The municipality of Oeiras, like many Mediterranean cities has to increasingly treat water as an important environmental and economic resource. Today, water management is not yet as efficient as it could be, largely because a lack of intelligence in the system that would allow sensing of incidents, careful balance of natural and artificial irrigation, targeted use of ground or drinking water, reduction of contamination and improved life-expectancy of equipment by integrating smart technologies.

Smart Technologies for smart water management.

Oeiras calculates that consumption of water could be reduced by 40-60% if water consumption could be calibrated according to plant species, better understanding of infiltration rates of soil-types and variations, and an integrated approach to a smart communications network based on wireless standards could be taken.

Smart business models to stimulate innovation.

Oeiras is open to innovative public-private-partnership models, in which the supplier is not just a provider of infrastructures but instead draws profits related to the savings and positive impact by the technology. Such new contractual models would enable the community to share risks, but also open the door for continued innovation by the private sector.