Spatial Informatics Group and The University of Vermont, Spatial Analysis Lab, teamed up to complete a flood inundation map of sewage infrastructure in the Upper Truckee River Watershed for the South Lake Tahoe Public Utilities District.
In the winter of 2016-2017, near record-breaking precipitation was recorded in the Lake Tahoe region. As a result of this, sewers were overwhelmed and neighborhoods were flooded, endangering local residents and taxing the local sewer treatment plant. After manhole covers were breached, SIG was called in to help.
SIG used their state-of-the-art UAV systems to capture thousands of images, which were orthorectified and updated, and therefore captured more than ever before. They then turned these images into geospatial products which were turned into web-based decision tools that could be used by the layperson to identify areas affected by flooding, helping communities avoid flooding, and keeping families and children safer no matter what kind of water future the area experienced.
A YouTube video summarizing the project can be found here at this link. The online map displaying the imagery and analysis can be found here
