Themes

EQUITY AND ACCESS TO WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

Territorial characteristics strongly affect conditions of access to water supply and sanitation services. Informal urban settlements, which typically present irregular urban layouts, are among the most challenging areas to serve and usually entail higher costs. Rural areas also pose significant challenges due to low population density and long distances.

In these hard-to-reach areas, a large share of the population generally belongs to lower-income groups, adding economic constraints to physical and territorial challenges. This combination makes the realization of the human right to water and quality sanitation services a major challenge in many countries.

The absence or partial provision of services also generates significant environmental impacts, increasing pollution and compromising environmentally sensitive areas such as water sources. Climate change has further aggravated this degradation, while intensifying risks for local populations through more frequent landslides, flooding, and water insecurity caused by prolonged droughts.

The discussion under this theme aims not only to address how to expand service coverage in these difficult contexts, but also to debate key issues such as service quality, continuity, and resilience.

Session 1 – Water Supply and Sanitation in Informal Urban Settlements

Informal urban settlements with irregular layouts continue to be a housing solution for a significant share of the population in developing countries. In Brazil, this population has been increasing proportionally. Providing these areas with fully formalized urban infrastructure is the long-term objective; however, due to the high costs involved, typically borne by public budgets, such solutions are often unrealistic within short- and medium-term planning horizons.

The objective of this session is to discuss interim and transitional solutions that enable access to adequate water supply and sanitation services while full urban upgrading is not yet achievable. Solutions for water supply, which are generally easier to implement, will be addressed, alongside sanitary sewage services and stormwater management, which involve greater technical complexity and higher costs.

The session will also examine service quality under these conditions and the role of communities in ensuring that the right to adequate and reliable water supply and sanitation services is upheld.

Session 2 – Water Supply and Sanitation in Rural Areas

This session will discuss water supply and sanitation solutions for rural areas under different conditions in low- and middle-income countries, presenting how various countries and regions seek to ensure adequate services for rural populations.

Solutions from diverse contexts will be presented, including both conventional approaches and innovative technologies.

One key topic of discussion will be the role of water and sewage sanitation utilities in providing services in rural areas, whether through full-service provision or partial involvement, such as responsibility for specific stages of implementation, operation, or maintenance.

The session will also explore how communities participate in system management and operation, as well as how they interact with governments and service providers.

Session 3 – The Impact of Climate Change on Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Vulnerable and Environmentally Sensitive Areas

The most vulnerable populations are those most exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change. Already precarious living conditions are further exacerbated, increasing exposure to risks and reducing the quality of essential services. This session will address these challenges across different regional contexts, analyzing impacts and response strategies.

A particular attention will be given to increased exposure to flooding, landslides, and other climate-related disasters resulting from more intense and frequent extreme rainfall events observed in many parts of the world.

At the other extreme, water scarcity has intensified. The growing frequency and severity of droughts have placed significant stress on water supply systems, creating the need for capacity expansion and resilience-enhancing interventions. This increased stress disproportionately affects peripheral and informally occupied settlements, which are typically the first to experience service disruptions and face greater difficulties in maintaining service continuity.

Climate impacts also affect fragile ecosystems such as water sources, mangroves, and coastal regions, which will also be addressed in this discussion.

THEME 2: SUSTAINABLE SANITATION CYCLE: WASTEWATER, REUSE AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Theme 2 of BWW 2026 addresses sanitation, particularly wastewater management, as a structural pillar of sustainability, water and energy security, and urban development. The approach emphasizes resource recovery, system decarbonization, effective integration of innovation, and the consolidation of circular models applied to the sector. The theme aligns with global sectoral public policies, environmental and climate agendas, the 2030 Agenda, and ESG principles, reinforcing the strategic role of sanitation in the transition toward more efficient and resilient systems.

