Rebooting Water Utilities: Smarter, Faster, Leaner

SwiftComply’s new digital platform helps cities streamline industrial wastewater oversight and cut costs.

24 Jun 2025

American water utilities are about to get a digital upgrade. On June 18th, SwiftComply, a water-technology firm, announced the launch of its Pretreatment module. The system promises to simplify how cities oversee industrial wastewater and ease the growing burden of environmental regulation.

Pretreatment is the overlooked sibling of water management, with utilities often managing it through paperwork and patchy digital tools. SwiftComply’s platform replaces this with a single digital system that handles permits, inspections and enforcement more efficiently.

The pressures on utilities are growing. Tougher environmental rules have made compliance more demanding, while staffing levels have remained largely flat. “We built this with utilities, for utilities,” says Paul O’Callaghan, SwiftComply’s boss. “It’s about helping cities achieve more with fewer resources while strengthening compliance.”

Some municipalities are already seeing benefits. “Setup was straightforward, and we are pleased to have all of our data in one place,” reports Sarah Newton-Peacock, a supervisor for Battle Creek, Michigan. For smaller cities in particular, reducing paperwork could help avoid fines and speed up inspections.

Competitors may feel the heat. Providers of basic wastewater tools will need to match SwiftComply’s features or risk losing market share. Integrating new software with old infrastructure is never easy, but the direction of travel is clear. As utilities struggle with aging pipes and stricter oversight, digital platforms like SwiftComply’s will become harder to ignore.