NJ-AWRA Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use in Water Resources

NJ-AWRA Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use in Water Resources

Virtual Seminar

Time:   12:00 pm to 2:00 pm 

Date: Friday March 8th, 2024

Drones & Water Don't Mix! (or do they?!) Real Applications & Case Studies

- Gene Huntington (Steward Green)

Gene will be presenting on real project applications and approaches to pre, continuing and post project management that will likely encourage managers to utilize newer tech-tools to have in their “toolbox”. These practices can save time and money while increasing quality and safety. Gene will provide an overview of types of UAS (Uncrewed Aerial Systems), in-house vs. outsourced, costs associated with and FAA compliance issues and will provide time for discussion.

American Water UAS Program

- Chris Kahn (American Water)

Chris will be presenting on the evolution of the American Water UAV program and how staff uses the technology to respond to natural and anthropomorphic emergencies such as storm events, harmful algal blooms and chemical spills. He will also discuss how the team has used UAVs for reconnaissance of land uses that may affect the water supply. The team has also started experimenting with remote water quality monitoring techniques.

Drone Usage in Water Supply Infrastructure Monitoring and Maintenance

- William Gumulak (New Jersey Water Supply Authority)

Bill will be discussing how NJWSA’s drone usage has evolved over the last several years. Drones are used to monitor dam conditions and visualize other facility components. Staff can quickly scan large areas of land and water for security purposes. Reservoir conditions can be easily monitored to identify harmful algal blooms. Bill will discuss potential future applications, such as inspection of water supply infrastructure, real-time flood monitoring and water quality monitoring.

This Virtual Seminar is qualified for 2 AICP CM self-reporting credits

  This meeting is a virtual meeting, link to be provided to attendees via email upon registration.

Speaker Bios

Gene Huntington is an ecological land planner with degrees from Penn State (BS LARCH) and Columbia Business School (Nonprofit Management). He is currently the New Jersey Environmental advisor for Rutgers Board of Managers. Gene is the former Director of Research & Natural Resources for Duke Farms Foundation and now is lead consultant for Steward Green wildlife habitat consultants. He has led and completed successful Conservation and UAS projects throughout the US and abroad.

Chris Kahn is a seasoned geospatial professional.  He has over 22 years of progressive experience with AEC/RTK/GIS/UAS interoperability.  He focuses on geospatial program development, GNSS/RTK workflow management, UAS program development, spatial analysis, interactive mapping, and GIS field mobility.  Chris earned his undergraduate in Geography from Rutgers and his MS in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State.  He has maintained a GISP certification since 2011 and also holds a private pilot certificate (single engine land) as well as a commercial UAS (drone) certificate.

William Gumulak is Chief of Security for the New Jersey Water Supply Authority. He has previous military police experience.