The proposal highlights the evolution of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) into biorefineries and sustainable production units, capable of going beyond their conventional function of pollutant removal to transform socio-environmental liabilities into strategic assets. In this context, practical case studies and technological pathways are explored for water reuse, clean energy production, nutrient recovery, and the generation of high value-added products such as hydrogen. These approaches contribute to mitigating environmental impacts, optimizing the use of natural resources, improving operational performance, and advancing the universalization of sanitation services.

The theme encompasses high-efficiency, low environmental impact technologies, advanced operational practices, process optimization methods, smart retrofits, and progressive solutions that enable circular economy models in sanitation. It takes an integrated view of technical, regulatory, institutional, and financial aspects. It also highlights the integration of sanitation with ecosystem services and nature-based solutions, expanding its contribution to climate change adaptation, emissions of mitigation, and increased urban resilience.

The discussion prioritizes applied experiences, technical and institutional cooperation, and the development of replicable agendas, fostering a qualified dialogue among utilities, the private sector, startups, academia, international organizations, and public institutions, in alignment with the strategic pillars and international positioning of BWW 2026.

THEME 3: REGULATORY CHALLENGES

Achieving universal access to sanitation services is intrinsically linked to the adaptability and innovation of regulatory frameworks. Under the theme “Regulatory Challenges and Context”, this track proposes a strategic and international perspective on the key pillars supporting the expansion and resilience of the water and sanitation sector in an increasingly uncertain world. The discussions will address how regulation can simultaneously foster investment, ensure service sustainability, and promote social equity.

The first session, “Contract Rebalancing and Sustainability”, addresses the critical need to ensure legal certainty and the attractiveness of long-term investments. In a global scenario marked by macroeconomic instability and, above all, by the impacts of climate change, the debate centers on how concession contracts and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can incorporate economic resilience and risk-sharing mechanisms. The best international practices for economic and financial rebalancing will be explored, aiming to protect low tariffs and, simultaneously, ensure the viability of operators and the fulfillment of universalization goals.

The second session, “Regulation of Rural Sanitation and Multilevel Governance”, focuses on the challenge of inclusion, essential to the principle of “leaving no one behind”. The discussion further emphasizes the need to adapt regulation to the specificities of rural areas and isolated communities, where decentralized solutions are the rule. The central axis is Multilevel Governance, examining international models of coordination between different spheres of government and the integration of community management models. The objective is to identify regulatory strategies that promote the technical and economic sustainability of alternative solutions, ensuring the quality of service and resilience in the face of extreme weather events.

Together, the sessions provide a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective on how modern regulation can act as a driver of transformation, balancing capital attraction, technological innovation, and social equity to accelerate universal and sustainable access to sanitation.

Session 3.1 – Economic Resilience and Sustainability of Long-Term Contracts: Global Challenges in Universal Access to Sanitation

Achieving universal access to water and sanitation services, as established in the UN’s SDG 6, demands a massive influx of capital, which, in many regions, is driven by long-term partnerships between the public and private sectors. However, the stability and sustainability of these contracts are currently facing unprecedented pressures arising from a global landscape of uncertainty.

This session will explore the mechanisms of Economic and Financial Rebalancing from an international perspective, discussing how different localities are adapting their regulatory frameworks to mitigate or address exogenous shocks. The central debate will focus on the integration of climate resilience into business models: how contracts can absorb the rising costs of adapting to extreme events (droughts, floods and water scarcity) without compromising tariff affordability or the financial viability of operators.

Global trends in economic regulation will be discussed, including the use of automatic rebalancing triggers, climate risk-sharing methodologies, and the impact of macroeconomic and tax reforms on the attractiveness of infrastructure investments. The objective is to promote an exchange of experiences on how to ensure the legal certainty necessary to attract international capital, ensuring that sustainability goals are translated into resilient and socially fair contracts.

Key issues:

How are international regulatory frameworks evolving to include climate risk as a factor of financial imbalance subject to contractual review?
What are the global best practices in rebalancing methodologies that balance the need for investments in resilient infrastructure with social protection and low tariffs?
How do macroeconomic instability and fiscal reforms impact the sustainability of long-term contracts and which mitigation mechanisms have proven to be more effective?
How can regulation encourage operational efficiency and technological innovation as tools to maintain economic balance in the face of rising input and energy costs?
What is the role of international financial institutions and regulators in creating a predictable business environment that supports universalization goals and SDG 6 in scenarios of high uncertainty?

