There is significant work and investment ongoing to update the UK’s water management infrastructure however much of this infrastructure still originates from the Victorian ages. Infrastructure such as dams may be unknowingly compromised by unseen aspects of ageing and natural erosion and be at risk of collapse in extreme weather events.

Investment in an appropriate sensor infrastructure and cloud-based processing of information, twinned with AI, can greatly assist in detecting developing problems with dams in time for them to be rectified and mitigated. The cost of this investment is far lower than the cost and risk to life should something happen. Sensors can help detect movement, water seepage, temperature among other aspects, as well as concrete and structural integrity through vibrational, wave-based, optic fibre-based stress and other measurements.

At a higher level, AI can learn and take advantage of information from the sensors to predict when and where the greatest pressure is going to be placed on the reservoir/dam and trigger the release of water appropriately. AI, twinned with “big data”  will be able to achieve a far better optimization of water retention and usage in dams and reservoirs for the wide range of purposes for which dams and reservoirs are currently employed—and for the purposes of protecting and maximising the longevity of the dams.