IoT-Enabled Water Distribution Systems—A Comparative Technological Review

Abstract

Water distribution systems are one of the critical infrastructures and major assets of the water utility in a nation. The infrastructure of the distribution systems consists of resources, treatment plants, reservoirs, distribution lines, and consumers. A sustainable water distribution network management has to take care of accessibility, quality, quantity, and reliability of water. As water is becoming a depleting resource for the coming decades, the regulation and accounting of the water in terms of the above four parameters is a critical task. There have been many efforts towards the establishment of a monitoring and controlling framework, capable of automating various stages of the water distribution processes. The current trending technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have the potential to track this spatially varying network to collect, process, and analyze the water distribution network attributes and events. In this work, we investigate the role and scope of the IoT technologies in different stages of the water distribution systems. Our survey covers the state-of-the-art monitoring and control systems for the water distribution networks, and the status of IoT architectures for water distribution networks. We explore the existing water distribution systems, providing the necessary background information on the current status. This work also presents an IoT Architecture for Intelligent Water Networks -IoTA4IWNet, for real-time monitoring and control of water distribution networks. We believe that to build a robust water distribution network, these components need to be designed and implemented effectively. INDEX TERMS Internet of things, IoT communication technologies, IoT services, water distribution networkThis article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Access.

A Comprehensive Study on Cyber Attacks in Communication Networks in Water Purification and Distribution Plants: Challenges, Vulnerabilities, and Future Prospects

“…Researchers’ contributions are playing an important role in raising awareness of such issues. The role of IoT in water distribution systems has been studied in [ 42 ]. The authors of [ 43 ] presented a review of cyber security in water treatment plants, and they also discussed real cases in water treatment plants.…”

“…These cyberattacks disturb water distribution and water treatment/purification systems. In 2020, a large number of cyber attacks was noticed in the water industry [ 42 ]. In the water industry in Israel, the first attack was noticed in the modification of the chemicals used to process tap water, followed by attacks on city water pumps and the agriculture sector.…”

“…Although these attacks were minor and there was no big loss or damage, Israel’s responsible authorities started to focus on strict cyber security measurements in water treatment plants. Israel’s national cyber chief stated “We can see something like this aiming to cause damage to real life and not to IT or data” [ 42 , 64 ].…”

“…Sticking to critical US infrastructure, there is the question which type of attack was inflicted om the drinking water system. It has also been confirmed by officials of the FBI that the attacker forced the Colonial pipeline [ 42 ] to shut down the gasoline and jet fuel to the East Coast.…”

AI for Water

“…In the last two decades, U.S. water systems have been exposed to different cyberthreats. 12 In 2015, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to 25 cyber incidents related to the water sector, representing a 78.6% increase in the number of reported cases since 2014 2 -one of the highest rate increases among all sectors. Cyberattacks have continued to grow exponentially relative to the attention given to the sector by governments, operators, practitioners, and academics-deeming the sector unsafe.…”