On 16 May 2023, a professional seminar was held at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Brno University of Technology, which focused on the issue of controlled flushing of water supply networks and the quality of drinking water in public water supply systems. The seminar was professionally supervised by Ing. Jan Ručka, Ph.D. and Ing. Zdeněk Jaroš.

The event was attended by 40 representatives of public water supply operators from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. During the seminar, a new invention, the Astacus flushing robot, was presented, which is designed for accurate measurement of hydraulic quantities, testing of hydrant capacity and automated cleaning of water supply networks. It is a machine that can carry out a very precisely controlled flushing of a selected section of pipeline to ensure safe execution and perfect results using the smallest possible amount of flushing water. This technology brings significant change and environmental savings to the operation of water networks by saving the water used for flushing. This allows water mains to be kept clean and the drinking water in water mains to be of high quality.

The invention was developed and subsequently patented at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the BUT and its distribution on the market will be provided by VODA BRNO, s.r.o. More information can be found on the company's website www.vodabrno.cz.