Preliminary Program
idra world congress 2026
Preliminary Program
The IDRA World Congress 2026 brings the global desalination and water reuse community to Riyadh for five days of dialogue, deep-dives, and decisions.
Hosted by the Saudi Water Authority under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the Congress unites policymakers, utilities, developers, financiers, researchers, and innovators around a single purpose: accelerating the technologies, partnerships, and policies the world needs to deliver water security at scale.
Across four full days plus a pre-Congress regulators session, the programme moves from global framing through finance, energy, reuse, technology, and policy, culminating in the Riyadh Declaration: a unified industry voice on the road to the 2026 UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates.
PRE-CONGRESS | Sunday, 1 November
DAY ONE | Monday, 2 November
DAY TWO | Tuesday, 3 November
DAY THREE | Wednesday, 4 November
DAY FOUR | Thursday, 5 November
Regulation for Resilience: Strengthening Global Water Security Through Governance, Innovation, and Regional Cooperation. A high-level half-day for water regulators from the GCC, MENA, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific to exchange regulatory models, examine emerging challenges, and shape practical recommendations that feed directly into the main Congress and the Riyadh Declaration.
14:00 – 14:15 CEREMONY
Welcome & Opening Remarks
IDRA leadership joins the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), the Saudi Water Authority, and SWPC to formally open the regulators session. A brief framing of why this gathering matters now: a global water sector under accelerating pressure, regulators at the centre of every major decision, and the urgent need for shared learning across jurisdictions.
14:15 – 14:40 KEYNOTE
Keynote: The Global State of Water Regulation in a Changing Climate
A scene-setting overview of the regulatory landscape facing the global water sector, from the GCC to the Americas to Europe. The keynote will explore how regulators are responding to drought resilience, potable reuse, PFAS oversight, climate adaptation, and the emerging challenges of environmental protection, water distribution systems, and smart technology integration. What is working, what is not, and where the regulatory frontier is heading.
14:40 – 15:10 DIALOGUE
Academic One-to-One Dialogue: The Knowledge Partnership
A moderated conversation with a distinguished academic figure on the role of universities, research institutes, and academic centres as advisory and knowledge partners in water sector regulation. How does research evidence shape policy decisions? Where are the gaps between scientific consensus and regulatory action? And how can the academia-regulator pipeline be strengthened to ensure innovation moves from the lab to the legislation that enables it?
15:10 – 16:00 PRESENTATIONS
Regional Presentations: Regulatory Priorities & Emerging Challenges
Structured 7-8 minute briefings from regulators representing the world’s most active water regions: GCC (desalination governance, reuse mandates, tariff modernisation, smart water systems); MENA (groundwater protection, non-conventional water integration, distribution resilience); United States (state-level leadership on potable reuse from California, Texas and Arizona, federal frameworks, PFAS regulation); Latin America (water rights reforms, enforcement mechanisms in Chile and Peru); Southern Europe (drought regulation, aquifer recharge governance in Spain, Italy, Portugal); Africa (ESAWAS); and Australia-Asia Pacific. Cross-cutting themes include data transparency, environmental compliance, distribution systems, smart technology regulation, and operator certification.
16:00 – 16:30 NETWORKING BREAK
16:30 – 17:15 PANEL
Spotlight Dialogue: The Integrated Triangle – Government, Private Sector & Finance
Water infrastructure does not get built by governments alone. Or by the private sector alone. Or by financiers alone. It gets built when the three work together. This dialogue brings a senior regulator, a private sector developer or operator, and a multilateral development bank representative into a single conversation about how the integrated triangle actually delivers projects at scale. The session explores how regulatory certainty unlocks private capital, how risk is allocated across the triangle, how performance-based regulation can enable rather than constrain investment, and how financing institutions are increasingly partners in regulatory reform itself. The conversation also covers the regulatory frameworks governing seawater desalination, indirect and direct potable reuse, advanced treatment, and circular water systems
17:15 – 18:15 WORKSHOP
Regulatory Innovation Lab: Breakout Group
Participants choose one of five thematic groups to develop shared, actionable recommendations. Group A: Governance and Enforcement Tools. Group B: Tariff Reform, Economic Regulation and Affordability. Group C: PPP and Concession Models for Desalination and Reuse. Group D: Digital Regulation, Smart Water Systems and Performance-Based Regulation. Group E: Water Quality and Risk Regulation, including PFAS, DPR safety, and emerging contaminants. Each group delivers three concrete recommendations. These feed directly into the Riyadh Declaration on Day 1.
18:15 – 18:30 ANNOUNCEMENT
Press Announcement: SWA-IDRA Annual Regulator Conference
A joint announcement from the Saudi Water Authority and IDRA establishing the SWA-IDRA Annual Regulator Conference as a recurring fixture in the global water regulatory calendar. Closing remarks follow.
