383 2,000,000

(2 Million)

15,000

178,000,000

(178 Million)

??

383 Miles

of Pipe

2,000,000 (2 Million) People

15,000 Trucks

178,000,000 (178 Million) MGD (Million Gallons/Day)

King County Wastewater Treatment

GIS & Drone - How We Use it
Future of GIS (personal view)

April 23, 2026

Peter Keum, MS, GISP

WTD Drone Program Lead/ GIS Analyst

We protect public health and the environment by collecting and cleaning wastewater while recovering valuable resources for a thriving Puget Sound region.

KC Wastewater Treatment Mission Statement

King County Wastewater Treatment by Numbers

2 million residents
34 Agencies
424 square miles
383 miles sewer pipeline (2.5 inch to 14 ft)
74 facilities (PS & RS)
3 Treatment Plants: 180 MGD ~ Max. 460 MGD

Seattle, WA --> Medford, OR

WTD GIS Team

10 GIS Specialists
4 FAA Certified Pilots

Supervisor

Why Use GIS?

GIS

Decision Makers

WTD GIS

Maintain Sewer GIS Data

FIRS (Facility Information Retrieval System) Data
- Maintenance Hole
- Pipes
- Pump Stations
- Regulator Stations
- Treatment Plants
- Outfalls
Flow Monitors
CP Stations
Connection Points
Site Plan Data
3D Models
Drone Collected Data
.... many many more

WTD

GIS

DATA

GIS Data:
The core of a GIS is its Database

BUT.....There are 17 county agencies support

King County GIS Data Library System

WTD

GIS Data:
The core of a GIS is its Database

Program Support

CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program
Modeling Group
CIFM (Conveyance, Inspection, and Flow Monitoring) Group
Asset Management Program
Capacity Charge
....many other sections

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Lake Hills / NW Lake Sammamish

Coal Creek Trunk Upgrade

Georgetown Wet Weather Station

North Mercer Interceptor & Enatai Interceptor Upgrade

Program Support

CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program

WTD GIS

KC & SPU
CSO Real-Time Status Viewer

RainWise 
Basin Address Look-Up App

CSO Report

Program Support

CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program
- GSI (Green Storm Infrastructure) --> RainWise Program

WTD GIS

Program Support

CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Control Program
- GSI (Green Storm Infrastructure) --> RainWise Program

WTD GIS

Program Support

Modeling Group & CIFM Group

Meter Installation Tool

ESJ Support

Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) Web Application Tool

SVI for Chelan CSO Basin

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Projects & Programs Support

WTD GIS

Program Support

Sewer Viewer

Inspector

"Sewer"

Gadget

WTD Drone Program

We Came, We Flew, We Mapped..

Peter Keum, GISP

Drone Program Lead/GIS Analyst

RPAS - Remotely Piloted Aircraft System

FAA Definition: Remotely piloted Aircraft system operated by a pilot via ground control or on-board computer.

Background Information

RPAS Categories

Small

Size: 1 - 2 meters ( 3 ft - 6.5 ft), < 55 lbs.
Control: Visual line of sight, Radio control
DJI M3E, M400, ScanEagle

Medium

Size: Equivalent to a car, ~ 1000 lbs.

Large

Size: > 30,000 lbs.

RPAS as Platform

Multi-rotors

Fixed-wing & VTOL

Shorter flight time (< 45 min)
Cover smaller area
Highly maneuverable
Less expensive
Access to confined spaces

Long flight time (+ 40min)
Covers very large area

(vertical take-off & land)

Sensors Payload

Multi-spectral

Thermal Infrared

Lidar Camera

High resolution digital camera (100 MP)

Methane Gas Detector

Sensors Payload

High resolution digital camera

Sensors Payload

LiDAR Sensor - aka Laser Scanning

Outdoor

Indoor

DJI Air & Mavic 2 Pro < $1800

Aertos 120 $25,000 +

Eilos 2 $48,000 +

DJI Matrice 300 $12,000 +

Outdoor

GPS Signal
Automated Planning and Flight
Even, Diffuse lighting
Open space

Indoor

No GPS signal
Limits on speed and motion
Manual flight control
Tight spaces

1. Aircraft + Sensor (Data Collection)

2. Data Processing & Analyzing (GIS)

3. Information Products

=

+

1. Platform + Sensor (Data Collection)

2. Data Processing & Analyzing (GIS)

3. Information Products

Standard Drone Workflow

Drone

GIS

Great Combo?

&

Great combo !

GIS & DRONE

Great combo !

GIS & DRONE

WTD GIS Drone Program

April 2026

Four FAA Part 107 Drone Certified Pilots - WTD GIS Specialists (Jim, Patrick, Joe, and Peter)
Assisting other departments to stand up their own drone programs (WLRD/ SWD/ Local Service/ KCIA/ FMD)

Joe

Inspecting Inside Digester (2024)

Brightwater Treatment Plant

Inspecting Inside Digester

Safety of staffs & Save Time & $$

Why Use Drones?

South Treatment Plant

Primary Division Channel

Increase Safety for Staff

2. Efficient - Results without waste

Safety of staffs & Save Time & $$

West Point
Treatment

Plant

Discovery Park

Blvd

Dec 2024

E3

Why Use Drones?

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

Update 2D aerial map

South Treatment Plant

0.57 in/px

Sept 2023

3.0 in/px

2023 KC Aerial

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

0.50 in/px

June 2025

6x time the resolution

(from KC Aerial Imagery - June 2025)

Monitoring & Mitigation (ECSS)

Kenmore Twin Springs Mitigation Site

March 2022

April 2024

August 2025

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

WTD Examples: 2D Aerial 
Brightwater Treatment Plant - Construction Aeriation Building

Standard Drone Workflow

AND

Construction Site Monitoring

West Point Treatment Plant Power Upgrade Project (2023)

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

Construction Site Monitoring

West Point Treatment Plant Power Upgrade Project

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

Ship Canal Water Quality - TBM

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

Heat Resource Recover - Energy District (Dexter Ave)

3. Effective - Producing Results

E3

Proof Of Concept

Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit

Video of Scan Path

Proof Of Concept

Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit

Examples

Proof Of Concept

Lidar SLAM Handheld Unit

WHOA!

Future GIS & Success (personal view)

Post Graduate

GPT

General Purpose Technology

The Second Machine Age - Erk Brynjoflsson, Andrew McAfee

GPT

General Purpose Technology

Steam Engine
Electricity
Internet

NOT

Generative Pre-Trained Transformer

"GPT always needs complements"

+

=

Urban Planning

+

=

Utilities/Engineering

You

+

=

Social Justice/Equity

+

=

Environmental

Science

GIS

You

GIS

Don Cooke, early digital mapping pioneer about the explosion in mapping technology. His comment: “After 20 years, it’s nice to be an overnight sensation”.

Companies are using maps not just as nice features but to drive revenue as core components of their offering. Maps are no longer just a good way to visualize content, they are core to competitive advantage.