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Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Water and Wastewater Sector Comprehensive Training

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how water and wastewater utilities operate, maintain assets, manage risk, and communicate with customers. This course focuses on the practical considerations, applications, and uses of AI tools in the water/wastewater sector. Participants will learn how to identify high-value use cases, assess data readiness, understand the technical building blocks (data pipelines, models, platforms, cybersecurity), and design a sustainable deployment approach that includes governance, change management, and legal/commercial considerations. Through real case studies (chemical optimization, collection system prediction, hybrid digital twins, and more), participants will leave with a practical understanding of AI in the water/wastewater sector and the ability to better evaluate and implement AI initiatives responsibly.

Learning Outcomes:

Identify and prioritize viable AI use cases for water and wastewater utilities.
Describe core Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) concepts (regression, machine learning, agents) and how they map to utility problems.
Evaluate data readiness, including data quality, cleaning, and instrumentation monitoring.
Explain common utility data architectures (SCADA historian, databases, APIs) and data management practices.
Compare deployment approaches (advisory vs. control, dashboards vs. alerts) and define success metrics and utilization tracking.
Differentiate mechanistic, AI, and hybrid digital twin approaches and where each fits best.
Assess platform considerations such as portability, security, scaling, and support models.
Plan secure data connectivity options (air gaps, data diodes, read-only vs. write-back, on-prem vs. cloud) in coordination with IT/OT.
Develop a governance and change management plan to drive adoption, monitor performance, and sustain support.
Evaluate commercial models and quantify value (ROI, SaaS vs. consulting vs. capital) including procurement considerations.
Recognize key legal and ethical considerations (data ownership, IP, privacy, NDAs, and emerging AI policy).

Who Should Attend:

Water and wastewater engineers and consultants.
Water utility managers, supervisors, and O&M leaders.
Operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) staff, including cybersecurity.
Data analysts, data scientists, and analytics teams supporting utilities.
Regulators and others evaluating or overseeing digital deployments.

Course Details: RA00132-E213

Course Outline

Sessions

Session 1
- Intro – Review objectives, methods, define AI, digital tools as target of course, assignments, “grading”
- Users – Managers, engineers, supervisors, field staff, public. Labor replacement or supplement?
Session 2:
- Tech basics – Data science models, AI regressions, ML, agents. Bespoke or modular?
- Tech basics – What is “good” data, data cleaning methods, instrument monitoring
Session 3:
- Identifying good use cases #1 – Case study discussion chem optimization
- Identifying good use cases #2 – Case study discussion collection system predictions
Session 4:
- Tech basics – Digital twins, mechanistic and hybrid models
- Identifying good use cases #3 – Case study discussion hybrid optimizer WW simulator
Session 5:
- Tech basics – LLMs and Computer Vision
- Tech basics – Platforms: aggregators, modules, widgets, portability, security, scaling, support models
Session 6:
- Tech basics – Data storage: SCADA Historian, databases, transfers, APIs, data management
- Tech basics - Data connectors: cybersec, air gaps, data diodes, read only and write back, on-prem vs. cloud, coord with IT/OT
Session 7:
- Deployment philosophy – Direct control or advisory; push notices or passive dashboards; utilization tracking
- Developers and products – Consultants, academia, equipment vendors, niche, digital platforms, utility DIY
Session 8:
- Digital governance – AI policy, data access and retention vs. transparency, ad-hoc or planned, organizational alignment, etc.
- Change management – communication plans, rollout, champions, management support, pre-mortem, pilots and scaling, monitoring, feedback loops, ongoing tech support
Session 9:
- Commercial models – What is the value? ROI, SaaS, consulting, capital expense, procurement issues
- Legal considerations – Intellectual property, model ownership, data ownership, NDAs, current AI laws in different states, personal data management and restrictions
Session 10:
- Research topics on AI in water sector, future directio
- Wrap up and summary discussion

Course Schedule

Registration Date/Time:
6/9/2026 12:30pm Central Time

Event Dates/Times:

6/9/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
6/16/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
6/23/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
6/30/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
7/7/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
7/14/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
7/21/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
7/28/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
8/4/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time
8/11/2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm Central Time

Instructors and Program Director

Instructors

Kate Newhart

Dr. Kate Newhart is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University. She received her PhD from Colorado School of Mines in Civil and Environmental Engineering and worked as a Technology and Innovation Engineer at the largest wastewater treatment facility in the Rocky Mountain Region. Dr. Newhart’s research focuses on applying data-driven and machine learning approaches to improve the performance and resilience of water and wastewater treatment systems. She works closely with utilities, industry partners, and research foundations to develop practical tools that integrate advanced analytics with operational realities.

Heather Stewart

Heather Stewart, since joining Jacobs in 2016, has supported water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) clients and their projects with cutting-edge data solutions that drive efficiency and sustainability. She contributed to the development of Jacobs’ Hybrid Optimizer, a tool that integrates mechanistic and artificial intelligence (AI) models in a hybrid digital twin to reduce operational and maintenance costs while providing valuable process insights. The tool was initially developed as part of a Water Research Foundation project for predictive nutrient control water at WRRFs. She holds a Bachelor of Science in astrophysics from Villanova University, a Master of Science in physics, a Master of Science in engineering in civil and environmental engineering, and a doctorate in applied physics from The Catholic University of America. Her graduate research was conducted at DC Water.