The Main Thematic Programme. Day One tells the complete story of the global water sector in 2026: from why water is the defining challenge of this decade, through the host country’s own water journey, into the questions of how we finance, power, and reuse water at scale, and finally into the policy commitments that will carry the industry into the UN Water Conference in the UAE.
08:30 – 09:00 Arrival & Networking
09:00 – 10:00 PLENARY
Panel 1 | Opening Plenary: Setting the Global Water Agenda
This high-level opening session frames water as one of the defining challenges of our time, intersecting climate resilience, food security, public health, economic stability, and geopolitics. Global leaders will outline the priority actions needed this decade and issue a call for coordinated leadership across government, business, civil society, and communities. The plenary establishes the narrative arc that runs through the entire Congress: the technologies exist, the economics are increasingly favourable, and what is needed now is the collective will to act at the scale the moment demands.
10:00 – 10:30 CEREMONY
Opening Ceremony
Curated by IDRA and the Saudi Water Authority. National Anthem, Walk of Dignitaries, the IDRA World Congress Opening Video, and welcome remarks from the IDRA Secretary General, IDRA President, and His Excellency Abdullah Abdulkareem, President of the Saudi Water Authority.
10:30 – 11:30 PANEL
Panel 2 | The Water Story of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water and home to one of the most ambitious water transformation programmes anywhere on the planet. This panel brings together leaders from the Saudi Water Authority, the National Water Company, the Saudi Irrigation Organisation, and SHARAKAT to tell the Kingdom’s water story: where it has come from, where it stands today, and where it is going. A grounding session that connects the global framing of Panel 1 to the lived reality of the host country.
11:30 – 12:00 Exhibition Opening, VIP Walkthrough & Coffee
12:00 – 13:00 PANEL
Panel 3 | Mobilizing Private Capital and Expertise for Universal Access
The financial and contractual mechanisms required to bridge the global water infrastructure gap. This panel addresses how private developers, operators, and financiers can partner with governments to accelerate project delivery, ensure bankability, and expand reliable water access to underserved markets. Three sub-themes: the next generation of public-private partnerships in a world of inflation, changing risk profiles, supply chain volatility, and emerging market complexity; bankability and risk allocation for mega-projects in a high-interest rate environment; and the role of private operator expertise in turning around underperforming public utilities. Building on the foundations laid in Riyadh 2019.
13:00 – 14:00 LUNCH
Lunch & Moonshot Sessions
Networking lunch with curated case study sessions and short-form moonshot presentations exploring breakthrough ideas at the edges of the water sector.
14:00 – 15:00 PANEL
Panel 4 | Powering the Future of Water: Integrating Desalination with Next-Generation Energy
As the world demands ever more water from energy-intensive processes, how do we ensure affordability, sustainability, and reliability all at once? This panel explores the integration of desalination with new power sources, including the practical realities of running plants on variable renewable energy. It tackles time-differentiated water tariffs that align decarbonisation with system economics: lower tariffs when desalination runs on surplus solar, premium pricing during grid peak hours. It also addresses the booming water demand from data centres and the AI economy, where sustainable cooling solutions and water sourcing are reshaping the relationship between the water and tech sectors.
15:00 – 16:00 PANEL
Panel 5 | Scaling Water Reuse: The Industry’s Biggest Growth Story
Water reuse is the fastest-growing segment of the global water sector and the single biggest opportunity to close the gap between supply and demand this decade. This panel shifts the narrative from waste treatment to resource production, examining how municipal and industrial reuse can move from niche to mainstream. The conversation draws on real projects from every continent: Windhoek’s direct potable reuse system operating since 1968, Orange County’s Groundwater Replenishment System (the world’s largest), Singapore’s NEWater supplying 40 percent of national demand, Israel’s reuse of 90 percent of treated wastewater for agriculture, Spain’s network of more than 500 reuse facilities, and Perth’s groundwater replenishment scheme. The question is no longer whether reuse works. The question is what it takes to scale it.
16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 17:30 PANEL
Panel 6 | Stewardship, Policy, and the Road to the UN
The strategic bridge from Riyadh to the 2026 UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates. This panel consolidates the day’s discussions into a unified industry position on regulation, workforce, and international cooperation. It draws from the recommendations developed in Sunday’s pre-Congress regulators session and addresses the evolving regulatory landscape, including the European Union’s Water Reuse Regulation and its uneven implementation across member states. Topics include innovation in regulation, attracting and retaining the next generation of water sector talent, and using water technology as a tool for cross-border cooperation rather than conflict. The session culminates in the launch of the Riyadh Declaration: a unified industry voice for the global water agenda.
19:00 – 20:30 RECEPTION
Leaders Summit Welcome Reception
An evening of networking and hospitality marking the formal opening of the Congress and welcoming delegates, dignitaries, and media to Riyadh.
