Cyber-physical systems for water sustainability: challenges and opportunities

Water plays a vital role in the proper functioning of the Earth's ecosystems, and practically all human activities, such as agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and energy production. The proliferation of industrial and agricultural activities in modern society, however, poses threats to water resources in the form of chemical, biological, and thermal pollution. On the other hand, tremendous advancements in science and technology offer valuable tools to address water sustainability challenges. Key technologies, including sensing technology, wireless communications and networking, hydrodynamic modeling, data analysis, and control, enable intelligently wireless networked water cyber-physical systems (CPS) with embedded sensors, processors, and actuators that can sense and interact with the water environment. This article provides an overview of water CPS for sustainability from four critical aspects: sensing and instrumentation; communications and networking; computing; and control. The article also explores opportunities and design challenges of relevant techniques.