Making waves: The potential of generative AI in water utility operations

IF 11.4 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Water Research Pub Date : 2024-12-07 DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2024.122935

Lina Sela , Robert B. Sowby , Elad Salomons , Mashor Housh

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Abstract

Water utilities facing increasingly complex infrastructure and operations stand to significantly benefit from artificial intelligence (AI). Current research in water distribution systems engineering primarily focuses on Specialized AI, which plays a crucial role in processing extensive datasets, identifying patterns, and extracting actionable insights to improve the resilience and efficiency of water utility operations. However, barriers of usability, accessibility, and trainability hinder broader adoption. As AI technology evolves, Generative AI is emerging as a game changer by enabling intuitive, natural language interactions with complex systems, thereby making AI more accessible. This paper explores emerging AI topics, examines key challenges in deploying AI-based tools, highlights new opportunities, and presents practical examples of AI integration in water system operations: missing data imputation, asset data processing, and water demand analysis. It also identifies critical aspects that the water research community must prioritize to advance water system research into the AI era, including promoting responsible and user-centered AI solutions, building trust in technology, integrating AI into existing workflows, enhancing data privacy and security, and strengthening partnerships.

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掀起波澜：生成式人工智能在水务运营中的潜力

面临日益复杂的基础设施和运营的水务公司将从人工智能（AI）中获益良多。目前供水系统工程的研究主要集中在专业人工智能上，它在处理广泛的数据集、识别模式和提取可操作的见解方面发挥着至关重要的作用，以提高水务公司的运营弹性和效率。然而，诸如高实施成本、不确定性、系统复杂性、陡峭的学习曲线、员工培训不足以及对专业技术技能的需求等障碍阻碍了更广泛的采用。随着人工智能技术的发展，生成式人工智能通过与复杂系统进行直观、自然的语言交互，从而使人工智能更容易获得，正在成为游戏规则的改变者。本文探讨了新兴的人工智能主题，研究了部署基于人工智能的工具所面临的主要挑战，强调了新的机遇，并展示了人工智能在水系统运营中的应用实例。它还确定了水研究界必须优先考虑的关键方面，以推动水系统研究进入人工智能时代，包括促进负责任和以用户为中心的人工智能解决方案，建立对技术的信任，将人工智能集成到现有工作流程中，增强数据隐私和安全性，以及加强伙伴关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Water Research 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

20.80

自引率

9.40%

发文量

1307

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Water Research, along with its open access companion journal Water Research X, serves as a platform for publishing original research papers covering various aspects of the science and technology related to the anthropogenic water cycle, water quality, and its management worldwide. The audience targeted by the journal comprises biologists, chemical engineers, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, limnologists, and microbiologists. The scope of the journal include: •Treatment processes for water and wastewaters (municipal, agricultural, industrial, and on-site treatment), including resource recovery and residuals management; •Urban hydrology including sewer systems, stormwater management, and green infrastructure; •Drinking water treatment and distribution; •Potable and non-potable water reuse; •Sanitation, public health, and risk assessment; •Anaerobic digestion, solid and hazardous waste management, including source characterization and the effects and control of leachates and gaseous emissions; •Contaminants (chemical, microbial, anthropogenic particles such as nanoparticles or microplastics) and related water quality sensing, monitoring, fate, and assessment; •Anthropogenic impacts on inland, tidal, coastal and urban waters, focusing on surface and ground waters, and point and non-point sources of pollution; •Environmental restoration, linked to surface water, groundwater and groundwater remediation; •Analysis of the interfaces between sediments and water, and between water and atmosphere, focusing specifically on anthropogenic impacts; •Mathematical modelling, systems analysis, machine learning, and beneficial use of big data related to the anthropogenic water cycle; •Socio-economic, policy, and regulations studies.