Water Crisis and the Growing Importance of Digital Water Management
"In our rapidly digitalising world, the advantages of digital technologies are increasing in many areas from the protection of water, a vital resource, to its sustainable management. In this sense, the concept of 'Digital Water' is of great importance for the protection and the most efficient management of this resource to ensure that everyone has access to sufficient and clean water.
Today, as a result of many pressures such as climate change, population growth, pollution, migration to cities, the risks faced by water management as a financial and corporate service are increasing. Therefore, for a more sustainable and secure water future, it is necessary to switch to new generation water service systems integrated with digital solution applications. The efficiency and participation that digital water management will provide is also of great importance in maintaining water supply as a public service.
Digital technology is also transforming Water Management
"In our rapidly digitalising world, the advantages of digital technologies are increasing in many areas from the protection of water, a vital resource, to its sustainable management. In this sense, the concept of 'Digital Water' is of great importance for the protection and the most efficient management of this resource to ensure that everyone has access to sufficient and clean water. Today, as a result of many pressures such as climate change, population growth, pollution and migration to cities, the risks faced by water management as a financial and corporate service are also increasing. Therefore, for a more sustainable and safe water future, it is imperative to switch to new generation water systems integrated with digital solution applications. Digital technologies are transforming water management as they transform applications in many areas from our cities to our homes and personal lives. Digital technologies provide significant advantages not only in the optimum design and more efficient operation of water and wastewater projects, but also in improving the relations of all stakeholders with water management, communicating and solving problems in a short time.
Transition to Digital Water Technology
Stakeholders in 'Digital Water' can be listed as institutions and organisations managing water services, universities, technology centres, Organised Industrial Zones, industries and NGOs. Water-related issues require a detailed understanding of the water ecosystem and challenges ranging from local to global level. This requires a comprehensive co-operation between stakeholders in the development of digital technology policies. In this field, a roadmap for capacity building policies should be created with the contribution of all stakeholders. In this context, for example, it should be determined how to meet the basic needs of all water-related stakeholders in terms of digital technology-related skills development, artificial intelligence and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) needs, data generation and data storage. Training and adaptation studies should be carried out to provide a qualified workforce for digital technological innovations. In the adoption and implementation of digital technologies in the water sector, it is beneficial to establish a public structure at national level where all water ecosystem stakeholders are represented. This unit can ensure the development and coordination of stakeholders by eliminating the shortcomings in policy-making and institutional and technical infrastructure development.
Participatory management accelerates development.
In our country, the development of public, private sector and NGO cooperation in many areas is problematic and painful. The socio-cultural and socio-political factors in our country also have an impact on this. Nevertheless, cooperation is being established. However, especially in public-private partnerships (PPP), the problem arises in terms of the authority and responsibility ratio of the sector that will provide financing in the management of the investment. In this regard, the balance between taking authority-responsibility and providing financing should be established by considering public benefit. It is very important that NGOs participate in this cooperation, especially in digital change and transformation. However, many organisations have not yet been able to follow the process and make adequate preparations in their own fields. This development needs to be accelerated through state-supported projects and university-NGO cooperation. On the other hand, a participatory management approach will contribute to the creation of the highest social, social and economic added value in the shortest time by making the least mistakes in digital transformation and production.
Smart applications can become Technological Shackles
The benefits of smart applications that make life easier are well known. However, as these applications move away from the social dimension, they may become technological shackles for social life. For this reason, applications developed on the basis of the concept of 'Smartness' such as smart cities should cover not only the technical but also the social dimension. In fact, this concept should be considered as the key concept of a new local government approach for socio-economic development, social integration and ecological balance in cities.
In smart cities, smart management of water will have a very important and vital importance in addition to other services such as smart transport and smart security. Because today, the interrelationships between water, energy, food and environment sectors have increased. For example, in the recent period, water services have become more energy dependent, while energy production services have become more water dependent. The interconnections of environmental and food security with water security have also increased. Smart cities will be places where all these sectors are handled holistically within the scope of digital transformation. For this reason, 'Smart Water Management' should be addressed in cities under a separate sub-heading and with a holistic approach together with the smart management of other sectors.
Digital transformation needs to be managed
Today, it has become a very important issue to catch the digital transformation on time and to manage it for national and social benefit. For this, there is a need for information, expert training and then a practical implementation plan. Some institutional structures that prepare strategic plans on this subject have been established. However, 'Smart Technologies' departments should be established in organisations in order to ensure that these studies do not remain only in reports and find an application area. In addition, it would be useful to request annual development and implementation plans from some pilot institutions and the private sector and to monitor the progress. This follow-up is important both in terms of enabling the relevant institutions to benefit from each other's developments and in terms of revealing and solving the difficulties in front of this transition.
Water Policy Association and Digital Water
Water Policy Association was established in Ankara in 2015 as a specialised association and a centre of thought production. It carries out interdisciplinary studies on local, regional and global scale on issues such as 'Water Management', 'International Water Policies', 'Water Policies', 'Hydropolitics', 'Water Diplomacy', 'Water', 'Energy', 'Food and Environmental Security'. Its ultimate goal is to become an international regional education and research institute in its field of interest. 53 per cent of its members are active university faculty members, 10 per cent are retired ambassadors, 20 per cent are senior technocrats, 17 per cent are senior managers in the private sector, and the association has many associate members from different countries. The Water Policy Association also carries out studies to understand the direction of technological change in the field of water management and to raise awareness. In this context, two reports have been published, analysing the concept of 'Digital Water' and the relationship between 'Artificial Intelligence and Water Management' from a more technical perspective.
