Improving Urban Water Efficiency and Sustainability Through IoT-Based Smart Water Management Systems: Evidence from Water Management Professionals in Greece

This study examines professionals’ assessments of the contribution of Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart water management systems (SWMS) to urban water efficiency and sustainability in Greece. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 296 professionals with knowledge and experience relevant to water management. The analysis focuses on four IoT dimensions: real-time monitoring, automated leakage detection, consumption data analytics, and smart irrigation control and their associations with perceived urban water efficiency and sustainability. Multiple regression analysis showed that all four IoT dimensions were positively and significantly associated with perceived urban water efficiency and sustainability, with real-time monitoring showing the strongest standardized association, followed by consumption data analytics, automated leakage detection, and smart irrigation control. The findings provide component-level evidence that different IoT capabilities are not equally associated with perceived urban water efficiency and sustainability. The results may inform the prioritization of smart-water capabilities in professional and policy decision-making, while recognizing that the study is perception-based and does not directly measure project-level water savings or economic performance.