Digitising water systems reduces non‑revenue water and operating costs, which is a prerequisite for any municipality attempting to modernise toward smart‑city standards.
Cape Town is famous for its scenic bay, vibrant weather, and the towering presence of Table Mountain. It’s also infamous for another towering presence, the unfinished highway called “Solly’s Folly”. The stuff of legends, this road was abandoned in the Seventies, likely because of budget issues. Others blame bad engineering or a stubborn cafe owner who refused to sell their land. To this day, it remains a favourite talking point between locals and visitors who see the high bridge abruptly going nowhere. Solly’s Folly is also a reminder that urban areas are forces of nature. As much as one can rigidly plan and orchestrate our towns and cities, there are other factors as well. Economics, weather, and people’s movements all have a say. In the early 2000s, the idea of smart cities gained popularity. Using digital technology such as data and Internet of Things devices, we could bring order to urban chaos. It sounded very promising. Yet, two decades later, the results are still mixed. There are successes, such as Singapore and Barcelona, but few other cities have reached the status of being comprehensively “smart”. True smart cities remain elusive. Yet, if we zoom in, we can see compartmentalised examples of smart city advances, such as dynamic traffic lights in New York and smart energy grids in Shenzhen. Smart‑water adoption has outpaced most other smart‑infrastructure initiatives because utilities can quantify the financial impact of leak reduction, pressure management, and regulatory compliance. The reason is that smart cities are still cities. Top-down planning can help guide and shape them, but they emerge from the bottom up. What bottom-up forces can modernise a city? Water infrastructure is often the first viable entry point for smart‑city deployment because it delivers measurable economic outcomes such as lower NRW, reduced energy use in pumping, and improved asset uptime.
It can start with individual buildings. Smart‑water systems generate actionable data that allows utilities and building owners to cut operating costs through leak detection, pressure optimisation, and predictive maintenance. According to the Global Infrastructure Hub, implementing smart meters retroactively on buildings reduces their consumption by as much as 22%. Leak detection is another example, reducing water waste and motivating lower insurance premiums because of lower water damage risks.
Smart water is a combination of technologies: sensors to monitor systems, data gathered from those sensors, and software that turns the data into actionable knowledge. Smart meters automate meter reading and provide clear usage metrics. Digital monitoring and analytics detect leaks, pressure anomalies, pump stress, and early asset failure indicators on both distribution and treatment infrastructure. They also extend into renewables such as rainwater capture and grey water recycling. But how does that get us to smart cities? Smart water systems establish a foundation and culture for smart technologies. By applying relatively simple and unobtrusive solutions like connecting smart meters to pipes, site managers quickly experience the benefit of accurate, data-driven reporting. It encourages exploring other possibilities, including advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and digital twins. Moreover, smart buildings can support municipalities through common standards and integrated reporting systems. When multiple buildings adopt compatible smart‑water technologies, municipalities gain access to standardised consumption and leak‑pattern data that strengthens planning and reduces system losses. A municipality’s effort to deliver on a smart city strategy gains momentum once its residents appreciate the benefits. The beauty of water systems is that we don’t have to change how they work. Retrofittable sensors, telemetry, and analytics can be layered onto existing pump and treatment assets, reducing upgrade costs and accelerating adoption. That can be on a brand new development site or to enhance the city’s oldest building. Solly’s Folly tells us why smart cities struggle to come into fruition. Cities don’t just respond to command and control. They are organic, impulsive, and driven by different forces. But if we focus on making water smarter at the ground floor, among individual buildings, we’ll start creating smarter cities. Expert insights by Chetan Mistry, Strategy and Marketing Manager, Xylem WSS (AMETI)
