Water company bosses have revealed an AI-controlled “smart sewer” system prevented a sewage leak after the technology detected a blockage forming in one of its pipes.
The company says the problem was identified before a manhole breached near a surface water line feeding smaller watercourses flowing into Whitstable Harbour.
Southern Water says its AI-controlled ‘smart sewer’ technology will cut sewage outflows by 32%. Picture: Southern Water
The harbour is home to popular bathing waters and shellfish beds.
Southern Water says blocked sewers are the single biggest cause of pollution incidents, ranging from sewage spilling into streams and gardens to internal flooding in homes.
The firm says around 34,000 sewer level monitors across its network constantly check flows and alert teams to unusual activity, which could indicate a blockage or leak.
It says the system has led to more than 4,000 interventions by block-busting teams in the past year.
According to Southern Water, the most common cause of sewer blockages is wet wipes being flushed down toilets, along with cooking fat, oil and grease poured down sinks.
The company says plant roots puncturing or blocking pipes are also a known cause of problems, with 47 such incidents recorded since last April, compared with 1,729 caused by “unflushables” such as wet wipes.
Southern Water says the technology helped identify a blockage forming in Whitstable caused by tree roots, which prevented a sewage leak near the town’s harbour. Picture: Southern Water
Daniel McElhinney, proactive operations control manager at Southern Water, said: “Our smart sensors measure the level of sewage flowing under manholes in blockage hotspots.
“However, the real innovation is how machine learning or artificial intelligence learns the normal behaviour of sewers and can tell the difference between morning and evening rushes, rain in the system and a blockage forming.
“Instead of turning up after the event to clean up and commiserate with devastated customers, we’re spotting hundreds of potential blockages before it’s too late so our teams can scramble around with high-pressure water jets to clear the sewer.”
Southern Water previously announced its AI-controlled “smart sewer” technology had reduced sewage spill events by an average of 32%.
A spokesperson explained last month: “Storm overflow monitors (EDMs) record when an overflow activates and the duration, but they do not measure volume.
“Our interventions are designed to reduce how often overflows operate, which is the key indicator used by regulators and industry.”
Campaign group SOS Whitstable previously questioned the company’s claims surrounding the technology. Picture: Southern Water
One of the firm’s “Centaur Gates” was installed at the Tankerton Circus outflow pipe near Whitstable last year, while Southern Water is also investing more than £70 million in improvements at Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works, between Whitstable and Herne Bay.
Campaign group SOS Whitstable previously questioned the company’s claims surrounding the technology and called for clearer evidence showing whether less sewage was actually being discharged into the sea.
But the company concedes the “smart sewers” alone will not deliver the predicted reduction, other measures such as “treatment works reconfiguration, network optimisation, and measures such as water butts” would contribute.
The changes at Swalecliffe have delivered consistent reductions, according to Southern Water’s modelling and analysis.