Artificial intelligence (AI) in Kent helped Southern Water find a significant blockage beneath the streets of Folkestone - which threatened to cause misery to the local community.

Sweden-headquartered Netmore Group, the leading network operator for Massive IoT, has announced a partnership with Detectronic, a UK-based environmental and engineering company with a focus on helping utilities and industrial clients prevent flooding and reduce pollution.

Rapidly increasing uptake of remote sensor technology is revolutionising how sewer networks are monitored and managed across the UK - and has prompted a firmware update from technology company Metasphere, writes Ryan Pearson, head of strategy.

Thames Water has invested £20 million to make its sewers smart and prevent flooding and pollutions - 20,000 monitors across the Thames Water region have helped identify and remove 11,500 blockages between March 2021 – March 2024.

Yorkshire Water has gone out to tender with an AMP8 contract for sewer network monitoring hardware and services worth an estimated £81 million.

By harnessing the power of high tech radar sensors beneath more than 20000 sewer manholes, Southern Water has prevented 55 pollution incidents in two years, helping to cut incident numbers by 35 per cent in the past year.