Report: Global Smart Water Network Market to Grow Through 2021

According to a new report from Technavio, the global smart water network market is expected to grow at a CAGR of close to 15% between 2017-2021, due to the following emerging market trends:

• Demand for clean water
• Impact of urbanization
• Depletion of freshwater resources

Demand for clean water

Smart water technologies are gaining importance because of depleting water resources across the world and increasing wastewater disposal costs. In 2014, around 1 in every 10 people lacked access to clean water globally, and 3 in every 10 people lacked access to improved sanitation. In the next decade, regions such as the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia are likely to face severe water shortage due to improper re-use and bad water management. In 2015, water crisis was ranked the number one global risk by impact, according to the World Economic Forum.

“The anticipation of a global level water crisis has escalated the importance of replacing older technologies with newer ones that involve the use of real-time information flow devices such as smart meters for water quality monitoring,” said Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, a lead analyst at Technavio for smart grid research. “Modernization of water infrastructure will also enable utilities to manage resources better and prevent wastage,”

Impact of urbanization

Globally there is growing demand for clean water due to increasing population and rapid urbanization and industrialization. This is increasing the stress on the water infrastructure and utilities, prompting effective management of water supplies. The population increase coupled with water security concerns is driving the integration of ICT solutions into water networks.

The addition of smart sensors and meters enable utilities and end-users to have real-time information on water consumption. Real-time information flow will enable utilities to have tight control over the operations, conduct predictive analysis to manage water supply and to prevent or predict anomalies at the point of use. The increased demand for water has escalated the importance of adopting new measures for efficient management of water consumption and supply.

Depletion of freshwater resources

Water security is one of the fastest-growing concerns across the world as the demand for water is continuously increasing across all sectors, while the number of water reserves has remained the same. Freshwater resources are depleting with time because of the rise in the extraction of water from aquifers. The rate of extraction of water from underground sources is higher than the rate of it being replenished.

“Against the backdrop of shrinking water resources, the need to adopt smart water management systems is expected to gain importance among utilities and municipalities,” said Thanikachalam. “Moreover, the development of smart cities will further escalate the growth of the smart water network market during the forecast period.”

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