  Citation: Joseph, K.; Sharma, A.K.; van Staden, R. Development of an Intelligent Urban Water Network System. Water 2022, 14, 1320. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091320 Academic Editor: Robert Sitzenfrei Received: 8 March 2022 Accepted: 14 April 2022 Published: 19 April 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). water Review Development of an Intelligent Urban Water Network System Kiran Joseph , Ashok K. Sharma * and Rudi van Staden Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities (ISILC), Victoria University, Melbourne 3011, Australia; kiran.joseph2@live.vu.edu.au (K.J.); rudi.vanstaden@vu.edu.au (R.v.S.) * Correspondence: ashok.sharma@vu.edu.au Abstract: Water and wastewater services have been provided through centralised systems for more than a century. The operational and management approaches of the water systems face challenges induced by population growth, urbanisation, and ageing infrastructure. Recent advancements in water system engineering include the development of intelligent water networks. These intelligent networks address management and operational challenges associated with pressure and flow vari- ations in the water network and it reduces the time for identification of pipe bursts and leakages. Research is required into the development of intelligent water networks to ensure consistent data collection and analysis that can filter and aggregate into actionable events to reduce water leakage, leakage cost, customer disruptions, and damages. Implementation of an intelligent algorithm with an integrated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, high-efficiency smart sensors, and flow meters, including a tracking mechanism, will significantly reduce system management and operational issues and ensure improved service delivery for the community. This paper discusses the history of water systems, traditional water supply systems, need for intelligent water network, and design/development of the intelligent water networks. A framework for the intelligent water network has also been presented in this paper. Keywords: intelligent water network; smart water systems; leakage detection; water pipeline burst detection; cyber–physical security; artificial intelligence; IoT; wastewater; smart water management; smart water grids; drinking water networks 1. Introduction Developing an intelligent water networks has been one of the long-term aims of Water Systems Engineering. This aim is further considered important due to increased urbani- sation resulting from population growth, climate change effects on water resources, and ageing infrastructure requiring efficient operation and management of systems. Figure 1 illustrates the overall key features covered in this review. 1.1. History of Water Networks The history of the water network characterises cultural legacy in diverse parts of the world. It summarises an overview of the hydraulic technologies that have con- tributed to the advancement of present technologies in water, wastewater, and storm water systems’ management. The knowledge gathered through literature outlines the history of Greek hydraulic technologies, which began in the Bronze Age and were inherited by the Romans after over 2000 years of evolution [1]. A bore well, which dates back 6174–5921 calibrated (ca) years before the present, was the first to utilise groundwater in the Yellow River area [2,3]. The first sign of urban water supply and sewage system developed in Crete, the Aegean Islands, and the Indus Valley civilisations during 3200–1100 BC [4]. Water 2022, 14, 1320. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091320 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water