Thames deploys leak detecting AI tool

Thames Water has partnered with Fido and Microsoft to tackle leaks in the capital.

Fido’s technology will be used to detect leaks beneath the ground in London, while the partnership with Microsoft will help to expand Fido’s coverage across the Thames Water network, giving visibility on an additional 350km of water pipe network.

Thames Water has already committed to reduce its overall leakage to 20% by 2025 and to half leakage by 2050.

Nevil Muncaster, london operations director at Thames Water, said: “95% of leaks are underground and not visible. That’s why using innovative methods, such as Fido’s AI, is so important.

“We’re committed to finding and fixing leaks across London and our region, but the capital also presents challenges which makes it trickier, including noisier and busier roads.

“We strive to be at the forefront of leakage management, and by partnering with Microsoft and Fido, we’re able to adopt and invest in this cutting-edge technology, helping us to overcome this challenge, protecting our precious water resources in the process. We’re also carrying out more than 1,300 repairs per week – that’s one every 7.5 minutes.”

The Fido artificial intelligence system can use any audio file to tell if there is a leak in the pipe and what size it is.

Fido is also working with Northumbrian Water to reduce leakage by 37% across 15 assigned district metering areas.

Fido Tech chief executive Victoria Edwards added: “At the same time as we’re delivering tangible, measurable benefits locally, our model democratises water network digitisation more widely. Every water leak Fido finds in central London adds a little more knowledge into Fido’s neural networks, making it better at finding leaks anywhere in the world.”

In 2021-22 an average of three billion litres of water was lost through leaks every day.