DWC · Project

Digital Tools That Cut Costs and Risks in City Water Management

environmentPilotedTRL 7

Imagine running a city's water system — pipes, sewers, treatment plants, even beach water quality — but instead of reacting when things break, you have smart sensors and AI telling you what's about to go wrong. That's what this project built: 18 different digital tools tested across Berlin, Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, and Sofia. Think of it like giving water utilities a "smart dashboard" that predicts pipe failures, optimizes treatment, and even tells you if bathing water is safe — all in real time. The goal was to move water management from paper-and-gut-feeling to data-driven decisions.

By the numbers

Advanced digital solutions developed and demonstrated

Major European cities used as demonstration sites

Consortium partners across Europe and Israel

Countries represented in the consortium

Industry partners in the consortium

SMEs participating in the project

Total project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities across Europe are managing water infrastructure — pipes, sewers, treatment plants, bathing areas — with outdated tools and reactive maintenance. This leads to costly emergency repairs, health risks from undetected contamination, and wasted resources. Water utilities need real-time intelligence to predict failures, optimize operations, and protect public health before problems escalate.

The solution

What was built

The project developed and demonstrated 18 digital solutions covering groundwater management, sewer maintenance and operation, wastewater treatment and reuse, and urban bathing water management. Concrete outputs include early warning systems for health protection in water reuse and bathing water, performance and ROI assessment tools, implementation plans for each solution, and a guiding protocol for ICT governance, interoperability, and cybersecurity.

Audience

Who needs this

Municipal water utilities looking to digitize operationsSmart city platform providers seeking water management modulesEnvironmental consultancies advising on water reuse complianceCity governments planning digital transformation of public servicesWater technology companies seeking proven AI and sensor solutions to resell

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Water utilities

enterprise

Target: Municipal water and wastewater utilities

If you are a water utility struggling with aging infrastructure and unpredictable maintenance costs — this project developed 18 digital solutions including predictive analytics for sewer maintenance and real-time sensor networks, tested across 5 major European cities. The tools were designed to increase performance and return on investment of water infrastructure, with documented demonstration outcomes and ROI assessments.

Smart city technology

mid-size

Target: Companies providing IoT and data platforms for cities

If you are a smart city technology provider looking for proven water management modules to integrate — this project created interoperable digital solutions combining cloud computing, AI, augmented reality, and decision support systems. With 25 consortium partners across 10 countries, the solutions were built with open source software and interoperability protocols, making them integration-ready for existing city platforms.

Environmental consulting

SME

Target: Consultancies advising cities on water safety and reuse

If you are an environmental consultancy advising municipalities on water reuse or bathing water safety — this project built early warning systems and decision support tools for health protection in water reuse and bathing water. The solutions were demonstrated in 5 cities with documented implementation plans and benefit quantification methodologies, giving you ready evidence for client proposals.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these digital water solutions?

The project did not publish specific per-unit pricing. However, deliverables include a dedicated methodology for quantifying the benefits and ROI of each digital solution, which means potential adopters can request the cost-benefit assessment approach. Contact the consortium for implementation cost estimates.

Can these solutions work at industrial scale for a large city?

Yes — the solutions were specifically demonstrated at scale in 5 major European cities: Berlin, Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, and Sofia. These are full-scale urban environments, not lab settings. The project produced implementation plans for each of the 18 digital solutions with documented demonstration outcomes.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

The project used open source software as part of its technology stack, which suggests at least some components may be freely available. However, with 11 industry partners and 8 SMEs in the consortium, some solutions likely carry commercial licensing. Contact the coordinator for specific IP terms.

Does this comply with EU water regulations?

The project specifically addressed health protection in water reuse and bathing water quality, which aligns with the EU Bathing Water Directive and the Water Reuse Regulation. The digital solutions include data protection considerations and cybersecurity protocols as part of their guiding framework.

How long would it take to deploy these tools in our city?

The project ran from June 2019 to November 2022 and produced implementation plans for each digital solution. Since these tools were already demonstrated in 5 cities, deployment timelines for new cities would be significantly shorter than the original development period. The transferability of solutions to other European or international contexts was a stated project goal.

Can these tools integrate with our existing water management systems?

Integration was a core design principle. The project developed a dedicated guiding protocol covering ICT governance, interoperability, ontology, and cybersecurity. The solutions were designed to enable interoperable free flow of information across the water value chain, meaning they were built to connect with existing infrastructure.

Is there ongoing support or a community around these tools?

The project established Communities of Practice aimed at knowledge transfer and creating durable connections between European cities. Based on available project data, these communities were designed to ensure transferability beyond the original 5 demo cities and support adoption by new users.

Consortium

Who built it

The DWC consortium is strong and commercially oriented: 25 partners from 10 countries with 11 industry partners and 8 SMEs, giving it a 44% industry ratio — well above average for EU research projects. The coordinator is KWB, a Berlin-based water competence center, which provides deep domain expertise. With partners from Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, and Bulgaria (matching the 5 demo cities), each demonstration site had local partners who understand regional regulations and infrastructure. The mix of 3 universities, 7 research organizations, and 11 industry players means the science was immediately pressure-tested against commercial viability. For a business considering adoption, this consortium composition signals that the solutions were built with real-world deployment in mind, not just academic publishing.

KWB KOMPETENZZENTRUM WASSER BERLIN GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBHCoordinator · DE
STRANE INNOVATIONparticipant · FR
FUNDACIO INSTITUT CATALA DE RECERCA DE L'AIGUAparticipant · ES
SINTEF NORD ASthirdparty · NO
FLUIDIONparticipant · FR
DHI A/Sparticipant · DK
ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITAparticipant · IT
I-CATALIST SLparticipant · ES
SINTEF ASparticipant · NO
SOFIYSKA VODA ADparticipant · BG
SYNDICAT INTERDEPARTMENTAL POUR L'ASSAINISSEMENT DE L'AGGLOMERATION PARISIENNEparticipant · FR
BIOFOS ASparticipant · DK
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MILANOparticipant · IT
CAP HOLDING SPAparticipant · IT
ARCTIK SRLparticipant · BE
UNIVERSITA POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHEparticipant · IT
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENTparticipant · FR
VRAGMENTS GMBHparticipant · DE
BERLINER WASSERBETRIEBEparticipant · DE
ECOLOGIC INSTITUT GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBHparticipant · DE
SORBONNE UNIVERSITEparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

KWB Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin (Germany) — search for the project coordinator via the project website or CORDIS contact form

Order a report on this consortium See KWB KOMPETENZZENTRUM WASSER BERLIN GEMEINNUTZIGE GMBH profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the DWC team about licensing their digital water solutions for your city or utility? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction to the right consortium partner.

Order a report on this topic More in Environment & Climate