Melbourne Water

Ventia has been working with Melbourne Water to produce a water sampling solution capable of sampling from dangerous and hard-to-reach waterways. Nero Mia was the solution for the job.

Brief

Melbourne Water were looking for an improved and safer solution to take water samples from treatment plants and reservoirs. Melbourne Water were also looking for a solution to sample algae and having the ability to recognise algae blooms.

The following requirements also needed to be met:

• Attaches to the drone to retrieve the water samples effectively
• Doesn't interfere with the operation of the drone
• Complies with Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulations.

Solution

After testing various solutions, including a waterproof hexacopter, the Ventia and Melbourne Water teams settled on the Nero Mia paired with DJI's Matrice 600 drone.

Nero Mia and the M600 allows Melbourne Water to increase its sampling precision through GPS tagging of sample locations, access dangerous and hard-to-reach locations, and ensure the safety of its personnel.

Result

Having successfully ended the water sampling pilot program, Nero Mia continues to be utilised to collect samples from flooded rivers, streams, water treatment plants, and any other bodies of water needing to be sampled.

With the pilot program a success the team are now able to sample water from dangerous waterways such as effluent ponds, flooded rivers or streams, as well as previously hard to reach waterways, such as no-boating zones near infrastructure like weirs and offtakes.

Ventia

The Melbourne Water team has been able to simplify its water sampling workflow across the bodies of water it manages, specifically those in no boating zones and dangerous locations. 

Images via Ventia