Thames Water has signed an agreement for a subscription to the Binnies iDMS tool, which combines Binnies’ reservoir expertise and digital ecosystem services with Rezatec’s unique geospatial artificial intelligence techniques to monitor critical reservoir infrastructure. The system enables the user(s) to monitor the entire dam for movement (and vegetation moisture/vigour), something crest levelling does not achieve. It highlights areas where change has occurred, which is vital information for dam safety.
The iDMS system is being trialled by Thames Water at Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir in London. It identifies the unique basal rhythm of a dam by combining historical satellite data with advanced analytics, using Binnies’ technical expertise. The tool monitors future movement of the dam and reports any anomalous changes that could indicate issues or changes. This remote and scalable solution works to millimetre accuracy and identifies additional indicators of possible failure, such as changes in vegetation moisture and vigour, which may indicate seepage.
“Thames Water welcomes innovative and promising technologies that enable us to proactively manage our assets. We are looking forward to working with Binnies and Rezatec on this project,” said Werner Delport, Senior Reservoir Engineer, Thames Water.
The data sets generated by satellite monitoring bring an improved perspective, valuable insights and enhanced resilience to reservoir asset health monitoring and will help to establish best practice within the industry going forward. The data will be used to provide a more detailed risk profile for the reservoir and could help to prioritise future investment and enable focused operational activity to improve reservoir safety.
“It is exciting to have Thames coming on board with regard to this new and innovative technology through our iDMS product,” added Matthew Coombs, Reservoir Delivery Director and Supervising Engineer under the Reservoirs Act, Binnies. “We will be reviewing the data collected with great interest, particularly as the dam in question is a very large non-impounding reservoir. It will give the reservoir industry valuable information and a much enhanced understanding of both routine dam movement and potentially anomalous movement, which may be the precursor of a future dam safety incident.”
“We are delighted to provide our proven technology, which is at the forefront of innovation, to Thames Water. iDMS is enabling our customers with brand new insights, giving them better visibility of their reservoir assets and helping then to make risk-informed decisions,” commented Camilla Braithwaite, Head of Product and Customer, Rezatec.
iDMS is a module of Binnies’ digital operational intelligence platform – HELIX – which provides asset owner/operators with complete asset life cycle insight to improve service. Key to this capability is the ability to function as an integrated ecosystem, using data sets from multiple sources and partners such as Rezatec, ensuring holistic asset management and future-proofing of available technologies.
