Smart drones used to monitor Melbourne water catchment

In a cutting-edge initiative, Melbourne Water recently trialled the use of autonomous drones to monitor and safeguard the city’s drinking water, which it describes as world class.

Drones have transformed natural resource management in recent years, providing a vital tool in balancing human activity with the preservation of natural environments. With this in mind, the two-month trial saw smart drones deployed at Silvan Reservoir — one of Melbourne’s largest protected water catchments, supplying around 65% of Melbourne’s drinking water.

Protected catchments are the primary source of Melbourne’s water supply, supplemented by other sources including desalinated water and recycled water for non-potable purposes. Security measures around Melbourne’s drinking water catchments are designed to reduce the risk of contamination, minimise the need for treatment, safeguard public health and ensure better-tasting water.

“Melbourne is one of the few cities worldwide where drinking water is sourced mainly from catchments with zero or highly restricted public access; this allows us to provide exceptionally clean water that requires minimal treatment,” said Ram Ramzan, Senior Asset Manager at Melbourne Water.

“Every activity in a protected catchment poses a major risk to our drinking water supply, including those that can be introduced by humans and animals, litter and bushfire risks.”

Supplementing existing surveillance measures including CCTV cameras and onsite security teams, the drones were used to monitor the water and surrounding forest within the protected catchment for unauthorised activity and potential risks. As well as safeguarding the drinking water quality, the drones helped Melbourne Water protect native biodiversity by alerting to the presence of introduced animal species that threaten local wildlife. Notably, the Silvan Reservoir is home to several endangered native species, including the growling grass frog and greater glider.

The AI-equipped drones had state-of-the-art sensors and high-resolution cameras, including night vision. This enabled them to detect and differentiate between humans, animals and vehicles. Furthermore, the information captured by the drones could be streamed in real time to a security monitoring centre and onsite security teams.

Melbourne Water said the results of the trial would inform future drone use at other reservoirs.

“Limiting access to Melbourne’s protected water supply catchments is more efficient than implementing additional water treatment processes, ensuring we are able to continue providing safe, affordable and reliable water supply now and into the future,” Ramzan said.

“We want to support people in enjoying Victoria’s vast natural spaces, but this must be balanced with protecting critical water supply catchments.”

Top image: Ram Ramzan reviews drone footage collected as part of the trial at Silvan Reservoir.