Pre-emption and prevention, security, reuse, process automation, optimisation and planning are the main challenges for water management this year, say utility tech specialists Idrica.
By 2025, around 3.5 billion people will be living in water-scarce areas, and water demand is set to rise by 30% by 2050. It is also estimated that the number of people at risk of flooding will increase to 1.6 million in 2050, compared to 1.2 million today. Given this scenario, water utilities are implementing technological solutions to achieve efficient water cycle management.
Early warning systems are set to play a key role in risk management thanks to their ability to predict floods and overflows. Their implementation, together with the deployment of monitoring and management solutions for sanitation systems, will reduce climate impact through the integration and advanced analysis of available data.
Security-related issues, and more specifically cybersecurity, are becoming increasingly relevant in a service as important as water supply. Utilities will continue to focus on offline and online security this year to overcome the challenges of digital transformation. Protecting infrastructures from attacks will increasingly become a priority as a way of ensuring high-quality supply to the entire population and safeguarding citizens’ data.
Water reuse is another trend. Current data on net consumption of drinking water in irrigation and industrial processes in the most developed countries and forecasts for the growth of water demand in the coming years, make its reuse especially relevant. Likewise, guaranteeing public and environmental health and complying with the legal provisions on physical, chemical and biological parameters require a series of technologies that will be increasingly used by water utilities from 2023 onwards.
Process optimisation, leading to greater automation, is one of the trends with the greatest potential to improve the current water situation. Integration of data in innovative, vendor-agnostic, technological solutions is the first step towards preventive, automatic management of the entire water cycle. This will enable asset managers to improve operations and management, reduce costs and add value for customers. Automation will provide a response to extreme events, as well as process management in DWTPs, WWTPs and irrigation.
Efficient management also involves water optimisation, and must go hand in hand with technology. 2023 will be a year of innovations and maturing technologies in areas such as agriculture and energy, a sector closely related to water. Better internet connection speeds and artificial intelligence will also address the challenge of optimisation, driving further progress.
The hydrological situation requires a strategic rethink too. Water planning as a tool focuses on the efficient use and sound management of resources thanks, in part, to technology. Water planning tools provide real-time, accessible, reliable information that makes it easier to ascertain and assess the status of available resources – the first step that must be secured in water planning. The objective is to offer new technological outlooks and approaches to a basic element of water cycle management.
There is no doubt that water utilities’ priorities will be shaped by technology and digital transformation. This is why governments are launching plans and subsidies to increase water efficiency and resilience through digital transformation, which is a great opportunity for water utilities to implement digital projects, incorporate new technologies and promote the circular economy, converting information into business intelligence.
