Advanced technologies such as AI, IoT, enhanced sensors, and digital platforms are transforming how utilities manage water distribution systems, reducing non-revenue water (NRW) and improving leak detection, according to a new report by Xylem’s analytics platform, Xylem Vue.
The report, Water Technology Trends 2025: Revolutionizing Water Management, highlights how digital innovation is helping utilities overcome one of the sector’s most pressing challenges — water loss. Global NRW levels currently average 30% of total water input, representing an estimated annual cost of USD 39 billion (IWA Water Practice & Technology).
“Optimising water distribution systems and reducing unaccounted-for water — while enhancing leak detection — is essential to improving hydraulic efficiency,” said Pablo Calabuig, VP Americas at Xylem Vue. “District Metered Areas (DMAs) are a useful tool for dividing networks into manageable sections, allowing utilities to monitor inflows and outflows, detect excessive losses and, through virtual DMAs, achieve greater flexibility and cost savings.”
Five digital solutions for water loss control
The Xylem Vue report identifies five key digital technologies reshaping water loss management:
1. Digital twins
Digital twins offer utilities a holistic view of their systems, simulating operational and planning scenarios to support data-driven decisions. This integrated perspective enables reduced energy consumption, improved hydraulic performance, and long-term optimisation of network efficiency.
2. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
AMI represents the next evolution in smart metering — beyond automatic readings, it aggregates and analyses consumption data in real time. Xylem Vue notes that the next frontier lies in achieving finer temporal granularity, providing consumption data in intervals shorter than one hour. The key, however, lies in integration: combining AMI and SCADA data enables holistic network management and ensures both field operators and decision-makers benefit from actionable insights.
Xylem Vue’s new report identifies advanced digital tools — from AI to IoT — as key enablers in detecting leaks and cutting global water losses.
3. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Modern GIS solutions merge data such as pipe materials, installation dates and maintenance history with live sensor and satellite data, allowing utilities to predict failures and prioritise interventions before damage occurs.
4. Benefits of sectorisation
Real-time analytics and sectorisation — through DMAs and virtual DMAs — enable utilities to pinpoint leakage hotspots, calculate water balances, and improve service reliability by monitoring inflows and outflows in smaller network zones.
5. Advanced leak detection
Acoustic monitoring, fibre optics, and sensor-driven analytics are improving leak identification and repair speed. When integrated into digital platforms, these techniques form a continuous feedback loop that refines performance and enhances network sustainability.
Driving transformation through digital platforms
Xylem Vue is a secure, vendor-agnostic analytics and software platform developed through a partnership between Xylem and Idrica. Headquartered in Valencia, Spain, the platform enables water utilities to integrate legacy and new data sources, eliminating information silos and providing a 360-degree view of operations.
“Many utilities have installed digital systems such as SCADA and AMI, but they operate in isolation,” said Manuel Parra, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Marketing at Xylem. “Integrating data from these systems provides a holistic view, ensuring that teams can make better, faster, and more informed decisions.”
The alliance between Xylem and Idrica brings together decades of experience in water technology and data analytics, offering digital solutions that improve operational efficiency and sustainability across global water networks.
Read the full report on Xylem Vue.
