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[WS1.1] Adapting South Asia’s Water Systems in a Digital Age
15 June 2026 (Monday) | 11:00am - 3:30pm | Room 1
Convened by: SWAN Forum
This workshop brings together water utilities, technology providers, and sector experts from India and Bangladesh to explore how digital transformation in South Asia’s water sector is translating into real operational impact. Through keynotes, expert discussions, and a fireside conversation, speakers will share practical insights on reducing non-revenue water, strengthening billing confidence, improving data-driven decision-making, and developing financing models that help digital solutions scale. The session concludes with interactive roundtables where participants explore practical “how-to” approaches for adapting water systems in a digital age.
Programme:
| 11:00am - 11:05am |
Welcome and Introduction
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Frederick Royan SWAN Forum & Associate Partner, Frost & Sullivan
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| 11:05am - 11:20am |
Keynote |
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Kaushal Raj Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Jal Board
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| 11:20am - 12:05pm |
Panel: Turning Smart Metering and Leak Detection into Everyday Operations |
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Moderator: Ashok Natarajan, Founder and CEO, Steady-Taps Consulting
- Amiett S Behl, Country Manager - India, HWM
- Amit Vaidya - Director- Growth Market, Xylem Vue
- Rajiv K N, Chief Engineer, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)
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| 12:05pm - 12:30pm |
Fireside Chat: From Ambition to Action – What Does Real Digital Transformation Look Like on the Ground? |
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Moderator: Frederick Royan SWAN Forum & Associate Partner, Frost & Sullivan
- Anil Sethi, Chairman, Pump Academy
- Nikhilesh Kumar, Co-founder and CEO, Vassar Labs
- Yaswanth Anantaneni, Program Lead- Water, Va Tech WABAG Ltd.
- Manas Goswami, Executive Director, Deloitte
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| 12:30pm - 2:00pm |
Networking Lunch |
| 2:00pm - 2:05pm |
SWAN India Update |
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Raveena Shinde, India Manager, SWAN Forum
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| 2:05pm - 2:20pm |
Keynote |
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Rasmi Ranjan Ray, CEO, SUEZ India
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| 2:20pm - 3:20pm |
Interactive Roundtables – The Practical “How to” |
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1. NRW Beyond Audits: How can utilities move from periodic studies to continuous operational control?
Led by: V. Srinivas Chary, CEO, WASH Innovation Hub
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2. From Data to Trust: How can smart metering improve billing confidence and operational decision-making?
Led by: Gokul Krishna Govindu, Founder, SmartTerra
Rishi Vandhan, Co-Founder EarthFokus
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3. Responding Under Pressure: How can cities manage floods, sewer overflows, and river pollution in real time?
Led by: Siddharth Desai, Director, Kishor Pumps
Amritanshu Kumar, Market Development Director Asia, Water, Bentley
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4. Financing Models that Scale: How can utilities align delivery models and financing for scale?
Led by: Vinod Singh, Regional Director – Asia and India, Jacobs
Sanjit John, Regional Director, WaterConnect
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5. Equitable, Climate-Resilient SMART Networks: How can private sector-led models drive financially viable water access in South Asia?
Led by: Ashraful Alom, International Development Enterprise (iDE Bangladesh)
Agathe Mazars, Better With Water
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| 3:20pm - 3:30pm |
Roundtable Rapid-fire Recap and Closing Remarks |
[WS1.2] SWAN APAC Workshop: Transforming Digital Water for Shared Progress
18 June 2026 (Thursday) | 9:00AM - 4:15PM | Room 1
Convened by: SWAN Forum
This workshop brings together Asia-Pacific and global water utilities at different stages of digital maturity to explore how digital transformation can move beyond tools to deliver tangible, lasting impact. It emphasises aligning people, technology, and policy, supported by strong foundations in data literacy, standardisation, governance, workforce capability, and cybersecurity. Through keynote presentations, expert panels, interactive roundtables, an AI technical masterclass, and a utility-led reverse shark tank, the programme highlights real-world strategies that turn digital investments into measurable operational and customer value, accelerating progress toward long-term, resilient, and sustainable water management.
