A system for monitoring a casting environment including a mold, comprising: a mold defining an opening to receive molten metal and comprising a bottom block lowerable during a casting of the molten metal into an ingot; a launder configured to deliver the molten metal to the mold; a water source configured to provide water to the mold; and a diverter configured to divert the water away from a portion of the ingot; characterized in that the system further comprises: a camera having a field of view including at least the portion of the ingot that the water has been diverted away from, the camera configured to capture optical data associated with the ingot; and a controller comprising a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in a memory, the controller causing the processor to perform processor operations including: receiving optical data associated with the portion of the ingot or the portion of the bottom block; determining, based on the optical data, whether separation of the portion of the ingot from the portion of the bottom block has occurred; and generating operating instructions for casting the molten metal into the ingot if it was determined that the separation has occurred. a mold defining an opening to receive molten metal and comprising a bottom block lowerable during a casting of the molten metal into an ingot; a launder configured to deliver the molten metal to the mold; a water source configured to provide water to the mold; and a diverter configured to divert the water away from a portion of the ingot; characterized in that the system further comprises: a camera having a field of view including at least the portion of the ingot that the water has been diverted away from, the camera configured to capture optical data associated with the ingot; and a controller comprising a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in a memory, the controller causing the processor to perform processor operations including: receiving optical data associated with the portion of the ingot or the portion of the bottom block; determining, based on the optical data, whether separation of the portion of the ingot from the portion of the bottom block has occurred; and generating operating instructions for casting the molten metal into the ingot if it was determined that the separation has occurred. a camera having a field of view including at least the portion of the ingot that the water has been diverted away from, the camera configured to capture optical data associated with the ingot; and a controller comprising a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in a memory, the controller causing the processor to perform processor operations including: receiving optical data associated with the portion of the ingot or the portion of the bottom block; determining, based on the optical data, whether separation of the portion of the ingot from the portion of the bottom block has occurred; and generating operating instructions for casting the molten metal into the ingot if it was determined that the separation has occurred. receiving optical data associated with the portion of the ingot or the portion of the bottom block; determining, based on the optical data, whether separation of the portion of the ingot from the portion of the bottom block has occurred; and generating operating instructions for casting the molten metal into the ingot if it was determined that the separation has occurred.