The water sector’s biggest problem may not be underground

By Darren Butler, Vice President, Industrial Automation – Pacific Zone

For decades, the performance of water and wastewater has been defined by physical infrastructure primarily pipes, pumps, and treatment assets engineered to last generations.

Today, utilities are being asked to do more with systems built for a different era. At Schneider Electric, we see this as part of a broader shift toward advancing energy technology across the water and environment sector. Climate variability, energy volatility, regulatory change, and skills shortages are all increasing operational pressure.

Most utilities have evolved their systems incrementally over time. PLCs, SCADA platforms and telemetry layers were introduced to solve specific operational problems as they emerged. But few were designed as part of a unified, connected operating model.

Energy, process and data operate in silos, which limits visibility and the ability to respond and adapt. Despite the volume of data generated across these environments, only 20–30% is actively used in decision-making, highlighting a gap in usability, not availability.

The consequence is clear: many utilities are operating systems that cannot adapt at the pace modern operations now demand.

The hidden bottleneck: engineering effort

When utilities need to adapt to expand capacity, improve efficiency or meet compliance requirements, the process is still heavily manual. Changes are engineered against specific hardware, integrations are slow, commissioning can take weeks or months, and risk increases with every modification.

This challenge is compounded by capability constraints, with 29% of Australian organisations reporting they lack the skills required to meet evolving compliance and operational demands.

As a result, even routine operational improvements can quickly become resource intensive projects.

The constraint is no longer the infrastructure itself, but the effort required to change how it operates.

This creates a growing tension across the sector: utilities are expected to be more agile, efficient, and responsive, yet the systems they rely on are inherently difficult to evolve.

A shift from assets to systems

What we are now seeing is a shift in how critical infrastructure is conceived.

From asset-centric operations to system-centric, software-defined operations.

This is not digitisation as another layer added on top of existing systems. It is a fundamental shift in how those systems are structured.

The direction is clear:

From software bound to hardware ? to open, software-defined automation
From site-specific engineering ? to modular, reusable design
From fragmented systems ? to architectures that evolve over time
From separate energy and process optimisation ? to integrated operating models

Open, software-defined automation enables control applications to operate independently from proprietary hardware, creating more flexible, interoperable, and scalable industrial automation environments across water and wastewater operations.

This is what digital infrastructure really means.

Not dashboards. Not isolated “smart” assets.

Not another layer of disconnected technology.

But the underlying architecture that allows systems to scale, adapt, and continuously improve without being redesigned from the ground up.

Why it matters now

Australia’s water sector arguably operates in one of the most complex environments globally.

Assets are spread across vast regions. Climate extremes, from drought to flooding, are testing supply and infrastructure resilience. Energy is no longer predictable, and the workforce needed to manage increasingly complex systems is under strain.

These pressures reflect broader challenges across the Australian economy. Schneider Electric’s Energy Tech Pulse survey of more than 500 Australian business leaders found skilled labour shortages and energy costs are the two biggest external challenges, cited by 41% and 37% respectively. More than 60% are also concerned that ageing infrastructure is slowing progress on electrification, efficiency and automation.

In Australia, utilities are facing growing renewal pressure as assets approach end of life while demand continues to increase. In this context, incremental optimisation is no longer sufficient.

The challenge cannot be solved with more hardware. It requires a different approach to how systems are designed and operated.

The role of an integrated operating model

At Schneider Electric, we see this challenge emerging as utilities work to better connect energy, process, and digital operations. With the use of Digital Twins and a Unified Operations Centre, we enable greater operational visibility and insight, with the focus shifting toward more integrated and adaptable operating models which can be viewed through a single pane of glass.

Energy: increasingly complex, cost-sensitive, and decarbonising
Process: critical operations where reliability is non-negotiable
Digital and software: the layer that enables visibility, optimisation, and control

When energy can represent up to 40% of operating costs, and operational environments continue to grow more complex, the opportunity isn’t just optimisation, it’s redesigning systems so they can evolve over time.

Open, software-defined automation is a key part of that shift, enabling utilities to reduce engineering effort, simplify integration, and adapt operations faster without constantly rebuilding systems.

The proposition is clear: bring energy, process, and software into a single operating model designed to evolve over time. This is what advancing energy technology for the water and environment sector looks like, creating more connected, adaptable, and resilient operations.

This is what enables utilities to reduce the effort required to implement change, respond faster to new conditions, and operate with greater resilience over time.

The emerging performance gap

The next divide in the water sector will not be between those with better assets and those without. It will be between those whose systems can adapt quickly and those whose can’t.

The utilities that move first will not just be more efficient. They will be more responsive, more resilient, and better positioned to manage the uncertainty ahead.

Schneider Electric with AVEVA will be discussing these challenges and opportunities at Ozwater’26, Stand K01, including how integrated, open, software-defined operating models are helping advance energy technology across Australia’s water and wastewater infrastructure.

Visit Schneider Electric at Stand K01 during Ozwater’26 in Brisbane, 26–28 May 2026.

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