Smart Water Management
Smart Water Cities Project
Following the successful delivery of the Smart Water Management (SWM) case study report, IWRA, K-water and the Asia Water Council (AWC) agreed to initiate a new phase of collaboration from 2020 to December 2023 with the Smart Water Cities project.
The Smart Water Cities project was a three-year project dedicated to the analysis of smart water technologies in urban developments. It was run collaboratively by IWRA, the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) and the Asia Water Council (AWC) from July 2020 to December 2023.
The project had three main aims:
- To identify and examine the technological solutions put in place to improve water resources management in cities, and the conditions for their implementation – including public and private involvement and support.
- To identify and examine the existing global standards frameworks and the Key Performance Indicators employed to measure and compare smart water solutions in cities.
- To develop a new internationally recognised certification scheme for Smart Water Cities across the world.
Find out more
Cities around the world are hubs of innovation and creativity. They are at the centre of worldwide economic growth, trade and finance exchanges and communication and logistics. Urban population is rising: more than 60% of the population of the world is expected to live in cities by 2030).
Cities’ growth, however, is already posing unparalleled challenges on urban infrastructures and the environment. For water resources, the expansion of cities is creating challenges in drinking water quality and sanitation, stormwater and leak management, as well as community engagement and decision-making. The development of intelligent technologies is at the forefront of the proposed solutions to deal with both the existing and the upcoming urban challenges in cities around the word. The “smart city” has become a promising aspiration.
This research project seeks to exposes the particularities and the specific challenges of employing SWM technologies in urban developments. It will connect researchers around the world working on the topic and will produce three reports with the findings.
Access the full SWC Phase 1 report
Access the full SWC Phase 3 report
This comprehensive report presents key performance indicators, evaluation methodologies, and insights from phase two’s pilot city assessments in Busan Eco Delta City (Korea) and Semarang (Indonesia).
The report introduces the Smart Water City Index, a practical tool for assessing urban water management performance. Findings from the pilot city evaluations highlight the need for integrated smart water technologies, strong governance frameworks, and cross-sector collaboration to enhance resilience and sustainability.
Key recommendations focus on data-driven decision-making, adaptive policies, and stakeholder engagement to help cities future-proof their water systems.
The Smart Water Management (SWM) Case Study Report
The Smart Water Management Case study project ran from 2017 to 2018. Undertaken in collaboration with K-water, the project had the following objectives:
- To promote the use of SWM for current water challenges
- To showcase and provide insights from exemplary cases of SWM from around the world
- To support future SWM projects by highlighting the enablers and barriers for SWM to decision makers
- To identify the contribution SWM can offer in achieving the SDGs
The project concluded with the publication of a report showcasing 10 SWM case studies from around the world, and 9 upcoming SWM projects from both developed and developing countries. The report provides an in depth look at how these SWM projects were implemented, the enabling factors and potential barriers faced, and how SWM can assist with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on cross case analysis, the report looks at the potential for SWM replication and scalability, and provides policy recommendations to assist decision-makers with supporting future SWM implementation.
- The full report in high resolution (89 MB)
- The full report in low resolution (21 MB)
- The executive summary
- Individual SWM case studies:
KHIT, Seosan, Paju, Paris, China, FDMT, Mexico, Africa,
Canada, Europe - Individual text boxes: Azerbaijan, Bali, Uganda, India, Bolivia, Argentina, India,
Pakistan, Australia - The brief report (Executive Summary, Introduction, Analysis/Discussion, Conclusion and References)
