METHODOLOGIES FOR PROJECTING AND IMPLEMENTING A SMART WATER CITY

Abstract

"Our problems are man-made, so they can be solved by man." J. Fitzgerald Kennedy's phrase reflects the current scenario, characterised by the phenomenon of climate change, largely caused by human activity since the first Industrial Revolution, which is beginning to show the damage it causes, such as the anomalous temperatures and severe droughts recorded in Italy in the summer of 2022. Among the many dimensions of nature affected by these changes, there is also water: a study coordinated by the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Superior Council for Scientific Research (Icm-Csic) in Barcelona shows how global warming is accelerating the water cycle: a phenomenon that could irreversibly alter the equilibrium of the entire Earth ecosystem, causing more violent storms and causing ice to melt rapidly. One of the effects of these changes is that the space mainly occupied by humans, i.e. the city, is creating challenges for public decision-makers in terms of both urban water management and the provision of urban water and sanitation services. Indeed, the growth of cities, climate change and urbanisation have had an impact on the natural water cycle and cities, today, are at the centre of the problem. Furthermore, cities today can be subject to environmental disasters such as floods and tropical storms, which pose a serious threat to the lives and well-being of thousands of people, as well as a problem for the environment. Indeed, the expansion of urban areas is creating difficulties in providing adequate drinking water and sanitation services in many areas of the world, as well as making it difficult to manage the expansion and renewal of water networks in extended urban areas. In this context, one solution is Smart Water Cities, i.e. smart cities that pay special attention to citizens' water consumption levels and, in general, to the management and maintenance of the city's water network. With this in mind, the paper aims to present the Smart Water City concept and the methods through which to design, implement and evaluate a smart city project. In particular, the first chapter will present the fundamental concepts, which will form the theoretical substrate on which the paper is based. In fact, the definition of the smart city concept, its main characteristics and the benefits it can bring to a city project will be presented. In the last part, the public and private financing methods through which these projects are made possible will also be presented. In the second chapter, a definition of the Smart Water City concept will be provided and the main benefits that such solutions bring will be presented. It will also analyse what the city's water network looks like, from the individual building to the entire city water system. In the final part of the chapter, the problems and obstacles to the deployment of such urban projects will first be analysed, concluding with the definition of a roadmap to enable the transition from a Smart City to a Smart Water City. In the third chapter, the main mathematical and statistical methods through which a Smart Water City can be managed will be listed. In the fourth chapter, multiple use cases from Smart Water City projects promoted and developed in cities around the world will be considered. The aim of this chapter is to show how some smart city realities are moving towards a transition to Smart Water City and what benefits it has brought to the urban agglomeration. The last chapter will contain a brief discussion of the work and recommendations and advice for possible future related research. Finally, the conclusions that can be drawn in the light of this work will be presented.