Predictive AI Is Helping Utilities Mitigate Costly Pipe Failure

Our country's aging drinking water system is approaching the end of its lifespan, leading to significant costs for water utilities as they replace underground pipes. It's projected that more than $1 trillion will be needed nationwide over the next 25 years for this infrastructure upgrade.

Identifying which pipes need replacement or repair is challenging because of a lack of complete information. Pipe failures often occur unexpectedly and can go unnoticed. Water utilities are left guessing on the best way forward, often managing this information using spreadsheets or by hiring consultants to assist. Even then data limitations and human bias can result in questionable conclusions, influencing costly decisions affecting the utility’s critical assets.

A new solution from Itron uses predictive artificial intelligence (AI) software to overcome these hurdles. By utilizing data from a wide variety of utility, public and Itron data sources, it identifies which pipe segments are most likely to fail, which pipes still have remaining useful life, and prioritize pipe replacement helping utilities direct resources and capital investment plans.