Restoration of Water Streams Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

As the world progresses in technological advances, more efficient ways to track and manage streams, tributaries, and rivers can be developed. In this project, we are implementing wireless sensors and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology to further progress monitoring and potentially restoring a local stream. This advanced technology and new method of water testing is autonomous and is especially useful for water bodies that are difficult to access or are very remote. By having consistent and available water data, water bodies can be restored more efficiently. In this study, we are specifically focusing on restoring Boone Run, a forested mountain stream on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River in Virginia, that is managed by the VA Department of Forestry. The methodology includes using handheld meters to collect data each month to collect and analyze temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity. The methodology also includes a more innovative collection of data using two remote water sensors, and further using UAV technology to retrieve the data, to make a fully autonomous system. The two remote water sensors utilize wireless technology and consist of three probes: temperature, pH, and conductivity and also a raspberry pi and circuit board to transfer and store the data. With the use of wireless and remotely collecting data, more frequent data will be found and can be analyzed in more depth to get the most accurate understanding of the water quality. The collection of both of these forms of data will then be further analyzed to find the averages of the different parameters being measured, and also to see how the stream changes overtime. A comparison of the manually collected data and automated collected data will also be made to see accuracy differences and will further help explain the results. Overall, the autonomous and continuous system of using the sensor nodes and the UAV will ultimately reduce labor, costs, and time associated with manually collecting data. The ultimate goal of analyzing this data is to recognize if the stream's conditions can support brook trout life, a keystone species of the stream. If the stream's conditions align with the conditions that trout can inhabit, it indicates the stream is in good health, and restoration initiatives can begin to reintroduce trout life.