As governments across the globe take on current and predicted water shortages, they are trying to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas to tackle the problems.

To this end, more and more governments are looking to young people to catalyse new thinking in management approaches and research areas. This approach was pioneered 6 years ago by the Austrian Ministry of Environment and Water, holding workshops at various schools to inform and harness creative ways of thinking about excessive water usage in urban areas.

The International Water Association recently held a Young Water Professionals Workshop in Bologna on behalf of the partners of WIDEST, a European Commission project, which aims to establish an interconnected ICT for Water community.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are key drivers for the development of Smart Cities, which are the way of the future. The workshop dealt with identifying smart solutions and strategies for Water in Smart Cities.

Water data networks play an important role in water management for cities, and as the trajectory of urbanisation points to increasing threats that may endanger public health, such as water pollution and costly infrastructure management, there is a growing need for sensors, smart meters and software that tracks water consumption and help municipalities to provide safe water and sanitation to the public in the most efficient method possible.

The amount of data gathered about water usage, water distribution and leaks is vast and largely scattered across multiple data models, which supports the need for intelligent methods of differentiating between relevant data that signal the need for action and that which is meaningless. This is easily done by the younger generation, in real-time, as has been demonstrated by a group of young Indian developers who run social enterprises that take advantage of rising national smart phone coverage and cloud technologies.

“Young professionals need to get involved in discussions since they are the consumers and leaders of tomorrow and can influence decisions with innovative ideas,” said Lisa Bross, Chair of the YWP Organisation Committee.

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