Revolutionizing water management with Hubgrade

By Remi Thelisson, Head of Digital Transformation, Asia Pacific, Veolia Water Technologies

The world is facing unprecedented challenges with managing water resources. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and climate change have put a strain on traditional water and wastewater management methods.

In this landscape, smart water solutions have become indispensable for companies hoping to optimize efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure regulatory compliance. These technologies facilitate real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making, fostering sustainable practices and resilience in the face of changing climate conditions.

However, as the importance of these solutions becomes evident, it is imperative to recognize and address prevailing misconceptions that may impede progress. Understanding how these misconceptions arise is key to charting an informed course forward.

Myth 1: Smart water solutions are vulnerable to cybersecurity threats

As water and wastewater treatment processes become increasingly connected to the cloud, concerns over potential malicious cyber-attacks have intensified. Contrary to popular belief, these digital tools do not usually introduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Many solution providers recognize the critical nature of this issue and have established robust cybersecurity procedures. Today’s smart water treatment solutions are designed with the highest level of end-to-end cyber-security protocols, adhering to international security standards. Solution providers like Veolia go beyond addressing the myth of vulnerability by ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information.    

Veolia's comprehensive cybersecurity program for Hubgrade is an integral part of dispelling the misconception of vulnerability. This program encompasses physical, administrative, and logical security domains, ensuring a multi-faceted approach to safeguarding sensitive data.

In addition, Hubgrade's security policies, standards, and procedures are built upon internationally recognized security standards, with a particular emphasis on adherence to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. By incorporating these measures, Veolia not only addresses the prevailing myth but also underscores its commitment to the highest levels of data security.

Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are paramount in Veolia's approach:

• Confidentiality: Sensitive information can be protected by limiting access to authorized individuals. This is achieved with security mechanisms such as encryption at rest and in-transit, data access control with usernames and passwords, and secured physical devices.

• Integrity: Many smart water solutions can now guarantee that information remains true and correct to its original purposes. Mechanisms such as data encryption and hashing are implemented to ensure that information is received exactly as intended by the creator.

• Availability: Cloud infrastructure can be leveraged to enhance the availability of data. Dedicated network and web application firewall devices also guard against downtime and data inaccessibility resulting from malicious actions like distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Cybersecurity and customer data protection are critical considerations when deploying smart solutions. Continued advancements in technologies, standards, and processes allow plant owners to enjoy the benefits that come with smart water solutions while ensuring critical water resources remain secure.

Myth 2: Smart water solutions are complex and costly to implement

Another unfounded myth is that implementing smart water solutions is a complex and costly endeavor. Advancements in technology have made the implementation of digital solutions more accessible than ever — with technology providers offering scalable solutions to various budgets and operational scales.

While there may be an initial investment, the benefits generally far outweigh costs. Improved efficiency, reduced long-term operational expenses, and enhanced regulatory compliance contribute to a compelling return on investment in the long run. These smart solutions can help plant operators ensure more predictable outcomes, which translate to increased profitability and end-user satisfaction without the hefty outlay.

Myth 3: Smart water solutions are unreliable — the risk of failure is too high

The myth that smart water solutions are unreliable, allowing more room for failure, is another widely held misconception. It is crucial to understand that operators remain central to the decision-making process.

Far from replacing human decision-making, these technologies empower operators to make more and better-informed decisions, supported with actionable information derived from real-time data. The transformative potential of these solutions also lies in their ability to revolutionize water management by optimizing energy and chemical use efficiency, preventing non-compliant water loss, and enhancing predictive maintenance measures.

Revolutionizing water management with Hubgrade

Smart water solutions can offer a wealth of user-friendly and comprehensible data, as well as a unified platform for plant operators to evaluate, monitor, and improve process performance. This enhances managerial supervision of a plant and the outcomes it achieves. Advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, can help to analyze data gathered from sensors that monitor the biological composition of wastewater. Many of these tools are also able to automatically fine-tune treatment parameters, such as minimizing aeration or optimizing chemical usage.

Veolia's Hubgrade stands as a testament to the company’s commitment to offering excellent digital tools. By seamlessly integrating data analytics, artificial intelligence, and real-time monitoring, Hubgrade is a smart water management system that empowers operators to monitor and optimize water treatment processes like never before — representing the culmination of smart tools and the expertise of the company’s dedicated team of water specialists.

With Hubgrade, operators can achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, ensuring sustainable and responsible management of water resources. The solution not only addresses the challenges of today, but also prepares water treatment facilities for the uncertainties of tomorrow. As a global leader in water and wastewater treatment solutions, Veolia remains dedicated to dispelling these myths and paving the way for a future where water resources are managed with unprecedented efficiency and sustainability.