Environmental Monitoring Solutions and Southern Water share CENTAUR® success at this year’s British Water Data Conference.
Last week, Dr Sonja Ostojin, Head of Innovation at Environmental Monitoring Solutions, and Ally Potts, Head of Technical – Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force at Southern Water, attended the 2025 British Water Data Conference in Warrington to present a CENTAUR® success story.
In front of industry leaders, they discussed how the CENTAUR® technology has been successfully implemented on the Isle of Wight to limit spills from sewage systems during heavy rainfall.
The case study demonstrates the effective transition of an eight-year innovation project into the commercial world. It is also the product of a great partnership between the Southern Water and CENTAUR® teams, with each invaluably supporting the other in bringing the technology to the English island.
How does it work?
CENTAUR® uses artificial intelligence to monitor in-sewer water and the sewage system’s capacity to store it. In a storm event, the technology actively regulates water flow to prevent spills and the flooding of areas that people live and use.
Rapid to deploy and operating in real-time, CENTAUR® allows the water sector to respond to challenges that are being experienced right now, such as the heavier and more frequent rainfall brought by climate change, and upward trends in urbanisation. Indeed, the case study perfectly fitted the speaker theme of “The future is now”.
CENTAUR® also addresses the above challenges without the need for large-scale, costly infrastructure changes – at a time when water companies must manage regulatory pressure, environmental targets, public scrutiny, constrained resources, and competing priorities.
A fantastic conference
The result of a long-term collaboration between businesses, universities, research institutions, and water companies, it was incredibly rewarding for Dr Ostojin to share a recent, real-world application of CENTAUR® alongside the client that commissioned it.
She commented on how interesting, informative, and insightful the conference was and commended the way that it highlighted the benefits of a data-driven approach in managing sewer systems.
British Water, the organiser of the conference, is an association that supports companies and stakeholders in the water industry. Through promotion of best practices, strong networks, and thought leadership, their goal is an efficient and resilient water sector.
There is no doubt that innovations like CENTAUR® and others developed by Environmental Monitoring Solutions will be instrumental in achieving this goal.
