Michigan selects Kohtari for drone-enabled water monitoring project
Kohtari has been selected to demonstrate its drone-enabled monitoring, sampling and water intelligence technology in partnership with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) as part of Michigan’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Statewide Challenge.
The project will explore how more frequent, location-specific data can support faster, safer and more informed water quality monitoring across Michigan’s Great Lakes region.
The demonstration is one of five projects receiving a combined $2 million through the Statewide Challenge to evaluate advanced aerial technologies in real-world public-sector applications across Michigan.
Working with EGLE, the company aims to demonstrate how collecting more frequent, location-specific information can help water quality teams identify changes and predict emerging issues rather than simply react to them.
The project will also use an artificial intelligence and machine learning platform that brings together previously fragmented environmental, operational and monitoring data to identify where water risks are developing and why.
Beyond collecting more water data
During the project, the platform will be used to predict potentially harmful algal blooms (HABs) before they occur.
“This is not about simply collecting yet more water data,” said CEO James Sumsion.
“Covering such an important area in Michigan’s Great Lakes region, we can help make water quality monitoring faster, safer and far more incisive for those who need to make key decisions about the Grand River and beyond.”
The project also involves Detroit-based NextEnergy, which works with innovators to accelerate smarter, cleaner and more accessible solutions for communities and cities. Specialized drone operations will be supported by additional industry partners.
Live sensor data will provide more timely insight into conditions in Michigan’s Grand River.
Live, location-tagged water quality readings
“By using our drone-powered water quality monitoring system, we can collect live, location-tagged water quality readings. This is a crucial element in the drive toward better water quality, with the state of Michigan very much leading the way in the United States.
“Turning data into simple outputs that reveal meaningful water quality trends is the way forward if we want to enhance how we protect our precious waterways and coastlines.”
Sumsion continued: “Using drones, we can sample water quality at locations that are difficult or unsafe to reach manually, at a speed that current methods simply cannot match.
“The project could also help demonstrate whether this approach can be replicated in other Michigan waterways.”
EGLE Deputy Director for Strategy and External Relations Ann Larson commented:
“Michigan continues to take important steps toward improving how we monitor and protect our waterways. New tools like drone-enabled sampling and smarter data analysis help us understand conditions more quickly and clearly. These practical, forward-looking solutions strengthen our ability to safeguard natural resources and support communities across the state.”
