Water scarcity poses threats around the globe. The water sector — acting as the steward of a precious resource—is facing critical challenges that contribute to the issue. The two main challenges are tighter city budgets and aging infrastructure. For example, an average city anywhere in the world loses 20% to 40% of its potable water each year due to infrastructure leaks. This can amount to almost 22 billion gallons of water for a large city. Fortunately, water utilities are embracing new technologies that, when powered by 5G, water infrastructure could let us harness critical information and transform how water is managed in the near future and beyond.
The Landscape Today
As leaders at WaterStart, a nonprofit association for water resources agencies that are focused on adapting to changes globally, we know that 5G could not have come at a better time. 5G water infrastructure would provide utilities with the ability to take advantage of high-speed data transfer in the water sector – which is more critical now than ever.