Session 3.2 – Multilevel Governance and Regulation of Rural Sanitation: Global Strategies for Inclusion and Universalization

Achieving the goal of “leaving no one behind” as called for by SDG 6 requires innovative solutions for sanitation in rural areas and isolated communities, where conventional models of service delivery often fail. Globally, rural sanitation faces common challenges: geographic dispersion, low population density, and the need for decentralized technologies that are technically feasible and economically sustainable.

The discussion will highlight multilevel governance as a key mechanism to overcome institutional fragmentation and strengthen policy effectiveness. The focus will be on coordination between different levels of government (national, regional and local) and the integration of community management models with formal regulatory frameworks. International regulatory experiences that recognize alternative solutions and promote resilience in the face of climate change, which disproportionately impacts rural populations and their water security, will be explored.

The debate will address how reference standards and national guidelines can be made more flexible to accommodate the diversity of rural contexts, without compromising quality and public health surveillance. The session seeks to identify global good practices in cross-subsidies, financing individual solutions, and the role of regulatory agencies in protecting the human rights to water and sanitation in vulnerable territories.

Key issues:

Which multilevel governance models have proven to be most effective internationally in integrating rural sanitation into national universalization policies?
How can regulation be adapted to validate and monitor decentralized solutions and alternative technologies, ensuring quality standards and long-term sustainability?
How to structure financing and subsidy mechanisms that ensure the economic viability of rural services and financial accessibility for low-income populations?
What is the role of community participation and local management in rural sanitation governance and how can regulators support these models through formal institutional frameworks?

THEME 4: DIGITAL SANITATION AND SMART OPERATIONS: INNOVATION FOR EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY

The digitalization of water and sanitation services represents a structural shift in the sector, moving the focus from reactive approaches to predictive operation models, real-time management, and data-driven decision-making. The advancement of technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) enables resource optimization, loss reduction, increased operational resilience, and stronger transparency toward society and public institutions.

Beyond technology, this movement is also shaped by evolving legal frameworks that create ground rules for experimentation, technological development, and collaboration among utilities, universities, research institutes, startups, and innovation hubs. Innovation laws, combined with startup regulatory frameworks and instruments that promote applied research, expand the sector’s capacity to test solutions, accelerate prototypes, and integrate emerging technologies into day-to-day operations with legal certainty and scalability.

In this context, integrated technological structures for operational management become the core of modern operations, combining continuous monitoring, automated control, and simulation capabilities to assess scenarios and anticipate failures. Interoperable platforms, supported by open data standards, enable predictive and prescriptive analytics that guide investment planning, maintenance prioritization, and adaptive infrastructure management, strengthening efficiency and technical governance.

The successful implementation of this new paradigm requires not only technology but also process engineering, operational workflow redesign, team capacity building, and institutional alignment with the legal instruments that support innovation. International experience demonstrates that utilities integrating digitalization with innovation legislation achieve significant gains in efficiency, reliability, and transparency, with direct impacts on business sustainability and service quality.

Session 4.1 – Smart Operations and Data-Driven Decision-Making

This session explores how the combination of high-quality data, artificial intelligence, predictive modeling, and digital tools is transforming operational management in the water and sanitation sector. The focus is on the ability to anticipate risks, optimize assets, and guide strategic decisions based on evidence, reducing losses and improving system efficiency.

Key Topics

Predictive modeling applied to water and wastewater networks
Critical scenario simulation for planning and rapid response
Digital twins as a decision-support tool
Use of AI for failure prediction, demand forecasting, and operational anomaly detection
OPEX and CAPEX reduction through data-driven decision-making
Case studies of utilities that transitioned from reactive to predictive operating models

Session 4.2 – Smart Monitoring, Automation, and Operational Transparency

This session explores how the integration of IoT, advanced automation systems, and data platforms enhances traceability, service reliability, and institutional transparency. The discussion addresses how these systems support digital governance and enhance public accountability.

