Target outcome · 25% reduction in annual CSO volume. 50% reduction in permit exceedance events during storms.
Business problem
Storm events cause combined sewer overflow discharges that violate permits, harm receiving waters, and trigger regulatory action. Operator response during fast-onset events relies on manual gate and pump decisions with an incomplete view of sewer network state, storage capacity, and rainfall trajectory. Post-event analysis typically shows that 20 to 40% of CSO volume was avoidable with better real-time coordination.
What it does
Four specialised agents coordinate in real time during storm events, managing the full hydraulic response from pre-storm preparation through to post-event recovery.
4-agent team
- Weather Forecast Expert — monitors forecast confidence and storm trajectory, issuing pre-storm triggers
- Hydraulic State Expert — maintains the real-time picture of sewer network state, capacity, and infrastructure availability
- Flow Router — sequences gates, pumps, and storage activation to minimise CSO discharge
- Permit Guardian — validates every proposed action against the discharge permit envelope and maintains the audit trail regulators care about
What the team handles
Handles
Pre-storm storage drawdown within envelope, gate sequencing, pump activation coordination, storage-versus-treatment trade-off, real-time hydraulic state integration.
Does not handle
Process treatment decisions (handed to Wet Weather Control Team), chemical dosing (handed to Chemical Dosing Team), regulatory notification, sewer network repairs.
Humans retain authority over
Envelope changes, emergency discharge declaration, inter-agency coordination, post-event reporting narrative.
Current process vs. with Agent Team
Outcomes and measurement
Annual CSO volume
CSO events resulting in permit exceedance
Treated flow ratio during storms
Storage utilisation efficiency
*All figures are typical ranges. Achievable range depends on existing control maturity, data quality, and site-specific conditions.
Data inputs
SCADA
hydraulic model output
External / Weather
CSO outfall monitoring
*Categories only — no tag names or system-specific field references. Exact data mapping is scoped per site.
Scoping questions
Expect these questions in a first scoping conversation. They signal engineering discipline and help narrow the template to your specific site context.
- Is a calibrated hydraulic model available and how recently was it validated?
- What gate and pump write-access exists via SCADA?
- What is the current storm-mode SOP and who authorises declaration?
- How many CSO outfalls are in scope?
- What is the current overflow monitoring and what permit conditions apply?
Want our AI to walk you through these scoping questions?
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Get specialist advice on scoping this for your site.
Our specialists will help you understand how the Storm Flow Management Team fits your operations, what data you'd need, and what a scoping engagement typically looks like.
