{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T19:50:38Z","timestamp":1790970638329,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]],"date-time":"2024-11-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1731369600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Optimizing urban water distribution systems is essential for reducing economic losses, minimizing water wastage, and addressing resource access gaps, particularly in drought-prone regions impacted by climate change. We apply advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and the Internet of Things (IoT) to optimize water networks in Spain using simulation. By employing EPANET for hydraulic modeling and a linear regression-based algorithm for optimization, we achieved up to 96.62% system efficiency with a mean absolute error of 0.049. Our approach demonstrates the potential to conserve up to 648,000 L of water daily at high-demand nodes, contributing to substantial resource savings across urban water networks. We propose a global architecture utilizing Low Power Wide Area Network and Low Earth Orbit solutions for widespread deployment. This study underscores the potential of AI in water network optimization and suggests future research avenues for implementing the proposed architecture in real urban water systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24227223","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]],"date-time":"2024-11-12T06:28:32Z","timestamp":1731392912000},"page":"7223","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Leveraging Urban Water Distribution Systems with Smart Sensors for Sustainable Cities"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2935-4745","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anaraida","family":"Garc\u00eda Baigorri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Rambla del Poblenou 156, 08018 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1899-5881","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ra\u00fal","family":"Parada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre Tecnol\u00f2gic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC), Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss, 7-Edifici B4, 08860 Castelldefels, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0035-3944","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Victor","family":"Monzon Baeza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Rambla del Poblenou 156, 08018 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3883-3588","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Monzo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), Rambla del Poblenou 156, 08018 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"29","article-title":"El agua en Espa\u00f1a: Un recurso aforado para un consumo desaforado","volume":"232","year":"1995","journal-title":"Raz\u00f3n Y Fe"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"137","article-title":"Sequ\u00edas y abastecimientos de agua potable en Espa\u00f1a","volume":"37","year":"2004","journal-title":"Bolet\u00edn Asoc. Ge\u00f3grafos Espa\u00f1oles"},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"228","article-title":"Los problemas del agua en Espa\u00f1a: An\u00e1lisis de una realidad","volume":"15","year":"2007","journal-title":"Ense\u00f1anza Cienc. Tierra Rev. Asoc. Espa\u00f1ola Para Ense\u00f1anza Cienc. Tierra"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Seral, M.A.C. (2015). Aplicaciones basadas en tecnolog\u00edas de la informaci\u00f3n geogr\u00e1fica para ayudar a gestionar el agua de riego en comunidades de regantes. XXIV Congreso de la Asociaci\u00f3n de Ge\u00f3grafos Espa\u00f1oles. An\u00e1lisis Espacial y Representaci\u00f3n Geogr\u00e1fica: Innovaci\u00f3n y Aplicaci\u00f3n, Departamento de Geograf\u00eda y Ordenaci\u00f3n del Territorio."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Fedra, D.K., and Austria, G. (2005). Water Resources Simulation and Optimization: A Web Based Approach, Springer."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parada, R., Font, J., and Casas-Roma, J. (2019). Predicting Energy Generation Using Forecasting Techniques in Catalan Reservoirs. Energies, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/en12101832"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Torra, V., Narukawa, Y., Pasi, G., and Viviani, M. (2019). Forecasting Water Levels of Catalan Reservoirs. Modeling Decisions for Artificial Intelligence, Springer. MDAI 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-26773-5"},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Tarazona Lizarraga, C. (2020). An\u00e1lisis de las necesidades de una Smart City en el marco de un desarrollo sostenible. [Master\u2019s Dissertation, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya]."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Agency, U.E.P. (2024, November 11). EPANET2.2. Available online: https:\/\/github.com\/USEPA\/EPANET2.2\/releases\/tag\/2.2.0."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.47884\/jweam.v1i3pp16-25","article-title":"Optimal Design and Analysis of Water Distribution Networking Systemusing EPANET","volume":"1","author":"Sahu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Water Eng. Manag."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"020030","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0026155","article-title":"Water management system through wireless sensor network with mobile application","volume":"2278","author":"Boniel","year":"2020","journal-title":"AIP Conf. Proc."