Key Topics

IoT and sensor networks applied to water and sanitation systems
Next-generation SCADA systems and integration with corporate platforms
Adaptive automation and real-time control
Open data and interoperability for public sector management
Digital performance indicators and management dashboards
Operational transparency and institutional trust

Session 4.3 – Innovation in Water and Sanitation: Legislation, Ecosystem, and People as Drivers Transformation

This session discusses how innovation legislation creates legal conditions for technological experimentation, applied research, and collaboration among utilities, universities, startups, and research centers, while also highlighting the central role of people building an innovation culture. The session emphasizes that digital transformation is only sustainable when accompanied by behavioral change, capacity building, and strategic leadership.

Key Topics:

Innovation legislation applied to the water and sanitation sector
Legal instruments for R&D partnerships and open innovation
Startup legal frameworks and the promotion of technological experimentation
International comparison: innovation models in the U.S. and the Netherlands in the water sector.
The role of people in innovation: culture, leadership, and organizational change
Technical and behavioral capacity building for digital environments
How to turn technology into real value through team engagement

THEME 5: GLOBAL COOPERATION AND WATER DIPLOMACY

In times of climate change, water crises, and extreme events, it is increasingly important to consider water governance from a broader and more global perspective, especially as multilateral conflicts and disputes are expected to intensify in the coming years.

Disasters related to floods and extreme droughts have intensified worldwide in recent decades, becoming a growing threat to the environment, human life, and the economies of many countries. Recent international events, such as the World Water Forum (particularly the last three editions in Brazil, Senegal, and Indonesia), the UN Water Conference (2023), COP30 (Belém, Brazil, 2025), and conferences organized by UNESCO, FAO, and UN-Habitat, among others highlight vulnerabilities, tensions, and risks related to current and future water security. These discussions reinforce that approximately half of the global population experiences severe water scarcity during at least part of the year (IPCC, 2023, cited by UNESCO, 2024), and that water stress has significant implications for economic and social stability, with deficits potentially linked to around 10% of the increase in global migration. In Brazil, similar large-scale challenges exist, as the country shares borders with ten nations and has approximately 60% of its territory within transboundary river basins, totaling more than 80 border or transboundary rivers.

These issues call for broader reflections on strategic topics such as water diplomacy, bilateral and multilateral agreements, international financing, and collaborative and shared water governance, all of which are essential elements for promoting the sustainable, equitable, and peaceful use of transnational water resources.

These aspects will be explored and expanded upon in this panel, presenting a range of Brazilian and international experiences, lessons learned, reflections, and knowledge on integrated transboundary basin management, water security and pollution control, inequality in access to water resources, pressures on ecosystems, governance mechanisms, social participation and transparency, climate adaptation and resilience, interregional planning, multilateral cooperation and agreements, technical-scientific exchange and innovation, among other strategic topics. The objective is to contribute to discussions and alternatives for building collaborative and sustainable solutions at the international level.

Session 5.1 – Water Diplomacy and Transboundary Conflict Management

In times of climate change, water crises, and extreme events, it is increasingly important to consider water governance from a broader and global perspective, particularly as multilateral conflicts and disputes are expected to intensify in the coming years.

Flood- and drought-related disasters have intensified worldwide in recent decades, becoming a growing threat to the environment, human life, and national economies. Recent international events, such as the World Water Forum (notably the last three editions in Brazil, Senegal, and Indonesia), the UN Water Conference (2023), COP30 (Belém, Brazil, 2025), and conferences organized by UNESCO, FAO, and UN-Habitat—highlight vulnerabilities, tensions, and risks related to water security, both present and future. These discussions reinforce that nearly half of the global population experiences severe water scarcity during part of the year (IPCC, 2023, cited by UNESCO, 2024), and that water stress significantly affects economic and social stability, potentially contributing to around 10% of increased global migration. In Brazil, similarly, there are large-scale challenges due to shared borders with ten countries and the presence of approximately 60% of its territory within transboundary river basins, totaling more than 80 border or transboundary rivers.

