383

2,000,000

(2 Million)

15,000

178,000,000

(178 Million)

Guess??

383 Miles

of Pipe

2,000,000 (2 Million) People

15,000 Trucks

178,000,000 (178 Million) MGD (Million Gallons/Day)

Drone to map, Now What?

KC Wastewater Drone Program to support sustainable infrastructure

WAGISA, Bellevue

May 20, 2026

Jason Celeste

Joe Géigel

Peter Keum

WTD Drone Program

We Came, We Flew Up, Up and, We Mapped..

OR

  • WTD Drone Program
  • GIS Data
  • Integration Product

King County Wastewater Treatment by Numbers

  • 2 million residents

  • 34 Agencies

  • 424 square miles

  • 383 miles sewer pipeline (2.5 inch to 14 ft)

  • 74 facilities (PS & RS)

  • 3 Treatment Plants: 180 MGD ~ Max. 460 MGD

Seattle, WA --> Medford, OR

WTD GIS Team

  • 10 GIS Specialists
  • 4 FAA Certified Pilots

Supervisor

BUT.....There are 17 county agencies support

King County GIS Data Library System

WTD

GIS Data:
The core of a GIS is its Database

WTD GIS Drone Program

May 2026

  • Four  FAA Part 107 Drone Certified Pilots - WTD GIS Specialists  - 3 More Training 
  • Assisting other departments to stand up their own drone programs (WLRD/ SWD/ Local Service/ KCIA/ FMD)

Joe

DJI Mavic 2 Pro (1)

Mavic 2 Ent. Adv. (1)

Mavic 3 Ent (2x)

2021

2022

2023

Matrice 4 Ent. (1)

2025

Total: ~ $27,000

Current Hardware

DJI Mavic 2 Pro < $1,800 (Retired)

DJI Mavic 2 Pro Ent. Adv $6,500

DJI Avata $1,300

Mavic 3 Ent (2x)

 $3,800

20 MP/ 56x zoom

20 MP

12 MP/ 32x zoom

+ Thermal

Matrice 4 Ent

~ $5,300/ $8,500

Latest Hardware

$11,000

All WEather

L3 - lidar

~ $ 18,000

H30T - Thermal

~ $ 12,000

1. Aircraft + Sensor    (Data Collection)

2. Data Processing & Analyzing (GIS)

 3. Information Products

=

+

1. Platform + Sensor (Data Collection)

2. Data Processing & Analyzing (GIS)

3. Information Products

Standard Drone Workflow

AND

Drone

GIS

Great Combo?

&

Great combo !

GIS & DRONE

Great combo !

GIS & DRONE

Why Use Drones?

1. Easy - Simple with little effort

Automatic

Repeatable

Flight Control App  

  • Automate Flight Planning - Fly Consistently for overlapping images

  • Can fly manually but it's like mowing with scissors

Why Use Drones?

2. Efficient - Results without waste 

Safety of staffs & Save Time & $$

South Treatment Plant

Inspecting Inside Digester (2024)

 Brightwater Treatment Plant

Inspecting Inside Digester

Safety of staffs & Save Time & $$

Why Use Drones?

3. Effective - Producing Results

0.50 in/px

June 2025

6x time the resolution

(from KC Aerial Imagery - June 2025)

West Point Treatment Plant Power Upgrade Project (2023)

3. Effective - Producing Results

GIS & DRONE

Drone & GIS (jason)

2D Feature Data

  • Site Plan Feature - Polygon

 

 

 

  • Capital Projects - Points

Drone & GIS (jason)

2D Feature Data To 3D Layer

  • Site Plan Feature - Polygon

Capital Projects - Points

Drone & GIS (jason)

2D Feature Data To 3D Layer

  • Site Plan Feature - Polygon

Capital Projects - Points

Drone & GIS (jason)

2D Feature Data To 3D Layer

  • 3D Feature data with 3D Drone Model Data

Integrating 3D Scene Layer with 3D Model

South Treatment Plant - 3D Scene Viewer (Web App)

 

Examples - Integrating with GIS

West Point Treatment Plant 3D Model

Examples - Integrating with GIS

Brightwater Treatment Plant

Drone & GIS (Joe)

South Treatment Plant Capital Project Viewer

Experience Builder Application  

  • Widgets

3D Scene Features

  • Facilities - Polygon
  • Capital Projects - Points

3D Scene Viewer

Drone & GIS (Joe)

South Treatment Plant Capital Project Viewer

Drone & GIS (Joe)

South Treatment Plant Capital Project Viewer

Drone & GIS (Joe)

South Treatment Plant Capital Project Viewer

END

for now

Thank You

peter.keum@kingcounty.gov

peter.keum@kingcounty.gov