K-water Presents a Future City Model Integrating AI-Based Water Management

[Financial News] Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) showcased water-management technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins in combination with future-city infrastructure.
On the 11th, K-water announced that it had participated as a co-organizing institution in the 2026 World Smart City Expo (WSCE 2026), held at BEXCO in Busan from the 9th through that day, and introduced a future-oriented smart water-city model.
The standalone exhibition hall covered 450 square meters and consisted of eight themed spaces. It presented, in one place, technologies for responding to the climate crisis and water disasters, as well as a smart-city operating model linking urban infrastructure with water management.
The key technologies on display were a digital-twin water-management platform, an AI Water Treatment Plant, and smart water-network management (SWNM). The digital-twin water-management platform reproduces real-world water environments in a virtual space to predict flooding.
The AI Water Treatment Plant analyzes data generated during the water-treatment process to optimize operations and support the stable production of tap water. Smart water-network management uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the operating efficiency of water-supply facilities.
The exhibition also introduced infrastructure from Busan Eco Delta City, South Korea’s national smart-city pilot city, and Smart Village, which is being operated as the country’s first zero-energy village. It included an interactive space where visitors could use devices such as an “AI thermometer” inside a residential unit, as well as promotional spaces for partner companies’ technologies.
Alongside the exhibition, programs focused on responding to the climate crisis and global cooperation were held. At the academic conference “Zero Carbon City 2026: Carbon-Neutral Cities Created by AI,” held on the 10th, participants discussed ways to reduce urban carbon emissions through intelligent infrastructure and build sustainable smart cities.
A field tour of Busan Eco Delta City was also held for participants from Kazakhstan, Kuwait, the World Bank and other organizations. K-water plans to further develop the water-management data and advanced technologies introduced at the event and expand smart-city exports using them.
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter