Many utilities globally are currently dealing with the deterioration of their buried infrastructure, especially within their water and wastewater conveyance and distribution systems. Specific to wastewater collection systems, utilities also need to accommodate anticipated increased sewer flows due to increased population densities and economic development. This session will focus on two digital approaches to maximizing the life of these important assets: condition assessment and optimization of operations and maintenance. The session will discuss the advent and utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools for the effective management of buried assets and providing prescriptive asset management guidance. This includes a multi-stage AI-enabled process that performs defect analysis of closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection videos and provides guidance on what remediation steps a utility should take. A case study will also show the results of a tool that provides a dashboard for smart sensors from multiple platforms and machine learning/predictive analytics to provide new and better ways of operating wastewater collection systems.

Learning Objectives:
•    Explain digital approaches to condition assessment and optimized operations and maintenance for collection system assets
•    Understand the key benefits of using AI for condition assessment, such as increasing accuracy and consistency and providing objective data to inform decision-making
•    Discuss a smart sewer case study which employed a dashboard and machine learning/predictive analytics to improve collection systems operations