New 'smart sewer' project aims to slash sewage spills across North East

The UK water industry has been the target of severe criticism over the amount of sewage in the country’s rivers, streams and sea in recent years.

Now Northumbrian Water is trialling a new approach it hopes will slash the number of discharges across its network.

The £30million project - the first of its kind in the UK - will use a combination of new technology, sensors and AI analytics to lower the risk of overflows happening.

The project is based on research and proven techniques used in the U. S., where ‘smart sewer’ technology installed in a section of wastewater network in South Bend, Indiana, saw an 80% reduction in the amount of spills.   

Storm overflows are used with Environment Agency consent during times of heavy rainfall in order to prevent sewers flooding back into customers’ homes.

The new ‘smart sewer’ project will allow Northumbrian Water to change the flow and direction of wastewater across its network, moving it away from areas of high volume and making spills less likely.  

It will predict when and where rain is about to hit in the region and when and where the sewer networks are most likely to reach capacity and spill, then automatically balance the flows, diverting wastewater to emptier parts of the network.

The technology will also identify areas where additional capacity is needed, allowing further targeted investments to be made. 

This real-time decision support system will be powered by a digital version of the physical network which runs ahead of time and gives Northumbrian Water more control over the system and the chance to make changes before spills happen.  

The project will be carried out in partnership with water infrastructure consultancy HydroDigital. 

Nigel Watson, Information Services Director at Northumbrian Water, said: “This is an exciting and really innovative project which is set to completely revolutionise the way that our network operates, and maybe even how our industry works as a whole.

“We are determined to be at the forefront when it comes to using clever new technology to protect our rivers and coasts as much as possible. This could be a massive step for us towards reducing how we use storm overflows. 

“We know that we, like all water companies, need to do better when it comes to managing how storm overflows operate – and this, along with other innovations and projects we are working on, is set to be a huge step forward in protecting our environment, whilst continuing to protect homes and businesses from flooding.” 

HydroDigital’s Luis Montestruque added: “This project will set a global standard in how water companies use smart sewer technology to reduce spills at a fraction of the cost and time needed by traditional engineering solutions.”