These issues point to broader reflections on strategic themes such as water diplomacy, bilateral and multilateral agreements, international financing, and collaborative water governance, as essential elements for ensuring the sustainable, equitable, and peaceful use of transnational water resources.

This panel will explore these aspects through diverse Brazilian and international experiences, lessons learned, and insights into integrated transboundary basin management, water security, pollution control, inequality in water access, ecosystem pressures, governance mechanisms, social participation and transparency, climate adaptation and resilience, interregional planning, multilateral cooperation and agreements, and technical-scientific exchange and innovation. The aim is to contribute to discussions and the development of collaborative and sustainable solutions at the international level.

Session 5.2 – International Financing and Multilateral Mechanisms

According to the United Nations World Water Development Report (UNESCO, 2024), transboundary waters account for approximately 60% of the world’s freshwater, with more than 150 countries sharing rivers, lakes, and aquifers. These transnational waters face significant and increasing pressures due to population growth, rising water demand, ecosystem degradation, and climate change. The same report indicates that in 2021, US$171 million was mobilized for the water sector through development funds, while global costs to achieve SDG 6 are estimated to exceed US$1 trillion per year, or 1.21% of global GDP.

International financing and multilateral credit mechanisms remain among the main challenges to achieving the SDGs, ensuring transnational water security, and supporting environmental adaptation to ongoing extreme events and climate change.

Budgetary constraints—often combined with political and fiscal crises, as well as limited legal and institutional capacity in developing and lower-income countries—hinder the adoption of coordinated and integrated strategies for managing shared transboundary river basins, improving water security, and enhancing infrastructure and environmental and public health conditions. These challenges require significant efforts to ensure the provision, efficiency, and timely allocation of financial resources.

At the global level, various efforts and mechanisms have been discussed, proposed, or implemented to promote access to funding and expand investments in water management and governance. These include market-based instruments, debentures, green bonds, blue bonds, sovereign funds, securitization, multilateral credit sources, and public and private banks, among others, all aimed at leveraging resources and providing guarantees aligned with the urgent need to enhance resilience, water security, and sustainability.

The objective of this panel is to explore and discuss these aspects in depth, presenting best practices and recent experiences on how these instruments and mechanisms are being used and how they can create more favorable conditions for investment and financing, considering the various contractual, political, fiscal, exchange rate, monetary, economic, and operational risks involved.

THEME 6: CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND WATER RESILIENCE: SOLUTIONS FOR A CHANGING WORLD

Session 6.1 – Water Resilience Engineering

The intensification and increasing frequency of extreme hydrological events associated with climate change pose unprecedented challenges to planning, water engineering, and the sanitation sector. In this context, water resilience engineering emerges as a strategic approach for planning, design, adaptation, and operation of infrastructure capable of responding to uncertain scenarios, reducing vulnerabilities, and ensuring the continuity of essential services.

This panel will address how principles of resilience, flexibility, robustness, and adaptive capacity are being incorporated into the engineering of water systems across different territorial scales. Practical experiences and technical approaches applied to water supply systems, wastewater collection and treatment, urban drainage, flood control, and integrated water resources management will be discussed, with an emphasis on adapting existing infrastructure and designing more resilient solutions in the face of droughts, floods, and systemic failures.

The discussion will bring together complementary perspectives from academia, service operators, regulators, planning institutions, and international experts, promoting the integration of conceptual foundations with practical applications. The session will highlight how engineering can support more informed decision-making processes, contribute to climate adaptation strategies, and strengthen water security in a context of accelerated environmental change.

Session 6.2 – Adaptive Planning and Climate Risk Management

Climate change increases the complexity of territorial planning and risk management, requiring approaches capable of dealing with uncertainty, multiple scenarios, and uneven impacts across space and over time. In this context, adaptive planning and climate risk management emerge as essential tools to guide more robust, flexible, and socially equitable public and technical decisions.

