Drones Take Flight As Michigan Chooses Kohtari's Water Intelligence For Faster, Safer, More Incisive Water Quality Monitoring

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 in Michigan’s Great Lakes region.

It is one of five demonstrations receiving a combined $2M through the Statewide Challenge to evaluate advanced aerial technologies in real-world public-sector applications across Michigan.

Working with EGLE, Kohtari’s approach is designed to show how collecting more frequent, location-specific insight can enable water quality teams to spot changes and predict, rather than just react.

As Kohtari expands its work into the US, it will also implement its WaterIQ platform, which brings together previously fragmented environmental, operational and monitoring data and, using custom built AI and machine learning models, shows where water risk is building and why.

‘Not about simply collecting yet more water data’

During this particular project, the platform will be used to predict potentially harmful algal blooms (HABs) before they become a reality.

“This is not about simply collecting yet more water data,” said Kohtari’s 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.”

Working in conjunction with Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), and Detroit-based NextEnergy (who collaborate with innovators to accelerate smarter, cleaner, more accessible solutions for communities and cities), this new project will also employ the specialist skills of Skyports Drone Services, and Seabird (for drone operations). Kohtari say that live sensor data will provide a much timelier insight into what is happening in Michigan’s Grand River.

‘We can collect live, location-tagged water quality readings’

Kohtari’s CEO, James Sumsion, added:

“By using our drone-powered water quality monitoring system, we can collect live, location-tagged water quality readings. This is a crucial element in a drive towards far better water quality, with the state of Michigan very much leading the way in the US.

“Turning data into simple outputs for meaningful water quality trends is the way forward if we want to enhance the way we protect our precious waterways and coastlines.”

He 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 the approach could be replicated in other Michigan waterways.

EGLE Deputy Director, 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.”