Towards Smart, Benign Urban Water Infrastructure

Abstract

This chapter was also presented recently in Chicago by the author. It advances ideas for reducing the unsustainability of infrastructure, in the belief that true sustainability of water systems of large cities is unfortunately implausible. Our drinking water, wastewater, and storm water infrastructure ("infrastructure") is truly complex and requires constant and expensive repair and monitoring. Such investment.,;; warrant good information systems. In the future, infrastructure information systems win integrate sensors with GIS data systems and water management models. Future water systems will be smarter, having intelligence distributed throughout the network. Such intelligence could eventually be continuously available on line to all categories of users of the web, with the water network performance information at a complexity to suit the user. Physical s:izes of future infrastructure wiH depend more on the requirements of autonomous robots, the collection, transmission and processing of intelligence relating to the network and evolving synthetic pipeline materials and multi-service cable-pipes. Use of local recycling and pressure sewers will permit downsizing of infrastructure.