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bharucha, A., Maheshwari, A., and Gudi, R.D. (2022, January 14\u201316). An EPANET\u2014MATLAB Framework for Quality and Quantity Management in Intermittent Water Supply Network. Proceedings of the 2022 Eighth Indian Control Conference (ICC), Chennai, India.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICC56513.2022.10093444"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Serafeim, A.V., Perdios, A., Fourniotis, N.T., and Langousis, A. (2023). Towards More Efficient Hydraulic Modeling of Water Distribution Networks Using the EPANET Software Engine. Environ. Sci. Proc., 25.","DOI":"10.3390\/ECWS-7-14166"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sakomoto, T., Lutaaya, M., and Abraham, E. (2020). Managing Water Quality in Intermittent Supply Systems: The Case of Mukono Town, Uganda. Water, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/w12030806"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ramos, H.M., Kuriqi, A., Besharat, M., Creaco, E., Tasca, E., Coronado-Hern\u00e1ndez, O.E., Pienika, R., and Iglesias-Rey, P. (2023). Smart Water Grids and Digital Twin for the Management of System Efficiency in Water Distribution Networks. Water, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/w15061129"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.1007\/s11269-023-03672-0","article-title":"Enhancing the EPANET Hydraulic Model through Genetic Algorithm Optimization of Pipe Roughness Coefficients","volume":"38","year":"2024","journal-title":"In Water Resour Manage."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ajaz, M., and Ahmad, D. (2023). Optimal Water Quality Simulation of the Proposed Water Distribution System for the University of Kashmir Using EPANET 2.2 and Leakage Modelling of the Network Using EPANET Extension-WaterNetGen. Environ. Sci. Proc., 25.","DOI":"10.3390\/ECWS-7-14251"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11859","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aej.2022.05.038","article-title":"Modeling and simulations of Water Network Distribution to Assess Water Quality: Kuwait as a case study","volume":"61","author":"Mabrok","year":"2022","journal-title":"Alex. Eng. J."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16133","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2021.3052032","article-title":"Design Optimization of Water Distribution Networks through a Novel Differential Evolution","volume":"9","author":"Mirza","year":"2021","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"7817","article-title":"Water network: Aplicaci\u00f3n m\u00f3vil con tecnolog\u00eda Arduino para la medici\u00f3n de presi\u00f3n y consumo del agua","volume":"7","author":"Moreno","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cienc. Lat. Rev. Cient\u00edfica Multidiscip."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kinman, G., \u017dili\u0107, \u017d., and Purnell, D. (2023). Scheduling Sparse LEO Satellite Transmissions for Remote Water Level Monitoring. Sensors, 23.","DOI":"10.20944\/preprints202305.0527.v1"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12892","DOI":"10.1111\/exsy.12892","article-title":"An IoT and Blockchain-based approach for the smart water management system in agriculture","volume":"40","author":"Zeng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Expert Syst."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"105","article-title":"AI-Enabled Water Management Systems: An Analysis of System Components and Interdependencies for Water Conservation","volume":"7","author":"Nova","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eig. Rev. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"728","DOI":"10.3390\/smartcities6020035","article-title":"Guidelines for Renewal and Securitization of a Critical Infrastructure Based on IoT Networks","volume":"6","author":"Parada","year":"2023","journal-title":"Smart Cities"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"012007","DOI":"10.1088\/1755-1315\/1136\/1\/012007","article-title":"Web-based GIS for simulation, and visualisation: EPANET and data-rich shapefiles","volume":"1136","author":"Lewis","year":"2023","journal-title":"IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kanaga Suba Raja, S., Usha Kiruthika, S., and Raman, C.J. (2024, January 21\u201322). A Novel Water Distribution and Performance Monitoring System using AI. Proceedings of the 2024 8th International Artificial Intelligence and Data Processing Symposium (IDAP), Online.","DOI":"10.1109\/IDAP64064.2024.10710850"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Henderi, H., Sejati, W., Pranata, S., Yusup, M., Hardini, M., and Yusuf, N.A. (2024, January 7\u20138). Innovative Approaches in Smart Hydrological Monitoring for Urban Water Resource Sustainability. Proceedings of the 2024 3rd International Conference on Creative Communication and Innovative Technology (ICCIT), Tangerang, Indonesia.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICCIT62134.2024.10701102"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"370","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envsoft.2014.09.010","article-title":"Improved genetic algorithm optimization of water distribution system design by incorporating domain knowledge","volume":"69","author":"Bi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Environ. Model. Softw."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/22\/7223\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T16:30:44Z","timestamp":1760113844000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/24\/22\/7223"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"22","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11]]}},"alternative-id":["s24227223"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s24227223","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,12]]}}}