Her research demonstrates how remote sensing can support urban irrigation analysis, even when water use is unmetered. The findings may eventually lead to more automated feedback for water users and more targeted water conservation activities by water suppliers.
Annelise Capener, a Civil Engineering graduate student and Sustainability Lab member, successfully defended her master's thesis on March 6.
Over the past year and a half Annelise has developed methods to analyze urban irrigation using pictures collected by satellites, airplanes, and drones. Such remotely sensed data can provide information about irrigated area, vegetation health, and water application and may be a good substitute in areas where irrigation use is not measured. She outlined the approach in her previously published paper, "Pathways to Enhancing Analysis of Irrigation by Remote Sensing (AIRS) in Urban Settings."
In her thesis, Annelise compared remotely sensed results to actual water bills in portions of Weber County, Utah, over three years to determine how much homeowners over- or underwatered their landscapes. The findings may eventually lead to more automated feedback for water users and more targeted water conservation activities by water suppliers.
Annelise's graduate committee—Dr. Rob Sowby and Dr. Gus Williams from Civil and Construction Engineering and Dr. Neil Hansen from Plant and Wildlife Sciences—provided feedback on technical points which Annelise will improve before submitting a final thesis and eventual scientific journal paper.