The Global Water Thought Leadership Summit. Day Two opens the Congress to a broader audience of policymakers, business leaders, communicators, youth advocates, and influencers. Where Day One delivers the technical and policy substance, Day Two builds the public mandate, the storytelling, and the cross-sector coalitions that will turn ambition into action
08:30 – 09:00 Arrival & Networking Breakfast
09:00 – 10:00 PLENARY
Opening Plenary: From Crisis to Action – The Leadership Moment for Water
This opening plenary positions water as a defining leadership test of the 21st century. While technical solutions exist, progress has been constrained by fragmented governance, underinvestment, and limited coordination across sectors. Senior leaders from government, international institutions, and the private sector will examine what is preventing faster action and what must change now. The discussion focuses on translating commitments into implementation, aligning public and private investment, strengthening policy frameworks, and building partnerships that deliver impact at scale.
10:00 – 11:00 TED-STYLE TALKS
Voices of Impact: Lightning Talks
Six speakers, ten minutes each, no slides allowed to dominate. This session brings frontline perspectives into the global conversation through powerful short-form storytelling. Confirmed and proposed speakers include Dr. Omar Yaghi, Nobel Laureate whose work on metal-organic frameworks is enabling water harvesting from desert air; Dr. Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi woman astronaut and biomedical researcher; a youth climate and water advocate; a professional athlete advocating for environmental sustainability; an explorer who has lived through water scarcity in extreme environments; and a community leader working in fragile water-stressed contexts. The theme: Water from the Field. Real Stories, Real Solutions.
11:00 – 11:30 Networking Break
11:30 – 12:30 PANEL
High-Level Leadership Dialogue: Power, Policy & Influence
A moderated dialogue bringing together a government minister, a major international organisation representative, a private sector chief executive, and an influential voice from media or thought leadership. The conversation examines how leadership can translate ambition into action: policy alignment, governance reform, cross-sector partnerships, and the accountability mechanisms needed to scale solutions and deliver measurable water outcomes. The session takes a best-practice case study approach, drawing examples from around the world to ensure global relevance.
12:30 – 13:00 TALKS
Sport, Adventure & Human Endurance: Water as the Ultimate Resource
Athletes and explorers operating in extreme environments offer unique insights into water scarcity, resource management, and human resilience. This short-form session connects human performance with environmental sustainability, showing how sport and adventure can inspire public awareness, behavioural change, and stronger environmental stewardship.
13:00 – 14:00 SHOWCASE + FORUM
Lunch, Innovation Showcase & Youth Forum
An interactive lunch session running across multiple parallel formats. The Innovation Showcase highlights breakthrough technologies, startup solutions, and applied innovations through demo corners and live interviews on stage. Running in parallel, the Youth and Future Leaders Forum gives young water professionals, student leaders, and youth ambassadors a town hall platform to challenge institutions, share ideas, and co-design solutions. The Youth Forum produces a Youth Declaration that feeds into the closing plenary.
14:00 – 15:30 LAB
Influencers & Communicators Lab: Changing the Narrative on Water
Water remains largely invisible in public discourse despite its central role in everyday life. This session brings together digital influencers, journalists, documentary filmmakers, and social media strategists to explore how storytelling, media, and digital platforms can elevate water on the global agenda. Topics include making water visible and urgent, fighting misinformation, reaching Generation Z and global audiences, storytelling as a tool for behavioural change, and using narrative as a recruitment pipeline for the future water workforce.
15:30 – 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:30 ROUNDTABLES
Action Roundtables: From Inspiration to Commitment
Moving beyond discussion, these facilitated roundtables turn the day’s conversations into concrete commitments. Five parallel groups address Policy and Governance, Youth Engagement, Finance and Investment, Innovation and Technology, and Public Awareness and Media. Each table is required to produce two to three actionable commitments, each with a named lead and an indicative timeline. Briefs are circulated in advance so participants arrive ready to commit, not to brainstorm.
17:30 – 18:00 PLENARY
Closing Plenary: The Water Leadership Pledge
The Summit concludes with a collective moment of accountability. Outcomes from the day are presented, including the Youth Declaration and the action commitments from the roundtables. Leaders are invited to endorse shared commitments and reaffirm their role in advancing global water security through collaboration and sustained action.
18:00 – 19:30 RECEPTION
Evening Reception: Water Changemakers Network
An evening of networking, art, and culture. Featuring an art installation or photo exhibition, live music or cultural performance themed around water, and optional signature features including the Water Hero Awards, a live social media wall, a podcast recording booth, an interactive digital pledge platform, and One Minute for Water open mic sessions.
Technical Deep-Dives & Workshops. Day Three takes the strategic conversations of Days One and Two and goes deeper into the technical and financial detail. This is where projects get sharper, partnerships get formalised, and the technical questions that drive the industry forward are addressed in focused, expert-led sessions.
