Water Firm to Utilise AI to Enhance River Quality
Northumbrian Water secures funding from Ofwat to improve river quality with AI technology. Collaboration with IT firm Cognizant to track river health trends and pollution patterns. Long-term goal is to improve drinking water quality and ecosystem health.
Northumbrian Water, a leading water company, has secured funding from water regulator Ofwat to implement artificial intelligence (AI) technology in order to improve the quality of rivers. The company will be collaborating with IT firm Cognizant to track river health trends and pollution patterns.
The funding is part of the Ofwat Innovation Fund, a £200 million initiative aimed at enhancing the capacity of the water sector in England and Wales. Northumbrian Water has identified reducing river pollution as one of its major challenges.
Earlier this year, the company faced a pollution incident when a burst pipe contaminated a small river, resulting in a £50,000 payment to an environmental charity. With the long-term goal of improving drinking water quality and ecosystem health, Northumbrian Water aims to leverage AI and machine learning to monitor pollution levels, as well as factors such as agriculture, road run-offs, and storm overflows.
Nigel Watson, Chief Information Officer at Northumbrian Water, expressed the company's vision of using data insights to tackle the issue of river pollution. By partnering with Cognizant Ocean, they aim to gain a deeper understanding of river health, optimise investments, and establish targeted collaborations to enhance the quality of rivers across the UK.
Stig Martin Fiskå, Global Head of Cognizant Ocean, highlighted the significance of the project as a foundation for future advancements in river health and water quality. The collaboration with Northumbrian Water specifically aims to improve the biodiversity and quality of rivers in the North East of England, while also providing a framework for other water systems organisations to leverage Cognizant's expertise.
Northumbrian Water secures funding from Ofwat to improve river quality with AI technology
Collaboration with IT firm Cognizant to track river health trends and pollution patterns
Long-term goal is to improve drinking water quality and ecosystem health
Source: BBC