Finding leaks with artificial intelligence

With 95% of leaks taking place underground, finding and fixing them is a major challenge.

To tackle this, we've invested in an artificial intelligence (AI) system called FIDO.

How FIDO works to find leaks

Front-line teams place acoustic sensors throughout our underground pipe network. The sensors feed data back to FIDO to analyse the sound of leaks, flows, flushes, or other types of vibrations.

With FIDO, we can identify the leak location and how much water is being lost, so we can prioritise urgent leaks.

Why we are using AI

Thanks to AI, we’re improving our follow-up investigation rate of water leaks by as much as 20%.

Not only this, but AI helps to ensure:

• Reduced disruption at street level from digging and roadworks
• Less water lost through leaks which is better for the environment and our water supplies
• More efficient leak finding makes better use of our resources and helps us keep costs down
• Your services become more reliable with proper upgrades and not just temporary fixes

Thanks to this system, we’ve seen a real improvement across all areas of leak detection and repair speed. We think it’s only going to get better as the technology evolves.