Lidar surveying and photogrammetry is important for the overall function of our world. After all, without the implementation of lidar surveying and photogrammetry, we would be much less likely to live in a world without complex problems related to infrastructure, from roadway design to water infrastructure.
Let’s look first at the water infrastructure in the United States, all of which could serve to benefit from lidar surveying and photogrammetry. The sewer system in particular in the United States has fallen into disrepair. It’s unfortunate but true – the sewer system in the United States has become run down in its old age, and nearly one and a half trillion gallons of untreated sewage are spilled in just a single year from the sewers. In fact, wastewater facilities themselves are aging. By 2020, just a couple of years from now, it is estimated that the majority of wastewater facilities in the United States will be at least halfway through their expected lifespan and capacity for continued safe function.
Dam failures are also problematic in the United States and could benefit from lidar surveying and photogrammetry. Though the general public tends to have an overall opinion of dams being safer than they are not, the startling truth is that in recent years more than four thousand dams have been declared as being unsafe in the United States alone, according to research and statistics gathered by the American Society of Civil Engineers. In fact, even though dams have popularly used since the late 1800’s, the majority of dam failures have happened in the last few decades.
The structural design of our roads is less than ideal and could benefit from lidar surveying and photogrammetry as well, particularly because roads are so frequently utilized and so necessary to the function of our country as a society, let alone the world at large. In fact, one third of all roads in the United States has been found to be in poor condition, and this does not even account for less than major roads, many of which have fallen into disrepair. Traffic congestion is another problem faced by many major roads across the country, and more than half of all interstate miles have reached at least seventy percent capacity with nearly thirty miles of such roads at ninety five percent capacity and experiencing a considerable amount of strain because of the
considerably heightened levels of congestion, which are much higher than they would be in an ideal world. This can lead to an increase in motor vehicle accidents as well as fatalities and in fact more highway fatalities have been seen in recent years than ever before, which can directly be linked to roads that have been kept in poor condition. Obsolete road designs can also be blamed to a certain extent, as well as the roadside hazards that are all too common anywhere in the country that you go.
The condition of our infrastructure here in the United States is far from what it should be, with roads that are becoming in greater and greater levels of poor condition, which presents an understandable hazard for the many drivers that must utilize these roads. Other concerns involve the safety of other aspects of our infrastructure, such as dams, bridges, and even sewage and waste water treatment facilities. Much of this can be attributed simply to age, as the United States infrastructure is very much in need of a thorough update. Without it, the infrastructure in the country will continue to rapidly decline.
