From digital twin paradigm to digital water services

Abstract In the context of water distribution networks (WDNs), researchers and technicians are actively working on new ways to transition into the digital era. They are focusing on creating standardized methods that fit the unique characteristics of these systems, with a strong emphasis on developing customized digital twins. This involves combining advanced hydraulic modeling with advanced data-driven techniques like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. This paper begins by giving a detailed overview of the important progress that has led to this digital transformation. It highlights the potential to create interconnected digital water services (DWSs) that can support all aspects of managing, planning, and designing WDNs. This approach introduces standardized procedures that allow a continuous improvement of the digital representation of these networks. Additionally, technicians benefit from DWSs developed as QGIS software plugins. These services strategically enhance their understanding of technical decisions, improving logical reasoning, consistency, scalability, integrability, efficiency, effectiveness, and adaptability for both short-term and long-term management tasks. Notably, the framework remains adaptable, ready to embrace upcoming technological advancements and data gathering capabilities, all while keeping end-users central in shaping these technical developments.