Scope of the workshop:
The workshop addresses critical challenges at the intersection of water scarcity, rapid urbanization, and aging infrastructure, issues intensified by climate change and increasing demand for sustainable resource management. These challenges require advanced networking and computing solutions to ensure reliable water distribution and monitoring. Recent technological developments in sensor networks, IoT, Digital Twin, edge computing, and AI-driven analytics offer unprecedented opportunities to transform water resource management. The workshop focuses on the design, deployment, and optimization of sensor-based systems for water distribution, including aspects such as energy efficiency, radio coverage, and data processing at the edge or in serverless environments. It also explores machine learning techniques for anomaly detection, leakage prevention, and predictive maintenance, as well as the integration of Digital Twin models and smart contracts for secure and automated water network operations. By combining networking research with sustainability goals, this workshop is highly relevant to the IFIP Networking 2026 audience. It bridges traditional networking topics such as resource allocation, distributed architectures, and cloud-edge continuum with emerging applications in environmental monitoring and smart infrastructure. Participants will gain insights into innovative algorithms, experimental evaluations, and real-world deployments that demonstrate how networking technologies can address global water challenges. This multidisciplinary approach ensures strong engagement from researchers and practitioners interested in IoT, edge computing, network optimization, and data-driven systems for critical infrastructures.

Two successful editions of the SmartWater workshop have been held, in conjunction with the IFIP NETWORKING conference:

This workshop will be held exclusively in-person.

Topics of interest:
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Deployment and energy efficiency of sensor networks in water distribution networks
- IoT applications for water management
- Leakage detection techniques and their energy implications
- Machine learning applications for data processing at the edge or in serverless manner
- Dataset creation and usage for water management
- Exploring the role of IoT sensors in the digital transformation
- Investigating the role of Digital Twin technology in water management
- Benefits of Smart Contract and Blockchain in the water management pipeline
- Advantages of merging IoT sensors with artificial intelligence
- Case studies highlighting the implementation of smart water distribution networks
- Smart Irrigation and agricultural water management
- IoT and Machine Learning for smart monitoring and analysis of rivers and oceans
- Internet of drones for smart water monitoring and Edge-computing for image processing

Important Dates:
Paper submission deadline: March 22, 2026
Notification of acceptance: April 21, 2026
Camera-ready deadline: April 30, 2026
Workshop: May 24, 2026

Paper submission:
Submitted papers should be written in English by following the IEEE conference format (double-column, 10pt font), with a maximum length limit of 6 (six) printed pages, including all figures, references, and appendices.

Papers should be submitted through EDAS in PDF format through the following link:
https://edas.info/newPaper.php?c=34475&track=136006

Only original papers that have not been published or submitted for review elsewhere will be considered for publication in the proceedings.
Papers will appear in the conference proceedings and will be submitted for inclusion into IEEE Xplore, subject to meeting IEEE Xplore’s scope and quality requirements.
At least one author of each accepted paper is required to register and present the work in the workshop.

Workshop Organizing Team:
Ph.D. Tiziana Cattai, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Ph.D. Antonino Pagano, University of Palermo, Italy

TPC Members:
Daniele Croce, University of Palermo, Italy
Ioannis Chatzigiannakis, University of Rome “La Sapienza", Italy
Santaromita Giuseppe, IMDEA, Spain
Pierluigi Locatelli, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy
Redemptor Jr Laceda Taloma, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy
Kien Trung Ngo, Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, Vietnam
Gabriele Restuccia, University of Palermo, Italy
Fabio Palemese, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Alessandra Dino, CNIT, Italy
Fabrizio Giuliano, University of Palermo, Italy
Ilenia Tinnirello, University of Palermo, Italy
Francesca Cuomo, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Italy
Vincenzo Taormina, University of Palermo, Italy
Stefania Colonnese, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
Lino Alaimo, University of Palermo, Italy