The SWAN Forum smart water networks organisation has gained a new member focused on the wastewater opportunities for data-driven technologies.

The new wastewater member is Israeli company Kando. The company says its offering allows water utilities and industrial customers to detect, track and anticipate pollution events in real time ‘for the first time’.

The SWAN Forum promotes progress of smart technologies in the water sector. Much of the focus of smart technologies to date has been on water supply networks, especially in relation to reducing water loss. In a joint announcement, Kando and SWAN Forum note that rapid population growth, unpredictable weather patterns and increased regulations regarding sewage and contamination events mean there is a growing need for utilities worldwide to improve their wastewater infrastructure and become more resilient.

In the statement, Ari Goldfarb, CEO of Kando, is quoted as saying: ‘We are witnessing a rising interest in the implementation of real-time surveillance in the global wastewater industry – therefore, the time is now for the adoption of smart wastewater technologies.’ He adds: ‘Kando is committed to harnessing IoT technology to disrupt the wastewater arena. We envision a future with every sewage network in cities around the globe becoming a smart system.’

Also in the statement, Amir Cahn, Executive Director of the SWAN Forum, comments: ‘A smart water future must also address wastewater challenges and prioritise real-time based solutions. With Kando joining the global SWAN network, we are excited to welcome this leading smart wastewater company to our global hub of industry experts. We believe that given their ongoing work with utilities on ​adopting ​technological ​solutions for monitoring, ​early detection,​ control and ​management of ​wastewater ​networks, they will bring their own level of expertise to propel the smart wastewater sector forward.’

According to Kando, it offers a cloud-based software as a service solution together with unique wireless hardware measurement units that allow collecting real-time data from the sewage network. It says its innovative, proprietary machine learning and data analytics tools enable customers to see their network in a way that has never been previously possible.

The SWAN 2018 Conference will be held in Barcelona, Spain on May 21-22. See www.swan2018.com.