Sensors and Communication Technologies for Smart Water Management

Author: Arnold Nagy, Central European University (Budapest, Hungary)

Smart Water Management (SWM) primarily refers to optimization of water distribution and sewage networks in order to reduce operational and energy costs, speed up the water cycle and reduce water loss in the system. For this purpose, ICT-based sensors and communication technologies are required to provide necessary (real-time) monitoring and control of water distribution systems:

• Sensors and meters for: pressure and flow; power/energy consumption; water quality; water consumption; leak detection
• Communication infrastructure: wireless sensor networks, GPS/GPRS, wireless LAN, meter infrastructure
• Command and control: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems perform a range of functions, from the acquisition of data through the sensors, network data communication between remote sites, data fusion in the central computer (master unit), and data control at operator terminals/workstations.

In line with the accelerated growth of cloud computing, many of the functionalities of SCADA systems aimed at optimized water distribution can now be performed virtually real-time by a network of smart sensors and remote control systems/software (e.g. Figure 1). Cloud computing allows information from sensors to be combined with information on pricing, power consumption, water usage and more. This capability provides near real-time decision support for water utility operators at reduced cost, since it does not require typically expensive SCADA equipment. 

Figure 1. A combination of smart sensors, advanced analytics in the cloud and powerful visualization tools, allow this water authority to continuously optimize water production and distribution. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/enterprise/industry/caglayan-arkan-blog/articl...