This thematic track will highlight access to water and sanitation as fundamental human rights and the role of operators in achieving these rights. It also encompasses the provision of adequate sanitation services that protect privacy and ensure dignity, acknowledging the inextricable link between water, sanitation, adequate housing, and the promotion of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Housing without access to safe water or sanitation is inadequate and fails to meet the minimum standards for a dignified life. The Congress will facilitate exchange and learning on strategies to reach low-income communities living in informal settlements and slums worldwide, in both urban and peri-urban areas.

A focus will be placed on integrating water and sanitation into housing policies to ensure that all people—regardless of socio-economic status—have access to basic services. This means that slum transformation and prevention efforts fully embrace water and sanitation infrastructure as fundamental features.

The track will explore how countries translate their human rights obligations into national frameworks, guiding financing, regulation, and inclusive service delivery. Discussions will address how to ensure water and sanitation services are available, accessible, acceptable, and affordable for everyone—regardless of socio-economic status, gender, or background.

Participants will examine how national and local governments can adopt inclusive policies for underserved communities, including equitable tariff and connection policies, low-cost water supply options, and affordable sanitation facilities. In many low-income areas, decentralized approaches—such as community-managed water systems or small-scale sanitation technologies—provide sustainable solutions, often driven by local knowledge and fostering community ownership.

The Congress will also explore how utilities are building gender equality in water and sanitation provision and staffing. Examples of gender-sensitive approaches—including separate, safe, and clean toilets for women and girls—will demonstrate how improved access supports education, employment, and full societal participation, empowering communities with dignity.

This thematic track explores how climate mitigation, preparedness, and resilience in water and sanitation services are critical to safeguarding access to safe water and adequate sanitation amid increasing climate-related challenges. It addresses both immediate responses to extreme events and long-term strategies for reducing emissions and enhancing sustainability.

Emissions from water and sanitation operations are often overlooked in national climate strategies, despite their significant mitigation potential. According to a UN-Water brief, wastewater treatment alone emits greenhouse gases on a scale comparable to the global aviation industry. Key strategies include enhancing energy efficiency, adopting renewable energy, and capturing and reusing emissions during water treatment.

Climate change intensifies water scarcity, increases extreme weather events, and places infrastructure under stress. Resilient systems require integrated approaches—adequate housing, improved asset management, nature-based solutions, and strategic planning—to adapt to these hazards.

Effective utilities are prioritizing upstream conservation and exploring alternative sources such as rainwater harvesting, desalination, and wastewater reuse, especially in drought-prone regions. These measures ensure water availability and mitigate impacts on sanitation systems and hygiene, particularly for vulnerable communities in informal settlements.

Operators play a central role in climate adaptation by investing in robust grey infrastructure—reinforced pipes, treatment plants, and reservoirs—while incorporating blue and green solutions like wetlands and vegetated filters. These nature-based approaches offer cost-effective ways to maintain services during climate shocks and promote ecosystem health.

The Congress will feature examples of utilities integrating climate risk assessments, early-warning systems, and contingency planning to ensure continuity of service. It will also explore the role of urban planning in deploying green infrastructure—permeable pavements and green roofs—to manage stormwater and reduce flood risks.

By combining traditional infrastructure with nature-based solutions, climate-smart planning, and inclusive service strategies, communities can build sustainable, adaptable water and sanitation systems—a holistic approach vital for resilience in a changing climate.

Innovation is critical to ensuring sustainable and equitable access to safe water and adequate sanitation for all. Given the challenges posed by population growth, rapid urbanization, climate change, pollution and resource scarcity, innovative solutions are necessary to address the pressing issues in this sector with a different mindset and different tools.

This shift requires integrating digital tools, including geospatial mapping techniques and sensor technologies, to map urban basic service infrastructure, identify service gaps and optimise service delivery. Digitalization in this sector needs to align with the people-centred smart city approaches as outlined in the international guidelines on People-Centred Smart Cities, with an emphasis on inclusivity, equity and responsiveness to community needs.

