Prescriptive Stage Unlocked: Houston's Wastewater Digital Transformation in Action

Houston's wastewater system is a vast network that serves over 2.3 million residents through 38 wastewater treatment plants, over 375 lift stations, and 6,100 miles of gravity sewers. Managing such a complex system presents significant challenges-not just in day-to-day operations, but in meeting stringent regulatory requirements, including a federal Consent Decree. To overcome these hurdles and prepare for a future beyond compliance, Houston has embraced a revolutionary approach, transitioning its wastewater management into the prescriptive stage of digital transformation. At the heart of this transformation is Houston's Advanced Infrastructure Analytics Platform (AIAP), a 'Platform of Platforms' built on AWS Data Lake. Over the past decade, Houston's wastewater planning team has led this journey, now achieving the prescriptive stage. AIAP integrates diverse datasets, real-time monitoring, and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to provide actionable, prescriptive solutions. This milestone marks a significant evolution in wastewater management, where challenges are not just identified or predicted but they are resolved through proactive, data-driven prescriptions that optimize operations and improve long-term sustainability. By integrating systems such as GIS asset inventories, hydraulic models, SCADA data, Hach-WIMS, work orders, and real-time API streams (including rainfall data, flow meters, and level sensors), Houston has developed a comprehensive view of its wastewater system within the AIAP platform. Now, through prescriptive analytics, the platform provides recommendations-whether it's optimizing pump operations, preventing sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), or prioritizing maintenance activities by using traffic-light decision framework to provide actionable insights. These insights are transforming how Houston manages resources, meets regulatory goals, and ensures system resilience. This presentation will explore Houston's wastewater digital journey to the prescriptive stage, focusing on the tangible impact of AIAP on the city's operations. Attendees will see how prescriptive solutions are driving smarter decisions, reducing costs, and ensuring compliance, all while improving service delivery and sustainability. This presentation focuses on Houston's implementation of prescriptive analytics within the Advanced Infrastructure Analytics Platform (AIAP), showcasing its transformative impact on wastewater management. Key objectives of presentation: 1.Delivering Actionable Recommendations with Integrated Data: Exploring how AIAP unifies diverse datasets to generate prescriptive recommendations for system maintenance, asset management, and capacity planning. 2.Optimizing Wastewater Operations Through Prescriptive Analytics: Showcase how Houston leverages prescriptive analytics to optimize wastewater operation and prevent SSOs in real time. 3.Proactive Decision-Making with predictions using AI and ML: Showcasing how AI and ML drive proactive and automated solutions to address system inefficiencies while meeting regulatory compliance. 4.Providing a Scalable Model for Prescriptive Solutions: Sharing Houston's lessons learned to demonstrate how prescriptive analytics can be applied to wastewater systems in other cities. Real-World Applications of Prescriptive Analytics: Houston's AIAP platform demonstrates its prescriptive capabilities through advanced tools designed to resolve challenges before they escalate: 1.Dry Weather SSO Prevention: Leveraging real-time data to predict and prevent overflows through prescriptive adjustments in system operations. 2.Hydraulic Modeling for Capacity Management: Utilizing prescriptive analytics to identify capacity limitations and recommend targeted infrastructure upgrades to support growth. 3.Asset Management Optimization: Generating prescriptive strategies for prioritizing maintenance and repairs, ensuring asset reliability and preventing failures. 4.Operational Efficiency Enhancements: Guiding efficient operations at lift stations and WWTPs through prescriptive recommendations. This presentation highlights how Houston's prescriptive analytics capabilities are driving smarter, proactive decisions, optimizing system performance, and setting the stage for sustainable wastewater management. Attendees will gain practical insights into how prescriptive analytics can be harnessed to transform infrastructure management. In addition, the presentation will also showcase the application of Generative AI chatbot within city's AWS data lake. Conclusion: Houston's transition to prescriptive wastewater management has unlocked a new level of efficiency and innovation. By leveraging AIAP's prescriptive capabilities, the city can proactively address infrastructure challenges, prevent costly SSOs, and manage capacity with precision. This approach not only ensures regulatory compliance but also delivers better service to residents while fostering long-term sustainability. The prescriptive stage represents a pivotal milestone in Houston's digital transformation-a stage where data-driven solutions are no longer just insights, but actionable steps that drive measurable impact. This presentation will inspire attendees with Houston's story, offering practical takeaways and a roadmap for small and larger municipalities and utilities looking to unlock their own prescriptive potential. It will also showcase the application of Generative AI chatbot within the city's AWS data lake.