Water Management in Agriculture and Industry: Challenges, Trends, and Opportunities

This Special Issue aims to explore current challenges and trends, as well as opportunities for sustainability and innovation, in the fields of agricultural and industrial water management. As freshwater resources are threatened by increasing world population and climate change, the design and implementation of water stewardship policies and practices are essential. In this context, the concepts of circular economy (e.g., wastewater treatment and reuse) and digitalization (e.g., sensors, algorithms, and data analytics) could enable the transition towards sustainable, efficient, and smart water use. To this end, the contributions of this Special Issue focus on providing novel solutions for minimizing freshwater consumption and pollution, limiting water scarcity risks, and driving agriculture and industry towards a water-friendly competitive profile.

1. Special Issue Background

Freshwater is a fundamental resource for both agricultural and industrial operations, which are responsible for more than 90% of freshwater appropriation worldwide [1]. As freshwater is depleting at an alarming rate due to growing food demand, climate change, and intensive industrialization [2,3], more than 50% of the world’s population is expected to be living in severely arid regions by 2050 [4]. As the preservation of freshwater resources emerges as a critical challenge in terms of health, environmental, and social concerns, the integration of water management policies into sustainable institutional and corporate strategies becomes even more imperative [5,6,7]. In this light, the United Nations have introduced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to set, among other goals, specific targets for universal and equitable clean water access (SDG#6) [8] and responsible use of natural resources, including freshwater (SDG#12) [9], by 2030.

In the business sphere, an increasing number of leading companies have already launched water stewardship initiatives to reduce the “water footprint” of their products and services [10]. In the agricultural sector, drip or deficit irrigation and organic or biofertilizer use during farming operations constitute diffused freshwater mitigation practices [11,12]. In manufacturing industries, water-efficient equipment and wastewater treatment allow for the limitation of freshwater consumption and pollution [13,14]. Notably, in line with the circular economy trend that supports waste elimination through resource recycling [15], the utilization of cleaned industrial or urban wastewater in agricultural operations has been gaining momentum in regions that face high risk of water shortages [16,17]. At the same time, at an urban level, the monitoring of water use and leakages in residential and/or industrial infrastructures could further enhance freshwater sustainability [18].

As conventional water management practices can have an undoubtedly positive impact on freshwater resources across end-to-end supply chains [19,20,21], the implementation of innovative technological interventions could be even more promising. In particular, the revolution of Agriculture and Industry 4.0 could offer novel opportunities towards the digitalization of water management systems [22,23]. For example, wireless sensors for soil moisture measurement and precision agriculture techniques effectively support the control and reduction of freshwater use in farming activities [24,25]. In addition, extended IoT networks and data platforms allow for transparent water monitoring during manufacturing operations, improving the efficiency of industrial water management [26]. At the same time, artificial intelligence algorithms (e.g., machine learning) and data analytics (e.g., big data) could also foster the transition towards smart water management in agricultural, industrial, and urban environments [27,28,29].

2. Special Issue Scope and Contributions

In this context, now more than ever, we need novel and robust solutions for effective water stewardship that could act towards three main pillars: (i) reducing freshwater consumption and pollution [30], (ii) eliminating water scarcity risks for both society and industry [31], and (iii) supporting corporations in obtaining a water-friendly competitive profile [32] (Figure 1). To this end, this Special Issue aims to identify water-related challenges, as well as opportunities for sustainability (e.g., circular economy) and innovation (e.g., digitalization), to follow the contemporary trends that dictate the management of freshwater resources in the agricultural and industrial sectors.

In more detail, the Special Issue comprises four (4) high-quality publications that attempt to cover the scope of this research effort, each one offering a different noteworthy point of view:

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Zare et al. [33] proposed a method for identifying the tree water status, measured by means of land surface temperature and vegetation index, in apple orchards with the use of satellite images by presenting a related application in Germany;

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Rafique et al. [34] created a model to explore the benefits of alternative operations of a Pakistani dam in terms of reliability, resilience, and vulnerability under specific objectives, such as irrigation supply, hydropower generation, and flood control;

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Stępniewski and Łaszewski [35] investigated spatial and seasonal variations in inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous compounds in stream water retrieved from a Polish river catchment, mainly covered by apple orchards;

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Aivazidou et al. [36] conducted a systematic literature review to provide insights on smart water technologies implemented in urban settings (i.e., municipal, residential, industrial), emphasizing their impact on supply and distribution networks.

Overall, this Special Issue contributes to elucidating the positive effect of sustainable and/or smart water management policies on the mitigation of freshwater use and degradation in agricultural, industrial, and urban contexts. The related research papers are anticipated to act as methodological tools and guiding maps of state-of-the-art water management practices in the era of circular economy and digitalization.