Smart Water Management Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast Segmented By Solution (Hardware, Software and Service), By Application (Water Pipeline Monitoring & Leak Detection, Water Level Monitoring & Dam Management, Water Consumption & Distribution, Irrigation Management, Wastewater Monitoring and Others), By End User (Commercial, Public Sector and Residential), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 18.03 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	14.11%
Fastest Growing Segment	Irrigation Management
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 39.81 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Smart Water Management Market will grow from USD 18.03 Billion in 2025 to USD 39.81 Billion by 2031 at a 14.11% CAGR. Smart Water Management encompasses the strategic integration of Internet of Things technologies, data analytics, and sensor networks to monitor, control, and optimize the distribution and quality of water resources. The primary drivers fueling this market include the urgent necessity to modernize aging utility infrastructure, the critical global need to mitigate water scarcity through conservation, and the operational imperative to reduce non-revenue water losses. These fundamental pressures compel utilities to adopt digital monitoring solutions to ensure regulatory compliance and operational efficiency, effectively distinguishing these core adoption motivators from passing technological trends.

Despite the clear operational advantages, the market faces a significant impediment regarding the substantial capital investment required for deploying these advanced digital ecosystems. This financial strain poses a severe obstacle for utilities that must balance modernization with affordability. According to the American Water Works Association, in 2024, financing capital improvements ranked as the second greatest challenge facing the water sector. Consequently, while the technological capability for optimization exists, the economic feasibility of funding these large-scale infrastructure projects continues to be a critical hurdle that could restrict broader market expansion.

Key Market Drivers

The critical need to mitigate Non-Revenue Water (NRW) losses serves as a primary financial and operational catalyst for the adoption of smart water management solutions. Utilities worldwide are increasingly deploying advanced acoustic sensors and real-time flow monitoring systems to detect leaks and unauthorized consumption, which severely undermine revenue streams and operational sustainability. By integrating these digital technologies, water service providers can pinpoint infrastructure failures rapidly, transforming reactive repairs into proactive asset management. This technological intervention produces measurable conservation results; according to Xylem, May 2024, in the '2023 Sustainability Report', the company's digital solutions enabled customers to reduce more than 3.5 billion cubic meters of non-revenue water since 2019. Such efficiency gains validate the return on investment for smart metering and leak detection platforms, driving broader market penetration.

Escalating global water scarcity and rising demand further accelerate the deployment of intelligent water networks as governments seek to secure limited freshwater resources against climate volatility. Smart water management systems facilitate precise demand forecasting and pressure optimization, ensuring equitable distribution during periods of stress. The urgency of this driver is underscored by the scale of the crisis; according to UNESCO, March 2024, in the 'United Nations World Water Development Report 2024', roughly half of the world's population currently experiences severe water scarcity for at least part of the year. Despite this pressing necessity, the market retains significant untapped potential due to uneven technological uptake in developing regions. According to the World Bank, November 2024, in the 'Water Overview', less than 10% of water utilities in low- and middle-income countries utilize advanced tools such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, or digital twins. This disparity highlights a massive growth opportunity for solution providers capable of bridging the digital divide in water infrastructure.

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Key Market Challenges

The substantial capital investment required to deploy smart water management systems serves as a primary impediment to market growth. While digital ecosystems offer long-term efficiency, the initial costs for hardware, software integration, and network infrastructure create a high barrier to entry for many utilities. This financial burden is particularly acute because water providers often operate with limited budgets and must prioritize urgent repairs to physical assets over digital modernization. Consequently, the inability to secure necessary funding delays the adoption of advanced monitoring technologies, forcing utilities to defer critical upgrades despite the operational benefits of digitalization.

The magnitude of this economic hurdle is evident in recent industry assessments regarding infrastructure deficiencies. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, in 2024, the United States water sector faced an estimated single-year investment gap of $91 billion between the capital funding available and the amount actually needed to maintain reliable service levels. This profound disparity illustrates the severe fiscal constraints under which utilities operate, limiting their capacity to allocate resources toward innovative smart solutions. As long as this funding deficit persists, the widespread expansion of smart water management technologies will remain restricted by the harsh economic realities of the utility sector.

Key Market Trends

The integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is fundamentally reshaping utility operations by transitioning control frameworks from reactive monitoring to predictive asset management. Beyond simple automation, these technologies are becoming critical for workforce enablement and strategic decision-making, allowing operators to anticipate complex system behaviors before failures occur. This shift is rapidly gaining traction as utilities recognize that legacy manual analysis cannot scale to meet modern data demands. According to Autodesk, November 2024, in the 'Spotlight on Data and Digitalization in the Water Industry' report, 66% of surveyed water professionals now believe that artificial intelligence will be essential to their daily work functions within the next two to three years, underscoring the technology's transition from experimental to foundational status.

