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8/1/25, 1:18 PM Water-a-environment - How can AI help solve water management challenges? - Technical Review Middle East

In an interview with Bentley Systems, the company's sales director Slavco
Velickov explained the role of AI in water management. Read on:

What role does AI play in water management solutions?

Slavco Velickov: In arid regions like the Middle East, where water is a critical
resource, AI empowers stakeholders to make faster, data-driven decisions that
ensure reliability, reduce waste, and support long-term sustainability goals.
Bentley Systems has focused on software for infrastructure engineering and
operations for more than four decades.

Our approach to AI has been one of continuously embedding advanced
intelligence within our water infrastructure solutions. We've been using
algorithms to power complex simulations, analyses, and design optimisations for
many years. AI represents the next wave of these capabilities, making our tools
more intuitive and powerful. It's important to clarify that we see AI as an enabler
for our digital twin solutions.

This is crucial because, globally, we're facing a significant challenge: demand for
resilient infrastructure is surging, but there aren't enough engineers to manage
the overwhelming amount of data generated. AI helps offset those tedious tasks,
allowing engineers to focus on higher added-value activities and get better
control of their data. We are investing in its potential across various areas, from
asset operations to even using generative AI in the design phase, like in our
OpenSite+ application.

Why should utility/power companies use AI-based solutions?

Slavco Velickov: Firstly, and perhaps most critically in many regions, is the
reduction of non-revenue water, or water losses.

This remains a hot topic globally. Instead of having to build new infrastructure or
production facilities, reducing losses in the existing network is a far more
sustainable approach and a key driver for adopting technologies like AI for
precise leak detection, including geolocation and optimal pressure management.
Secondly, there's the significant challenge of productivity and due to the wave of
retiring workforce in the sector.

Utilities hold decades of operational knowledge within their experienced
personnel. AI-powered digital twins can capture this invaluable tacit knowledge:
from understanding complex operational rules to predicting network behaviour,
essentially augmenting the capabilities of the remaining and incoming workforce
to manage increasing data volumes and systems complexity.

Implementing AI solutions can lead to substantial cost reductions over time. By
minimising water losses and optimising operational processes, utilities can lower
their operational expenses.

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