Water has a commercialization problem. Here’s how we move beyond pilots.
By Sivan Zamir, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Products Officer
The challenge facing the water sector is not a lack of proven technology but creating the conditions for adoption. Utilities, technology providers, financing partners and regulators all have a role to play in reducing risk and creating clear pathways from validation to implementation. When stakeholders align early around technical performance, funding and deployment outcomes, proven solutions are more likely to move from pilot projects to measurable impact at scale.
We already have many of the technologies needed to address today's most pressing water challenges. Leak detection, advanced treatment, AI-powered operational tools and water reuse are delivering results today. The challenge is not whether these solutions work. It is how to move proven solutions into wider use.
Why does proven technology stall between trial and deployment?
It is easy to blame risk aversion. In reality, utilities are cautious for good reason.
Water professionals are responsible for delivering one of society's most essential services. Their caution is justified. A failed implementation can have consequences for regulatory compliance, service reliability and public health.
But even when a technology performs well, the decision to deploy it can stall.
Technical teams, procurement departments, finance leaders and regulators often work on different processes and timelines. A pilot may succeed, but without alignment across these groups and a clear path from validation to deployment, months or even years can pass before the utility can fund and approve deployment.
Utilities also operate under real budget, workforce and capital constraints that can make even successful pilots difficult to advance.
That is pilot purgatory: a technology passes the test, but there is no plan for what happens next.
What does successful technology adoption look like?
Plan for deployment before you plan the pilot.
Before testing begins, agree on what the technology must deliver, who will make the deployment decision and how implementation would be funded.
At Xylem Innovation Labs, we call this a proof of value. We test not only whether the technology works, but whether its operational, financial or resilience benefits justify deployment.
Bring operations, engineering, procurement, finance and relevant regulators into the discussion before testing starts. Agree on success criteria and the steps needed to move forward if those criteria are met.
Financing needs to be part of that discussion. Performance-based agreements can tie payment to measurable results. Agreeing on the conditions for purchase before a trial begins can also help utilities avoid restarting the evaluation after a successful test.
We can see this approach at work with the Greer Commission of Public Works in South Carolina. The utility worked with Xylem, Moleaer and Black & Veatch to test nanobubble technology under real operating conditions, ultimately eliminating chemicals used for foaming and settling, and estimating annual savings of $210,000 to $290,0001. It’s a good example of what can happen when proven technology, utility validation and trusted partners come together around a measurable operational need.
The impact can be significant. Structured approaches that combine stakeholder alignment, performance measurement and predefined deployment pathways consistently outperform conventional pilot programs because they focus on adoption from the start rather than treating adoption as a future possibility.
Deployment also changes day-to-day work. Operators need training, clear responsibilities and workflows that make technology usable in practice. Those requirements should be part of the plan before a trial begins, not addressed after it succeeds. When operational readiness is considered from the start, successful pilots are more likely to become successful deployments.
What this looks like in practice
The water sector's greatest constraint is not engineering capability. It is the systems built around adoption.
When utilities gain access to structured de-risking, aligned financing and clear pathways to deployment, the distance between proven technology and measurable impact becomes much shorter.
Before starting the next pilot, ask: if this works, are we ready to buy it, fund it and operate it? A successful trial should lead to a decision, not another trial.
Frequently asked questions about water technology pilots
Scaling proven water technologies requires a coordinated effort across the sector. Technology providers, utilities, investors and policymakers must work together to align incentives, reduce uncertainty and demonstrate value. By engaging key technical, operational, procurement and financing stakeholders early in the process, organizations can establish clear performance metrics, risk-sharing mechanisms and pathways for broader deployment. This collaborative approach helps move successful innovations beyond pilots and into widespread adoption with greater confidence and lower risk.
Many technologies become stuck because technical validation, procurement, financing and regulatory processes often move on different timelines. Even successful pilots can stall when there isn’t a clear path from validation into budgeting and deployment plans.
Utilities can reduce risk by using performance-based financing models, defining deployment criteria before testing begins and involving all key stakeholders early in the evaluation process. These approaches put greater emphasis on measurable outcomes and implementation readiness rather than experimentation alone.
1Xylem, How Greer CPW used nanobubbles to eliminate foaming and cut treatment costs https://www.xylem.com/en-us/resources/blog-posts/making-waves/how-greer-cpw-used-nanobubbles-to-eliminate-foaming-and-cut-treatment-costs/