American Water’s Unmanned Aerial System Program Earns FAA High-Altitude Authorization

January 24, 2023 at 10:30 AM EST

Provides opportunities for enhanced environmental monitoring

American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, announced today its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Program has earned a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certificate of Authorization to fly both beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and up to an altitude of 1,500 feet above ground level.

“American Water is proud to earn this authorization from the FAA, which will allow us to fly three miles from a UAS pilot at an altitude of 1,500 feet to capture wide area mapping at high resolutions,” said Christopher Kahn, Director of UAS, American Water. “This significant milestone will enhance monitoring of source water and potential environmental threats to the water supply.”

Additionally, American Water’s long-range mapping and inspection airframe, the Censys Technologies Sentaero BVLOS V2, provides the ability to safely inspect facilities from miles away through high-resolution cameras, while staying in the air for over an hour.

"American Water earning this FAA approval is important for the integration of drones in the national airspace because it is an example of enterprise operation standardization across multiple applications,” said Trevor Perrott, CEO & Co-Founder, Censys Technologies. “Through American Water's leadership, our country is another step closer to making safe BVLOS drone missions commonplace. The exciting part is the story doesn't end here."

American Water is also working closely with several government agencies and partner organizations to enable BVLOS UAS missions during temporary flight restrictions, which are commonly in place after natural disasters.

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com. Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Censys Technologies

Censys Technologies Corporation builds remote sensing hardware and software solutions for UAS service providers, enterprise organizations and government entities. This includes the Sentaero family of products – which is the UAV performance and value leader in the fields of agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, disaster relief and public safety. Created by three Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University alumni in 2017, Censys Technologies’ priorities are centered on understanding customer needs and delivering technology and products that will perform and grow their business – bringing intelligence to business from beyond the horizon.