This panel proposes an innovative approach structured around real-world decision-making dilemmas faced by managers, planners, and technical professionals. Instead of traditional presentations, panelists will respond to common problem-based questions, exploring prioritization criteria, trade-offs, institutional and regulatory constraints, and strategies for continuous adjustment in the face of increasing climate risks.

The session will highlight how different technical, institutional, and territorial perspectives address climate uncertainty, fostering an applied dialogue between planning, engineering, governance, and public policy. The discussion will contribute to building practical and conceptual references that support more resilient decision-making processes aligned with current and future challenges.

Session 6.3 – Nature-Based Solutions and Source Water Protection

The degradation of water sources and the intensification of climatic and anthropogenic pressures on water resources require integrated approaches that connect environmental conservation, land-use planning, and water management. In this context, nature-based solutions have become established as key strategies for protecting water sources, improving water quality, regulating hydrological processes, and strengthening water resilience.

This panel proposes an innovative approach organized around the journey of water within the watershed and guided by evidence and outcomes. Each panelist will address a specific segment of the territory, presenting challenges faced, nature-based solutions implemented, and observed evidence regarding their effectiveness.

The session will demonstrate how distributed interventions throughout the watershed are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, contributing to source of water protection and water security at different scales. The discussion will bring together technical, institutional, and scientific perspectives, promoting a systemic and applied view of nature-based solutions within the context of climate adaptation.

THEME 7: SAFE WATER: HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY

Safe water is an essential condition for protecting human health, reducing inequalities, and promoting sustainable development. It is defined as water that poses no significant health risk over a lifetime of consumption, considering physical, chemical, microbiological, and emerging parameters, while ensuring sufficient availability, continuous access, universal coverage, and economic affordability. In the context of intensifying climate change, rapid urbanization, and increasing pressure on water sources, ensuring safe water has become a strategic challenge for governments, service providers, and society.

This panel will address safe water as a structural axis of public sanitation and health policies, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with emphasis on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). National and international experiences will be discussed, focusing on water governance, regulatory frameworks, technological innovations, and multilateral cooperation mechanisms aimed at ensuring universal access to quality water, protecting and restoring water sources, and strengthening the resilience of water systems to climate change impacts.

The panel will highlight the Water Safety Plan as a key instrument for a preventive and integrated approach, focused on hazard identification, risk assessment, and risk management from source to consumption, thereby strengthening system resilience and public confidence. The discussion will seek to identify best practices, common challenges, and opportunities for collaboration among the public sector, international organizations, academia, the private sector, and civil society, contributing to concrete and scalable solutions to guarantee the human right to safe water.

Session 7.1 – Safe Water

The Safe Water panel brings together national and international experiences, integrating different perspectives. International cases primarily contribute to innovations and established models, while national cases, in addition to these aspects, may also present specific challenges and solutions. This dialogue strengthens technical cooperation, encourages the adoption of best practices, and contributes to more effective public policies. By bringing together experts from different contexts, the panel promotes applied knowledge, enhances water security, and supports the protection of public health.

Session 7.2 – Monitoring and Early Warning for Water Safety

Complementing the safe water theme, monitoring and early warning are essential for discussing strategies that enable the identification of risks to water quality before they escalate into pollution and contamination crises. Through the exchange of best practices from national and international experiences, knowledge on monitoring technologies, data systems, and rapid response protocols can be expanded. Both international and national case studies should present innovative solutions that address challenges and showcase practices adapted to local realities.

Session 7.3 – Aquifer Protection and Source Preservation

This panel, structured as a dialogue between national and international experts, aims to promote the adoption of best practices in land-use planning and source of water protection. As a result, it contributes to advancing water safety and the sustainability of water resources. The panel on aquifer protection and source preservation is essential to discuss strategies that ensure water quality and availability for future generations. As strategic sources, aquifers must be protected before pollution and contamination processes occur.