08:30 – 09:00 Coffee & Networking
09:00 – 10:00 PANEL
Water Reuse Association Curated Panel
A dedicated panel curated by the WateReuse Association exploring the latest developments in water reuse policy, technology, and project delivery, with case studies from leading practitioners across the United States and beyond.
10:00 – 10:30 PRESENTATION
GWI Market Overview
Global Water Intelligence presents the latest data and analysis on the desalination and water reuse markets: project pipelines, contract values, regional trends, technology shifts, and the financial outlook for the year ahead.
10:30 – 11:00 Networking Break
11:00 – 13:00 WORKSHOP
Financing Water Infrastructure in MENA Region Workshop
A continuation of the Arab Fund, World Bank and IDRA Kuwait Session, this workshop brings together finance institutions, project developers, and government partners to address the practical realities of financing water infrastructure across the Middle East and North Africa. Topics include blended finance structures, sovereign guarantees, off-taker risk, project preparation facilities, and how to build a credible project pipeline that attracts both concessional and commercial capital.
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:00 PANEL
Digital Innovation in Water Operations
How artificial intelligence, autonomous operations, and cybersecurity are reshaping the day-to-day reality of running a water plant. The panel moves from digital twins to fully autonomous plant control, from chemical optimisation to predictive maintenance, and from smart monitoring to the cybersecurity challenges of protecting critical water infrastructure in an increasingly digitalised operational environment.
15:00 – 16:00 PANEL
Brine Valorisation, Advanced Materials & Resource Recovery
The technical frontier of the circular water economy. This panel takes brine valorisation seriously by drawing a clear line between what is commercially bankable today and what remains R&D or pilot scale, helping utilities and investors leave with realistic expectations. It also covers the next generation of membranes and materials, including graphene, nanotech, and high-recovery reverse osmosis systems that minimise brine, alongside industrial symbiosis through water reuse, minimum liquid discharge, and zero liquid discharge in high-demand industries such as oil and gas, mining, and textiles. The session also addresses the regulatory landscape and treatment options for PFAS and other forever chemicals.
16:00 – 16:30 Networking Break
16:30 – 17:30 PANEL
Spotlight Dialogue: Water, Food Security & the Energy-Water Nexus
Water for agriculture in water-scarce regions is one of the most consequential and least discussed issues in the global water conversation. This spotlight dialogue addresses the competing demands of energy, food, and urban supply, drawing on real-world case studies from Israel (90 percent agricultural reuse), Italy’s Po Valley (large-scale wastewater irrigation), Chile (mining versus agricultural water rights), and Saudi Arabia’s own agricultural transformation. The conversation grounds the food-water-energy nexus in practical examples and asks what the global water community can do to ensure food security does not become the next casualty of water stress.
17:30 – 18:00 PLENARY
Day Three Wrap-Up
Key takeaways from the day’s technical sessions and a preview of Day Four’s awards, recognition, and closing programme.
Recognition, Legacy & Closing. Day Four honours the people who have shaped the global water sector and celebrates the next generation who will carry it forward. The Congress closes with a recap of outcomes across all four days, the highlights of the Riyadh Declaration, and a look ahead to the 2026 UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates.
08:30 – 09:00 Coffee & Networking
09:00 – 10:00 CEREMONY
Honoring Lifetime Achievements & Progressive Visions
The IDA Honorary Council ceremony recognises the leaders, scientists, engineers, and visionaries whose work has shaped the global desalination and water reuse industry over decades. A moment to honour the past, celebrate the present, and inspire the future.
10:00 – 11:00 PANEL
Women Leaders of Our Industry
A panel discussion celebrating and platforming the women who are leading the global water sector across utilities, technology providers, regulators, finance institutions, and research. The conversation explores leadership journeys, the structural changes needed to accelerate diversity in the industry, and how the next generation of women in water can be supported, mentored, and championed.
11:00 – 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 – 12:30 SESSION
IDRA NextWave
The IDRA NextWave session showcases the rising stars of the global water sector: emerging professionals, young researchers, and early-career leaders presenting their work, their ideas, and their vision for the future of the industry.
12:30 – 13:00 PLENARY
Congress Recap: Key Takeaways
A consolidated summary of outcomes across all four days of the Congress: the Riyadh Declaration highlights, the commitments made through the Action Roundtables, the policy recommendations from the regulators session, the technical advances showcased on Day Three, and the next steps on the road to the 2026 UN Water Conference in the United Arab Emirates.
13:00 – 15:00 CEREMONY + LUNCH
Closing Luncheon and Technical Awards Ceremony
The Congress closes with a celebratory luncheon and the IDRA Technical Awards Ceremony, recognising outstanding projects, innovations, and contributions from across the global desalination and water reuse community.
