OWASIS-UK
2014-2015, United Kingdom
Increasing pressure on freshwater resources is a major concern in the UK. Water is needed for irrigation, forestry, industrial users, environmental flows for country’s river systems, and for human consumption. With increasing pollution and economic growth, these pressures will continue to increase over the coming decades, making it more important to have accurate information about the sources and availability of water, as well as the consumption of water such as monitoring the amount that is pumped from the groundwater sources.
HiView used its Flying Sensor (drones, uav) expertise for three types of monitoring: vegetation, elevation and water quality. The conditions of the vegetation were assessed based on NDVI and is a derivative of soil moisture and is required to assess the hydrology and therefore the stream flow contribution of precipitation. High resolution DEMs were used to monitor erosion and gully processes, which are very relevant for hydrological aspects. Finally, water quality was monitored based on the turbidity using multi-spectral sensors.
With this project HiView has contributed to monitor various aspects of land and water by using ultra-high resolution imagery based on Flying Sensors to improve water services for people in the UK.