Abstract： Water. It is the most precious managed resource on the planet. Getting clean water to everyone can， in fact， be a matter of life and death. Managing water resources is a serious challenge today. Water is expensive to clean and difficult to get to where it is needed. In fact， connecting people to clean water is one of the great challenges of the 21st century.

　　With so much at stake， the Internet of Things （IoT） and smart utility grids have an opportunity to improve the world by deploying accurate， reliable water flow-measurement technology. Utilities need to understand and monitor how water is consumed so they can estimate water requirements， but their water meters today do not do a good job of helping us find waste. Given the increasingly scarcity of water resources， we all need to know where every drop of clean water is going. In short， we need a network of ubiquitous， smart water meters.