Anglian Water uses geospatial technology to manage sewer system hotspots

Anglian Water, a United Kingdom-based water company, has integrated a new mapping system that reveals sewer system hotspots to prioritize work.

Developed using geospatial technology from Esri UK, the new risk tool has helped reach a 51% reduction in blockages, 112 kilometers (69.6 miles) of sewers cleaned, and 8 tons of debris removed.

Anglian Water estimates that, with fewer engineer callouts and customer service issues, the company may have saved more than £1 million with the mapping system.

By mapping scores applied to sewers, which consider multiple risk factors including their location, material, size, proximity to the water course and historic pollutions, the resulting dashboard shows the riskiest locations which helps inform targeted interventions. To date, the system has been used to find and clear over 1,000 blockages and discover more than 1,700 structural defects, including broken pipes and tree root intrusions.

Anglian Water is the largest water and water recycling company in England and Wales by geographic area, managing 77,000 km of sewers and serving around 7 million people. The new geospatial tool was developed to replace reactive and unconnected processes and systems and support better decision-making.

“Esri GIS has allowed us to develop a holistic view of risk in real time and shift our business model from being reactive to proactive. This new way of working helps prioritise work and investment across the network,” explained Michael Wingell, Geospatial Strategy Manager, Anglian Water. “Every blockage cleared means a reduction in the number of flooding or pollution incidents, saving both time and money and having less environmental impact.”

Areas which are at high risk of blockages are identified so particular food outlets or neighborhoods can be approached and disposal methods for fats, oils and greases discussed. Network performance post intervention is then tracked in the risk tool to monitor each program’s impact. Using the tool to work with fast food outlets has so far prevented an additional 191 blockages.

Ongoing plans include integrating flow sensor data from across the network and using the risk tool to share data and collaborate with third parties, including the Environment Agency and local authorities, when an extreme weather event occurs, for example, to help respond to flooding events.