Can Smart Water Create Smart Cities? Digitising water systems reduces non-revenue water and operating costs, which are prerequisites for any municipality attempting to modernise toward smart-city standards, argues Chetan Mistry, Regional Strategy and Marketing Manager for Xylem.
C ape Town is famous for its scenic bay, vibrant weather, and the towering presence of Table Mountain. It's also infamous for another tower- ing presence, the unfinished highway called "Solly's Folly". The stuff of legends, this road was aban- doned in the Seventies, likely due to budget constraints. Others blame bad engineering or a stubborn cafe owner who refused to sell. To this day, it remains a favourite talking point between locals and visitors who see the high bridge abruptly going nowhere. Solly's Folly is also a reminder that urban areas are forces of nature. As much as one can rigidly plan and orchestrate our towns and cit- ies, there are other factors as well. Economics, weather and people's movements all have a say. In the early 2000s, the idea of smart cities gained popularity. Using digital technology such as data and Internet of Things devices, we could bring order to urban chaos. It sounded very promising. Yet, two decades later, the results are still mixed. There are successes, such as Singapore and Barcelona, but few other cities have reached the status of being comprehensively "smart". True smart cities remain elusive. Yet, if we zoom in, we can see compartmentalised examples of smart city advances, such as dynamic traffic lights in New York and smart energy grids in Shenzhen. The reason for mixed results is that smart cities are still cities. Top-down planning can help guide and shape them, but they emerge from the bottom up. What bottom-up forces can modernise a city? Smart-water adoption has, in fact, outpaced most other smart-infrastructure initiatives be- cause utilities can quantify the financial impact of leak reduction, pressure management and regulatory compliance. Water infrastructure is often the first viable entry point for smart-city deployment because it delivers measurable economic outcomes, such as lower non-revenue
Chetan Mistry, Regional Strategy and Marketing Manager for Xylem.
water (NRW), reduced pumping energy use and improved asset uptime. It can start with individual buildings. Smart-water systems generate actionable data that allows utilities and building owners to cut operating costs through leak detection, pres- sure optimisation, and predictive maintenance. According to the Global Infrastructure Hub, retrofitting smart meters on buildings reduces their energy consumption by up to 22%. Leak detection is another example, reducing water waste and leading to lower insurance premiums due to reduced water-damage risk. Smart water is a combination of technolo- gies: sensors to monitor systems, the data they gather and software that turns that data into actionable knowledge. Smart meters automate meter reading and provide clear usage metrics. Digital monitoring and analytics detect leaks, pressure anomalies, pump stress, and early in- dicators of asset failure across both distribution and treatment infrastructure. They also extend into renewables such as rainwater capture and greywater recycling. But how does that get us to smart cities? Smart water systems establish a foundation and culture for smart technologies. By applying rela- tively simple and unobtrusive solutions, such as connecting smart meters to pipes, site managers
quickly experience the benefits of accurate, data-driven reporting. It encourages explora- tion of other possibilities, including advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital twins. Moreover, smart buildings can sup- port municipalities through common standards and integrated reporting systems. When multiple buildings adopt compat- ible smart-water technologies, municipalities gain access to standardised consumption and leak-pattern data that strengthen planning and reduce system losses. A municipality's effort to deliver on a smart city strategy gains momentum once its residents appreciate the benefits. The beauty of water systems is that we don't have to change how they work. Retrofittable sensors, telemetry, and analytics can be layered onto existing pump and treatment assets, reducing upgrade costs and accelerating adoption. That can be on a brand-new development site or to enhance the city's oldest building. Solly's Folly tells us why smart cities struggle to come to fruition. Cities don't just respond to command-and-control. They are organic, impulsive and driven by differ- ent forces. But if we focus on making water smarter at the ground floor, among individual buildings, we'll start creating smarter cities. https://www.xylem.com/en-za/
10 ¦ MechChem Africa • July-August 2026
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