Clean water utilities have never had more data, yet many still struggle to turn it into timely decisions. A typical treatment plant generates thousands of data points every day across SCADA historians, laboratory information systems, field instruments, and maintenance records. Each system was usually acquired at a different time, for a different purpose, and by a different group, so few share a common structure or communicate with one another.

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is rethinking how the city manages stormwater. Through its Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) program, DWSD is using nature-based solutions to reduce pressure on its combined sewer system while improving neighborhoods and helping keep water and drainage rates affordable.