Background
Patriot Environmental specializes in geosynthetic installation and containment services, utilizing volumetric analysis of lined water retention ponds to support mine reclamation projects. Accurate measurement of pond volumes is crucial to reclamation processes, water management, and compliance with environmental standards.
Recently, Patriot Environmental undertook more extensive surveys of coal mine reclamation ponds in Eastern Texas, covering significantly larger areas of up to 50 acres. Previously, these volumetric assessments relied on traditional sonar boats, but the harsh conditions in chemically treated or reclaimed waters caused frequent equipment malfunctions, increased downtime, and higher maintenance costs.
Challenges
Patriot Environmental faced several critical issues with traditional sonar boats that hindered their survey operations:
Equipment Failures. Traditional sonar boats repeatedly malfunctioned when exposed to chemically treated or reclaimed waters, resulting in project delays. These failures often required extensive repairs, causing increased costs and operational disruptions.
Safety Issues. Manual deployment and retrieval of sonar boats created additional safety risks, especially in lined, man-made ponds characterized by steep slopes, slippery conditions, and limited accessibility. Workers were regularly exposed to hazards, increasing the potential for injuries or accidents.
Manual Operations. Traditional sonar boat operations required continuous physical effort from survey personnel, who had to constantly move along the pond perimeters to maintain remote control and connectivity. This labor-intensive approach extended project timelines, operational fatigue, and diminished overall productivity.
Environmental Constraints. High winds in Texas frequently prevented traditional sonar boat operations, causing scheduling delays, operational interruptions, and greater complexity in project planning.
Solution
To address these challenges, Patriot Environmental implemented drone-based echo sounder technology from SPH Engineering. The DJI M300 drone was equipped with an ECT400S echo sounder tethered below it to minimize the exposure of sensitive electronics to corrosive waters.
The company adopted SPH Engineering’s UgCS software for precise autonomous drone flight planning and execution. Operators remotely managed drone flights from stationary locations, removing the need for constant physical repositioning and movement around pond perimeters.
Results
Patriot Environmental achieved considerable improvements through the adoption of the technology:
- The drone-based echo sounder system captured substantially more data points in comparison with traditional sonar boat methods. This higher data density resulted in better quality, detail, and usefulness of volumetric analysis.
“We're getting more points collected along the data set than we were with the boats. Just getting as much data as we can is great.” – Eric Denson, Field Survey Coordinator at Patriot Environmental.
- Operating drones eliminated the need for survey crews to physically accompany equipment around ponds. Survey personnel operated comfortably from a single stationary position, simplifying the survey process and reducing manual labor.
“It's a lot easier to mission plan and stay on one side of the pond and let the drone do its thing, as opposed to manually controlling a boat and having to walk all the way around the pond.” – Eric Denson, Field Survey Coordinator at Patriot Environmental
- Thanks to remote operations, personnel exposure to safety risks associated with hazardous terrain and pond edges was also minimized.
- The drone-based solution successfully operated under higher wind conditions, enabling the completion of surveys previously postponed or canceled due to adverse weather conditions.
- The implementation of drone-based technology drastically reduced equipment exposure to corrosive reclaimed waters, resulting in fewer equipment failures, reduced downtime, and lower maintenance requirements compared to traditional sonar boats.
Conclusion
Transitioning to drone-based echo sounder technology resolved operational challenges for Patriot Environmental. This markedly improved data quality, operational safety, and equipment reliability, as well as reduced manual labor requirements.
This approach has allowed Patriot Environmental to perform more accurate and dependable volumetric surveys, strengthening their service capability and positioning them for continued growth in environmental monitoring and mine reclamation projects.