Closing the Loop: Practical AI for Water Asset Management

Sweden’s water and wastewater utilities face a familiar squeeze: aging networks, climate-driven extremes, and rising expectations—without a matching rise in budget or specialist capacity.

The Scale of the Challenge

Sweden’s water and wastewater infrastructure has an annual under-investment of 10 billion SEK, with a growing investment debt according to Svenskt Vattens investment report 2023. Data silos and fragmented systems further limit the adoption of AI-driven solutions.

The 2035 Vision

Imagine a future where water and wastewater systems have evolved into living, learning ecosystems. AI-driven robots, reasoning agents, and human expertise work together in a resilient loop that continuously improves.

Key elements of this vision include:

• Autonomous robots for infrastructure inspection
• LLM agents for decision support with explainability
• Human-governed feedback systems enabling continuous organizational learning

The RAI Loop Framework

RISE is developing solutions through the RAI Loop—a Readiness-Adoption-Impact framework that guides utilities through AI transformation. The approach includes:

• Gamified training programs to build organizational capability
• Governance templates aligned with EU AI Act regulations
• Model validation ensuring reliable predictions
• Uncertainty visualization supporting informed decision-making

Human-in-the-Loop

Operators approve actions, set policies, and correct mistakes. That feedback becomes labelled data. Each intervention updates a digital twin and retrains models on a cadence utilities control.

Collaborative Development

At RISE, we work alongside utilities on this journey—co-designing pilots, exploring governance templates aligned with the AI Act, validating models, and using serious games to strengthen decision-making across teams.

A collaborative Learning Network across municipalities enables shared learning and faster adoption of proven approaches.