Wastewater systems allow communities around the world to manage wastewater and keep public areas clean, healthy and habitable. Sewer pipes, the conduits for the removal of waste, are the most fundamental piece of this essential infrastructure.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the way we manage and maintain our wastewater systems. But untangling the too-good-to-be-true claims of pitchmen and the long-term implications for the average operator is not easy.

Cities are constantly pressured to find new ways to cut expenses while maintaining a high quality of service for ratepayers. Shifts in federal and state funding — in combination with aging, degraded sewer systems — make this task even more difficult. In many cases, municipalities end up working equipment for longer and fall into a pattern of reactive maintenance and delaying major repairs. But there are serious consequences to putting off the inevitable. Crises, by nature, are unexpected emergencies, but that doesn’t mean municipalities can’t plan for them and prepare their collection systems for events like natural disasters.

Cataloging wastewater infrastructure allows municipalities to transition from reactive organizations to proactive ones. Whether listing structural damage or blockages, or prioritizing maintenance and communication across teams, the use of catalogs increases efficiency and saves resources. To provide real value to the user, observation catalogs must produce data that is consistent, processable and translatable.

As cloud-based storage becomes more popular, municipalities, utilities and contractors must consider the benefits cloud-based solutions provide, particularly for sewer inspection data management.