The International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) has joined the Water-AI Nexus Centre of Excellence, under which the organisation will serve as a supporting partner and member of the centre’s advisory council.
The partnership connects IDRA’s global desalination and water reuse network with one of the water sector’s most ambitious cross-sector initiatives — a first-of-its-kind global collaboration bringing together leaders in artificial intelligence and sustainable water management to address two of the defining challenges of the coming decade: the impact of AI infrastructure on water resources, and the potential for AI to help solve critical water scarcity and management issues.
Launched in Sep 2025, the Water-AI Nexus Centre of Excellence is supported by founding organisations including the Water Environment Federation (WEF), Amazon, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania and Leading Utilities of the World. WEF serves as the centre’s secretariat and convenes its advisory council. IDRA joins the council as a formal supporting organisation representing the global desalination and water reuse sector.
“Artificial intelligence is reshaping how water is managed, financed and delivered, and the water sector cannot afford to remain on the sidelines of that conversation,” said Shannon McCarthy, secretary-general of IDRA.
“The Water-AI Nexus brings together organisations capable of advancing this agenda at scale. For IDRA members, this provides direct access to one of the most important cross-sector discussions taking place in the industry today — and an opportunity to ensure desalination and reuse are not only part of how AI shapes the future of water, but also essential to meeting AI’s own growing water demands. As data centres and AI systems continue to expand, the connection between AI-driven water management and resilient supply solutions such as reuse and desalination becomes increasingly critical.”
Ralph Exton, executive director of WEF, added: “As AI becomes a defining infrastructure of the 21st century, water must be embedded in how it is designed, scaled and governed. By bringing IDRA into this collaboration, we expand what is possible — advancing Water for AI by setting a higher standard for stewardship and efficiency, while accelerating AI for Water so that smarter systems, improved treatment and more resilient supplies can benefit communities worldwide.”
Dual mission: “Water for AI” and “AI for Water”
The Water-AI Nexus Centre of Excellence operates around a dual mission reflecting the two-way relationship between water and artificial intelligence.
The first, “Water for AI”, focuses on ensuring AI infrastructure — including the data centres underpinning the global AI economy — uses water as efficiently as possible. As AI computing rapidly expands, attention is increasingly turning towards the water intensity of digital infrastructure and the need for improved standards, technologies and operational practices to reduce its environmental impact.
The second, “AI for Water”, centres on applying AI capabilities to address major water sector challenges, including leak detection, demand forecasting, treatment optimisation, asset management and the integration of non-conventional water resources into utility operations.
The centre also aims to support students, early-career professionals and communities through mentoring and education in AI-enabled water science and decision-making, helping to develop the next generation of water leaders for the AI era.
Expanding collaboration across the water sector
Participation in the initiative gives IDRA members — including utilities, technology providers, researchers, financial institutions and governments across more than 60 countries — access to one of the most significant cross-sector conversations taking place within the water industry.
The collaboration also connects IDRA with WEF’s global network of 30,000 individual members and 75 affiliated member associations, alongside organisations such as Amazon, Leading Utilities of the World and The Water Center at Penn.
Positioning desalination and reuse in the AI era
For IDRA, the partnership represents a strategic step as desalination and water reuse become increasingly central to global water security. Installed desalination capacity has grown significantly since 2020, while water reuse capacity continues to expand as regulators across the US, EU, Middle East and Asia formalise potable and non-potable reuse frameworks.
As the sector enters one of its fastest growth phases on record, artificial intelligence is emerging as a major influence on how water infrastructure is designed, financed and operated. By joining the Water-AI Nexus advisory council, IDRA aims to ensure desalination and reuse remain represented within these discussions, while giving its members a direct role in shaping how AI is applied across global water infrastructure.
