The complete preliminary Thematic and Technical Programs are published together with the WC26 Preview Booklet. Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1 to 5 November 2026. 

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, 12 August — The International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) today released the full preliminary program for the IDRA World Congress 2026: a Technical Program of 200 + peer-reviewed paper presentations running across four parallel theaters every day of the Congress, and a Thematic Program of 25 plenary sessions that includes three formats new to the Congress. Both programs are published in full in the WC26 Preliminary Program Booklet, available now. 

The Congress takes place from 1 to 5 November 2026 at the King Faisal Convention Center, InterContinental Riyadh, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) and hosted by the Saudi Water Authority (SWA), under the theme “Driving Global Water Sustainability Through Innovation.” It is expected to convene 2,200 delegates from more than 100 countries, alongside a robust exhibition across two exhibition halls. 

Shannon McCarthy, Secretary General of IDRA, said:

“Over two hundred technical papers were selected through blind peer review from more than 300 abstracts submitted from 48 countries. Alongside the technical program is a thematic program that addresses the broader issues shaping the future of water, including a regulators’ forum, a leadership summit, and a business forum on the Saudi market, covering regulation, finance, leadership, innovation, and investment. Both programs were built by volunteers. More than 90 people from across our industry, on the thematic and technical committees, gave their time to review the abstracts, shape the sessions, and hold the standard. The sector curates its own Congress, and the preliminary program released today is proof of it.” 

The Technical Program

The WC26 Technical Program was assembled through an open global call for abstracts. More than 300 abstracts were submitted from over 48 countries and reviewed blind by the WC26 Technical Program Committee. Over two hundred papers were selected for 25 minute presentation slots. 

The Technical Program runs from Monday 2 November to Thursday 5 November across four parallel technical theaters, organized into six main topics and 40 sub-topics: 

• Process and Design. The largest topic by volume, spanning membrane development and hybridization, batch and closed-circuit reverse osmosis, membrane distillation, pretreatment design, remineralization and blending, high-recovery configurations, atmospheric water generation, and full-scale retrofits. 

• Environment. Brine valorization and zero liquid discharge, mineral and critical metals recovery from produced water, carbon capture using desalination brine, and environmental assessment of circular water management. 

• Energy. Energy recovery devices, next-generation pressure exchangers, waste-heat-driven and solar-assisted systems, green hydrogen and ammonia integration, and the water-energy nexus across the Saudi water value chain. 

• Operations. Plant performance and asset reliability at scale, membrane autopsies, variable speed drives on large SWRO plants, corrosion and disinfection byproduct management, and water strategies for data centers. 

• Digital and AI. Chemistry-aware AI for membrane cleaning, dynamic digital twins for RO optimization, data-driven OPEX reduction at full-scale plants, and machine learning applied to forecasting and operational intelligence. 

• Reuse. Direct and indirect potable reuse in practice, PFAS removal and management in membrane concentrates, large-scale municipal reuse, and reuse under the EU urban wastewater treatment and reuse directives. 

Papers come from utilities, operators, technology developers, EPC contractors, and research institutions worldwide, with case studies including plants in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Morocco, Mexico, Cyprus, Oman, the United States, Australia, Jordan, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates. 

The Technical Program closes on Thursday 5 November with the Technical Program Awards Ceremony over the closing luncheon, including the Best Paper Awards. 

The Thematic Program

Over Twenty-five plenary sessions run across the week, built around three new formats and the constraints that decide whether proven water solutions reach scale. 

Sunday 1 November opens with the Water Regulation Forum, established by the Saudi Water Authority, with IDRA as Strategic Partner: a full day on regulatory models across the Americas, Europe, the GCC, and emerging economies, covering compliance and performance monitoring, the integration of government, private sector and finance, a bilateral dialogue on regulatory frameworks for direct potable reuse, and the launch of the Water Regulation Exchange. 

Sunday also carries the pre-Congress workshop program: the 2nd ACWA Global Desalination Hackathon, a KACST-led workshop on “Emerging Contaminants in Water and the Environment: From Advanced Analytical Techniques and AI-Driven Monitoring to Sustainable Treatment Technologies and Regulatory Frameworks,” and further workshops on brine management and the future of sustainable water management, alongside training courses. 

Monday 2 November frames the global water agenda, hands the Kingdom the floor for the Saudi water story, and moves to mobilizing private capital for universal access, scaling water reuse, and integrating desalination with next-generation energy. The day includes the Opening Ceremony and the passing of the Congress flag to the 2028 host. 

Tuesday 3 November is given over to the Global Water Thought Leadership Summit, covering AI and water, power and policy, the communicators lab on changing the narrative on water, short-form talks from frontline voices, and a youth and future leaders forum. 

Wednesday 4 November covers the road to the UN Water Conference, scaling water reuse in the USA curated by the WateReuse Association, financing water infrastructure in the MENA region curated with the World Bank and the Arab Fund, women leaders of the industry, water security to 2050, and a market overview from Global Water Intelligence. The Gala Dinner and Industry and Sustainability Awards Ceremony follow that evening. 

Thursday 5 November closes with the Business Forum curated with Sharakat and Synergy Consulting, Doing Business in the Saudi Water Sector: Vision 2030 and Beyond, a half-day program on the Saudi project pipeline, localization and manufacturing, financing and PPPs, and international partnership case studies, ending with pre-arranged B2B matchmaking. 

The World Congress Preview Booklet

The WC26 World Congress Preview Booklet publishes both programs in full: the complete Congress timetable, the session-by-session thematic overview, the technical sessions with every paper title, the Water Regulation Forum and Business Forum agendas, the thematic and technical program committees, and the sponsors, exhibitors, and partners confirmed to date. 

The World Congress Preview Booklet and the full preliminary program are available now at www.idraworldcongress.org/preliminary-program. 

Secure your Congress Pass todayRegistration is open at idraworldcongress.org. 

Read the program, find the sessions and the papers that matter to your work, and book your place in the room where they are presented. WC26 expects 2,200 delegates from more than 100 countries across five days, and hotel and travel capacity in Riyadh over Congress week is finite.