An ontology-based data access framework for enhanced sewer network management

Effective urban water network management is often hindered by data heterogeneity and a severe lack of interoperability. This study leverages the power of the Semantic Web to introduce a new application ontology, the SewerNetworkOntology, coupled to an Ontology-Based Data Access (OBDA) framework specifically designed for sewer network management. Our framework integrates a specifically designed conceptual layer, representing the physical structures of these networks, linked to a data layer through formalised mappings. A key contribution is the framework’s ability to automatically identify data inconsistencies that remain hidden with traditional methods. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system through its application to the wastewater and stormwater networks of Montpellier Métropole.