P-11 - Using UAS to Quantify Containers in Urban Baton Rouge, LA Waterways

Abstract: Containers holding water are established larval habitats for several species of disease vectoring mosquitoes. Eliminating standing water in containers is a commonly used strategy in reducing mosquito populations. However, this strategy focuses on land-based containers that are easy for abatement professionals to access. These terrestrial containers can be mobilized by rainfall to drainage systems. Increased urbanization has led to the development of drainage canals that reroute stormwater to reduce flood risk. These canals are often in highly populated, residential areas posing disease vectoring and nuisance biting threats to communities. Stormwater management canals exacerbate the transport and accumulation of waste, providing habitat for larval mosquitoes, which is less monitored than terrestrial containers. Stormwater drainage canals can be hard to access and evaluate for mosquito development. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or drones are novel tools for surveying debris accumulating in stormwater infrastructure. This study evaluates the feasibility of utilizing UAS to survey the accumulation of anthropogenic debris in urban Baton Rouge, LA waterways. UAS were used to document the accumulation of debris in a boom, and MATLAB was used to categorize and enumerate debris from imagery captured during UAS surveys. 19 surveys were conducted spanning 2022 and 2023. Results show 87.43% of debris accumulating in the waterway was plastic, which is significant due to the persistence of plastic in the environment, providing potential larval habitats. Furthermore, 22.4% of debris in the waterway were specifically containers, such as take out containers, cups, bottles, and dishware. Waste in waterways is an overlooked larval habitat. UAS and image classification software are effective tools for habitat monitoring.