K-water’s AI Water Treatment Plant Technology Passes Vote on ISO International Standard Draft

[Financial News] Artificial intelligence (AI) water treatment plant technology led by Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) has cleared a major hurdle toward becoming an international standard. 
K-water said on the 13th that “Guidelines for AI-based Water Supply Management (ISO 25288)” met the approval requirements in the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) official vote on the Draft International Standard (DIS).
The vote was held from July 14 through the 6th of this month among the 43 full-member countries of the Technical Committee on Water and Wastewater Services (ISO/TC 224) and all 177 ISO member countries worldwide. Approval requires at least two-thirds of ISO/TC 224 full members to vote in favor, and no more than one-quarter of all ISO member countries to vote against.
Since 2024, K-water has pursued the international standardization of its AI water treatment plant technology in stages. That year, the New Work Item Proposal (NP) and Working Draft (WD) were approved, and in January this year, the Committee Draft (CD) passed unanimously.
With this DIS approval, ISO 25288 has established its technical validity and a basis for consensus among member countries. K-water plans to incorporate expert feedback from the voting process, complete the final standard document by this November, and submit it to the ISO Central Secretariat.
The plan is to finalize the DIS approval result at the ISO/TC 224 general meeting in January next year, then complete the Central Secretariat’s editing and publication procedures and formally establish the International Standard (IS) by the end of 2027.
AI water treatment plant technology has previously received international recognition for its technical capabilities. In 2024, it received the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Lighthouse Award, making it the first in the water sector to receive the award. Last year, it became the first in the water sector to receive the OECD’s Blue Dot Network (BDN) global infrastructure quality certification.
Once the international standard is established, it is expected to help domestic water companies demonstrate the reliability and international acceptance of their technology when entering overseas markets. It is also expected to serve as a foundation for improving domestic companies’ competitive position in the global water infrastructure market.
K-water President Yoon Seok-dae said, “We will carry out the remaining procedures without a hitch, establish the world’s first international standard for AI-based water management in 2027, and use it as a basis to gain a first-mover advantage in the global water market and actively drive the overseas expansion of Korea’s water industry ecosystem.”
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter