
Smart Water Technology: Enhancing Efficiency and Sustainability in the Water Industry
Introduction
Faced with rapid urbanization and growing water scarcity due to climate change, municipalities can turn to smart meters to ensure the efficient use of existing water resources before developing plans to increase supply.
Smart meters can provide consumers with historical data and a summary of water consumption processes, supporting customers in recognizing water proficiencies in their houses, creating water conservation objectives and alerting them to potential leaks.
Smart Technologies for Water Infrastructure (SWIT) have the potential to contribute significantly to improving service delivery and the efficiency of water service providers; reducing costs and water losses, simplifying operation and maintenance, and improving data and asset management, enabling information-based decision-making.
SWIT includes the following products
– Smart metering (AMR / AMI)
– Hydrometric Districts (DMAs)
– Pressure Management (PMA)
– Active Leak Detection
– Management Information Systems (MIS)
– Customer Relations Management Systems (CRM)
– Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
– Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
– Hydraulic Modeling
To warrant the overall advantages provided through smart technology are achieved, it’s miles critical to:
Ensure Water practitioners maintain abreast with the development and advances of that technology.
Facilitate a higher knowledge of those technology expenses and blessings.
Explore the obstacles and barriers withinside the implementation of all that technology such as cost, institutional resistance to change, insufficient expert capacity, and getting old present infrastructure.
Define techniques to deal with those issues.
What is smart water technology?

Smart water is a revolution in the water industry that uses developing technologies such as hardware, software and analytics to assist water and wastewater utilities in solving problems through automation, data collection and data analysis.
Smart water can solve problems such as leak detection, water efficiency, energy efficiency, water quality improvements and more.
Smart water technology enables more efficient technology utilization and better-informed decision-making.
Overview of Smart Technologies for Water Infrastructure (SWIT)
Smart metering (AMR/AMI)
Smart metering is a part of the smart grid that permits software to gain meter readings on demand (daily, hourly, or extra frequently) without the want to guide meter readers to transmit information.
There are types and They are defined below.
Automated meter reading (AMR)
The AMR era consists of:

Drive-by metering:
This resource-saving metering answer lets water meter records be accumulated right away on the go.
After putting in the studying tool and software program in a van or painting truck, the meter studying team can quickly achieve correct meter readings absolutely through riding thru a carrier area.
Touch-read metering:
For regions that aren’t conducive to vehicles, touch-examine metering is an extraordinary meter-studying answer.
Touching a handheld meter studying tool immediately to the water meter sends a radio sign that routinely transmits meter statistics and shops it withinside the handheld tool.
Automated metering infrastructure (AMI)
refers to a hard and fast community system, with smart meters presenting communications between the water meter and the application.
The use of Automated Metering Infrastructure similarly improves the performance of water utilities and gets rid of the expenses of ordinary meter studying.
When Automated Metering Infrastructure is mixed with geospatial meter information management, it will increase the accuracy and precision of the meter examination, decreasing re-reads.
This outcome is incorrect and well-timed reads which might be prepared for billing, with an identity of failed and failing meters earlier than real billing, enhancing the software’s coins flow.
Internet of Things (IoT) in Water Infrastructure

One of the key components of smart technologies for water infrastructure is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT enables the connection of various devices and sensors to collect and transmit real-time data. In the context of water infrastructure, IoT can be utilized to monitor and manage water distribution networks, wastewater treatment plants, and reservoirs.
By deploying IoT sensors throughout the water infrastructure, authorities can gather data on water quality, pressure levels, leakages, and flow rates. This data can be analyzed to identify potential issues and optimize the distribution system. Real-time monitoring allows for quick detection of leaks or abnormalities, enabling prompt action to minimize water loss and prevent infrastructure damage.
Benefits of Smart Technologies for Water Infrastructure
The integration of smart technologies into water infrastructure brings several benefits:
Efficient Resource Management: Real-time monitoring and data analysis allow for optimized water distribution, reducing wastage and ensuring efficient resource allocation.
Improved Infrastructure Maintenance: Predictive maintenance based on AI algorithms minimizes downtime, extends asset lifespan, and reduces maintenance costs.
Enhanced Sustainability: Smart technologies enable better conservation practices through consumer engagement, reducing overall water consumption and promoting sustainability.
Early Detection of Issues: Real-time monitoring facilitates early detection of leaks, abnormalities, or contamination events, enabling swift action to mitigate risks.
Cost Savings: By optimizing resource allocation and reducing maintenance costs, smart technologies lead to significant cost savings for water utilities.
References
[1] Arniella, E. F. (2016). Evaluation of smart water infrastructure technologies (SWIT). Inter-American Development Bank: Washington, DC, USA.
[2] Borja-Vega, C. (2020). What makes rural water systems sustainable? Meta-analysis, determinants, and the empirical impacts of a large-scale WASH program in Nicaragua (Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds).
[3] Tanner, T., Mitchell, T., Polack, E., and Guenther, B., 2009. Urban governance for adaptation: assessing climate change resilience in ten Asian cities. IDS Working Papers, 2009(315), pp.01-47.
[4] What is Smart Water Technology? [online] available at: https://www.wwdmag.com/editorial-topical/what-is-articles/article/10939511/what-is-smart-water-technology