Project description
Artificial intelligence for sewage overflow management
Combined sewer overflow (CSO) is the discharge from a combined sewer system that is caused by snowmelt or stormwater runoff. CSOs carry chemical and microbiological pollutants, including hazardous substances and waste that affect the quality of water while putting at risk human and animal health and aquatic life. There have been attempts to produce infrastructures to increase retention capacities, a long and expensive process. The most promising solution aims to manage existing canalisation systems and storage tanks. The EU-funded project SOCRATIC provides for an innovative effluent management system that works with accurate real time storm water levels, fast artificial intelligence simulation and automated processes.
Objective
Storm water overflows (also known as Combined Sewer Overflow, CSO) can occur during small to heavy rainfalls, if there is no proper management of the storage capacity in combined sewer systems. The share of combined sewer is more than 50% in 10 European states. CSOs carry chemical and microbiological pollution, hazardous substances and waste affecting the quality of water and environment putting at risk human and animal health and aquatic life. Between 2014-2017, 3.130 pollution events affecting only bathing waters were reported (Source EEA).
The Urban Waste Water Directive requires the Member States to “decide on measures to limit the pollution from storm water overflows”. Beneath the option to build new infrastructures to increase retention capacities, which is a long and expensive process, the solution is to manage efficiently and adapt instantly existing canalisation systems and storage tanks. Currently, storm water management systems that aim to implement the latter concept focus on flood protection, which occurs only with heavy rainfalls. Moreover, they are based on weather forecasts that are unreliable and not accurate and hydraulic simulation software that need high computing times up to 24h.
The French SME IXSANE Sas with more than 20 years of experience in Environmental & Urban engineering has developed SOCRATIC, an innovative effluent management system specific for CSOs prevention, that works with accurate real time storm water levels, fast Artificial Intelligence simulation and automated processes. A low cost technology, which provides savings of up to 90% in comparison to the construction of new infrastructures. SOCRATIC will reduce by 80% the number of CSO events and by 60% the volume of leaks released into the environment.
IXSANE will target the Municipal Water Market, precisely the Smart Water Segment, where the share of Software and Automation is worth 8.83 Billion € in 2017 with a CAGR of 33,9% (Source Frost& Sullivan).
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligence
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollution
- engineering and technologycivil engineeringurban engineering
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringnatural resources managementwater management
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
59650 VILLENEUVE D ASCQ
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.