SES Water pilots smart technology to predict water demand

16/10/24

SES Water has announced the successful completion of a pilot project using advanced smart technology - a machine-learning algorithm called Opir - designed to predict water demand and consumption with exceptional accuracy.

• SES Water is the only UK water company using Royal HaskoningDHV’s Opir technology following the success of becoming the only water UK water company to have a fully smart network
• The technology provides a pioneering approach to manage customer demand of water
• The technology, when rolled out fully across the network, has the potential to shape the future of operations by automating production responses and anticipating changes in demand.

Launched in 2022, the pilot was tested at the Company's Cheam and Woodmansterne treatment work sites, in partnership with Royal HaskoningDHV. This achievement marks a significant milestone in SES Water’s Smart Production ambitions.

Opir’s sophisticated algorithm takes into account multiple data points, including average reservoir flow, time of day, and weather conditions, to forecast water consumption up to 72 hours in advance. 

By learning from various factors such as dry or hot days and comparing them to similar historical data, the technology allows SES Water to make precise predictions about water demand, allowing for consistent distribution and resource management across the network. It also contributes to greater efficiency in the overall system.

SES Water’s collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV has been pivotal in the success of this pilot. Real-time data is shared regularly, providing valuable insights for operational adjustments. The success of the pilot also highlights Opir’s potential to predict and control crucial operational factors associated to water demand, including energy and chemical usage, further improving efficiency.

SES Water is the first UK water company to use Opir, which is part of the Aqua Suite platform within their smart network. As the Company looks to the future, plans are in place to develop a framework that will make possible the integration at any scale of technologies such as Opir.

Since the pilot has been successfully completed SES Water is eager to further explore the technology’s potential benefits and how it can be expanded.

This also marks an important step in SES Water’s wider operational technology strategy and reinforces the company’s commitment to leading the way in water management innovation in the UK.

SES Water’s Head of Operational Technology, Luis Lazarte, said:

“The successful completion of the Opir Pilot Project demonstrates the "art of the possible". It shows us first hand, in a real case scenario, the potential benefits of leveraging technologies such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. 

“The challenge now is to develop a common framework, an eco-system, in which such technologies can be implemented and seamlessly scaled up through the organisation.”

Martijn Deenan, Opir Product Manager at Royal HaskoningDHV said:

“It has been great to work with SES Water. They are incredibly well organised and aware of what they want to improve and what is required to do so. The collaborative partnership approach we have allows both parties to come up with new ideas to continuously improve operations even further.”