An innovative project being developed by Delta School District staff is leveraging artificial intelligence and real-time weather data to conserve water used by irrigation systems.
Recently, the district’s energy manager, Pierre Ngo, gave students at South Delta Secondary a behind-the-scenes look at the system he is working on, which utilizes AI-generated weather forecasts to trigger or turn off sprinklers at schools and other facilities district-wide.
“There is nothing more frustrating than seeing automated irrigation systems in full swing when it is raining outside,” Ngo said in a story posted to the school district's website. “It’s a waste of water, not to mention a waste of money."
"I wanted to show students how leveraging cutting-edge technology can help control when and where watering takes place at schools and district sites. Water is our most precious natural resource — it’s vital that we make the most efficient and effective use of it.”
The forecasts sourced from OpenWeather are incredibly detailed, offering minute-by-minute updates for specific locations, and the idea is to feed this data into a microprocessor that controls irrigation systems across schools and district sites. There are many steps involved in writing an application programming interface then translating everything into tables and machine language that the microprocessor will be able to understand.
“If the data indicates that it’s raining — or about to — a reprocessed signal will get sent to the irrigation controller to keep the sprinklers off,” Ngo explained. “Currently, most irrigation systems in the district run on timers, which means they aren’t responsive to actual weather conditions. With my new system, I hope to change that.”
And there’s another big benefit to the system Ngo is developing: cost. Instead of building and maintaining expensive weather stations across Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta, the AI-based forecasts are available at a fraction of the price.
Before diving into the technology, Ngo gave the students a crash course in weather science, explaining how temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind and rainfall all play a role in forecasting.
Then, he explained how the OpenWeather AI platform leverages advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to process and enhance data from various sources such as weather stations, satellites and radar systems, which can then be used to make smart decisions about when and where to water.
“Pierre’s visit gave students a real-world example of how AI can be used to protect the environment. It’s inspiring to see our district leading the way in sustainability,” science teacher Isaac Adams said in a story posted to the school district's website.
