How AI revealed Kent sewer was blocked by a dumbbell and a fatberg | EUROtoday

Engineers have used synthetic intelligence to identify blockages in a sewer in Kent.

Southern Water used radar sensors to find a fatberg and a gymnasium weight blocking a sewage pipe in Folkestone.

The obstruction was uncovered in Chalcroft Road after digital sewer displays flagged uncommon wastewater ranges. Southern Water’s crew arrived on the web site earlier than the sewer might flood, and found the fatberg wrapped across the gymnasium weight.

The AI radars have been skilled to be taught regular sewer behaviours and establish when blockages are showing.

Blocked sewers are the main explanation for air pollution incidents, from manholes spilling into streams to sewage backing up into gardens. The most extreme instances see wastewater pouring again into sinks, showers and bogs inside properties.

To forestall this, Southern Water mentioned it has put in greater than 34,000 radar sensors throughout its community to detect modifications in sewer ranges earlier than they change into crucial.

Daniel McElhinney, proactive operations management supervisor at Southern Water, mentioned: “The sensors take a weight off our minds and measure the level of sewage flowing under manhole blockage hotspots. The AI machines learn normal sewer behaviours, then can tell the difference between morning and evening rushes, rain in the system and a blockage forming.

“We’re spotting hundreds of potential blockages before it’s too late. Our teams use high-pressure jets to clear sewers thanks to the pinpoint accuracy of the AI machines.”

Fatbergs kind when cooking fats, oils and grease combine with gadgets that ought to by no means be flushed. Southern Water warned that many shoppers don’t realise suburban sewers are solely about as large as an orange or a tennis ball, that means even small quantities of the incorrect materials can shortly create a significant downside.

The firm mentioned it’s battling hundreds of blockages annually, which prices tens of millions of kilos to clear and creates pointless air pollution dangers.