Teamsolves’ Olivier Terrien is also the founder of AI for Water Utilities. Photo courtesy of Olivier Terrien
The biggest fear among wastewater professionals about Artificial Intelligence (AI) is that, when agencies adopt the data-driven technology, they will be out of a job. But according to Teamsolve’s Olivier Terrien, AI can help clean water professionals improve their operations rather than threaten their jobs.
“Generative AI can make an operator’s workday easier,” Terrien says. “Generative AI can be used to capture a vast amount of information and knowledge and make it available to the workforce – especially institutional knowledge that can be lost as veteran employees retire or leave the organization.”
AI can also serve as the digital memory for a utility – retaining, organizing, and making critical data available to operators quickly, much faster than if they had to record and retrieve key data manually, he adds.
Generative AI in wastewater is all about leveraging advanced AI to craft innovative solutions, designs, and insights. It goes beyond simple data analysis to help design the best treatment plants, develop strategies for resource recovery, create digital twins for training, automate complex reports such as meeting summaries, and provide instant, friendly answers to staff questions about procedures. This approach really boosts both efficiency and innovation in water management.
Terrien is head of business development for TeamSolve in Laguna Niguel. He helps water and wastewater utilities apply Generative AI in practical, operations-focused ways, including pilots that integrate CMMS, SCADA, SOPs, and field data to support operators, engineers, and maintenance teams in real time. These efforts emphasize safe, scalable adoption of AI that meets utilities where they are in terms of data maturity and organizational readiness.
AI for Wastewater Professionals: Graphic by Olivier Terrien
He has more than 20 years of experience collaborating with utilities, public agencies, and technology partners across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He works to modernize asset management, operational workflows, and knowledge management, often in environments constrained by legacy systems, siloed data, and limited staff capacity. Terrien is also the founder of the AI for Water Utilities community, a practitioner-led forum connecting utility leaders and technologists exploring real-world applications of AI to challenges such as knowledge loss, workforce development, and system reliability.
“Water and wastewater utilities face mounting challenges,” Terrien points out. “Among them are aging infrastructure, workforce shortages, and increasing operational complexity. Generative AI is emerging as a transformative tool to support operations and maintenance by making institutional knowledge more accessible, improving decision-making, and boosting workforce efficiency.”
When discussing Generative AI, Terrien uses the example of the development and deployment of a domain-specific Generative AI platform for utility O&M. The platform, called “Knowledge Twin,” takes in data sources, including CMMS, SCADA, SOPs, and field data, to support operators, engineers, and maintenance teams in real time.
“Early results show that field staff can resolve issues faster, locate information more easily, and preserve institutional knowledge despite staff turnover,” says Terrien. The system can also uncover insights from previously siloed or underused data, reducing time-to-resolution, and unplanned downtime.
Terrien goes on to say that there are many benefits of Generative AI. In one case, an East Coast water utility that draws water from a range of sources (wells, reservoirs, etc.) was recording critical maintenance data by hand. Information was copied into spreadsheets, then used to produce reports. Several people were involved. Using AI, the utility digitized data collection and assembled all maintenance data into a knowledge base that could then be used to generate reports. The result was a significant reduction in manual labor required for this important task and in the time devoted to it.
Another case outside the U.S. involved operator response to emergency conditions. Normally, an operator unfamiliar with these conditions would have to look back through records to determine which emergency response steps to take. But Generative AI quickly produced a history of the operation, showing the operator that this condition had occurred before and was a normal development; there was no need to call for an emergency response.
Terrien will speak on Generative AI for Operations and Maintenance for Utilities during CWEA’s Annual Conference on Thursday, April 9, at 11:15 a.m. His presentation has been prepared with input from Ami Pries, TeamSolve’s founder.
“The sessions will feature a live demonstration and lessons from early adapters,” Terrien says. “Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how Generative AI can be safely and effectively implemented to enhance daily O&M, improve service, and strengthen workforce capabilities.”
My Profile
