The rational use of energy systems is one of the main discussions in sustainability in the 21st century. Water pumping systems are one of the most significant consumers of electricity in urban systems, whether for urban water supply, sewage, or use in vertical buildings. Thus, this work aims to present Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies applied in buildings’ water pumping systems, focusing on energy efficiency, supervision, and control of the pumping system. The work involves four steps: (i) identifying the existing I4.0 technologies and (ii) mapping the possibilities of applying Industry 4.0 technologies in building pumping systems. The study includes the analysis of (16) articles published in journals between 2018 and June 2021 to identify I4.0 technologies cited in the publications. It identified and grouped eighteen (18) technologies based on twenty-two (22) terms observed in the papers. The study classified the identified technologies into three possible applications in a building water pumping system. The applications include: (i) directly applicable, (ii) partially applicable, and (iii) application not yet identified. Therefore, the study presents the advantages of I4.0 technologies developed primarily for the industry sector, also applicable in residential building water pumping systems. These technologies’ benefits include energy efficiency, user control, a reduction from periods of failure of the pumping system (maintenance), water quality, and moving towards Intelligent Pumping or Pumping 4.0.

The water supply crisis (UWC) has affected various cities around the world. The variability of possible causes, the many viable alternatives to UWC management and methodologies for selecting these alternatives, as well as local government’s economic and technical constraints make the problem complex. The aim of this paper is to help select a set of alternative solutions suitable for the UWC problem. The proposed methodology comprised the following steps: (1) theoretical foundation, (2) planning the expert system (ES) to be built, (3) formal knowledge explicitation, (4) knowledge coding, (5) evaluation and adequacy of ES and (6) application of ES to real-life UWC cases. The main result was a computational decision support system, called UWC-ES. The conclusion was that UWC-ES behaved as a computational tool that reasonably reproduces knowledge from various human experts with acceptable applicability, and considering the possibility of using it in other cases.

This study aimed to present a methodology for locating water distribution reservoirs in rural Andean areas (isolated areas, low-income population, mountainous region). The research methodology consisted of the following steps: (1) description of the problem; (2) development of the DR location protocol; (3) obtaining an algorithm; (4) calibration and adjustment; and (5) application. The obtained algorithm was based on the classification and overlapping operations of five-parameter maps (pressure limits – pressure in the water supply system from 5 to 40 mH₂O; supply by gravity – guarantee of gravity as energy for water movement; accessibility – use of unprotected areas or with restricted occupation; stability, greater distance from geological fault; and, proximity to population concentration, shorter distance between population centres). The overlapping of these parameters enabled us to identify a region of candidate points and select the best location point for the reservoir. The algorithm was applied to a real case indicating satisfactory results. A methodology for locating water distribution reservoirs in rural areas that have important economic constraints, difficult access (mountainous region) and high geospatial dispersion was found. Improvements in methodological steps can still be considered, for example, forecasting the use of pressure control devices in the water supply system.