AI and smart water: buzzwords or the future of the water industry?
Tuesday 1st April 2025
Artificial intelligence is shaping the fortunes of many industries. Whether disrupting or optimising working practices, the use of AI is no doubt having a growing impact, with everything from technology and finance to healthcare and the environment increasingly reliant on AI to move things forward. And the water industry is no different!
But what will the expanding use of artificial intelligence within the water industry mean for customers? Are terms like ‘smart water’ just fads that will quickly be forgotten? Or are machine learning tools and intelligent systems certain to shape the industry’s future?
A government-backed investment in AI
The integration of AI is something that the government has been vocal in recent months, and this is beginning to become more tangible through ongoing investment in the water and wastewater industry. Investment comes via the Ofwat Innovation Fund, which saw a whopping £200 million pledged to nurture the water industry’s innovative spirit in response to the growing challenges within the sector, and the evolving needs of customers and the environment. After receiving investment back in 2020, the fund has spawned several AI-focussed projects, many of which are being run in partnership with leading UK universities.
.jpg?sfvrsn=25484c42_1)
Influencing tomorrow’s water infrastructure
One such project that has AI at its heart and received a chunk of Ofwat funding is the Safe Smart Systems (SSS) initiative. With increasing pressure on freshwater resources from factors like climate change and a rapidly expanding population, SSS aims to use digitalisation and technology, and more specifically AI, to build “an automated, connected system that delivers a clean, sustainable supply of water for future generations”.
It’s a project that is influencing the very infrastructure of how water is supplied, and its performance and reliability optimised. It brings together next generation infrastructure, hardware and AI decision engines to establish a smart water network that manages physical assets as well as displays, communicates and analyses associated data. The result is hoped to revolutionise the water journey and architecture making the people, processes and technology at its centre smarter and more succinct.
What this means for businesses like you
Here at Everflow, we are already using technology to ensure our business water rates comparison service works for our customers and our staff. By automating repetitive and high-friction tasks we’ve been able to speed up our processes, improve our responsiveness and free up our teams to focus on working on those tasks that require a human eye.
Enhanced efficiency has also been generated through the creation of robotics and a self-service portal, while our bespoke multi-utility billing and quoting software has enhanced the accuracy of our switching service and improved our account management capabilities.
Smart water and AI – fad or future?
When it comes to smart water solutions and the use of artificial intelligence, the future is already here. While projects like SSS are being used to develop a resilient, automated water system that provides success and sustainability for the long term, technology is currently being called upon by businesses in the water industry to improve the supply of utilities to people every day.