Darrell Collett

Darrell Collett is the Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President at Jacobs. He has been a practicing attorney for over 25 years in the areas of construction litigation, commercial contracts, intellectual property and digital technology matters. At Jacobs, Mr. Collett has provided legal support for its business operations related to water, operations and maintenance, and digital solutions. His current legal work focuses on the increasing intersection of engineering services and digital technology and innovation—specializing in intellectual property, data ownership, data privacy, cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Dan Crane

Dan Crane is the Director of OT & Cybersecurity at Jacobs. He has worked in critical industry environments across the globe and in every vertical throughout his career. Dan initially began working on Digital Twins and data modeling in the manufacturing industry in 2015 as a systems infrastructure analyst. He works with IT and OT teams within utility partners and industry partners to find safe and secure methods to extract operational data from SCADA and industrial systems for use in advanced simulation and machine learning applications.

Jennifer Baldwin

Dr. Jennifer Baldwin is Jacobs Digital OneWater Director and an expert technologist specializing in wet-weather conveyance and storage. She has 24 years of experience in collection system management, working on several multi-million and billion dollar wastewater collection and treatment programs. Dr. Baldwin holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Civil (Environmental) Engineering from Purdue University. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute within American Society of Civil Engineers, representing the Pipelines Division, and is also the Member Engagement Vice-Chair for the Collection Systems Community in Water Environment Federation.

Ajay Jawahar

Ajay Jawahar is a seasoned utility leader at PA Consulting, with 15+ years of experience in delivering complex business transformations and innovative digital solutions in the water, gas and electric sectors. Ajay frequently works with data & business leaders to design enterprise-wide data strategies and roadmaps, build data & AI capabilities (organization, technology, and processes), and deliver cutting-edge analytics to maximize value from their data. Ajay's work focuses on implementing practical data and AI innovations for utilities to drive efficient operations and enable better and faster decision support. Ajay is ITIL ® Certified, Agile trained and holds an MBA from Babson College.

Amanda Levin

Amanda Levin is a Human Capital Strategist with PA Consulting, specializing in driving organizational transformation by aligning people, teams, and leaders with purpose and culture to create lasting change. With 20+ years of experience in energy and utilities, she applies innovative methodologies and people-centered strategies grounded in behavioral science to boost productivity and achieve superior performance. She recently led the organizational design and change management workstreams to guide a utility through a complex technology transformation. Amanda is a master level, Prosci-certified change management practitioner, with expertise Agile Change Management, resolving change barriers, and preventing change resistance. She earned her Master of Science degree from Columbia University.

John Rickemann

John Rickemann is a Vice President of Jacobs O&M division, which includes 3,000 operators and mechanics at over 200 sites across North America. His current focus is on digitizing O&M functions to improve efficiency, as well as serving as the technology and innovation interface between the O&M and engineering divisions of Jacobs. He has 34 years of design and operations experience, with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Stony Brook University NY, an MBA from Boston University, a PE license (mechanical), an operators license (wastewater), and a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Technician certificate.

Joshua Registe

Joshua Registe is a Senior Data Scientist and licensed engineer with Jacobs with expertise in wastewater facility environmental planning, analysis, and design, as well specialized applied science and research in disinfection. Joshua also has more than 8 years of experience in statistics, visualization, data management, machine learning, cloud solutions, and has led the development and deployment of several machine learning solutions in the water/wastewater industry. Joshua has an undergraduate and graduate degree in Environmental Engineering, as well a graduate degree in Data Science.

Andrea Pearce

Andrea Pearce is a Senior Environmental Data Scientist and Global Principal for Data Analytics, AI and Insights at Jacobs. With over 20 years of experience spanning environmental consulting and federally funded applied research, she brings deep expertise at the intersection of infrastructure and advanced analytics. At Jacobs, she helps lead the development of AI-enabled solutions and advises clients and project teams on their responsible use, combining project needs and emerging technical capabilities into practical, trustworthy tools that improve project delivery and decision-making. She holds a BA in Physics from the University of Virginia and MS and PhD degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Maine and the University of Vermont, respectively.
Program Director

Adib Amini

Total Credits:

CEU 2,

PDH 20,

Applies to these Certificates:

Drinking Water Systems,

Wastewater Systems,

Course Administration

Fee Information

Fee covers course materials.

Discounts

ID IS: 65480 When three or more sign up from same employer, your course fee is $1745 per person.
ID IS: 65480 When two or more sign up from same employer, your course fee is $1795 per person.

Payment Options

If you are planning to attend an Interdisciplinary Professional Programs course, payment is required at the time of registration. Below are the payment options:

Pay by Credit Card

Enroll online and pay by credit card.

Search for the course on the website and then click on the Enroll Now button from the course webpage.
Enter all necessary course attendee information and payment information on the course enrollment page.
You will receive an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Enroll over the phone and pay by credit card.

Call CERC Registrations at 608-262-2451.
Provide the registrations representative with:
- the course name, dates, and/or course number.
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You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment payment.

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Mail in a completed registration form and check payable to UW Madison.

Fill out a registration form (found either in the back of the course brochure you received in the mail or here).
Prepare a check, made payable to UW Madison.
Mail the registration form and check to: CERC Registrations 21 N Park St, Ste 7101 Madison, WI 53715
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Request Purchase Order information from registration@cerc.wisc.edu
- If a fee quote is needed, contact custserv@interpro.wisc.edu first
You will receive an invoice from UW–Madison Business Services for payment, usually within 3–5 business days

Military

If using SF-182 form, please call our registration number at 608-262-2451 or email registration@cerc.wisc.edu for details and instructions.

Event Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen events. If we cancel a course, participants will be notified via email or phone and will be given the option for a full refund or to transfer their registration and any fees paid to another course. We are not responsible for non-refundable plane tickets, hotel reservations, and other travel related expenses. For enrollee Course Cancellation, refer to notes on course page.

Cancellation Policy

If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts.