ITU‐T's Technical Reports and Specifications 533 Improved services: Smart metering can improve the relationship between the water utilities and the customers by providing more transparent water consumption information. Improved monitoring and operations prevents supply interruptions and disruptions within the water distribution network, for example, in the event of sewerage and storm water overflows. Better management relieves pressure on water resources that may be scarce during periods of drought. Improved wastewater management: These benefits are associated to improvements in the performance and economic efficiency of the wastewater treatment, as well as enhanced monitoring that helps prevent infrastructure overload. More efficient treatment: Improved water quality monitoring throughout the systems utilizing sensors creates the possibility of source control of resource pollutants and the use of natural systems, thus reducing the potential treatment required for water supply systems, or the separation of specific pollutants in wastewater. Environmental protection and enhancement: Reduced demand and improved environmental monitoring helps to maintain and restore ecosystems that rely on a healthy aquatic environment. Reduced carbon emissions: Improved management results in less energy consumed for the abstraction, treatment and distribution process of water resources, thus helping to reduce a city's carbon footprint. Flood control and storm water management: Improved weather awareness and prediction through weather intelligence allows cities to plan more effectively their flood prevention strategies, as well as to manage urban drainage systems and storm waters accordingly. Greater resilience: Reliable data reduces inaccurate forecasts and predictions, as well as the uncertainty surrounding future demand and supply availability, thus improving decision‐making for water investments and strategies. Improved operational control and monitoring can also help to prioritize infrastructure maintenance. At the same time, improved decision‐making strengthens the capacity of centralized sewers and treatment facilities to cope with the pressures of urbanization. 8 Gaps to be addressed It is imperative that urban water managers adopt appropriate water intelligence within their various management systems, and develop the capacity needed to realize the full potential of ICT tools in this field. Numerous experiences suggest that smart water management tools can be easily integrated. However, the current approach and lack of standardization within this sector may foster future problems of interoperability and reliability of SWM tools, possibly preventing future integration of system solutions. Added to this, improper policy development spearheads vendor and/or technology deadlocks. These challenges could hinder the proper implementation of SWM tools in cities around the world. Some of the challenges mentioned throughout this analysis are discussed in further depth in the ITU and UNESCO's publication \"Partnering for Solutions\"40, including the lack of technological standardization, proper ICT governance, policies, incentives/funding, business case and models (customer propositions/pricing/availability, value for water utility, etc.), co‐operation and collaboration between stakeholders (water utilities, urban planners, policy makers, governments, municipalities, academia, ICT companies, public, etc.), focus placed on privacy/security/encryption,