The provision of water and sanitation services is a key challenge worldwide. The size, complexity, and critical nature of the water and wastewater infrastructure providing such services make the planning and management of these systems extremely difficult. Following the digital revolution in many areas of our lives, the water sector has begun to benefit from digital transformation. Effective utilization of remotely sensed weather and soil moisture data for more efficient irrigation (i.e., for food production), better detection of anomalies and faults in pipe networks using artificial intelligence, the use of nature-inspired optimization to improve the management and planning of systems, and greater use of digital twins and robotics all exhibit great potential to change and improve the ways in which complex water systems are managed. However, there are additional risks associated with these developments, including—but not limited to—cybersecurity, incorrect use, and overconfidence in the capability and accuracy of digital solutions and automation. This paper identifies key advances in digital technology that have found application in the water sector, and applies forensic engineering principles to failures that have been experienced in industries further ahead with automation and digital transformation. By identifying what went wrong with new digital technologies that might have contributed to high-profile accidents in the car and aircraft industries (e.g., Tesla self-driving cars and the Boeing 737 MAX), it is possible to identify similar risks in the water sector, learn from them, and prevent future failures. The key findings show that: ① Automation will require “humans in the loop”; ② human operators must be fully aware of the technology and trained to use it; ③ fallback manual intervention should be available in case of technology malfunctioning; ④ while redundant sensors may be costly, they reduce the risks due to erroneous sensor readings; ⑤ cybersecurity risks must be considered; and ⑥ ethics issues have to be considered, given the increasing automation and interconnectedness of water systems. These findings also point to major research areas related to digital transformation in the water sector.

提供水和卫生服务是世界范围内的一项重大挑战。提供此类服务的水和废水基础设施的规模、复杂性和关键性质使得这些系统的规划和管理极其困难。随着我们生活的许多领域发生数字化革命，水务行业已开始受益于数字化转型。有效利用遥感天气和土壤水分数据提高灌溉效率（即用于粮食生产），使用人工智能更好地检测管网中的异常和故障，使用自然启发的优化来改进系统的管理和规划，以及更多地使用数字双胞胎和机器人技术，都显示出改变和改进复杂水系统管理方式的巨大潜力。然而，这些发展还存在其他风险，包括但不限于网络安全、错误使用以及对数字解决方案和自动化的能力和准确性的过度自信。本文确定了已在水务领域得到应用的数字技术的关键进展，并将取证工程原理应用于自动化和数字化转型进一步推进的行业中所经历的失败。通过识别可能导致汽车和飞机行业重大事故（例如特斯拉自动驾驶汽车和波音 737 MAX）的新数字技术出了什么问题，可以识别水行业的类似风险，向他们学习，并防止未来的失败。主要研究结果表明：①自动化将需要“人在循环中”；② 人工操作人员必须充分了解该技术并接受培训才能使用该技术；③ 技术故障时应有后备人工干预；④ 虽然冗余传感器可能成本高昂，但它们降低了由于传感器读数错误导致的风险；⑤ 必须考虑网络安全风险；⑥ 鉴于水系统日益自动化和相互关联，必须考虑道德问题。这些发现还指出了与水行业数字化转型相关的主要研究领域。⑥ 鉴于水系统日益自动化和相互关联，必须考虑道德问题。这些发现还指出了与水行业数字化转型相关的主要研究领域。⑥ 鉴于水系统日益自动化和相互关联，必须考虑道德问题。这些发现还指出了与水行业数字化转型相关的主要研究领域。