专家系统是特定知识领域的软件表示，可以达到或接近人类专家的水平。例如，在过滤器反洗中，专家系统将结合基于人类电厂运行经验、手册和电厂物理和化学关系的事实和启发性数据。本文介绍了底特律市水和污水处理部门开发过滤器反洗专家系统的案例研究，通过现场测试和经验教训，列出了专家系统应能做的事情。

An expert system is a software representation of a specific domain of knowledge that can perform at or near the level of human experts. For example, in filter backwashing, an expert system would incorporate factual and heuristic data based on human plant operating experience, manuals, and plant physical and chemical relationships. This paper presents a case study of the City of Detroit Water and Sewerage Department's development of an expert system for filter backwashing, from listing what the expert system should be able to do through field testing and lessons learned.