This thematic track will showcase how innovations—including digitalization—are transforming the management of water and sanitation services in low- and middle-income countries. Participants will explore a range of cutting-edge digital solutions, including smart metering, data collection and analytics, leak detection and water loss management, digital water quality monitoring, digital billing systems, mobile apps for consumer engagement, geographic information systems and advanced asset management. These innovations help utilities improve efficiency, reduce costs, enhance customer engagement and provide powerful decision-making tools.

Innovations in the evolution of the WOP practice will also be highlighted, including efforts to adapt and improve WOPs to make them more equitable and effective, building on the existing strengths of utilities and co-creation practices. Expanded efforts to connect WOPs with the broader enabling environment and local actors—as well as South-South partnerships—will be explored. The Congress will also illustrate how WOPs are being applied to tackle emerging themes such as sanitation and waste management, responding to growing demands with creative, scalable solutions.

Strong utilities contribute to the achievement of all SDG 6 targets and related development goals. Conversely, a lack of management and institutional capacity undermines progress in many regions.

The power of Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) and South-South WOPs (SWOPs) lies in their multiplier effect: each new partnership can scale its impact. By prioritizing capacity development and institutional anchoring, these partnerships generate long-term benefits, often attracting investment finance and creating valuable spin-offs.

To maximize effectiveness and sustainability, WOPs must adopt a holistic approach. This includes identifying the most effective partnership modalities, monitoring impacts, leveraging hybrid learning methods, and promoting gender equity, diversity, and inclusion.

A successful WOP requires a strong governance structure—clear roles and responsibilities, decision-making processes, accountability, and regular reporting mechanisms. Performance indicators, such as improved water quality, cost savings, increased access, and customer satisfaction, are essential for assessing results. Risk assessments help partnerships remain adaptive and resilient to challenges.

Like any collaboration, WOPs must be nurtured. Regular feedback, communication checks, trust-building, and conflict-resolution mechanisms are essential to maintain alignment and adapt to evolving contexts. Built-in flexibility through reviews ensures responsiveness to change.

Commitment to inclusive practices is critical. Gender-sensitive policies, inclusive hiring, and equal access to capacity development ensure that WOPs reflect and serve diverse communities. Embedding these principles enhances impact, improves services, and supports global sustainability goals.

Congress participants will share experiences on how different knowledge-sharing and training methodologies influence WOP success. These include blended learning formats that combine online and in-person exchanges and tools like the Global WOPs Community platform for continuous collaboration and resource sharing.

The Congress will highlight where supportive policy and regulatory environments, strong institutional capacity, active stakeholder engagement, and a focus on sustainability, inclusivity and innovation are enabling WOPs and helping utilities thrive. Together, these factors can enhance operators’ performances, leading to improved service delivery and contributing to broader water, sanitation and urban development goals.

Even though they are cost-effective, WOPs need funding. The Congress will look at traditional – mostly donors and utilities themselves – as well as more unique and innovative sources for funding these partnerships, such as 1% laws, customer contributions and financing by development banks.

Building demand for WOPs by sensitising policy makers and other decision makers to WOPs' impact at the local level is also key to scaling the approach. Congress participants will exchange insights and experience embedding WOPs into structured frameworks and linking them to larger infrastructure projects that enhance their scalability and sustainability, ensuring long-term capacity development for utilities.

Examples of where financial institutions, UN agencies and stakeholders at country, regional and global levels are embracing WOPs to hold national duty bearers accountable for the progress towards achieving SDG 6 will be shared.

Finally, participants will explore how water and sanitation operators – often the closest institutions to communities within the local government system – are leveraging their proximity to respond effectively to local needs while contributing to broader municipal planning, resilience and governance efforts. Sessions will highlight how the capacity of utilities is being strengthened within local government structures to support cities in achieving their SDGs and the New Urban Agenda commitments.