The threats to data and information governance  

Cybersecurity, data interoperability, and data overload are among the key challenges to robust water governance in the next 10 years in OECD countries.

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With expanding regulations around emerging contaminants—such as the USEPA's strict 4 ppt PFAS limit —utilities must process vast amounts of continuous data. Integrating legacy IT systems with advanced analytics to overcome institutional "data silos" remains difficult. Furthermore, utilities face the ongoing challenge of navigating strict data privacy regulations while simultaneously meeting open-data mandates.

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In non-OECD Countries, an overarching challenge is the "Digital Divide" and foundational data gaps. Slow progress on digitalisation and a lack of national KPI frameworks, leave local municipalities to develop their own fragmented systems. 

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This regulatory gap is bridged in PPP contracts (which routinely feature hundreds of Key Performance Indicators covering every UN Human Rights criteria, as well as technical and socio-economic targets) and through the support and standardized toolboxes of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). However, in-house public delivery models often struggle to secure the funding and standardized frameworks necessary to digitize effectively.

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AquaFed highlighted these challenges in our response to the call for contributions to the global stocktake on the OECD’s Principles on Water Governance. Our comments were specifically on principle 5: Data and Information.

 

We also put forward practical and actionable priorities for the next 10 years:

●      National, Mandatory, Standardised and Transparent KPIs for water and wastewater utilities: Countries that have done so are in a much stronger position to evaluate the impact of national policies, providing utilities with a clear baseline for their own reporting.

●      Interoperability and Open Standards: Standardized data protocols ensure that data collected by diverse public agencies, private operators, and environmental bodies can be seamlessly integrated and compared across jurisdictions.

●      Predictive Modelling and Nexus Metrics: Shift from reactive to predictive data use and incentivize the adoption of real-time sensors, digital twin models, and mandatory tracking of the water-energy-carbon nexus, such as capturing carbon recovery and monitoring N2O emissions.

●      Standardized Scenario-Based Climate Risk Assessments: Utilities should implement comprehensive, quantitative methodologies to assess cascading climate risks across the multi-barrier approach, encompassing water resources, treatment processes, and distribution networks. Water information systems must incorporate recognized climate projections to establish future scenarios over 2035 and 2050 horizons. This transforms generalized climate data into actionable operational and capital solutions.

 

Please see the Briefing Note with our full response, where we also give our views on the policy context around date and information governance in the last 10 years.