Use of Drones for King County Wastewater Treatment
July 18, 2025
Peter Keum, FAA Part 107/GISP
King County Wastewater Treatment
Drone Program Lead/ GIS Analyst
Learning Objectives
- King County Wastewater GIS
- WTD Drone Program
- Integration of Drone with GIS
CUGOS
So Let's Dive In!
King County Wastewater Treatment by Numbers
-
2 million residents
-
424 square miles
-
383 miles sewer pipeline (2.5 inch to 14 ft)
-
74 facilities (PS & RS)
-
5 Treatment Plants: 180 MGD ~ Max. 900 MGD
Seattle, WA --> Medford, OR
WTD GIS Team
- 7 GIS Specialists
Supervisor
WTD GIS
Maintain Sewer GIS Data
-
FIRS (Facility Information Retrieval System) Data
- Maintenance Hole
- Pipes
- Pump Stations
- Regulator Stations
- Treatment Plants
- Outfalls
- Flow Monitors
- CP Stations
- Connection Points
- Site Plan Data
- 3D Models
- Drone Collected Data
- .... many many more
WTD
GIS
DATA
There are 17 county agencies support King County GIS Data Library System
WTD
Project Support
- Capital Construction Projects
- New Treatment Plants
- New Coneyance System
- Upgrade facilities
- many, many, more...
WTD GIS
Program Support
- CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program
- Modeling Group
- CIFM (Conveyance, Inspection, and Flow Monitoring) Group
- Asset Management Program
- Capacity Charge
- ....many other sections
Program Support
- CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program
- GSI (Green Storm Infrastructure) --> RainWise Program
WTD GIS
Program Support
- Modeling Group & CIFM Group
Meter Installation Tool
Program Support
- 3D Modeling Rendering
ESJ Support
SVI for Chelan CSO Basin
UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
FAA Definition: Unmanned Aircraft (UA) system that is operated by a pilot via ground control or on-board computer.
RPAS as Platform
Multi-rotors
Fixed-wing & VTOL
- Shorter flight time (< 45 min)
- Cover smaller area
- Highly maneuverable
- Less expensive
- Access to confined spaces
- Long flight time (+ 40min)
- Covers very large area
(vertical take-off & land)
Sensors Payload
Multi-spectral
Thermal Infrared
Lidar Camera
High resolution digital camera (100 MP)
Lidar Camera
Lidar Camera
Methane Gas Dector
1. Aircraft + Sensor (Data Collection)
2. Data Processing & Analyzing (GIS)
3. Information Products
||
+
Information Products
Drone
GIS
Great Combo?
&
Great combo !
GIS & DRONE
Summary of KC Wastewater Treatment Drone Program
People
+
Technology
+
Organization
=
RPAS Program
(drone)
WTD GIS RPAS Program
August 2025
- Four FAA Part 107 Drone Certified Pilots - WTD GIS Specialists (Jim, Patrick, Joe, and Peter)
- Helping other departments to stand up their own RPAS programs
Joe
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
Text
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Mavic 2 Ent. Adv.
Mavic 3 Ent (2x)
2021
2022
2023
Matrice 4 Ent.
2025
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
Text
Wish List Hardware
All Weather
$11,000
RGB Camera $3,500
Lidar Sensor
$ 12,500
WTD RPAS Dashboard
2021
June - Dec.
2023
Jan. - Nov.
Number of Flights
2022
Jan. - Dec.
+ 480 %
2024
Jan. - Nov.
FAA Regulations - Where are we now?
Regulations
-
Fly under 400 feet above ground level
-
Not to fly < 5 nautical miles around airport
-
Aircraft < 55 lbs.
-
Fly during daytime
-
Fly visual line of sight ( VLOS)
-
No flight over non-participating people
FAA Part 107 Rule
-
Be at least 16 yrs old
-
Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge exam
-
Online recurring training every 24 month
-
Understand recreational flying requirements
-
Take TRUST
-
Online recurring training every 24 month
Why Use Drones?
3 E's
-
Easy
-
Efficient
-
Effective
Why Use Drones?
Easy - Simple with little effort
Efficient - Results without waste
Effective - Producing Results
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
Example: Auto flight plan
Result 3D Model
Why Use Drones?
2. Efficient - Results without waste
Safety of staffs
Save Time & $$
Why Use Drones?
South Treatment Plant
Primary Division Channel
Increase Safety for Staff
Data Processing - Efficient
- Cloud Storage & Cloud Data Processing
- Flight Planning from Desktop - fly on Mobile (controller)
- Cloud storage/Cloud Processing
- Centralized System
- Project Deliverables
Why Use Drones?
3. Effective - Producing Results
- Environmental Monitoring
Examples - Effective
August 2022
March 2022
April 2023
- Update 2D aerial map
Examples - Effective
- 1172 Photos
- 0.57in/px
- Update 2D aerial map
Examples - Effective
0.57 in/px
Sept 2023
3.0 in/px
2021 KC Aerial
- Construction Site Monitoring
Examples - Effective
Just another Layer
GIS Integration
Examples - Integrating with GIS
Helping KC Parks
Helping KC Parks
Proof Of Concept
Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit
Video of Scan Path
Proof Of Concept
Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit
Proof Of Concept
Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit
WHOA!
Proof Of Concept
Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit
Examples
Proof Of Concept
Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit
Examples
"First do it, then do it right, then do it better."
Credit: Addy Osmani
Saw it from Lyzi Diamond (one of the founder of Maptime)
Doing is Learning, but...
Doing with mistakes?
It's still learning!
A
B
L
C
Tobin Bradley, Mecklenburg County, NC
Let's go find solution
Washington GIS Association Drone Special Interest Group
- Email Sign-up
- Resources
- Every 3rd Thursday
- ZOOM Meeting
- 165 Members
- Monthly Meeting - Every 3rd Thursday over Zoom
- Share resources online
- Help educate and introduce new users to the field of drone mapping and GIS
CUGOS
Cascadia
Users
of
Geospatial
Open
Source
peter.keum@kingcounty.gov