Facilitating access to clean water
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With water technology that we consistently develop to be safer and increasingly AI-embedded, we contribute to facilitate access to clean water.
We strengthen public water infrastructure by providing solutions for the management and treatment of water, as well as the data-driven reduction of water losses, for example for municipalities.
Clean water is an essential basis for everyday life. At the same time, population growth, urbanization, and climatic changes are changing the requirements placed on public water supply. Water utilities and municipalities face the challenge of operating complex infrastructures reliably and using available resources efficiently.
Access to clean water begins long before water flows from the tap. Water must be extracted, treated, transported, and distributed. After use, wastewater must be collected and treated so that water can be made available again. Each of these steps places its own demands on technology, operations, and monitoring.
With our water technology as well as digital and AI-based solutions, we support different applications along this water cycle. The capture and analysis of operating data creates additional opportunities to make systems more transparent, manage operating processes in a more targeted way, and identify water losses at an early stage.
Identifying and reducing water losses
Operating data makes changes visible
A portion of treated water does not reach its intended destination. Possible causes include leaking pipes, changing pressure conditions, or disruptions within a network. The earlier such changes are identified, the more specifically operators can respond.
The digital capture of pressure, flow, and other operating data creates transparency regarding the condition of systems and networks. Artificial intelligence can support the evaluation of large volumes of data, the identification of deviations, and the early visibility of irregularities.
This creates additional opportunities to investigate potential water losses in a more targeted way and to adapt operating processes accordingly.
Practical example: Thames Water – Water Safety and Optimisation, United Kingdom
With more than 18 million people supplied, Thames Water is one of the largest water utilities in Europe. The supply network in London and South East England comprises an extensive and complex infrastructure that is continuously operated and further developed.
As part of the Water Safety and Optimisation program, Wilo is working together with Integrated Water Services M&E (IWS) and other partners on the modernization and digitalization of pumping stations. Several thousand systems are to be gradually renewed and equipped with modern technical and digital solutions.
The increasing use of operating data creates new opportunities to make system conditions more transparent, identify changes at an early stage, and optimize operating processes in a more targeted way. The project illustrates how the modernization of water infrastructure can be combined with digitalization and data-based applications.
Transparency for the operation of water infrastructures
Digital technologies create new possibilities
Reliable water supply requires operators to understand what is happening within their infrastructure. Operating data can help make changes visible and improve understanding of technical systems.
Sensors and digital solutions capture different parameters along the water cycle. When this information is brought together and evaluated, operators can continuously track operating conditions and investigate irregularities more specifically.
Artificial intelligence can support the identification of patterns in extensive data sets and provide indications of changes or possible deviations. This creates new opportunities for the data-based monitoring and management of water infrastructures.
Practical example: Speaking Waters
With Speaking Waters, we have developed an AI-supported platform together with InstaDeep for applications in water infrastructure. It combines real-time data with artificial intelligence to analyze complex water systems, make irregularities visible, and open up new approaches for their operation.
One example is stadiums and arenas operated by our sponsoring partners. Here, different operating data can be brought together and made transparent. This creates a more detailed picture of the water infrastructure and provides a basis for data-based decisions and more targeted management.
Water infrastructure for growing challenges
Bringing together technology and digitalization
The requirements for public water infrastructure are changing. Growing cities, new usage requirements, and changing climatic conditions are placing additional demands on existing systems.
Water technology, digitalization, and artificial intelligence can create different starting points for the operation and further development of water infrastructures. They make it possible to examine systems and processes more closely, make operating data usable, and manage technical systems in a more targeted way.
Our solutions are used in different areas – from water extraction and treatment to water distribution and water management.
