Digitisation for Sustainable Water Supply Systems: The Case of Optimal Pressure Management

The water industry is facing significant challenges due to the effects of climate change and energy crises. To address these issues, the water sector is undergoing a digital transformation, leveraging digital technologies and methods, such as artificial intelligence and smart sensors, to improve sustainable supply, distribution, and treatment of water resources. Water supply systems are a crucial piece of the water industry which has the demanding task of collecting water, transporting it and distributing it to various users. An example of how digitalisation supports the suitable use of water is hereafter proposed through a real case study. Exploiting the digital information with a proper hydraulic model and an innovative control algorithm allows for enhancing the hydraulic and energy performance of the water supply systems analysed. In fact, accurate management of the pressure in the mountain distribution network leads to a significant decrease in water losses and also to reduced energy consumption.