2026-10-06 –, Bridge 3-Short Workshops
Marios S. Kyriakou, Ioannis Chrysostomou, Stelios G. Vrachimis, Konstantinos Papadopoulos, Demetrios G. Eliades
KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence, University of Cyprus
Water losses in distribution networks remain a major challenge for utilities worldwide. Approximately 30% of water is classified as non-revenue water, while around 22% corresponds to real losses. To reduce real losses, pressure management is applied. In recent years, we have developed the OCEANOS Digital Twin, an integrated platform that uses QGIS as the interface for visualizing and processing data. The platform connects to a backend system that processes different data layers and models. It uses GIS information, such as elevations and pipe networks, to create a hydraulic model. In addition, it incorporates sensor data (flow, pressure) and smart meter data to solve an optimization problem that estimates flows and pressures. We designed a system that helps operators identify how much they can reduce pressure while considering building heights obtained from open data. This approach ensures that service levels remain unaffected. The methodology was tested in Limassol and Larnaca. The pressure estimates were validated using available measurements. Preliminary results showed that, in Larnaca, it was possible to achieve a reduction in real losses while maintaining adequate service conditions. This work presents the technical solution developed within QGIS and demonstrates how the OCEANOS Digital Twin supports pressure management strategies for leakage reduction.
Acknowledgments
The work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Teaming programme under grant agreement No. 739551 (KIOS CoE), the IDEATION project (Grant Agreement No. 101157371), the projects Limassol Smart Water and Larnaca Digital Twin Decision Support System, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan of Cyprus under the European Union’s NextGenerationEU initiative, and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy.
Marios S. Kyriakou (M.Sc.) is a Senior Software Engineer at the KIOS Research and Innovation Center of Excellence, University of Cyprus, since September 2025. He previously served as a Software Engineer (2014–2025) and a Researcher (2011–2014). He holds a B.Sc. (2012) and an M.Sc. (2014) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cyprus.
His expertise lies in smart water systems, digital twins, IoT, and open-source research software. He has worked with different teams, focusing on smart water, power, GIS, and emergency management. He has led the development of widely used tools like the EPANET-MATLAB Toolkit, EPANET-Python Toolkit (EPyT), and 15 open-source smart apps with over 800,000 downloads. He has led the technical part of Smart Water Team Innovation Hub projects, such as the Oceanos and Zenon Digital Twin platforms for water utilities and wastewater in Cyprus, and was a member of the core team that developed the national COVID-19 Information Management System.
His contributions have been recognized with the Water Europe Digital Water Award (2024) for PathoINVEST and the Best Paper Award at IJCAI (2024) for EPyT-Flow. He founded the online QGIS Cyprus community, serves on the KIOS Open Science Committee, and is a member of ETEK.