The leak hunt just went from listening posts to spreadsheets. new south wales is spending $4…
the leak hunt just went from listening posts to spreadsheets. new south wales is spending $4 million on an ai platform called datadrop that reads smart-meter data across public buildings and should save 2,700 megalitres of water a year, enough for 13,500 homes, before most of those leaks ever wet a floor.
the cheapest new reservoir is the one that never leaks.
Context
Verified source: the NSW Government release (Sep 23, 2026) says the state is investing in an AI-powered monitoring platform to detect leaks faster, expected to save up to 2,700 megalitres of water a year, enough to supply 13,500 homes. ABC News (Sep 23) describes a trial in schools and government buildings.
The 2,700 megalitres and 13,500 homes match the NSW release. The $4 million cost, the platform name datadrop and the 'smart-meter data' detail were not seen in the sources read, so unsupported here, not refuted. in the excerpts read. The release says up to 2,700 megalitres, which is a ceiling, and ABC describes a trial. 'The cheapest new reservoir' is the author's opinion.
Related work
- New AI Leak Detection Technology To Save Millions Of Litres Of Water, Sydney Times ↗Reprint of the release.
Watch next
- Read the full NSW release for the budget and the platform name.
Sources
Provenance
The note above is reproduced unedited from the original post, first published on Threads on 24 September 2026 at 21:43 IST. Sources are the papers and datasets the note draws on.
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