Networking lessons: From computers to water

As an instance of using IT to green non-IT domains, we consider the question whether lessons from computer networking can be applied in water distribution networks to improve their energy footprint and/or efficiency. Our contributions in this work are: (i) we identify several areas where principles from computer networking can be used to better water distribution; (ii) we focus on a specific infrastructure enhancement problem caused by increasing demands on a water utility network and present solutions (similar to those used in computer networks) that optimize both operational expenditure and total cost of ownership. We validate our solutions through simulations and compare their efficacy against techniques that are traditionally used in enhancing water networks. Our results show that lessons from computer networks can help in enhancing water networks. © 2012 IEEE.