A post by Jody Knight
Strategic Technology Planning Manager
So here we are 6 months after the Intelligent Sewers challenge went live on the Marketplace website and in the midst of a global pandemic!
The importance of gaining better understanding from the data we collect in wastewater networks has never been more relevant. We need the ability to get in front of problems to minimise the risk to our customers and our staff, not only to prevent blockages and minimise alarms but to maintain our excellent standards by efficiently directing our teams to the right issues first.
We are continuing to progress the trial in the Bath catchment and I am pleased to say we will taking three companies forward to the next stage.
The companies in no particular order are Detectronic (Partnering with Royal Haskoning DHV), Meniscus and Stormharvester. We were very impressed with all 16 of the companies that responded to the challenge and it was extremely difficult for the assessment panel to whittle the number down to three.
We are now working with the three companies to get a live feed of the data from our sites into their systems with the aim kicking off three month proof of concept trial shortly – please keep your fingers crossed for a bit of rain… but not too much rain!
The team at Wessex Water will be reviewing all of the output from the chosen suppliers to test the viability and quality of the products proposed. We are hoping to demonstrate that we can reduce alarm volumes to the control room and identify potential blockages at an earlier stage. To test this we are planning to simulate network blockages to see how the products respond.
So, despite all the global challenges we are forging ahead in the hope that these types of solutions can better help manage our sewer networks and make us fit for the future.
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