FloodsFloods will cost the U.K. billions, but AI can help make sewers the first defense
The U.K. will need to spend £1 billion a year on flood management to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, according to the national Environment Agency. Coastal defenses – including sea walls, buffer areas and evacuation plans – can help to protect towns and cities against flooding from storm surges. But inland flooding caused by excess rainwater requires more nuanced solutions. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) can use data to help make decisions about how water should flow in and around human settlements, to avoid the worst effects of flooding.
The U.K. will need to spend £1 billion a year on flood management to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, according to the national Environment Agency. The organization’s chair, Emma Boyd, said “we can’t win a war against water by building away climate change with infinitely high flood defenses”, and warned that entire communities may need to change location due to flood risk.
More frequent extreme weather events – particularly flooding – are a hallmark of climate change. By their very nature, such events are unpredictable and can do substantial damage to communities. Significant floods occur in the U.K. every few years, so the way flooding is managed can have a major impact on how much damage is done, while poor strategic decisions such as building on historic flood plains can leave new communities vulnerable.
Coastal defenses – including sea walls, buffer areas and evacuation plans – can help to protect towns and cities against flooding from storm surges. But inland flooding caused by excess rainwater requires more nuanced solutions. Humans have altered water courses such as rivers, streams and canals for centuries, and every change affects the way the ground responds to flooding. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) can use data to help make decisions about how water should flow in and around human settlements, to avoid the worst effects of flooding.
Introducing AI to the sewers
In cities, every drain is an opportunity to adjust the movement of water. At the University of Sheffield we worked with partners to create the CENTAUR system (Cost Effective Neural Technique to Alleviate Urban flood Risk), which uses AI to manage the flow of water in cities. The system works by installing “gates” in the sewer network that can control the flow of water from one part of the sewer network to another. Sensors are also added, to monitor water levels on either side of the gates.
