Internet of Things for Smart Management of Water Networks

Abstract

According to the Sustainable Development Goals included in the 2030 Agenda signed by 193 UN member countries, one of the expected targets is the improvement of Water Management through sustainable and efficient practices. Italy holds the record among the European Union countries for the highest withdrawal of water for drinking use per capita: in 2020, 9 billion cubic meters of water were supplied to users, corresponding to 152.4 m3 per inhabitant per year, with a progressive worsening in the efficiency of the distribution systems. The modernization of poor infrastructure is, therefore, the main driver for reversing this negative trend in the Integrated Water Service. In the case of water, “Smart” consists of making water supply and distribution intelligent with Internet of Things (IoT) technologies so as to allow reciprocal connection and communication with other parts of the plant and city. Smart water systems use sensors activated by the IoT to collect data in real time and generate the so-called “Digital twin”, which is the digital twin of the physical infrastructures present in the area and allows a modern and optimized management. This allows optimization of water structures by detecting leaks in the network and by the users, flow rates, pressures or control of the distribution of water on the network and allows operators to make more informed decisions regarding the management of water resources, also with regard to qualitative parameters. The processes currently underway at many water managers of districting and modeling of water networks cannot ignore ever greater sensorization of the assets and ever more refined processing of the data generated by them. These structures, connected and integrated by means of native IoT communication networks, public and standard, will allow significant water savings, reducing losses due to malfunctions and breakdowns. Furthermore, they will allow savings on the bill for the private citizen and a reduction in waste, an absolutely fundamental issue in a world that is becoming more and more populated and which, up to now, has treated natural resources as if they were infinite and guaranteed.