Cyber-physical systems in water management and governance

Water governance is facing rapid transformations as cyber-physical systems (CPS) are deployed across water-related sectors and river basins. These CPS — often considered as artificial intelligence-enabled, automated or ‘smart’ technological systems — are promoted for improving monitoring, management and governance of hydrological systems. We review recent applications of CPS, highlighting their diverse functions across the water cycle, including in rural, urban and coastal settings. We then focus on how smart technologies connect to people, policy and ecosystems. Key to our argument is that integrating the social and ecosystem dimensions into CPS research and design will be vital for sustainable transformations in water management and governance, as per a cybernetic approach. This includes consideration of social data requirements, end-user experience, sociopolitical and environmental impacts, as well as acceptability, of CPS.