SBIR Phase II: Implementing an Infrastructure Intelligence System for Water and Wastewater Utilities Using the Software as a Service (SaaS) Delivery Model

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will build upon the successes of the Phase I research that showed the market need for an intuitive, location-based Infrastructure Intelligence System (Neptune), and demonstrated the technical feasibility to deliver a SaaS solution for water and wastewater utilities and public works agencies. Neptune represents a significant technological innovation in infrastructure information management; it will be a domain trend setter by delivering critical infrastructure information through one intuitive, powerful, comprehensive and affordable product. Current utilities software systems are complex standalone systems, typically used by technical experts. Information retrieval from these systems requires significant resources and technical expertise that are not available for most utilities. This project will design, develop, test and deploy production-ready Neptune product that will provide instantaneous access to infrastructure information through Google Maps-like interface to a broad range of users from field staff to executive management. Neptune will remove the technology barriers of entry, enhance the capture and retrieval of enterprise knowledgebase, and help extend the useful life of our infrastructure. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in the urgent need for utilities and public works agencies that protect public health and safety to efficiently manage their aging infrastructure with budget shortages. Our nation?s infrastructure deficiencies threaten public safety and welfare as well as our economic growth and competitiveness. The EPA estimates over 240,000 water main breaks and 170,000 sewer main breaks annually in the United States. Estimates for fixing our infrastructure run into hundreds of billions of dollars. To prioritize infrastructure maintenance, utilities must analyze diverse datasets including hydraulic models, GIS, SCADA, maintenance, emergency response and project documents. Available software are complex and expensive and presents a huge barrier to entry for most small and medium utilities. This is putting their residents and environment at increased risk. Through its simple interface and SaaS delivery model, Neptune will be accessible and affordable to all infrastructure agencies. It will communicate the importance of infrastructure investment to elected officials and public. Neptune has the potential to provide significant societal benefit by reducing infrastructure failures and guiding utilities towards proactive infrastructure maintenance practices.