Dragan Savic, Editor-in-Chief of Cambridge Prisms: Water, explains how technology, combined with the right management philosophy, can help solve global water challenges

“Water security is a multi-dimensional and enduring human goal,” states Professor Dragan Savic. “And while we have not managed to achieve it for the global population so far – particularly in the global south – we are collectively making progress towards it.”

Amid growing concerns over climate change, and ongoing and increasing reports of water pollution in the UK and elsewhere, Dragan acknowledges that these crises cannot be solved quickly, but he is adamant that it is not too late to address the key challenges if we act now.

Dragan is a professor of hydroinformatics – a science centred on the use of information and communications technologies to address water security – at the University of Exeter. He graduated from the University of Belgrade in 1983 with a degree in civil engineering and a keen interest in water engineering subjects, but soon found himself fascinated with the world of computing: “As an early-career engineer in the early 1980s, I embraced this new technology and discovered how water challenges can be addressed using modelling and optimisation.”

Following the completion of an MSc at Belgrade, he relocated to the University of Manitoba in Canada to undertake a PhD in water engineering. In 1994 Dragan moved to the UK where, at Exeter, he co-founded the Centre for Water Systems – an internationally-recognised establishment renowned for its research into water systems engineering.

AI and H2O

Despite Dragan’s academic prowess it was a spell in industry, shortly after graduating in 1983, that provided his entry into the world of the systems approach to modelling and challenging water science. “I was employed by a large consultancy company involved in water resource management,” he recalls. “That experience introduced me to various challenges related to water security, from the provision of safe drinking water, to flood protection and hydropower generation. The company was one of the first to recognise the importance of personal computers as, until then, the work relied on a specialised department to provide modelling support using mainframe computers.

“Then at Manitoba, as part of the PhD programme, I had to take graduate courses both in water subjects at my main department (Civil Engineering) and auxiliary department(s). I chose to do Artificial Intelligence (AI) subjects in Computer Science, which also influenced the main topic of my PhD thesis and the development of “expert systems” for water management. That helped me develop an appreciation for the subject and although it was the early days of AI in the water sector, I realised it was what I wanted to explore.”

Dragan retains a keen interest in how the use of computing technology and artificial intelligence can improve the planning and management of water systems: “This has now been labelled as ‘smart’ or ‘digital’ water management, which is underpinned by hydroinformatics (my professorial title is Professor of Hydroinformatics), the science first defined by the late Prof. Michael Abbott. My own view is that hydroinformatics is not only about the development and use of technology, but it is much more – a management philosophy developed to respond to global water challenges, made possible by technology.”

The prism of water management

Cambridge Prisms: Water will focus on any aspect of water science that might have an impact on practice for sustainable water management, addressing global water challenges including: droughts; floods; landslides; desertification; pollution; epidemics and diseases; and disputes and conflicts.

Dragan explained that the multi-disciplinary nature of the journal will be key to addressing its major themes: “Water security is global, multi-dimensional and complex, and can only be tackled by interdisciplinary approaches. In my own field, hydroinformatics, there was a thought that it is all about ICT technologies and their application to water security challenges. However, that view neglects a key component – people, their values, rational/irrational views, their cultural, economic, political, social, ethical and environmental considerations, and so on. This also includes the different viewpoints often taken by people from developed and less developed countries. Therefore, interdisciplinary approaches are the only way forward, which means that our educational institutions have to change to allow that to happen.”

He admits that the water security crisis cannot be solved quickly but he is sure that it is not too late to effect change: “New knowledge has over time improved water management and ultimately the life of people. The latest example is the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (that is, tracking levels in sewers) to better understand the extent of Covid-19 infections among the population and better allocate resources during the pandemic.

“The emergence of large language models such as ChatGPT is another development that will eventually have a profound effect on our society. Will it have such an effect on water management? Visit our journal regularly and I’m sure it will offer an answer to that question!”

Dragan concludes with a profound assertion that the public, institutions and governments alike must act locally and globally to address the key issues: “Education plays a key role in breaking barriers, addressing prejudices and the lack of understanding of water challenges. Somebody said that we are only a drop in the ocean, but the ocean is made of drops, thus every individual action is important and contributes to the global goal.”