The Data Innovation Center recently spoke with Adam Wood and CPO Infoa Norway-based company that helps water businesses turn complex data into actionable insights. Wood explained how InfoTil can use machine learning to improve water network efficiency, detect leaks, and support smarter water infrastructure.
David Keltay: What challenges do water utilities face when using data effectively?
Adam Wood: Utilities face several important challenges. The first is data interoperability. Important information spreads across legacy systems that often do not communicate. Moving data from older control systems to modern analytics platforms and sharing it with partners can be complicated. The second is data availability. Many utilities already have sensors, but they don't always capture or store the correct measurements long enough to extract the full value. Finally, data quality is a permanent issue. Insufficiently calibrated or aging sensors can distort measurements and limit what machine learning or advanced analytics can offer.
Keltay: What services does InfoTil offer to address these challenges?
wood: InfoTiles offers four interconnectable services. Pipefusion cleans and corrects records that maintain utility utilities for physical water networks, such as where the pipe runs, material composition, age, and condition. Machine learning is then used to convert these records into digital maps, and then transform them into risk models that predict where the pipe is most likely to fail.
By integrating the history and Leal-Time sensor data, Waterintelligence and SewerIntelligence are built on this map. They detect abnormalities in sensor measurements, localize leaks, monitor water quality, and analyze inflow and invasion. By linking this information to the pipe risk model, the utility can more effectively prioritize inspection and repairs, saving time and resources.
Finally, Meterops helps you deploy and manage smart water meters, track consumption, and monitor alarms. When combined with WaterIntelligence and SewerIntelligence, the utility provides more detailed insights by adding meter data to your photos.
Keltay: How does InfoTiles integrate its solution with existing utility systems?
wood: We have developed a process that allows us to retrieve data from various system utilities, clean it, and prepare it for analysis. Today, many utilities rely on cloud platforms and modern interfaces, so data is much easier than in the past as they collect and process data. The results are available directly on the InfoTiles platform, but the utility can also be exported in standard format and integrated with your own system. Using open data formats and open source tools, you can ensure that your customers have full ownership of your data and continue using it even when you choose.
Keltay: Can you share real-world examples of measurable results from the platform?
wood: It is often not that of the water passing through the drainage network, but that rainwater or groundwater is leaking into the system. This creates significant inefficiency and adds unnecessary treatment costs. In Gloucester, UK, we worked with Severn Trent Water Utilities and engineering company Arup to mitigate this issue and improve network performance. At Habo, Sweden, we ran a digital trial to help the utility decide on upgrades to prioritize, and we were able to go where investments have the biggest impact.
Keltay: How do you see AI and data analytics shaping the future of water management?
wood: I think AI and analytics are already effective in solving target problems and their roles are evolving in supporting operational and long-term infrastructure decisions. By linking outputs from multiple algorithms, AI can help develop a broader strategy. For example, you could propose control strategies to optimize treatment costs based on weather-driven water quality forecasts, or recommend capital construction plans that are optimal for allocating $40 million to reduce wastewater contamination incidents. These potential AI-generated starting points allow technicians and engineers to quickly validate, refine and scale plans and save time while utilities can help utilities make smarter and strategic decisions for long-term management of water systems.
