Advancing Urban Flood Resilience with Smart Water Infrastructure

Abstract:

Advances in wireless communications and low-power electronics are enabling a new generation of smart water systems that will employ real-time sensing and control to solve our most pressing water challenges. In a future characterized by these systems, networks of sensors will detect and communicate flood events at the neighborhood scale to improve disaster response. Meanwhile, wirelessly-controlled valves and pumps will coordinate reservoir releases to halt combined sewer overflows and restore water quality in urban streams. While these technologies promise to transform water resources management, considerable knowledge gaps remain with regards to how smart water systems should be designed and operated.

This presentation highlights recent advances towards building the smart water systems of the future, with an emphasis on applications to urban flooding. I will showcase (i) a first-of-its-kind embedded platform for real-time sensing and control of urban stormwater systems, (ii) a digital twin model for on-line data assimilation that will enable real-time geolocation of flash floods, and (iii) a theoretical approach to optimal sensor placement that will help guide the design of future flood monitoring networks. Drawing on this foundational work, I will discuss major unsolved challenges that prevent broader real-world adoption of smart water systems, and propose directions for future research that will help to overcome these challenges.