Flowing into the Future

Major water treatment plants around the world have been connected to the internet since the 1990s.

Today, administrators routinely check tank levels via laptop; tomorrow, as the internet of things evolves, "smart" tanks may self-monitor in real-time, enabling engineers to predict issues before they occur. But the tools that improve water reliability are also the source of growing anxiety. Were these controls to fall into the wrong hands, these water systems could potentially harm the very lives they were built to sustain.