Madrid hosted the 38th DAQUAS Congress from 3rd to 5th June at the IFEMA Municipal Palace, with Canal de Isabel II as the host entity in the year of its 175th anniversary. More than a thousand professionals from the sector (operators, administrations, manufacturers and technology companies) gathered to discuss the major axes that will shape urban water management in the coming years: new European regulatory framework, climate resilience, sustainability and, with special prominence in this edition, digitalisation and smart metering. Pablo Pelayo, responsible for Smart Utility Water at Celestia TST, attended the Congress and these are the ideas he brought back.
The case that changes everything: 1.5 million digitalised meters in Madrid
The most compelling presentation of the inaugural day was given by Humbelina Vallejo from Canal de Isabel II, under the title "Remote Reading at Canal de Isabel II: a transformative project". The data speaks for itself.
Canal de Isabel II currently has 1.5 million operational NB-IoT meters, with a metrological and battery life of 12 years. The deployment has allowed 140,000 customers to be alerted to anomalous increases in consumption, with a cumulative saving equivalent to the water consumption of a city of 100,000 inhabitants over three years. A number that deserves a moment of pause and reflection.
But there is one detail that, from our perspective, is the most revealing of all: the system also issues alerts for anomalously low consumption in the homes of vulnerable or dependent individuals. Remote reading ceases to be just a tool for operational efficiency and becomes a mechanism for care. That is putting the consumer at the centre, in its most literal sense.
This deployment is neither a pilot nor a proof of concept. It is real operational activity on a massive scale, and marks the point of no return for the sector.
AI in water: the tools are there, we just need to use them
The Congress dedicated a specific session to the entry of artificial intelligence in urban water management, with a panel moderated by Ramón González (University of Seville) and comprising Ángeles Rodríguez (GRI), Enrique Cabrera (UPV), Daniel Pastrana (Veolia) and Ángel Mena (EMASESA).
Ángel Mena shared one of the most striking cases of the day: EMASESA already predicts flooding in Seville with three hours' notice, and the model also indicates where to act. It is not science fiction; it is a Spanish city with real infrastructure responding to extreme phenomena before they occur.
Enrique Cabrera, from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, summed up the moment for the sector well: the tools exist, but there is too much inertia to apply them. The debate highlighted two recurring obstacles: the lack of structured information in the systems (digital twins) and resistance to change, pointed out by Ángeles Rodríguez. Added to this is an uncomfortable but necessary conclusion: the training of the sector will have to change if it truly wants to take advantage of what these technologies offer.
The phrase that summarises the congress
In corridor conversations and in various sessions throughout the day, one idea was repeated with increasing insistence: from now on, no meter will be installed without digitalisation. Not as an aspiration. As an operational criterion.
For those of us who have been working in remote reading for years, this phrase is not new, but it is an important signal. The sector has crossed a mental threshold. The why is no longer discussed; the how is discussed. And in that "how" is where what already works is separated from what is still a promise.
Remote reading without replacing meters: digitalise what already works
One of the most practical debates at the Congress revolved around a reality that any operator knows well: there are millions of meters installed in Spain that work. Replacing them all at once is not economically viable, nor operationally, nor does it have to be necessary.
Celestia TST's response to this challenge is Smart Utility Water and the TSherpa gateway. The IoT device for water meters is installed over the existing park, with wired communication (UNE 82326, RS-485) or via radio (Wireless M-Bus), without replacing any meter and without interrupting the supply. It operates where other devices do not reach: basements, deep chambers, areas with minimal coverage. With more than 12 years of autonomy and a reliability of 99.9% demonstrated in the field.
And it breaks one of the most common limitations in mass deployments: a single TSherpa gateway connects dozens of meters under a single connection, eliminating the model of one SIM per point and significantly reducing the recurring cost of connectivity.
Readings arrive at the platform that each operator prefers (their own or that of Celestia TST), transformed into leak alerts, consumption visibility, and automated billing processes from day one. No vendor lock-in, no platform dependency, with open standards.
The other half of the problem
Another idea that emerged strongly in DAQUAS: the digitalisation of water is not just a technological problem. It is a conversation problem. For the data to make sense, those who need to talk must communicate: meter manufacturers, operators, municipalities, administrations. Real interoperability between actors is as important as technical interoperability between systems.
At Celestia TST, we work with open standards precisely to make that conversation possible, without imposing any architecture or any provider. Each organisation integrates remote reading with total freedom.
Do you want to explore how SmartUtility Water fits into your operations?
Write to us and we will analyse your starting point together: what meters you have, what data you need, and what is the shortest path to obtain them.