Western Water

Improving Asset Register Quality Through Aerial Surveying

National Drones is helping Western Water to deliver efficiencies and improve the quality of their spatial asset register by locating and identifying ground assets.

The Challenges

Water authorities face persistent difficulties maintaining complete and accurate asset registers. Many asset locations are incorrectly recorded or absent entirely, creating planning impediments and escalating risks of unexpected failures.

Assets like sewer pits and stormwater drains situated in residential backyards present access challenges — inspections become costly and time-intensive. Property owners may have obscured or constructed over assets without authority knowledge. Legacy databases frequently lack adjacent infrastructure details (energy, telecommunications), information critical for reducing maintenance risks.

The Solution

National Drones deployed a four-part strategy:

1. Aerial Photogrammetry Survey — UAV high-resolution image and mapping capture. This approach enables rapid, cost-effective data collection. Ground Control Points deliver positional accuracy below 10 centimetres.
2. Desktop Asset Identification — Captured aerial imagery transforms into georeferenced maps through post-processing. A web platform categorises and identifies ground assets.
3. GIS Database Comparison — Western Water's GIS data overlays on aerial imagery. Missing or misplaced assets become immediately apparent for database corrections or field investigation.
4. Online Inspection Tools — Results distribute rapidly to field personnel via platform access or generated reports pinpointing investigation locations.

The Results

Early trials across 8.5 hectares (roughly 60 residential blocks) identified approximately 120 ground assets. The survey discovered 31 previously unrecorded assets, including stormwater infrastructure. Multiple fire hydrants showed incorrect positioning or GIS absence.

Additional findings included 52 non-water assets: underground electrical and telecommunications pits. Field verification remains ongoing. Western Water expanded engagement for larger-scale trials.

"We are investigating new technology to ensure tasks reduce the OHS risk to our staff, minimise impact to our customers and deliver efficiencies within our business. We are working with National Drones to investigate any opportunities to deliver this."

Dean Barnett, Manager Field Services & Network Operations — Western Water

Benefits for Western Water

• Reduced field operations time — Asset inspections compressed from days to hours
• Optimised resource allocation — Field personnel redirect from data collection toward proactive investigation and resolution
• Improved asset register quality — Spatial database gains completeness through newly discovered verified assets and accuracy through high-resolution imagery and precise geo-location
• Enhanced data availability — Stakeholders access online comparisons between GIS layers and aerial imagery