Digital Water Services using Digital Twin paradigm

Abstract

Abstract In the last years, the digital transition concept has spread all over public and private life as a process designed for improving problem solving in industry by the combination of models, information, and connectivity technologies. In the Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) management sector, the innovations in the areas of ICT/IoT, virtual representation of infrastructure elements in GIS/BIM platforms and the advancements in hydraulic modelling offer the opportunity to open a new era for water engineering. Nonetheless, a unique consensus about the digital transformation meaning in WDNs management is still missing. In this paper a recent paradigm for the digital transformation for WDNs is exposed and further extended, starting from the concept of Digital Twin for WDNs management. It encompasses the virtual representation of features and devices of the network integrated with advanced hydraulic modelling and Artificial Intelligence for supporting WDNs management tasks. The WDN Digital Twin is used within tools, named Digital Water Services (DWSs), working on GIS platforms. DWSs are conceived to support distinct phases of WDNs management by improving engineering awareness on technical decisions. Several DWSs, previously adopted for real WDNs management and planning, are here presented, as support tools for technicians and water utilities for achieving short-term and long-term management tasks.