Artificial Intelligence at the Service of Water Efficiency. The Case of the Puglia Region

Filippo Verre - September 6, 2023

General notes

Water loss in water networks is a serious problem for many local administrations. According to Istat, in Italian aqueducts, an average of 41.4 liters are lost for every 100 liters introduced into the distribution networks, or more than 40%. A truly impressive figure, which corresponds to the loss of approximately 145 liters per day per inhabitant. To understand the extent of the water losses that occur daily in our country, consider that according to some estimates, the total daily loss of water in the Italian water network could satisfy the needs of ten million people for over a year. The main reason for this worrying situation is due to the precarious state of the aqueducts, very often over a century old. Old systems lead to high rates of inefficiency in the water supply caused by holes, leaks, non-performing pipe joints and various malfunctions. All of this has a very negative impact on both the quality and quantity of water delivered.

The Apulian aqueduct is no exception in this regard. The regional water network, 20,000 kilometers long, was built starting in 1905 following the publication of an international tender aimed at building a modern infrastructure. The latter, therefore, after more than a hundred years of honorable service, today presents a series of considerable critical issues. In addition to the physiological losses present in all large old-generation water infrastructures, the quantity of water that is lost along the route in the Apulian pipes is truly remarkable. The high dispersion rate remains attributable, in addition to a series of concomitant factors, first of all to the obsolescence of the pipes, as mentioned in some cases more than a century old. Already a few years ago, worrying cases of malfunction had been recorded. In 2016, the overall percentage of loss was 48%, a slight improvement compared to 2015 (49%). Almost half of the water that passed through the Apulian pipes was irremediably lost. These are very high rates that far exceed the already high national average, currently fluctuating between 35 and 40% (as indicated by the Blue Book 2022 report by Utilitalia). Of this dispersion - of which, as mentioned, a part is physiological - the majority is physical, that is, it is wasted due to the inadequacy of the supply and distribution pipes.

AB AQUA's strategy - Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) at the service of water infrastructures

The drought of 2022 has done nothing but exacerbate an already precarious situation. It must be said that the entire national water network - and therefore not only the Apulian one - has been subjected to very strong pressure in recent months. The combined effect of the lack of rainfall and snowfall in the autumn/winter phase, together with the great heat that hit the Belpaese already in the first weeks of May, represented the "perfect storm" for a serious water crisis at a national level. As reported in a recent study published on the AB AQUA website, our summers are changing; we are slowly moving towards a progressive tropicalization of our climate, characterized by long and very intense hot seasons. To cope with this new climatic reality, we need to encourage the modernization of our water infrastructures, starting with the most important ones such as aqueducts.

In our opinion, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things can represent very valid weapons to modernize and make the Apulian water network more efficient with a view to digital transformation. The areas of application that we consider most suitable are three: monitoring, repair/maintenance and forecasting.

AI and IoT: monitoring and maintenance of aqueducts

Today's technology allows us to intervene quickly and effectively to resolve any faults in the water network by replacing obsolete pipes with technologically advanced new-generation systems. Through AI and IoT technologies, we are now able to promptly detect malfunctions and anomalies in the systems, simplifying the work of operations managers and allowing technicians responsible for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of the aqueducts to intervene quickly and effectively. Intelligent sensors, powered by some processes linked to the Internet of Things, can be very useful for careful water management. Anomalies in the systems, such as leaks from pipes and malfunctions of equipment, can be identified very quickly. The sensors can then be used to measure the quality and quantity of water in the hydrographic basins or for chemical analysis of the water.

Fig. 1: Esempio di schermata applicativa per la gestione della risorsa idrica (1)

Fig. 2: Esempio di schermata applicativa per la gestione della risorsa idrica (2)

Conclusion

This document was drafted by the AB AQUA team - hydrostrategy think tank in order to present the possible strategies for the improvement of the water network of the Apulian Aqueduct.

The aspects related to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things referred to the case in question will be further explained in the subsequent phases.