Page 515 - Shaping smarter and more sustainable cities - Striving for sustainable development goals

Smart water management (SWM) approaches seek to promote a sustainable, well‐coordinated
development and management of water resources through the integration of ICT products, tools
and solutions; thus providing the basis for a sustainable approach to water management and
consumption.

The low cost of some ICT products, as well as their fast turnover rates when applied to urban
environments, is fostering new and innovative approaches to ensure safe and adequate water
provision for city dwellers. These technologies can be adapted to continuously monitor and
diagnose problems, prioritize and manage maintenance issues, and use data to optimize all aspects
of the urban water management network.

Harnessing the potential of ICTs in cities through the use of SWM can contribute to overcome water
related socio‐economic, cultural and environmental challenges, as well as to equip cities with
technology to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Building on this basis, this Technical Report explores the key issues involved in SWM within urban
settings, including the key water management problems and opportunities faced by cities. By
highlighting the role and potential of ICTs, this Technical Report seeks to position SWM as a crucial
area of action to achieve the goals set out by smart sustainable cities, and to respond to ongoing
and emerging urban challenges.

2 Scope

This Technical Report provides municipalities, decision‐makers and interested stakeholders with an
overview of the main technical aspects that need to be considered to effectively design and
implement smart water management in cities. This Technical Report approaches smart water
management systems from an overarching perspective. Therefore, it is expected that the smart
water technologies described, as well as their integration into urban water management systems,
can be relevant to inform the design of new systems (e.g. in the case of rapid urban growth and
infrastructure extension in developing countries), as well as to update existing systems (e.g. linked
to declining per capital demand for water and ageing infrastructure in developed countries).

While currently most water services (including drainage) rely on piped infrastructures, decentralized
and non‐piped water management techniques are starting to diffuse in both developed and
developing cities. Given the scope of this Technical Report, the analysis focuses on the former.
Further studies on the role of ICTs in decentralized water infrastructures could be the object of
future work of ITU's Focus Group on Smart Water Management (FG‐SWM).

Building on the efforts of Working Group 2 of the Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities (FG‐SSC),
this Technical Report offers both analytical and technical insights into urban water issues and the
role of ICT, seeking to stimulate further dialogue and discussion among decision‐makers,
practitioners and experts working in this field.

In order to better understand the potential of ICT tools as part of SWM, the first section of this
Technical Report explores the key challenges faced by cities in regards to water cycle, emphasizing
those that are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.

ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 505