Technology—How Far Can We Go?

The world's population is increasing at a tremendous rate, the world's renewable water resources are reducing rapidly, the gap between water supply and demand is widening with urbanization and climate change making the gap even wider. In the USA water loss is a major issue, especially with the severe droughts experienced around the country. This paper outlines the importance of technology and innovation, describes technologies available in assisting water utilities to save valuable quantities of water lost through leaky networks and highlights the way forward in developing appropriate technology. To deal with such losses in an effective manner, particularly from networks in water scarce areas, water utility managers are increasingly turning to technology to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve reliability. Companies that continuously invest in technology and innovation will see a positive return on investment in terms of improving daily operations and collection and analysis of nework data for decision making and forward planning.