Your Water in Crisis

Failing
Infrastructure

In many cities and towns, the hidden networks of pipes that bring safely treated water to your tap at home are leaking, breaking, and failing daily. What does this mean for freshwater resources?

Water pipes being laid underground at a construction site
1 M+

Water pipes being laid underground at a construction siteTHE FACTS

What’s under your feet? There are around one million miles of water pipeline and aqueducts in the United States and Canada – that’s enough to circle the globe 40 times. [Source] Link opens a new window

click to load the next slideShow me more
A road being flooded by a broken pipe
30%

A road being flooded by a broken pipeTHE FACTS

Our pipes need immediate attention. Around 30% of Canada’s municipal water infrastructure (such as watermains and sewers) is in fair, poor, or very poor condition. [Source] Link opens a new window

click to load the next slideShow me more
A sidewalk being flooded by a broken pipe
1,400

A sidewalk being flooded by a broken pipeTHE FACTS

The problems are more common than you know. In Toronto, there is an average 1,400 watermain breaks each year. [Source] Link opens a new window

click to load the next slideShow me more

The True Cost of Broken Pipes

For cities and towns, failing water infrastructure represents more than mounting costs for ratepayers. It’s also an incredible risk for public health and safety, and it puts further strain on freshwater resources. Leaks and breaks in these systems are common – the City of Toronto experiences an average of 1,400 watermain breaks per year – but if they go undetected or unaddressed, they can lead to bigger problems, such as flooding and source water contamination.

How does water get to your tap? If you live in a city or town, your local utility is likely treating millions of litres of freshwater every day to ensure that you have continuous service – that is, whenever you turn on your tap, there is safe, drinkable water waiting for you.

 

On its journey from the treatment plant to your home, treated water travels through a network of pipes (or watermains) and pumps. The state of these pipes depends on many factors, including age, material, soil quality, corrosion, and seasonal fluctuations in temperature. There’s a separate network to collect and treat the wastewater that leaves your home, and the situation is similar: All of these systems need regular maintenance, and they’re all at risk of failing.

 

Urban development puts further strain on water infrastructure. When rain falls, it finds its way back to source waters, such as lakes or streams, or filters directly into the ground. As cities grow, we tend to build or pave over land. Stormwater sewers help prevent rain from collecting and flooding the streets. But if this infrastructure is leaking or broken, stormwater isn’t always treated before it is released into source waters. Furthermore, and especially in cities with older infrastructure, stormwater sewers are often connected to wastewater collection systems. If these systems are overwhelmed during an extreme rainfall, cities have no choice but to send untreated sewage into source waters.

 

A water treatment facility at sunrise
A laptop screen with a flooding software being displayed

Tackling Leaks and Breaks

For many municipalities, monitoring the health of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure – much of which is underground – is a massive challenge. AquaHacking Challenge team CANN Forecast decided to help cities identify pipes that are vulnerable to leaks and breaks. Using AI technology, the team is offering InteliPipes, a system that is 10 times more accurate than traditional approaches to monitoring.

If a leaky pipe goes unnoticed and worsens, it could cause a dangerous sinkhole, contaminate the surrounding environment, or potentially flood homes or businesses. Our team wants to use AI to help municipal managers locate pipes that are vulnerable to leaks and breaks, and make informed, efficient decisions about when and how to repair, rehabilitate, or replace them.

NAYSAN SARAN

Co-Founder and CEO, CANN Forecast

A group of young people against an orange background

Together, We Can Repair What's Broken

Join the ripple effect and support innovative solutions to our mounting infrastructure challenges.