Dedicated to protecting land from pollution and waste

The EPA of South Australia builds a powerful surveillance platform to uncover illegal dumping operations

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Nearmap enables us to monitor unauthorised activities at a particular site, which, in the past, would have been a vague blur. Its high resolution images allow us to identify the type and extent of the activity, and provide the evidence needed to support further investigation.
Shellie Humphries, Senior Environment Protection Officer, Illegal Dumping Unit

Frequently refreshed aerial imagery enabled EPA officers to view locations from a desktop or mobile in more detail

The task of delivering a better environment, protected for all South Australians, requires the EPA to constantly improve its monitoring capability, operational efficiency, and support for strategic planning initiatives. To achieve these goals, EPA needed to deploy higher resolution aerial imagery, and provide an integrated technology platform that would enable ready access to a range of detailed geophysical information.
The Challenge at a glance

Monitor with confidence potential environmental risk

  • Monitor land use over time to identify when an activity started, such as the importation of waste soil or other kinds of landfill, and assess its environmental impact.
  • Increase operational efficiency by integrating complementary technologies to provide quick access to required information, and gain insight into the extent of land use, especially for larger and more remote land parcels.
  • Support strategic planning by improving surveillance of known illegal-dumping hot spots, and enabling it to more effectively target certain industry types.
The solution at a glance

With an expanded surveillance capacity, the EPA is now better placed to target known illegal dumping hotspots

  • By using Nearmap's archived aerial surveys, the EPA can monitor potential land and waterways contamination, ascertain duration of these activities, and assess environmental impact, such as damage to native vegetation.
  • Nearmap high resolution images allow EPA to identify the type and extent of the activity, and provide them with the evidence needed to support further investigation.
  • The EPA uses Nearmap aerial surveys to better prepare its investigators for site visits.
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