The “Flood Control One-stop Solution (Municipal Wastewater Prediction)” (hereinafter, “this Solution”), which is being developed by Nihon Suido Consultants Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: NAKANISHI Shinji) and KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: NAKAGAWA Koichi), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kubota Corporation (Head Office: Naniwa-ku, Osaka; President and Representative Director: KITAO Yuichi), to predict flooding in real time and support the operation of storm water pumping stations as flood control measures in urban areas during heavy rains, has been selected for Fukuoka City Proof of Concept Full Support Project, for which Fukuoka City in Fukuoka Prefecture solicits applications from throughout Japan in order to support projects aimed at addressing social issues through the use of cutting-edge technologies, such as AI and IoT. In this demonstration, we aim to confirm the accuracy and effectiveness of this Solution during actual heavy rainfall so as to support local governments across the country in building appropriate facility management systems.

Fukuoka City Proof of Concept Full Support Project Selection Ceremony
(from right)
TAKASHIMA Soichiro, Mayor of Fukuoka City
MAEDA Katsuhiro, Executive Director and General Manager of the Pump Division, KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation
GOTO Mitsuhiko, Corporate Officer, Manager of Digital Transformation Innovation Division, Infrastructure Management Headquarters, Manager of Solution Development Department, Nihon Suido Consultants Co., Ltd.
ISHIMARU Shuhei, Director General, Fukuoka D.C. (Fukuoka Directive Council)

Background and Challenges

In urban areas, networks of storm water pipes are used to drain storm water into rivers. However, heavy rain can cause the water level in the storm water pipes to rise, resulting in “inland flooding,” i.e., storm water overflowing from manholes and gutters, which produces flooding damage. In order to prevent inland flooding and the harm it causes to the lives of residents, storm water pumping stations are established to pump up storm water that cannot drain out of urban areas and forcibly drain it into rivers. If heavy rain is predicted, operators will wait in advance at storm water pumping stations in order to manually operate the pumps, but this waiting without knowing when the pump should be operated puts significant mental and physical strain on the operators.

Overview of the “Flood Control One-stop Solution (Municipal Wastewater Prediction)”

This Solution provides “one-stop” support for flood prevention measures in urban areas during heavy rains by linking AI and physical model-driven, real-time flood predictions* with the operation of storm water pumping stations. We are currently developing a solution that links our company's Blitz FLOOD real-time flooding prediction system which utilizes pipeline water level predictions with KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation’s Operation Plan Simulator storm water pumping station operation prediction system which utilizes river water level predictions. In addition to the individual predictions from each of these, it will be possible to simulate storm water pump operation plans based on storm water pipeline water level predictions, thereby reducing the burden on operators during heavy rains and facilitating timely responsiveness with ample leeway for pump operations.

* By having the AI study past pipeline water level information at a target location, the water level during heavy rain can be calculated from the current water level. Also, by inputting rainfall information into a physical model in which topography and river data are registered in the simulator, river water levels at a target location can be calculated and flooding predictions generated.

Conceptualization of this Solution

Demonstration Project Overview

Starting July 1st, our company and KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation will begin verifying the accuracy and effectiveness of this Solution during actual heavy rainfall at storm water drainage facilities within the city. In addition to improving the accuracy of real-time predictions of pipeline flooding and storm water pumping station operation predictions, our aim is to facilitate the establishment of appropriate facility management systems for pipelines and storm water pumping stations.

(Main Content of the Demonstration Project)

• Verification of personnel deployment planning support by predicting water levels at flood-prone areas for inflow pipelines
• Verification of support for operators in operating storm water pumping stations by predicting whether pumps and gates should be operated or stopped

Looking Ahead

Through this demonstration project, we, together with KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation, will improve the accuracy of our individual prediction systems to build a solution that can be viewed in real time by facility managers in local governments across the country, thereby strengthening response capabilities during heavy rains and reducing the burden on facility managers. We will continue to work towards the mitigation of flood risk for local residents and look forward to helping build a prosperous and sustainable future society.

Reference

Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture：

Fukuoka City Proof of Concept Full Support Project

Nihon Suido Consultants Co., Ltd.:

Blitz FLOOD

KUBOTA Environmental Engineering Corporation：

AI and physical model-driven “Flood Control One-stop Solution (Municipal Wastewater Prediction)” adopted for Fukuoka City Proof of Concept Full Support Project