Simultaneously, the widespread deployment of digital twin technology is revolutionizing infrastructure simulation by creating dynamic, holistic virtual models of entire hydrological networks. This trend moves beyond isolated sensor readings to establish a unified "system of systems" approach, enabling utilities to simulate scenarios and optimize vast geographical areas in real-time. This capability is particularly vital for managing the complexity of expanding urban water networks and ensuring service continuity across fragmented regions. For instance, according to Bentley Systems, October 2024, in the '2024 Infrastructure Yearbook', the SABESP utility in Brazil successfully utilized digital twin technology to integrate and manage water supply and sanitation data across 375 distinct municipalities, demonstrating the scalability of these platforms for massive infrastructure coordination.

Segmental Insights

Irrigation Management is projected to be the fastest-growing segment within the Global Smart Water Management Market, principally due to intensifying global water scarcity and the imperative for sustainable agriculture. This segment’s expansion is fueled by the widespread adoption of precision farming technologies that drastically reduce resource wastage. Additionally, environmental regulatory bodies are actively promoting water conservation through stringent mandates and financial incentives, compelling agricultural enterprises to upgrade to automated systems. This strategic shift allows organizations to optimize water application based on real-time soil and weather data, thereby ensuring long-term operational viability.

Regional Insights

North America currently dominates the Global Smart Water Management Market, driven by the critical necessity to upgrade aging utility infrastructure and address water scarcity. The United States plays a central role in this expansion, adhering to rigorous standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding water quality and leakage control. Municipalities are prioritizing the deployment of advanced metering infrastructure and IoT-enabled monitoring systems to ensure regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. Additionally, significant federal funding dedicated to modernizing water systems continues to accelerate the widespread adoption of these digital management solutions across the region.

Recent Developments

• In November 2025, Itron entered into a collaboration with Northumbrian Water Limited to modernize water distribution across northeast England. The utility provider selected Itron’s ultrasonic volumetric water meters equipped with advanced multi-connectivity communication modules for a large-scale deployment scheduled through 2029. This project utilized a LoRaWAN network to facilitate seamless data collection, enabling the utility to detect leaks more rapidly and improve billing accuracy for customers. The partnership underscored a shared commitment to digital transformation in the water sector, aiming to meet strict regulatory targets for leakage reduction and promote sustainable water consumption.
• In September 2025, Xylem established a partnership with Amazon to implement advanced smart water technologies in Mexico City and Monterrey. This collaboration focused on upgrading water infrastructure to improve supply reliability and reduce water loss for residents in these water-stressed regions. The project leveraged Xylem’s intelligent solutions to identify leaks and optimize network performance, with a targeted goal of saving more than 1.3 billion liters of water annually. This initiative demonstrated the effectiveness of corporate collaborations in deploying scalable digital innovations to address critical water security challenges.
• In January 2025, Badger Meter announced the strategic acquisition of SmartCover Systems to enhance its BlueEdge suite of digital water solutions. This development added real-time monitoring capabilities for wastewater collection systems to the company’s existing water distribution offerings. By integrating this technology, Badger Meter empowered utilities to oversee sewer and lift station performance remotely, utilizing data-driven insights to optimize operations and prevent overflows. The expansion of their smart water ecosystem reflected a growing industry focus on comprehensive, end-to-end management of the water cycle to ensure reliability and regulatory compliance.
• In March 2024, Grundfos expanded its smart water management portfolio by launching the Metasphere smart sensors, a new solution designed to combat sanitary sewer overflows. These compact devices utilized LIDAR technology to provide precise, non-contact water level monitoring within wastewater networks, eliminating the need for confined space entry during installation. The sensors were engineered to communicate data effectively from manholes without external antennas, offering utilities real-time visibility into their collection systems. This product launch aimed to help municipalities proactively manage their infrastructure, reduce the risk of environmental spills, and lower the substantial costs associated with sewer system failures.

Key Market Players

• Badger Meter, Inc.
• Takadu Ltd.
• Oracle Corporation
• IBM Corporation
• Trimble Inc.
• Neptune Technology Group Inc.
• Honeywell International Inc.
• Schneider Electric SE
• ABB Ltd
• Siemens AG

By Solution	By Application	By End User	By Region
Hardware Software and Service	Water Pipeline Monitoring & Leak Detection Water Level Monitoring & Dam Management Water Consumption & Distribution Irrigation Management Wastewater Monitoring and Others	Commercial Public Sector and Residential	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Smart Water Management Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Smart Water Management Market, By Solution:

• Hardware
• Software and Service

• Smart Water Management Market, By Application:

• Water Pipeline Monitoring & Leak Detection
• Water Level Monitoring & Dam Management
• Water Consumption & Distribution
• Irrigation Management
• Wastewater Monitoring and Others

• Smart Water Management Market, By End User:

• Commercial
• Public Sector and Residential

• Smart Water Management Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE