Because it can give rise to negative visuals in the imagination of its inhabitants, the smart city must offer futuristic facilities and infrastructures, without losing the human and historical dimensions typical of the traditional city.
However, the smart city water management can surpass the so-called “old world” city in that it intends to serve environmental and social issues at a time when metropolitan development is exploding.
Among the major issues of a respectful and sustainable city, rational and reasoned stormwater management is at the top of the list.
Smart city water management, a key resource for today and tomorrow
There is no need to remind people that water is a natural resource that no one can do without and that is nevertheless subject to intolerable waste in industrialized countries.
How can we imagine an intelligent city, for example, that would not try to equip all its buildings with rainwater harvesters, themselves equipped with measurement sensors ?
Innovation, such as IoT devices, provides valuable savings by returning water to a place of honor at the center of the city. Thus, rather than continuing to collect and then treat stormwater, there is nothing to prevent urban planners from letting it follow its natural cycle.
In concrete terms, they flowed into green spaces and grassy ditches. This harvested water, combined with the development of green roofs, would provide a freshness boost and greater biodiversity within the city walls.
Smart stormwater management to adapt to climate change
In a smart city, data governance is first and foremost about promoting the well-being of users, their mobility and their quality of life, thanks to technology and without generating pollution. Therefore, for a smart city, transportation, electricity costs and the implementation of water management systems within its territory appear as high priorities.
The first emergency probably concerns the maintenance of the pipe networks, which have become obsolete and are responsible for a water loss of about 20% to 30%. If the issue of transportation in the smart city is on everyone’s mind, the issue of water is alarming. There is no shortage of ways to intelligently manage stormwater, thanks to :
- immediate detection of any leak, via sensors connected to the pipes and taps;
- continuous reading of water consumption by smart meters;
- Preservation of water purity, through remote control of flow management systems insewage structures;
- the collection of rainwater in small permeable structures, so that it can slowly infiltrate the soil before reaching the water table just as gradually.