Use of Drones in Dam Safety Programs

Conversation on use of drones:
- Please provide a summary of your program using drones for dam inspections. Was this program difficult to get off the ground (pun intended)?
- Itemized costs of hardware and software? Costs of data storage?
- Have there been accidents which required repair or replacement of drones? How much money is lost to this cause?
-How many do you own and how many operators are licensed to fly them? What % of your total field staff is equipped to fly them?
- What agencies regulate their use by a state agency? What does the training and licensing cost? Is this a one-time charge or a recurring expense?
- About how many of your personnel have passed and/or failed to pass the exam? Were some never able to pass the tests?
- Are notices to airports, Civil Air Patrol, FAA, and other agencies required before each flight?
- Are the rules difficult to comply with in the field to meet all notification requirements?
- How is the data transferred to storage sites?
- Is post-processing of data, data storage on a remote site, and data output a timeconsuming and expensive process?
- Overall, how would you rate the value of drones as a part of your dam safety program?

The ASDSO surveys archive is available to members through the members only section of DamSafety.org