Water Management | iSAtech water GmbH

Water Management aKtIv – Making water supply crisis-proof

A reliable drinking water supply is a basic need for people in Germany and a fundamental requirement for society and the economy. However, increasing extreme (weather) situations due to climate change’s consequences present water supply companies with an ever-increasing challenge.

The “aKtIv” project (agile network control to increase the resilience of critical water supply infrastructure) aims to make the water supply in Germany more crisis-proof. To this end, iSAtech water GmbH is working with various project partners on a system that recognizes critical system states early and suggests control interventions. The aim is to reduce the risk of shortages and supply bottlenecks.

With the Omni Control Node from iSAtech water GmbH, system states are recorded in real-time and transmitted in encrypted form via a wireless connection to the iSAtech PayU-Cloud for evaluation. Artificial intelligence methods are used to generate supply and demand forecasts. The OCN can then control battery-powered actuators in the field to ensure that prioritized user groups are supplied with predefined quantities of water. This technology can be used as a telecontrol system for various applications.

In a second step, iSAtech water GmbH is developing a so-called decision support system. As part of the aKtIv project, this system is used parallel to the existing SCADA system, which has so far only regulated the supply according to short-term consumer demand. The decision support system combines the data collected with the help of the OCN, current information from the SCADA system, and data from the supplementary sensors. Various parameters can be preset, and expected scenarios can be calculated. Specific optimized control recommendations are then proposed to the decision-makers in the control room.

The aKtIv project is being carried out in the Rheinschiene pilot region in Rhineland-Palatinate and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Project start: 2022

Project partners:

Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits
University of Trier, Institute of German and European Water Management Law
iSAtech water GmbH
University of Tübingen, International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities
RWTH Aachen University, Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
TH Lübeck, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science