Programme:
| 9:00am – 9:10am |
Welcome and Introduction |
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Dr. Amir Cahn - CEO, SWAN Forum, UK
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| 9:10am – 9:30am |
Keynote on Climate Resilience and Adaptation |
| 9:30am – 10:20am |
Scaling Smart Metering: From Hype to High-Impact Panel |
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Moderator: Francisco Javier Fernández Delgado - Deputy Director - Telecontrol, Canal de Isabel II, Spain
- Yiu Yan Tong - Senior Assistant Director, PUB, Singapore
- Kosuke Wakabayashi - Director for Water Supply Division, Services Reform Promotion, The Bureau of Waterworks, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan
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| 10:20am – 10:30am |
SWAN Forum Update |
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Zolboo Dashnyam - APAC Lead, SWAN Forum, UK
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| 10:30am – 11:00am |
Tea Break & Networking Session |
| 11:00am – 11:45am |
AI in Water: Game Changer or Costly Distraction? |
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Moderator: Chris Ryan, Head of Water Infrastructure APJC (Autodesk)
Dr. Daniel Luan, Modelling Business Specialist (Shenzhen Water, China)
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| 11:40am – 12:30pm |
SWAN Utility Reverse Shark Tank |
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Utilities will share their most pressing challenges and what they are looking for from solution providers, with the chance for the audience to share their insights.
- Martine Watson, Chief Digital & Information Officer (Urban Utilities, Australia)
- Eimear Christian, Head of Sustainability and Innovation (Irish Water, UK)
- Deon de Jager, Deputy Director: Water Services (George Municipality, South Africa)
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| 12:30pm – 2:00pm |
Lunch Break & Networking Session |
| 2:00pm – 3:00pm |
Interactive Roundtables |
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1. Getting the Basics Right: How do utilities build essential data, people, and process foundations before scaling digital tools?
Led by Bharat Khanna - Director - Digital Water Solutions, GHD, Canada & Utility
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2. Building Digital-Ready Teams: How can utilities enable frontline teams to adopt and scale digital change?
Led by Tertius Rust - Founder & Executive Director, The Innovation Consulting Company, South Africa & Utility
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3. Scaling Smart Metering: How can utilities balance the financial value, customer trust, and operational impact with the scale?
Led by Nish Dogra - Project Manager, Smart Metering, Sydney Water, Australia and Bruce Kain - Director of Water-Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Itron, Australia
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4. NRW’s Prevention Over Reaction: How can utilities turn loss into data-driven value?
Led by Mark Nicol - Commercial Director, HWM Global, Singapore and Puranut Wisutjindaporn (Pong) - Business Development Manager, Water Industry, Yokogawa, Singapore
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5. Decarbonising Water Systems: How can utilities integrate low-carbon technologies and energy optimisation to advance toward carbon-neutral operations?
Led by Hiep Le - CEO, Turing, Singapore and Utility
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6. Financing the Digital Transition at Scale: How can utilities design delivery and financing models that scale smart water initiatives?
Led by Arun Mahadevan - Delivery Manager, SUEZ, Singapore and Alexus Van der Weyden – Economist & Director, Frontier Economics, Australia
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7. Earning Trust Through Change: How can utilities maintain customer confidence while rolling out smart technologies at scale?
Led by Jason Perera - APAC Commercial Director: Customer Value & Transformations, Gentrack, Australia and Utility
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8. Leveraging AI for Productivity: How can utilities use AI to predict and automate process operation and optimisation?
