- Posted on 27 Oct 2026
ISF Water team at Smart Water Connect 2026
The ISF Water team were out in force this month attending the first Smart Water Connect, a new National Water Efficiency Forum, held at UTS on 13 October. The forum brought together utilities, government, researchers and industry to share practical approaches and experience on water efficiency and aiming to build on the momentum of the IWA Efficiency Conference held in Melbourne in September 2025.
Andrea Turner and Yohan Kim both presented in the forum's Harnessing Data, Smart Technologies and Insights session.
Andrea presented ISF's new Utility Demand Forecasting and Options (DFO) Model. The model brings together multiple streams of utility, demographic, appliance and climate data in a single framework to help forecast water demand in more detail and test demand management options such as regulations, rebates, and retrofits. The model is now being used by water utilities in Victoria and New South Wales.
Yohan presented research with NSW DCCEEW on water use and savings from residential evaporative air conditioners. The project used smart meters on 100 homes in the Tamworth region. It found that routine servicing gave modest average savings, while finding and fixing faulty high-flow units saved far more. The work also highlights the important links between water efficiency, heatwave resilience and public health.
Andrea also spoke on the closing panel, Beyond Education: Do Rebates and Incentives Still Deliver Water Savings?, facilitated by Erin Cini from WSAA. Andrea highlighting water savings are still out there but may need more nuanced and targeted approaches to fully capture them.
The day was a great chance for the ISF Water team to reconnect with colleagues from across the sector and talk about where water efficiency is heading next.
It was so fantastic to see so many water efficiency oldies and newbies in the same forum sharing their knowledge and lessons learned as we transition into a new era of water efficiency. We’ve already started planning for the next forum next year – see you there!
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