Page 59 - Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change
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Frontier Technologies to Protect the Environment and Tackle Climate Change
Figure 15: The global trend in agricultural water withdrawals as
a percentage of total renewable water resources [xv]
Smart sustainable cities are investing in sensor systems and advanced metering infrastructure to
upgrade treatment plants and underground pipes so that municipal water management authorities
can monitor when and where leaks take place and assess water losses en route to end-users. Proactive
monitoring and active management of water supplies are especially vital for cities that have aging
infrastructures, including many that still employ on-line monitoring and analysis capabilities only at
inlets to the water system. The drive to reduce leakages, wastage and other operational inefficiencies
(such as power consumption) becomes even more imperative considering the increasing expectations
of transparency and accountability for publicly funded functions.
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Singapore – another urban body that was recently explored in a detailed smart sustainable city (SSC)
case study – is a high-tech, highly connected city that has prioritized the smart management of water
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supply as part of its smart sustainable city (SSC) goals. Singapore’s suitability and readiness for potential
integration of 5G connectivity into its smart water management systems are explored in Box 12.
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