out system changes in a "smarter" way. Advances in information technology and communications in other sectors, coupled with space technologies such as earth observation, will revolutionise their everyday use within the water sector, especially as the costs of the acquisition and use of these technologies drop. This could lead to a much greater ability to monitor all aspects associated with service provision, the circumstance and the events surrounding it, in greater detail and to a greater extent than is currently technically possible. However, this has to be coupled with the ability to control and make better use of water INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 - © OECD 2006 5. THE IMPACTS OF CHANGE ON THE LONG-TERM FUTURE DEMAND FOR WATER SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE and the service infrastructure by being able to communicate in real time between sensors, databases and intelligent system modelling technologies. This would enable supply infrastructure to respond intelligently to changing circumstances as and even before they occur. The increase in computing power at all levels of application will be a key factor in enabling the development of cyber modelling and control. What is done for the water supply infrastructure as it transports water from source to point of demand can also be applied to other areas of activity such as industry, buildings, the home, and in agriculture, where online sensors can be used to balance water needs for irrigation with supplies, getting round practices such as flood irrigation. However, costs and ability to operate these systems will be constrained in developing countries, which is mostly where the biggest users operate. Biotechnology will have the greatest impact in the areas of pollution prevention, monitoring and remediation. It has the potential to completely revolutionise water treatment processes and may well enable service providers to dispense with conventional treatment plants as they are known today. Much of the treatment woul