View online
Abstract
To the casual observer, water appears to be the most abundant resource on Earth. However, less than 3 percent of the water is fresh water and, of that, less than 1 percent is available for human uses. The global water supply is fixed, but the world population and its water consumption needs are growing. Concerns are increasing over water availability, water quality, failing water infrastructures and overall water management complexity. Water management remains immature in its adoption and integration of advanced information technology (IT).
Water scarcity issues continue to mount, and water management costs continue to increase. IT and collaborative innovation are instrumental in helping deal effectively with the complexity of water management. The demand for real-time response to water issues requires new water management intelligence that includes analytics, optimization and reporting.
This IBM Redguide™ publication is for city officials, water utility management and IT architects who are looking for solutions to urban water-related challenges. This guide highlights the IBM Smarter Water vision and explains how it can improve water management. The guide provides an overview of issues with fresh water today and describes the water life cycle. It introduces the IBM Intelligent Water product offering and provides an overview of product capabilities. The guide also provides information about the IBM Maximo® offerings, which enable a water utility or agency to maintain and manage their assets. Also, included in the guide is a sampling of case studies that show IBM solutions to various water-related challenges.
Table of contents
Introduction
Problems with fresh water supplies
Smarter water vision
IBM Intelligent Water
IBM Asset Management for water utilities
Standards
Case studies
Summary
Other sources for more information