Time does not stand still. New demands on water supply and sanitary engineering are the result of changes and developments in our society. That is why igr collaborates on innovative research projects such as, SinOptiKom (cross-sectorial process optimisation in the transformation of rural municipal infrastructures) sponsored by BMBF (The Federal Ministry of Education and Research). Here we are engaged with population decline, climate change and the energy revolution, which will lead in the future, above all in rural areas, to extensive adaptations in municipal supply and disposal infrastructures. Future proofed adaptation and transformation strategies for municipal infrastructures need to be developed.