Artificial Intelligence Prevents Emergency in Water Supply System of Glazov, Udmurtia

A number of hidden leakage points in the water supply system of Glazov (the Republic of Udmurtia) have been identified owing to artificial intelligence. The information system Digital Water Utilities installed in the city, which was designed by Rusatom Smart Utilities (is part of the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM), detected abnormalities in water consumption in time and sent a warning signal to dispatching services. As a result of inspection of the designated site, the repairs brigade found a leakage, which might then lead to a serious accident in the pipeline.

The system Digital Water Utilities is aimed to control, monitor and dispatch operating and production processes of water supply enterprises. The solution allows to improve quality of services for the population, including through reduction of irregularities within provision of public utility services, reduction of repairs period. Besides, Digital Water Utilities enhances economic and management efficiency of enterprises performance. Currently, the system is applied in Glazov, Belgorod Region, Voronezh Region, and other regions.

The information system Digital Water Utilities applies elements of artificial intelligence based on the algorithms of machine learning. The data analysis and comparison with average values identity water losses, leakages and prevent emergencies. One of the largest accidents has been prevented this week. The abnormal water consumption by connected facilities was detected at one of the pumping stations. Based on the data analysis, the system defined that the majority of the deviations were detected at particular addresses, and guessed the place of leakage. The employees-in-charge got the respective notifications in the system. The subsequent inspection showed that, indeed, the leakage was at the riser pipe near the houses at this address, detected it in time and prevented the accident related with water outage for consumers.

The use of artificial intelligence in the system Digital Water Utilities makes it possible both to prevent accidents and, on the whole, reduce water losses resulted from worn-out networks or unauthorized connections. “The amount of losses in the system may near 20–30% of the total amount of pumped water; in some cases it may reach 50%. In many cases, resource supply enterprises do not have automated tools allowing to increase efficiency of loss-related work substantially – expensive measures of networks modernization and repairs are performed in places where there is urgent need and emergency to ensure reliable and uninterrupted supply of resources to residents. Using the technologies of Digital Water Utilities, you can define reasonably the amount of water losses in the system, whether there are water losses at the sites of pipelines, what pipeline sites in networks deserve special attention for performance of an inspection for leakages,” notes Viktor Rubezhnoy, head of the business line Digital Resource Supply of Rusatom Smart Utilities, JSC.