Using AI to cut water leaks and losses
Data analysis platform helps water companies track (and fix) factors impacting water loss
Across developing countries, around 45 million cubic metres of water per day are lost, largely due to leaks. This issue is certainly not limited to developing countries, however, with one fifth of all water put into supply in the UK being lost to leaks before it reaches the customer.
As well as wasting an increasingly precious resource, such leaks mean that water companies are also sending billions of pounds down the drain, leaving them with less money to invest in the infrastructure improvements that would fix these leaky pipes.
SmartTerra, an Indian startup focusing on water utilities, is working to change this. The company supplies utilities with AI-powered data analytics to help enhance the efficiency of water distribution systems. The company’s platform performs analysis of network-wide multi-sensor data to find abnormal flow or pressure behaviour, such as from leaks and bursts.
of all water put into supply in the UK is being list to leaks
The system can also pinpoint leaks using automated hydraulic calibration and analyse meter and consumption behaviour to spot meter under-sizing, meter reading errors, abnormal consumption, and other issues. By performing continuous high-level tracking of loss and system stresses, SmartTerra helps companies forecast demand, reduce water loss, and improve revenue.
Spotting the leaks quickly means companies can conduct interventions quickly, fixing the issue before too much water (and revenue) gets lost. Crucially, it also means leaks can be repaired before they grow and cause further damage, meaning companies can avoid extra repair costs and operational disruption further down the line.
The company currently has multiple pilots underway in India, Southeast Asia, and South America.
Did you know?
Even though improvements have been made to reduce water leaks in the UK, the average water company continues to lose about 45.8 litres per customer every day. Across the world, around 126 billion cubic metres of water get lost every year, representing $187.2 billion in lost revenue and billions of kilograms of wasted CO2 emissions that were generated while treating this wasted water. Tools like SmartTerra’s can help water companies better manage their assets, spotting unsustainable, money-wasting leaks before they cause too much damage.
Software tackles water challenges
Spin-out company helps managers make decisions relating to water supply, flood protection, and more
As climate change worsens, with increasing risk of extreme heat, drought, and mass flooding, water supplies are becoming more unpredictable. This means the ability to access real-time water availability and quality forecasting is critical for water companies to manage supply and demand.
Spun out of Denmark’s Aarhaus University in 2021, WaterWebTools is working to address this need with a scalable, web-based platform for hydrological and ecological forecasting. Though underpinned by sophisticated, science-based models, the findings of these models are rendered accessible to non-experts.
The platform combines this state-of-the-art modelling with real-time data and forecasts. Equipped with the software, infrastructure managers can make better-informed decisions related to water supply, flood protection, environmental sustainability, recreation, and agriculture.
“Equipped with the software, infrastructure managers can make better-informed decisions related to water supply, flood protection, environmental sustainability, recreation, and agriculture.”
Applications available on the platform include ASAP Reservoir, which produces hydrodynamic and water quality forecasts for lakes and reservoirs so that decision-makers can optimise reservoir operations and planning. ASAP Rural enables eco-hydrological forecasts for any location in the world, letting users simulate runoff, soil water content, pollutant transport, and more across a 16-day forecast.
WaterWebTools’ other offerings include ASAP Urban, which produces risk maps for residential areas threatened by stormwater incidents, and ASAP Live – a user-friendly tool that collates information from a customer’s IoT sensors so they can monitor water quality and other related data points in real time.
The company has also worked on a number of EU-funded projects, as well as some that are further afield. For instance, at the Richland-Chambers reservoir – a key drinking water reservoir in Texas – WaterWebTools has combined ASAP Reservoir, Rural, and Live to create a digital twin and forecasting solution to help the site monitor water availability and quality, reducing downstream flood risk and flagging any dangerous abnormalities in the water.
Did you know?
The World Meteorological Organization confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with widespread heatwaves and drought events across the globe. With floods also becoming more common in recent years, water managers are increasingly needing to predict the unpredictable when it comes to optimising resources. WaterWebTools can help to take out some of this guesswork, using data from multiple sources and cutting-edge modelling to enable accurate analysis and forecasting so that decision-makers can better prepare for extreme weather.
Development stage Launched
Innovator website waterwebtools.com
Innovator contact info@waterwebtools.com
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