Bringing AI and Machine Learning to Underground Pipe Infrastructure

By Greg Baird

Water asset management in the United States has advanced through various stages of education and the practical application of best practices. The U.S. EPA has concluded that nearly 60 percent of the value of water infrastructure remains hidden underground delivering drinking water through more than 1.2 million miles of pipes. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) attests that this lifeline network requires renewal and replacement to a tune of $1 trillion over the next couple of decades, and recent findings from research companies project that advanced asset management in all of its shapes is poised to drive $41 billion in savings over the next decade. At the heart of these funding gaps, cost savings and replacement estimates, the United States and Canada are experiencing a significant increase in water main breaks.