AI makes water monitoring smarter
Codon Consulting contributes to Unity4Water by driving the project’s data mining and digitalisation work. Their expertise lies in designing and implementing digital solutions that make complex water quality data reliable, comparable, and useful for decision-making.
– We see our role as enabling the project to turn complex data into clear insights that can guide practical decision-making, says David Richardson, Business Developer at Codon Consulting. Alongside him, Alonso Serrano, Data Engineer at Codon Consulting, who co-leads the effort, emphasizes that the team’s goal is to bridge the gap between research and practical implementation by applying cutting-edge AI and data engineering methods.
Tackling technological and coordination challenges
Unity4Water brings together researchers, municipalities, and industry partners. While this diversity creates a strong foundation, it also poses coordination challenges.
– Working with such a wide range of stakeholders online means we have to be very deliberate in communication, David Richardson explains. The project’s coordinator, Mikhail Popov, plays a key role in their participation and ensuring information flows smoothly.
On the technical side, building trustworthy AI models for water monitoring requires high-quality training data. Pure bacterial cultures, needed for baselines, are expensive and difficult to manage. Add to this the challenge of integrating advanced sensors, legacy systems, and new digital platforms and the natural variability of water environments and bacteria metabolism and it becomes clear why robustness is so crucial.
Innovation through adaptive AI
Codon Consulting’s contribution focuses on making sense of these complexities. The team develops machine learning algorithms tailored to sensor data, enabling earlier detection of changes in water and air quality. Predictive models and visualization tools further transform raw data into actionable insights that municipalities and industries can rely on.
– We’re building adaptive systems that improve as more data is collected. That way, the technology becomes not only smarter but also more trustworthy over time, says Alonso Serrano.
To support this, the Codon Consulting team also brings deep knowledge of data engineering and architecture. By automating data retrieval, standardising data formats, and simplifying how insights are presented, they ensure the entire project can work with information that is both reliable and easy to consume.
Benefits for communities
The impact of Unity4Water goes beyond technological achievement. By providing earlier warnings and clearer insights, municipalities will be able to reduce risks, optimise maintenance, and safeguard public health.
– Unity4Water has the potential to make water monitoring both smarter and more cost-effective. Ultimately, it’s about enabling safer and more sustainable water management, concludes David Richardson.