Led by Robin Wong - Founder and CCO, TeamSolve, Singapore and Utility
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| 3:00pm – 3:30pm |
Roundtable Rapid Fire Recap |
| 3:30pm – 4:15pm |
Networking Drinks Reception Sponsored by Autodesk |
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[WS2.1] Ceramic membranes for Pre-treatment of Seawater Desalination
16 June 2026 (Tuesday) | 2:00pm - 5:00pm | Room 1
Convened by: National University of Singapore
As desalination capacity expands globally, the performance and energy efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) systems are increasingly dependent on effective upstream pretreatment. Robust and resilient pretreatment is therefore essential to ensure stable, cost-effective, and sustainable desalination operation. In response to these challenges, ceramic membrane technology has emerged as a promising and robust alternative for seawater pretreatment. This workshop offers practical insights, evidence-based discussions, and a balanced assessment of ceramic membrane pretreatment to support informed decision-making and advance more energy-efficient, resilient desalination systems.
Programme:
| 2:00pm – 2:05pm |
Welcome Remarks by Session Moderator |
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Prof. Hu Jiangyong - Group Head (Environmental and Sustainability) | Director of the Centre for Water Research | Director, Environmental and Sustainability Engineering Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore
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| 2:05pm – 2:15pm |
Understanding the importance and challenges of desalination pretreatment |
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Jonathan Clement - Director Global Advanced Water Solutions, Ramboll, Singapore
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| 2:15pm – 2:30pm |
PUB’s experience with Desalination Pretreatment |
| 2:30pm – 2:45pm |
Saudi Water Authority’s experience with desalination pretreatment |
| 2:45pm – 3:00pm |
Panel Discussion |
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Moderator: Prof. Hu Jiangyong - National University of Singapore, Singapore
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| 3:00pm – 3:30pm |
Coffee Break |
| 3:30pm – 3:50pm |
Pretreatment of algae-impacted seawater: Improving efficiency of in-line coagulation coupled with ceramic membrane filtration |
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Dr. Tai Zhong Sheng – Research Fellow, National University of Singapore, Singapore
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| 3:50pm – 4:10pm |
Demonstration of Flat-Sheet Ceramic Membrane for the Pre-treatment of SWRO by Retrofitting into DAF System at Tuas Desalination Plant (TDP) |
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Dr. Hiroshi Noguchi - Head of Membrane and Water Technology Centre, Meiden Singapore, Singapore
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| 4:10pm – 4:30pm |
Demonstration testing of Nanostone’s Ceramic Membrane at PUB |
| 4:30pm – 5:00pm |
Panel Discussion |
[WS2.2] Direct Potable Reuse – Challenges and Solutions
17 June 2026 (Wednesday) | 9:00am - 12:30pm | Room 6
Convened by: IWA Australia
This session will convene thought leaders in academia, regulation and social policy to discuss emerging issues in direct potable recycled (DPR) water use. Practitioners and policy makers will draw on leading global practices and real-world case studies from the 35 cities/communities around the world have already gained community acceptance to add purified recycled water to their drinking water supply.
[WS2.3] Incorporating Nature Based Water Treatment Solutions
17 June 2026 (Wednesday) | 4:00pm – 5:20pm | Room 6
This session demonstrates how nature‐based solutions (NBS) offer a vital means of moving beyond business‐as‐usual to address many of the world’s water challenges while simultaneously delivering additional benefits vital to all aspects of sustainable development.
Programme:
| 4:00pm – 4:10pm |
Introduction |
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Dr Bob Stear - Chief Engineer, Severn Trent Plc, UK
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| 4:10pm – 4:20pm |
Nature Based Solution from as a Dutch Utility |
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Doeke Schippers - Director of Water Production and Distribution, Vitens, Netherlands
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| 4:20pm – 4:30pm |
Modeling and Design of a Unique Modular Process Basin within an existing Lake - Vitens Living Lab – Phase 1 |
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Dr Gilbert Galjaard - Consultant, Ramboll, Netherlands
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| 4:30pm – 4:40pm |
Nature Based Solution: Case study in China |
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Prof Yang Min - Deputy Director, Chinese Academy Of Science, China
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| 4:40pm – 4:50pm |
Nature Based Solution: Saudi |
| 4:50pm – 5:20pm |
Interactive Audience Q&A and Discussion |
Access the SIWW2026 Water Convention Advance Programme for more details on these workshops and the 2026 Water Convention.
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