Project Overview
The Digital Water City Berlin pilot is run by digital-water.city, which is listed as both author and publisher of the page. It develops digital solutions in Berlin, with activities in line with Berlin's new political agenda on digitisation. Associated partners are the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises (SENEEP) and the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection (SENETC).
Challenges and Objectives
The text says the urban water cycle is only partially closed and is intensively challenged by competing uses, including drinking water production, discharges of stormwater and treated wastewater, combined sewer overflows (CSO) and recreational purposes. The stated objectives are to improve the performance of sewer and drinking water infrastructure and to foster public involvement in urban water management.
Planned Digital Solutions
- An application to support data collection, sharing and visualisation of drinking water well operation.
- A digital solution to track hotspots of illicit connections.
- A new generation of sensors for real-time in-situ bacterial measurements in the river and for CSO monitoring in the sewer system.
- Augmented Reality (AR) technology to prove excellent drinking water quality and encourage tap water over bottled water.
Why It Matters for Berlin's Urban Water Management
The innovations are described as reducing the environmental impacts of the sewer network, focusing on illicit connections, CSO and optimising the maintenance and planning of water wells. The AR technology is also meant to raise citizen acceptance of the necessary investments to tackle infrastructure challenges.