The Water Council is seeking innovative AI-native technologies that can strengthen how water systems are sensed, treated, moved, recovered, and managed to build a more reliable and sustainable water ecosystem.
The challenge focuses on developing AI-native components for a cognitive water ecosystem, strengthening prediction, automation, optimization, and decision-making in water systems, advancing molecular intelligence and green synthesis for water testing and treatment, enabling autonomous infrastructure and self-healing networks, improving resource stewardship in water facilities, and supporting cognitive conservation and economic optimization to improve efficiency and reduce waste in water management.
The initiative is designed to support innovators developing modular technologies that can integrate into a cognitive water ecosystem. These technologies should help transform water management systems from reactive and fragmented approaches into systems that are more efficient, reliable, and sustainable. Submissions must clearly demonstrate the use of artificial intelligence as a foundational element that enhances prediction, automation, optimization, or decision-making within water systems.
The challenge welcomes technologies that are prototype-ready or more advanced and demonstrate performance in relevant environments. Proposed solutions should also show clear pathways for integration with utilities or industrial applications. Artificial intelligence should be embedded as a core design principle rather than an added feature.
Eligible solution concepts may include technologies that use AI to improve water testing and treatment, such as identifying chemicals in water without traditional reagents, forecasting the emergence of contaminants, and exploring cleaner approaches to disinfection and treatment. Other concepts may include AI-powered tools for autonomous monitoring and network resilience, including edge-AI devices for leak detection, dynamic digital twins that update with sensor data, and predictive maintenance models that detect failures before they occur.
Solutions may also focus on improving resource stewardship by enabling water facilities to recover useful materials such as nutrients, minerals, biosolids, heat, or energy, while supporting processes such as nutrient recovery, biogas production, water reuse, or electrochemical treatment. AI-based tools that analyze data to optimize energy use, chemical dosing, pumping schedules, and asset lifecycles, as well as identify inefficiencies in water and energy systems, are also relevant.
The challenge seeks technologies at or above Technology Readiness Level 3, meaning that the solution should have at least a functional prototype or lab-validated process. Applicants should demonstrate trained or verified AI components and provide evidence of early-stage integration or pilot-scale viability. Solutions related to data center cooling, digital water platforms, and foam fractionation are not considered within the scope of this challenge.
For more information, visit The Water Council.
