Sustainable urban water management through the application of smart water meters in developing countries: example case study from Pakistan

Abstract Pakistan is becoming a water scarce nation, owing to a booming population, rapid urbanization, and climate change. An innovative approach using smart water metering to achieve sustainable consumption has been applied in Islamabad, Pakistan, to enhance sustainable urban water management. Water supply monitoring was initiated with 20 m installed in residential and commercial units to manage the water supply by the government along with water quality testing. Collected information include one-year seasonal hydraulic data and water quality analysis data through standard methods. The outcomes showed that smart water metering is an ideal solution for monitoring of public water supply. This example case study supports policymakers in the implementation of water metering and pricing scheme in similar developing countries by outlining smart solutions to practical challenges such as the high-water demand of mosques, water rationing, internet connection problems, mismanagement and illegal actions by some customers. Water quality results showed that 83.4% of the samples were contaminated with faecal coliforms in the study area. A public private partnership could make water metering, pricing and water analysis implementation sustainable.