AI Ears: How Stattus4 is Listening for Leaks to Save the World's Water

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – January 14, 2026 – In a world grappling with increasing water scarcity, a Brazilian technology company has been recognized for developing an innovative solution that essentially gives ears to our aging water infrastructure. Stattus4, a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), was awarded the prestigious 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Water category for its artificial intelligence-powered system that detects underground water leaks in real time, preventing staggering losses of the planet's most vital resource.

The Abu Dhabi-based prize, which comes with a US $1 million fund, honors pioneers in global sustainability. Stattus4 earned the distinction for its cutting-edge AI and Internet of Things (IoT) platform, a system that is already saving an estimated 5.56 billion liters of water every day.

The Technology Behind the Triumph

At the heart of Stattus4's success are its proprietary Ada and 4Fluid systems, a sophisticated combination of hardware and software designed to tackle the pervasive issue of non-revenue water (NRW)—water that is lost before it ever reaches a customer. Globally, it's estimated that 126 billion cubic meters of treated water, valued at nearly $50 billion, are lost annually to leaks, bursts, and overflows, often in aging and unmonitored pipeline networks.

Stattus4's approach transforms the traditionally slow and labor-intensive process of leak detection. Historically, finding a single leak could take utility companies an average of 180 days. Stattus4’s technology slashes that time to as little as two or three days. It achieves this by deploying smart sensors that continuously monitor sound and pressure within water networks.

The 4Fluid system includes a mobile application that empowers even non-specialized field operators to contribute. Using a device connected to a pipe, an operator can record its sound and upload it to the cloud. The data is then analyzed by Stattus4’s AI, which has been trained on a massive dataset of over 5.5 million audio samples. The machine learning model can accurately distinguish the subtle acoustic signature of a leak from background noise or normal water flow, flagging its precise location for repair crews.

This data feeds into the Ada System, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that provides utility managers with a comprehensive, real-time dashboard. It displays heat maps of potential problem areas, analyzes hydraulic load, and prioritizes repairs based on the severity and impact of the leak. This proactive and data-driven approach has proven remarkably effective, with some partner utilities, like SANEPAR in Curitiba, Brazil, reporting a 70% reduction in water losses within six months.

A Global Crisis Meets an Innovative Solution

The recognition from the Zayed Sustainability Prize comes at a critical moment. As climate change exacerbates droughts and populations grow, the pressure on fresh water supplies has never been greater. The massive scale of NRW loss represents not only a squandered resource but also wasted energy and unnecessary operational costs for utilities, which are ultimately passed on to consumers.

Stattus4’s solution directly addresses the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. By making water distribution more efficient, the technology helps safeguard supplies, lower costs, and promote more equitable access.

Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Executive Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, highlighted the significance of this type of innovation. “The Zayed Sustainability Prize recognises those safeguarding our most precious resources,” she stated. “Stattus4’s AI-powered leak detection technology reduces water loss, strengthens water security, and supports sustainable development for communities worldwide. Their innovation shows how AI-driven prevention helps protects water supplies for future generations.”

The prize itself has a long history of catalyzing such change. Established in 2008, it has awarded 128 winners whose work has collectively impacted over 400 million people. The rigorous, multi-stage selection process, culminating in a decision by a jury of global leaders and experts, lends significant weight and credibility to the winners, validating their solutions on an international stage.

From Brazil to the World Stage

For Stattus4, the US $1 million prize is more than just an honor; it is a powerful catalyst for growth. The company has already monitored over 5,000 kilometers of pipelines and identified more than 22,000 potential leak points, benefiting over 4 million people. Now, it is poised for a significant global expansion.

“Winning the Zayed Sustainability Prize is an incredible honour that recognises ten years of dedication to developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to save the world’s water,” said Marília Lara, CEO and Co-founder of Stattus4. “This award will allow us to reinvest in our company — in our AI, in expanding our reach, and most importantly, in our people. Our team’s passion and our clients’ trust brought us here, and this recognition fuels our mission to keep pursuing our purpose: saving the world’s water.”

The company has outlined a clear strategy for deploying the prize fund. A top priority is establishing a European office to enter the continent's fragmented but technologically advancing utility market. Further investments will go toward participating in major industry events to forge global partnerships and launching new pilot projects to demonstrate the technology's value in diverse environments, with a particular focus on water-stressed regions like the Middle East.

Stattus4 also plans to launch the Stattus4 Academy, an online training hub. This initiative aims to democratize the skills needed to deploy and manage their system, enabling faster and wider adoption by utilities around the world and empowering local workforces to become part of the solution.

By turning complex data into actionable intelligence, Stattus4 is not just fixing leaks; it is building a more resilient and sustainable future for water management, one saved drop at a time.