Supporting smarter wastewater infrastructure management
Municipal wastewater systems operate under constant pressure. As infrastructure ages, blockages, structural defects and limited capacity increase the risk of failures, flooding and wastewater overflows. Municipalities need to upgrade these systems while continuing to provide safe and reliable services.
In Nairn, Scottland, the Scottish Water system is currently planning to upgrade a storm-overflow chamber and sewer pipeline. The work aims to reduce sewer-related debris, including wet wipes, entering the River Nairn during heavy rainfall while maintaining protection against flooding. The project demonstrates how sewer upgrades must balance environmental protection, flood management and the effects of construction on surrounding communities.
Effective modernisation also depends on knowing where intervention is most urgently required. Prioritisation can combine field inspections, maintenance and overflow histories, hydraulic modelling and energy use. Reliable condition data can then guide phased construction that adapts as new information about the network becomes available.
The PIPEON project is addressing this need for better information by developing autonomous robots, advanced sensors and AI-supported tools for sewer inspection and maintenance. Designed to operate in hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, the robots will identify defects and obstructions, remove blockages and install flow monitors. The data collected will improve sewer mapping and help utilities understand the condition and performance of their assets.
PIPEON is also developing digital twins of sewer networks that will integrate information gathered by the robots with deterioration models and hydrodynamic simulations. This could help utilities assess risks, prioritise interventions and move from maintenance performed after a problem occurs towards more preventive and predictive strategies.
These technologies will be evaluated under different conditions across PIPEON’s three case studies. For instance, in Heusden, the Netherlands, the sewer system faces capacity and overflow pressures caused by large runoff areas draining into the network. Robotic inspection and maintenance will be explored as a way to improve system reliability, strengthen hydraulic performance and reduce sewer-overflow spills.
