Urban Water Cycle Management in the AI Era: New Trends in a Rapidly Changing Tool Kit
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 482
Special Issue Editors
Interests: pipe/channels water supply networks (analysis, simulation, evaluation, optimization, problem identification/troubleshooting, emergency forecasting-hazard analysis, and SCADA study/application); decision support systems; water balance and water network operation level indicators (water audit); emergency management (crisis management); urban water pricing (full cost determination); sustainable development/management of water resources systems (inter/intra-sustainability/worth-living development), environmental economics, water and carbon footprint; environmental impact/cost-benefit/feasibility/viability studies of projects; PPP projects
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: innovative management techniques for water resources and for water systems; seismic reliability of hydraulic structures; risk assessment for transportation and storage facilities in water systems; hydraulic protection of territories; experimental analysis on hydraulic prototypes (bottom grids for energy dissipation, detention basins, vortex energy dissipaters, problem of soil siphoning, sharp deviations in open channel flows, and leakages in water distribution networks); stormwater tanks and overflow chambers for the mitigation of pollution caused by first flushes in sewers; probabilistic approaches for the evaluation of the effects of climate change on river flows and land desertification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: hydraulics of closed and open conduits; flows of closed and open conduits; experimental measurements (hot-film anemometry and particle image velocimetry); computational hydraulics; flows in porous media; gravity currents in lock-exchange experiments; buoyant jets in closed and open conduits
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: urban water supply systems and infrastructure resilience; non-revenue water (nrw) and leakage management; smart water metering and data-driven water management; water quality; public health and risk assessment; sustainable water resources and integrated water management; water quality modelling
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The world’s water cycle faces growing challenges, including climate change, urban expansion, population growth, and industry, which place increasing pressure on available water resources. Managing urban water effectively is more important than ever for protecting our water supply, sustaining ecosystems, and supporting long-term development. Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and digital tools are transforming the way water systems are monitored, understood, and managed. With the help of AI, researchers and professionals are identifying new ways to forecast water availability, respond to floods and droughts, improve water quality, and create flexible strategies to cope with an uncertain future. This Special Issue, “Urban Water Cycle Management in the AI Era: New Trends in a Rapidly Changing Tool Kit,” aims to address how AI and digital innovation are affecting water resources and water systems management. By connecting experts from hydrology, environmental engineering, computer science, and policy, this collection will gather current research that aligns with the mission of the Sustainability journal. Our goal is to share new knowledge, highlight real-world solutions, and start conversations about how AI-powered tools can make water cycle management smarter and more sustainable. Additionally, selected papers from the 6th International Conference on Efficient Water Systems (EwaS6) International Conference, entitled “Safeguarding Water and Health in a Financially, Socially, and Environmentally Fragile Era”, will be published in this Special Issue. Suggested topics include the following: In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Applied fluid mechanics/dynamics and hydraulics to sustainable water management in the circular economy;·
- Water distribution systems planning and management;·
- Water loss management;·
- IoT in urban water systems (e.g., digital twins and sensors);·
- Data management in water networks: real-time monitoring, SCADA, and ICT;·
- Big data and machine learning techniques and analysis in urban water networks;·
- Sensor communication advanced technologies;·
- Intermittent supply in urban water systems;·
- Advances in urban drainage and sewers;·
- Water quality management.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Vasilis Kanakoudis
Prof. Dr. Francesco De Paola
Prof. Dr. Evangelos Keramaris
Prof. Dr. Ayşe Muhammetoǧlu
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- water systems
- artificial intelligence
- machine learning
- digital tools
- water quality
- water resources
- floods
- drought
- water cycle
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