Can IoT and AI Enhance Smart Water Management Technologies?

Managing increasingly scarce water supplies to maintain quality and safety for all those who use them has never been more important. Populations around the world continue to grow, meaning ever more people rely on the world’s finite water supplies to live.

Here, we explore several improvements and advancements in technology that could each provide companies and individuals with more tools to help manage water better than ever before.

Does smart water management with IoT have a role to play?

Firstly, what does IoT stand for? It refers to the Internet of Things. This may still be puzzling, but “things” refers to tangible objects such as taps, valves, controllers and meters, for example. The Internet part of it refers to using software and hardware to monitor those things. This means data about usage, leaks, water quality and other important information can be relayed to those managing the water system, usually in real-time.

Whenever we read about situations where there are water leaks or untreated water or sewage escaping into the environment, we hear about gallons of water being lost or contaminating the area before the leak is discovered. With IoT enabled equipment, the potential is there for accurate, real-time monitoring. As soon as a leak occurs, those dealing with the management of the water systems will know about it … in detail. There are many other ways such data could be used to great effect too, making it easier to manage water supplies to the benefit of all those relying on them.

Better technologies for treating wastewater

We’ve already mentioned the notion of untreated wastewater finding its way into the environment. This can easily harm aquatic ecosystems and eventually humans. It is very difficult to remedy this situation once it has occurred.

Developments in wastewater processing make it much easier to manage water supplies. New processes such as biological filtration suggest that water companies and other businesses can treat wastewater more safely, effectively, and cheaply, improving the possibilities for extended water reuse. UV irradiation is also mooted to be among the future possibilities we could see in action.

Of course, industries vary in the ways they use water and in how much wastewater they produce. The wastewater can also contain many different contaminants depending on how it has been used. For example, the wastewater may contain one or more heavy metals that require removal to make the water safe again.

However, with a range of new technologies coming up that look promising, it gives businesses of all sizes more scope to find cheaper and more efficient treatment technologies that suit their needs.

Maximising water re-use and focusing on green energy sources

If you’re about to read the phrase “big data analytics” for the first time and you’re involved in water management, get ready to hear about it a lot more in the future.

We all recognise that water is a precious resource and should not be wasted. Given the scale at which big businesses and industries use water, it becomes even more important to ensure nothing is wasted. Households receive advice on how to maximise their water usage and reduce their bills. Big data analytics can help companies do the same.

The idea is to analyse how the water is used, monitoring usage in real time to determine where the water goes. This data can also highlight how it is used and whether there are any changes that can be made to use it more effectively. For example, could it treated and then used more than once without causing any issues?

Digital systems can collect all kinds of data about water systems in buildings, processes and industries. The key is to analyse that data to see where it might be useful in the future. If resources are limited, a business can learn how it can better make use of them.

Artificial intelligence (AI) in water management

It seems as if AI is now rapidly permeating every part of life as we know it. This may be good and bad depending on how you look at it and which part of life you’re looking at. However, AI does have a future role to play in water management that could again help us to use such resources far more effectively.

For example, AI can predict the demand for water across a typical day. This would enable water companies to ensure peak demand is more easily met. Flow sensors can be added to water systems, picking up data and feeding it into a computer programme designed to assess water usage and accurately predict future requirements.

Real-time water quality monitoring

It’s not just water usage that AI can focus on either. AI technology can take all kinds of data from a water system and assess it to consider whether there are increased risks from the presence of bacteria such as Legionella, E. Coli and Cryptosporidium. There may be a time in the future when we can stop doing regular water quality testing to determine how many bacteria are present. Instead, AI will alert those in charge of water management to the potential for such pathogens to be in the system.

By taking data on flow rates, usage, water temperature, and various other elements, AI can identify times when there could be an increased risk of E. coli or other waterborne pathogens causing issues for those using the water. It would then alert those in charge, who could take samples to identify the actual composition of the water and whether any such pathogens were present in numbers that would cause concern.

Water technology provides a positive outlook for safer, more eco-friendly water management

This article provides an overview of how advancements in technology can help manage water supplies and use them more efficiently, while also providing increased safety and opportunities to improve water re-use. Many of these technologies are just at the beginning of their lives. We have yet to see how AI will play a role in managing water supplies and making sure they are at their safest when in use, for example.

However, having more efficient ways to treat water, more ways to process wastewater, more ways to quickly identify leaks, and other examples, can only lead to a brighter future for anyone involved in the management of water and wastewater resources. Whether you are part of a small business or an entire industry, you can see how the future is brighter than you may have thought.

Expert water management solutions

Water Treatment Services offer a comprehensive range of innovative water and wastewater management solutions for business. Our specialists provide expert advice and support to help you identify cost efficient and environmentally sensitive water management solutions.

With offices in London serving the South and South East England, Manchester (North West), Birmingham (Midlands), Bristol (South East England and Wales), Leeds (North and North East) and Glasgow (Scotland), supported by regional teams of specially trained environmental engineers and water management specialists we offer cost effective environmental support solutions across the whole of the UK and internationally.

Contact us today to learn how our innovative management solutions can help you optimise your approach to water, its use and reuse.