Hwaseong Water Treatment Plant Background

Case study:

Hwaseong Water Treatment Plant

Certificate validation

Location:

Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

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Project owner

K-water (Korea Water Resource Corporation)

Sector

Water and sanitation

Stage

Operations

Project impact in numbers

-10%

in power consumption

-14%

in chemical usage

-75%

in risk and hard response time

+78%

in labour efficiency

-33%

in maintenance costs

+28%

in operational efficiency

-117%

carbon reduction rate achieved

Project overview & vision

In an era of increasing climate driven water risk, static water management systems are no longer sufficient to ensure reliable service delivery. K water addresses this challenge through the Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant, the world’s first large scale, big data based artificial intelligence water treatment facility.

By integrating artificial intelligence, digital twin technology and real time data analytics across the full water supply chain, the plant is designed to ensure a resilient, stable and safe water supply even under highly volatile environmental conditions. The facility continuously predicts demand, monitors water quality, optimises energy use and anticipates equipment failures, allowing operations to adapt dynamically rather than reactively. The Hwaseong plant represents a new model for water infrastructure, demonstrating how digital technologies can enhance resilience, efficiency and sustainability while safeguarding public health and strengthening long term water security.

Investors

Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, Republic of Korea

K water (Korea Water Resource Corporation) , Republic of Korea

Contractors

BizData, Republic of Korea

16+ SMEs

Project Timeline

BDN Certificate issued

12/11/2025

Commencement of operations

2022

Establishment of Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant

12/2020

Completion of planning and feasibility study

07/2020

BDN

elements

Promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development.

1

Promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development.

The Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant functions as critical infrastructure, supplying 260,000 m³/day of industrial and potable water to support the high-growth economic zones of Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek. To ensure inclusive development, the project rigorously adheres to International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions regarding non-discrimination and collective bargaining, while maintaining a formalized Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) to manage community relations.​

The plant ensures the consistent provision of safe drinking water through advanced hygiene management systems and was the first metropolitan water treatment plant operated by K water to obtain ISO 22000 certification. Annual performance checks and planned management ensure continuous compliance with international standards.

BDN

elements

Ensure value-for-money over an asset’s full life-cycle cost.

5

Ensure value-for-money over an asset’s full life-cycle cost.

The project ensures optimal value-for-money by integrating "Smart" technologies that automate chemical dosing and sedimentation, thereby significantly reducing long-term Operational Expenditure (OpEx) related to energy and materials. Furthermore, a formal Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) confirmed a positive Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR), while AI-enabled predictive maintenance extends the useful life of critical assets like pumps and motors.​

The facility applies artificial intelligence, big data and cloud-based systems to operate treatment and transmission processes in real time, demonstrating how digital infrastructure can strengthen resilience and innovation in essential public services.

BDN

elements

Build local capacity, with a focus on local skills transfer and local capital markets.

6

Build local capacity, with a focus on local skills transfer and local capital markets.

The project prioritizes local economic integration by adhering to domestic labor laws and ILO conventions, ensuring that employment opportunities and skills transfer benefit the local workforce. By engaging domestic contractors and utilizing a workforce structure compliant with Korean labor standards, the facility fosters technical expertise within the domestic water sector without relying on foreign labour imports.​

UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Learn more about UN SDG
Affordable and Clean EnergyClean Water and SanitationIndustry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Learn more about UN SDG

Value for Investors

BDN certification confirms the Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant as a world leading digital infrastructure asset, independently validating its technological performance, governance and long-term resilience. Certification strengthens the asset’s credibility as a global benchmark, enhancing its brand value and supporting the international replication of this operational model.

The verified scalability of the technology underpins strong financial performance. Expanding this certified model to 43 water treatment plants is projected to generate annual savings of approximately KRW 9.5 billion, demonstrating clear efficiency gains and cost reductions that are highly attractive to investors and financing partners seeking low risk, high impact infrastructure assets.

Innovations Introduced

Contractors

The project's procurement strategy was built on the core principles of the FIDIC Procurement Guide - fairness, competitiveness, and transparency. It successfully met international standards by pre-disclosing proposal evaluation criteria, clarifying contract terms, and actively encouraging participation from Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). All procurement and contracting activities were securely managed through South Korea's official KONEPS (Korea On-line E-Procurement System) database, leading to the selection of 16 SMEs to execute the operations. The lead contractor was BizData who led consortium of other 16 SMEs in following operation areas.

  • Autonomous Operation (2 companies): Led by BizData, these firms utilized big data and AI algorithms to manage raw water classification and automate chemical dosing.
  • Energy Management System / EMS (6 companies): With heavy involvement from BizData, this team focused on minimizing electricity costs through real-time pump scheduling and power peak monitoring.
  • Predictive Maintenance System / PMS (5 companies): Tasked with supplying and integrating IoT acoustic and vibration sensors to detect pipeline leaks and proactively predict equipment failures.
  • Intelligent Video (3 companies): Responsible for site safety and security, utilizing AI-powered CCTV analysis to monitor facilities, detect fires, and identify worker accidents, such as falls.

The story behind the project

Strengthening Resilience

Strengthening Resilience

The Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant innovates for the future

As climate change intensifies hydrological volatility, traditional water utilities face growing risks from sudden quality fluctuations, extreme rainfall and system stress. K water responded by reimagining water infrastructure as a data driven, adaptive system.

The Hwaseong AI Water Treatment Plant, recognised as a World Economic Forum Global Lighthouse, applies artificial intelligence and digital twin technology to optimise energy use, enhance resilience and establish a scalable global model for water security and operational excellence.

Furthermore, Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) has led the successful advancement of its AI-enabled water treatment technology to the final approval stage of an ISO international standard (ISO 25288).

The Hwaseong plant directly strengthens community resilience by safeguarding water supply during extreme weather events. By autonomously adjusting to sudden changes in water quality, such as increased turbidity following heavy rainfall, the system eliminates reliance on manual intervention during crises.

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Hwaseong Water Treatment Plant - Blue Dot Network