Delving deep with digital: How advanced pipeline solutions with geospatial technology can help collect and manage data for underground assets

Satellites seem to have an endless array of useful applications these days, but how can data gathered from space be used to make underground water pipeline asset management more efficient?

When you think of possible uses for the satellites orbiting our planet, underground water pipeline asset management doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Literally at opposite ends of the earth, satellites and pipelines were not destined to work together. One orbits above the earth in space.  The other lies under the earth beneath layer upon layer of concrete and soil. But, new advanced pipeline solutions are fusing satellite data with AI to provide unparalleled insights into network failure risk.

If you’re a pipeline network owner or engineer, finding and fixing leaks after they’ve occurred is probably your day-to-day reality. According to the Infrastructure Report Card’s 2021 Drinking Water report there is a mains break every two minutes in the US and approximately six billion gallons of water lost every day. That’s enough to fill 9,000 swimming pools. These breaks are wasteful, disruptive and expensive, but what’s the alternative?  How do you avoid a reactive approach to pipeline management when your assets are buried six feet (or more) underground? As unlikely as it may seem, the answer lies in advanced pipeline solutions that harness AI and data gathered from space.

‘Monitoring underground pipeline networks from space? You cannot be serious!’ we hear you cry. It’s true that satellites don’t thus far have X-Ray vision (Elon Musk is probably working on it), but allow us to explain further. Geospatial AI is helping asset managers and pipeline network owners monitor – and upgrade – their critical infrastructure using data gathered via satellite. It works by utilizing information from your own network, such as  pipeline age, material, and pressure and combining this with satellite-based insights like ground movement and vegetation growth, which is a signal that a leak may be occurring. When you combine this with historical failure data, advanced AI powered analytics can determine the likelihood and consequence of failure across your network, no matter how vast it might be. This means you gain more accurate, up to date information on the condition of your pipeline network remotely and can work to improve it before leaks and breaks take place. The technology is a game changer when it comes to switching from chasing leaks to identifying risk and managing a more efficient, proactive upgrades program. 

Pipelines are ageing. And as that happens failure becomes all too common. But why spend scarce time and money chasing leaks when you could improve your water pipeline asset management and identify the at-risk areas of your network remotely and ahead of time using Geospatial AI? With constantly refreshed insights across your entire network, you can prioritize engineer visits, reduce leakage and maximize your water value. And you can achieve it all using information gathered from way above the earth. 

Book a FREE demo to discover how Rezatec’s Pipeline Risk solution powered by Geospatial AI helps you spot at-risk zones in your network and enables proactive pipeline management.