Drone used to monitor sediment build up in Lake Altoona and Lake Eau Claire

ALTOONA — Eau Claire County has purchased a drone which they are using to monitor sediment build up in Lake Altoona and Lake Eau Claire.

“It’s capable of doing photogrammetry,” said Land Conservation Manager Chad Berge, stating that this helps the county to get an idea of what is happening in the lake that can’t be observed from the shore.

“Zach (Mohr, the county’s land conservation technician) is helping the district monitor the dredge site,” continued Berge.

This past December, the county removed 60,000 yards of sand from the Eau Claire River to stop excessive sedimentation in Lake Altoona. Called dredging, Mohr said sediment would be removed on an annual basis in the winter.

Mohr said that the dredging is done in the winter when the sand is frozen solid and can be more easily removed. Without dredging, the lake would eventually disappear.

On Tuesday, the county’s planning and development committee met to go over the details the drone had observed.

“We can see how the sand is filling up in the trap,” said Berge. “And we use the drone to survey the pile that they pulled out in the disposal site. We can use the drone to measure the amount of material that was removed from the water.”

He said that the discussion was primarily used to “update the committee on how we’re using the drone with photogrammetry technology to save the county money, save the district money, partnerships — all that.”

The lakes and the dredge site are not surveyed by the drone on any regular basis.

“We just do it when we think we need to,” said Berge. “Zach went out there (about) a week ago because we were working on that August 14 event with the UniverCity.”

On August 14 there will be an event that celebrates the partnership between Eau Claire County and UniverCity Alliance to protect Lake Altoona and the Eau Claire River Watershed from erosion, sediment, and blue green algae blooms.

The event will include drone demos and runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lake Altoona County Park Clubhouse. It is a public event, though individuals attending need to RSVP by August 7.