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Atlantic County in Action: IAI Demonstration (photos available)

New Jersey American Water conducted a functional exercise with NARTP to demonstrate how Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS, a.k.a. drones) can be used to support natural disaster recovery efforts across New Jersey. This exercise, conducted in collaboration with national, regional, and local emergency management and government agencies, focused on improving the efficiency and coordination of response efforts following a major flood.

During the exercise, multiple aircraft were dispatched to locations in Atlantic and Somerset counties, including New Jersey American Water’s Raritan-Millstone Plant and Ocean City water and wastewater distribution system. UAS flight and live imagery data was streamed in real-time to the NARTP Thunder Room, where industry partners, regulators and public safety officials gathered to watch the simulation.

“Events such as today’s demonstrate the benefit of investing in state-of-the-art UAS technology to adequately assess damage and provide critical real-time imagery and intelligence,” said Howard Kyle, President/CEO, NARTP. “We feel that today’s exercise also demonstrates an important need for change. Current Federal Aviation Administration guidelines do not permit immediate reconnaissance drone flights following a major storm or flood. New Jersey has the opportunity to update our protocol and response efforts to improve efficiency.”