Western Water

THE CHALLENGES

A common problem for water authorities is maintaining the completeness and accuracy of their asset register and spatial database. In many cases asset locations may be incorrectly located, or missing altogether, which impacts ability to plan and manage assets adequately, and increases the risks of unplanned events.

Assets such as sewer pits and stormwater drains are often located in residential backyards. This makes accessing and inspecting the asset costly and time consuming. In many cases it’s not possible to know if a householder has covered or built over an asset without a physical inspection. In addition, legacy registers typically lack important information about the location of adjacent non-water assets (e.g. energy, telco), which are critical to plan and reduce risks of water asset maintenance jobs.

THE SOLUTION

1. Aerial photogrammetry survey – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) high resolution image / mapping asset data capture. A UAV is a quick and costeffective method for capturing high quality survey data. Combined with Ground Control Points (GCP) positional accuracy of less than 10cm can be achieved.
2. Desktop asset identification and location – Captured aerial imagery is post processed to create a high resolution georeferenced map of the survey site. Ground assets are identified and categorised using a web based platform.
3. Comparison to GIS database – Once ground assets have been identified, Western Water GIS data is imported and overlaid on the aerial image data. Missing and/or incorrectly located assets can be quickly identified for database location adjustment and/or field investigation.
4. Online inspection and reporting tools – Results can be quickly shared with field staff via the online platform or by report generation pinpointing the exact assets and locations where further investigation is required.