"If water is the essential ingredient of life, then water supply is the essential ingredient of civilization,” said Professor David Sedlak in his book, _Water 4.0_. It is estimated that it will cost the US $384 billion to upgrade the US water infrastructure, and this number is likely to increase, given the stressors from increasing population, climate change and water pollution. As a result, many cities are looking to new technologies to help them efficiently produce fresh, clean water for its residents. Cities face many pressing issues regarding their water infrastructure. The most critical water issues relate to improving the fundamental components of our urban water systems. This panel of experts will discuss everything from how to identify the location of the underground pipes and mapping them (these were laid so long ago cities do not know where they are), to instruments that track and analyze leaks. Also on the table: upgrading aging infrastructures, advances in sensor technologies, data analytics and strategic planning to help cities supply the needed amount of revenue to produce clean water at reasonable rates. Image: [Flint River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Flint_River_in_Flint_MIchigan.jpg "")