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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

Slavco Velickov, sales director, Bentley Systems
What are the best ways to use AI in water sector?

Slavco Velickov: The most impactful AI use cases in the water sector today are
focused on improving operational efficiency and system resilience.

Key areas include demand forecasting, which is crucial for optimising supply
(treatment) and demand; predictive maintenance for critical assets, allowing
utilities to anticipate failures before they happen; event detection and leakage
detection and localisation, enabling rapid response to reduce water loss and
service disruptions; and pumping optimisation and energy efficiency where AI
can analyse complex system dynamics to minimise energy consumption
representing significant operational costs.

What's powerful is that AI can provide valuable predictive insights in these areas
even in situations where a full, calibrated simulation model such as Bentley
OpenFlows might not be available, working directly with sensor and historical
data to identify trends and predict potential issues.

Share with us an example of successful city water management.

Slavco Velickov: Bentley software is also used to manage water networks in the
Middle East, including in Sharjah, to prevent water losses which exacerbate the
effects of drought in dry arid climates.

Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) used Bentley’s OpenFlows Water
software to help actively manage its water network, model water supply patterns,
plan maintenance, ultimately reducing water leakage in the 3,400 km urban
water distribution network.

This initiative was part of an AED 1.25 million programme led by SEWA, which
aimed to identify leaks and high pressure in ageing areas of the network.

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