The Center for Data Innovation recently spoke with Adam Wood, CPO of InfoTiles, a Norway-based company that helps water utilities turn complex data into actionable insights. Wood explained how InfoTiles uses machine learning to improve water network efficiency, detect leaks, and support smarter water infrastructure.
David Kertai: What challenges do water utilities face in using data effectively?
Adam Wood: Utilities face several key challenges. First is data interoperability: critical information is spread across legacy systems that often don’t communicate. Moving data from older control systems into modern analytics platforms or sharing it with partners can be complex. Second is data availability. Many utilities already have sensors in place, but they don’t always capture or store the right measurements long enough to extract full value. Finally, data quality is a persistent issue. Poorly calibrated or aging sensors can skew readings and limit what machine learning or advanced analytics can deliver.
Kertai: What services does InfoTiles provide to address these challenges?
Wood: InfoTiles offers four interconnectable services. PipeFusion cleans and corrects the records utilities keep about their physical water networks, such as where pipes run, their material makeup, age, and condition. It then uses machine learning to turn those records into a digital map and a risk model that predicts where pipe failures are most likely to occur.
WaterIntelligence and SewerIntelligence build on this map by integrating historical and real-time sensor data. They detect anomalies in sensor readings, localize leaks, monitor water quality, and analyze inflow and infiltration. By linking this information to the pipe risk model, utilities can prioritize inspections and repairs more effectively, saving time and resources.
Finally, MeterOps helps deploy and manage smart water meters, track consumption, and monitor alarms. When combined with WaterIntelligence and SewerIntelligence, it gives utilities more detailed insights by adding meter data into the picture.
Kertai: How does InfoTiles integrate its solutions with existing utility systems?
Wood: We’ve developed processes that can pull data from different systems utilities already use, clean it, and prepare it for analysis. Due to many utilities now relying on cloud platforms and modern interfaces, collecting and processing that data is significantly easier than in the past. Results are available directly in the InfoTiles platform, but utilities can also export them in standard formats to integrate with their own systems. By using open data formats and open-source tools, we make sure customers fully own their data and can keep using it however they choose.
Kertai: Can you share a real-world example of measurable results from your platform?
Wood: We often find that up to a third of water flowing through wastewater networks isn’t wastewater at all, but rainwater or ground water leaking into the systems. This creates big inefficiencies and adds unnecessary treatment costs. In Gloucester, UK, we worked with Severn Trent Water utilities and an engineering company, Arup, to reduce this problem and improve network performance. In Habo, Sweden, we ran digital trials that helped a utility decide which upgrades to prioritize, allowing for investments to go where it would have the biggest impact.
Kertai: How do you see AI and data analytics shaping the future of water management?
Wood: AI and analytics are already effective at solving targeted problems, and I see their role evolving to support both operational and long-term infrastructure decision-making. By linking outputs from multiple algorithms, AI can help develop broader strategies. For example, it could propose a control strategy to optimize treatment costs based on weather-driven water quality forecasts or recommend a capital works plan to best allocate $40 million to reduce wastewater pollution incidents. These potential AI-generated starting points let technicians and engineers quickly validate, refine, and expand plans, saving time while helping utilities make smarter, more strategic decisions for the long-term management of water systems.
