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Source: Brisbane City Council (2014).
Figure 11 – Example of web‐based technologies and city flooding:
The Brisbane City web‐based flood map

Web‐based servers offer access to integrated information from heterogeneous data sources, as well
as innovative tools for the analysis and assessment of issues such as climate change, water scarcity,
human health, sanitation and urbanization, all key factors to consider as part of urban water
management. The integration of such web‐based communication tools using open communication
standards allows a range of stakeholders to connect to the system, and use available resources.

At the same time, communication and information systems can enable both the general public and
administrators to access relevant information, fostering transparency and visibility of current water
related activities by the specialized users (e.g. water managers, municipalities, governments),
facilitating trust‐building and public/stakeholder involvement. An intuitive and
user‐friendly interface fosters data accessibility and dissemination, especially for the public.
Web‐based communication and information system tools are used by governments and
municipalities to deliver relevant water information to the public, as well as to provide early
warnings (e.g. flood alerts). They also allow urban water managers to access relevant information
such as rainfall data, storage and distribution, among others, thus helping to inform decision‐making
processes at multiple levels.
Data and systems security is a key point that has to be carefully addressed prior to any
implementation of web‐based technologies for Cities and Utilities, and in compliance with existing
corporate standards and policies.

Another example of a related ICT tool for water infrastructure management is provided in Box 1.

522 ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications