Speaker
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Sarah West PE, CFMSenior Project Manager | Freese and Nichols, Inc.Sarah West, P.E., CFM, is a Project Manager with Freese and Nichols, Inc. and has more than 23 years of experience planning, designing, and managing public infrastructure projects throughout Texas. Her expertise includes stormwater infrastructure, drainage master planning, flood risk reduction, and the design of channels, underground drainage systems, and roadway improvements. Sarah manages projects for municipal, county, and private-sector clients and has extensive experience coordinating with diverse stakeholders, including local elected officials and agency partners such as TxDOT, FEMA, the Port of Corpus Christi, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Local Time
- Timezone: America/New_York
- Date: Sep 16 2026
- Time: 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
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Convention Center First Floor
- 1901 N Shoreline Blvd, Corpus Christi, TX 78401
Smarter Scans, Stronger Drains: Revitalizing Resiliency Through AI Driven Stormwater Infrastructure Assessment at UT Austin
As aging stormwater networks challenge long term infrastructure reliability, innovative assessment tools are essential to strengthening system resilience. The University of Texas at Austin partnered with Freese and Nichols (FNI) to modernize its storm drain system evaluation program by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the defect identification process for approximately 50,000 linear feet of CCTV inspected storm drain pipe. Using SewerAI’s automated defect coding platform, the project team rapidly analyzed more than 35 hours of inspection footage, identifying structural and operational defects with improved consistency and accuracy. AI processing reduced defect coding costs by 60% and accelerated delivery of a complete, GIS ready defect inventory. This validated dataset enabled development of a defect-based prioritization framework tailored to UT Austin’s drainage network. The prioritization framework incorporated defect severity, pipe characteristics, and improvement costs to produce actionable recommendations such as point repairs, open cut replacements, cleaning, and targeted monitoring. This framework yielded a balanced asset management plan to enhance system performance while supporting long term fiscal stewardship. This presentation demonstrates how AI enabled inspection workflows and data driven prioritization strengthen stormwater management. Attendees will learn practical strategies for integrating emerging technologies into asset management programs to improve decision making, extend system service life, and advance resilient infrastructure planning.
