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Water The digital revolution is transforming the water sector and technological developments are opening new possibilities, but it is an integrated approach that will secure the future of water.
RICHARD BOWDEN Digital Software, Insight and Operations Leader Arup
INTRODUCTION
Our most precious resource is at significant risk and we must act now. At Arup, we have been developing our ‘Design with Water’ framework, which draws on our experiences of designing, implementing and maintaining water infrastructure around the world.114 Design with Water is strongly underpinned by our research activities. The framework places an understanding of the local water cycle at the centre of responses to wider local issues, such as economic development, food and agriculture, community, and energy use. In order to account for the whole water cycle, Arup conducts research into multiple aspects of water management. From flood modelling assisted by machine learning, to working with partners to better understand water resilience in cities, we are continuously broadening the
expertise that enables us to assess risks and support our clients in taking a strategic approach to water usage and management. Underlying all of our work in water is the goal for the knowledge that we generate to both enable and accelerate the realisation of the water related UNSDGs.115 The digital twin approach will be an important element in building this knowledge. T H E C H A L L E N G E S I N T H E W AT E R B U S I N E S S
There are multiple global challenges around the provision, quality and accessibility of water, as well as the impact of human activity on this precious resource. In most cases, these challenges are a mixture of digital, physical and biological factors, but also social issues, driven by the advance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.116 ► 133
