The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Editor

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Water and Sewerage Corporation yesterday unveiled artificial intelligence (AI) technology that it plans to deploy to detect leaks.

Robert Deal, its general manager, said the AI device will improve leak detection efficiency and assist teams tasked with reducing these losses. He added that every one million gallons worth of leaks detected saves the state-owned utility more than $8,000.

“This device, which is a small AI device, is being deployed around our distribution system from location to location. What it is doing is assisting us in locating leaks. Presently we work with Miya Bahamas and they deploy teams who go out at night to sound for leaks and to find leaks,” Mr Deal said.

“What this will do is this will help us a lot in terms of improving the efficiency and the pace and the way at which we find those leaks.” He explained that the AI device will provide a general location of the leak and technicians will have to confirm its presence.

Confirming that it will help slash the Corporation’s non-revenue water losses, Mr Deal said: “This device pinpoints the general area of the leak. Then they come in and deploy, [and our teams] will then come out and physically confirm that the leak is present.

“The AI device, of course, is going to help us tremendously in terms of improving our efficiency and our leak detection, and thereby reducing our non-revenue water here in New Providence.

“The Corporation has had a New Providence non-revenue water project ongoing now for many years. But essentially, each million gallon of water saves us in the range of about a little over $8,000. So it’s critical for us to reduce our non-revenue water losses here in New Providence. “

Mr Deal said the non-revenue water reduction project has “had a lot of positive success”. Miya, its contractor, is targeting reducing non-revenue water to 1.5m gallons or less by 2026, and will ultimately transfer management of the project to the Corporation.

He said: “This project started from 2012 and we’ve come down from a high of 6.85m, almost 7m [gallons] back then to about little below two million during COVID. It spiked up a bit after that, but we are working now on this current project we have with Miya. By the year 2026 the target is to have it down to 1.5m or less.

“And also, very importantly, the project also involves the full transfer of the management of the non-revenue water process from Miya to Water and Sewerage, so there’s a heavy training component.

Mr Deal added that the AI technology is just one component of the Corporation’s efforts to reduce non-revenue water, and said the project will expand to the Family Islands.

He said: “This is just one component of several steps being taken to reduce non-revenue water here in New Providence. And, of course, as a Corporation, we are actively looking to also expand this programme to the Family Islands in due course as well.”

Rohan Thomas, leak manager at Miya Bahamas, explained that the AI technology will be programmed via a mobile device and deployed to a consumer’s meter for 24 hours. He stressed that consumers should not disturb the devices if they have been attached to their meters as technicians will retrieve them to collect data on leaks.

He said: “I just want to appeal to the general public. Please, if you see this device attached to your meter, do not remove it. We need this information because once we deploy it, we retrieve it. I want to stress it will not replace human efforts. This will support us as we use our conventional method of detection, which is acoustic leak detection”

Mr Thomas added that over 600 of the devices have been deployed so far, revealing 76 areas of interests and 20 confirmed leaks. He noted that the AI devices cost thousands and reiterated the importance of not disrupting or removing the devices.

He said: “To date, we have deployed over 600 of these devices and it has produced some 76 areas of interest, of which 20 have been confirmed leaks, 16 of which have been main leaks and four have been leaks on a service line.

“These initial results, we started basically from the last week in September. These results to current to date suggest and indicate that this technology is working The estimated cost of the bugs is in the thousands…and that is why it is very important that the public knows that this is important to us. Do not remove it. Please safeguard it. It is an expensive resource that would help possible early detection.”