As of October 2026, Melbourne Water's digital twin pilot forecasts recycled water quality up to 48 hours in advance with 75% accuracy. It covers one component of the utility's Class A recycled water system, and it shows both how far Melbourne Water's control systems have come and how far they still have to go.
Built around reservoirs and treatment plants
Because Melbourne Water serves households through the retail water corporations, its digital tools watch the assets it runs directly. Seven vertical profiling stations installed in 2017 in its most important drinking water reservoirs feed 3D hydrodynamic models used by operators. Its Real Greenhouse Gas Emission Measurement and Reporting Program, which won a 2022 Australian Water Association award, targets the sewage treatment emissions that make up about 85% of its total.
A portfolio of 31 projects
The utility runs 31 innovation projects across the business. They include an autonomous remote-operated vehicle for lagoon desludging, vegetation mapping for stormwater retarding basins and a neural network for sludge pipe design. Most are at pilot or trial stage rather than in daily use.
The control-system upgrade
The larger operational step is a new supervisory control platform for the water supply network. Yokogawa announced the "SCADA for our Future" order on 19 March 2025, with work running for up to three years. Climate flood modeling using projections to 2100 is scheduled to finish in 2026, with draft maps for four municipalities consulted on in early 2026.
Whether these tools will feed desalination orders and storage decisions, what the 2026–2031 capital benchmark of A$7,307.7 million funds, and how Melbourne Water's energy, carbon and workforce position compares with its plans are examined in the full report. The full report, Water Utility of the Future: Melbourne Water, is available for USD 499 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/water-utility-of-the-future-melbourne-water. For a free overview, read the Melbourne Water Utility Snapshot at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/utilities/melbourne-water.