Southern Water invests £15million on brand-new AI technology to help beat flooding and pollution across Sussex

The project, which includes the installation of 22,000 smart devices across Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, was officially unveiled today (Wednesday, January 18) and will help to reduce pollution incidents across the patch by up to 40 per cent.

Sensors are being installed at vulnerable areas along 39,500km of sewers across the company’s patch which will monitor water levels and the presence of ‘fatbergs’. It has been described as ‘game-changing’ and will help Southern Water engineers take preventative measures against blocked pipes and, ultimately, flooding and sewerage discharges.

The ‘revolutionary technology’ will communicate digitally with Southern Water’s operations base in Worthing and will use artificial intelligence to learn from the data it harvests during wet and dry weather and will be able to understand the ‘normal behaviours’ of sewers. Teams of engineers can also be quickly dispatched to clear sewers with high-powered jets and investigations can take place into the potential sources of the problems.

Alex Saunders is head of wastewater networks at the company. He said: “We already have a good record on cutting pollutions from sewers thanks to our network protection team. There is also growing awareness among customers that wet wipes and other unflushables combine with fat, oil and grease, incorrectly disposed of down drains, to form fatbergs. These block sewers and can cause wastewater back up the system.

"This revolutionary technology will mean we can respond proactively instead of waiting for sewers to block. Spills from manholes are ugly, unpleasant and damage the environment. Internal sewer flooding is incredibly distressing. We believe the deployment of this system will have a real impact on both of these types of incident.”

A huge majority of sewer blockages are caused by the ‘unflushables’ and they can lead to environmentally damaging flooding outdoors and distressing flooding inside homes and properties. The issue has been one of Southern Water’s top priorities and the new tech should help to cut incidents of pollution like this up to 40 per cent. The company has equated this to about 500 fewer internal floods between now and 2025, and about 7,000 fewer external floods during the same period.

Alex added: “It is crucial that households understand the dangers of putting anything other than the three ‘Ps’ – pee, poo and paper – down their loo, and the risks of pouring cooking fat and oil down their sink. Responsible food businesses should also have fat traps and proper procedures in place to help.

"Every year we extract around 5,000 tonnes of wet wipes and other plastic from wastewater – enough to fill a row of skips five miles long. And weird and wonderful things turn up at treatment works. Anyone with a toddler can guess why a cuddly toy might arrive but after Christmas we have even found a blockage caused by a string of fairy lights.”