Engineers have used artificial intelligence to spot blockages in a sewer in Kent.
Southern Water used radar sensors to discover a fatberg and a gym weight blocking a sewage pipe in Folkestone.
The obstruction was uncovered in Chalcroft Road after electronic sewer monitors flagged unusual wastewater levels. Southern Water’s team arrived at the site before the sewer could flood, and discovered the fatberg wrapped around the gym weight.
The AI radars have been trained to learn normal sewer behaviours and identify when blockages are appearing.
Blocked sewers are the leading cause of pollution incidents, from manholes spilling into streams to sewage backing up into gardens. The most severe cases see wastewater pouring back into sinks, showers and toilets inside homes.
To prevent this, Southern Water said it has installed more than 34,000 radar sensors across its network to detect changes in sewer levels before they become critical.
Daniel McElhinney, proactive operations control manager at Southern Water, said: “The sensors take a weight off our minds and measure the level of sewage flowing under manhole blockage hotspots. The AI machines learn normal sewer behaviours, then can tell the difference between morning and evening rushes, rain in the system and a blockage forming.
“We’re spotting hundreds of potential blockages before it’s too late. Our teams use high-pressure jets to clear sewers thanks to the pinpoint accuracy of the AI machines.”
Fatbergs form when cooking fat, oils and grease mix with items that should never be flushed. Southern Water warned that many customers do not realise suburban sewers are only about as wide as an orange or a tennis ball, meaning even small amounts of the wrong material can quickly create a major problem.
The company said it is battling thousands of blockages each year, which costs millions of pounds to clear and creates unnecessary pollution risks.
