Water Sector 5.0: Harnessing Digital Transformation Opportunities and Mitigating Risks

The water sector is going under tremendous changes in current scenarios. The sector is now a days being transformed through digitalization which has not only increased its efficiency but has also contributed to enhanced sustainability and resilience. One important point of utilizing digitalization is that well informed decision can be made easily resulting in improved management of resources and detection of leaks saving the resource. Intelligent systems allow for further improvement in distribution and utilization of water saving time and other resources. Forecasting maintenance of pipelines enabled by Internet of Things devices and Artificial Intelligence enables early prevention of equipment malfunctions, minimizes downtime and prolongs the infrastructure lifespan. Digital platform also enhances customer engagement by offering immediate updates for water consumption and service-related problems. Nevertheless, many challenges are also presented by digitalization of water industry as they face considerable threats from cybersecurity vulnerabilities and are always at risk of being attacked by cybercriminal and disruptions in supply. Moreover, the incorporation of newer technologies is also not very cost effective. The present review examines the opportunities and threats being faced by the digitalization of water sector. This also puts focus on utilization of emerging Industry 5.0 in the sector and discusses use of these technologies for better management.