BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF YANKEE MEADOW RESERVOIR

Page 1 of 20

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF YANKEE

MEADOW RESERVOIR

PROJECT ID: CEEN_CPST_005

by

Phantom Engineers

Mitch Clark

Jared Court

Elodie Ence

Jenessa Pace

Team Mentor

Gus Williams Ph.D. – BYU Civil Engineering Department

Capstone Final Report

Submitted To

Harold Mitchell

Yankee Meadows Reservoir Co.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Brigham Young University

March 31, 2021

Page 2 of 20

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With increasing frequency, there have been wildfires in the watershed area for Yankee Meadow

Reservoir at Dixie State national forest (near Parowan, Utah). These wildfires have caused a large

deposit of sediment to be carried into the reservoir through rainwater and snow melt, thus

decreasing the total water storage capacity of the reservoir. Furthermore, the water storage that is

present in the reservoir is difficult to access due to the thick yet fine sediment that rests within the

storage basin.

The purpose of Phantom Engineer’s project was to create a topographical (contour) map of the

shoreline up to the high-water mark. The topographical map of the shoreline will later be combined

with sonar data gathered by the Bureau of Reclamation to create a full bathymetric map of the

reservoir. The finished bathymetric map of the reservoir will enable water engineers in the area to

know how much water is stored in the reservoir at any given time. This data could also prove

useful for future research into the amount of additional sediment that builds up due to future fires,

mudslides, excess water years, etc.

This document will discuss the process and procedures which Phantom Engineers implemented in

completing the shoreline topographic map and history of the reservoir. Our project was to be

completed in several general stages:

1. Gathering GPS and drone data

2. Creating a 3D model from that data

3. Using the model to create a topographical map

The rest of this document delves into specific details on the completion of our project. First the

proposed work plan, and schedule will be presented. Followed by a description of the facilities,

tools, data and equipment needed to complete the project. Next, the proposed budget, deliverables

and performance standards will be presented.

Page 3 of 20

TABLE OF CONTENTS

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF YANKEE MEADOW RESERVOIR ........................................................... 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 4

ORIGINAL STATEMENT OF WORK ................................................................................................................ 4

PROJECT DETAILS ........................................................................................................................................ 4

PROJECT BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 5

ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................... 5

BODY OF REPORT ................................................................................................................................... 5

DESIGN, ANALYSIS & RESULTS .................................................................................................................... 6

DESIGN- ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

ANALYSIS- ..................................................................................................................................................................... 8

RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8

LESSONS LEARNED ....................................................................................................................................... 8

FINAL REPORT GUIDELINES ......................................................................................................................... 9

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 9

APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................................................14

SCHEDULE ...................................................................................................................................................14

TEAM QUALIFICATIONS ..............................................................................................................................17

Page 4 of 20

INTRODUCTION

ORIGINAL STATEMENT OF WORK

In the past few years, there have been wildfires in the watershed area for Yankee Meadow

Reservoir. These wildfires have caused a large amount of sediment to be carried into the

reservoir, thus decreasing the amount of water storage capacity of the reservoir. The purpose of

Phantom Engineer’s project is to create a topographical map of the shoreline up to the high-water

mark. The topographical map of the shoreline will later be combined with sonar data gathered by

the Bureau of Reclamation to create a full bathymetric map of the reservoir. The finished

bathymetric map of the reservoir will enable water engineers in the area to know how much

water is stored in the reservoir at any given time. The rest of this document will discuss the plan

for completing the shoreline topographic map and history of the reservoir. Our project will be

completed in different tasks. These tasks are: Gathering GPS and drone data, creating a 3D

model from that data, and using the model to create a topographical map. The rest of this

document delves into more specific details on the completion of our project. First the proposed

work plan, and schedule will be presented. Followed by a description of the facilities, tools, data

and equipment needed to complete the project. Next, the proposed budget, deliverables and

performance standards will be presented.

PROJECT DETAILS

This project was conducted by students with experience surveying, documenting, and analyzing

reservoirs in the Western United States. The means, methods, and students associated with this

project were specifically selected based on the needs of Yankee Meadows Reservoir. The need

for this project (as discussed above) was highlighted by a fire near Brian Head and the

surrounding area of the reservoir.

To create an adequate map, data was collected by use of a drone and also by GPS survey

equipment. Using both of these data collecting measures ensured an accurate, complete map of

the reservoir. These methods also allow for more information to be gathered and added to the

existing data at a later date. This will help with further studies of the reservoir using sonar which

would have been a part of our project if the landscape had been more permitting.

Page 5 of 20

Analysis of the data collected was crucial and, as such, took time. In order to properly put

together a “living” map, the team took their time in order to do it correctly the first time. Also,

using some of the software that was needed had to be coordinated with other students who also

had a need of the software and computers.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

This project began as a result of decreased capacity of the Yankee Meadows Reservoir as a result

of sedimentation buildup. The cause of this sedimentation increase was a fire which decreased

vegetation in the area surrounding the reservoir. The lack of vegetation allowed or the soil to erode

more easily. Furthermore, the snow and rain runoff which fill the reservoir were carriers of

sediment. Due to this increased sediment in the basin there is a smaller volume of water that the

reservoir can contain – this project was born out of an intent to measure the new total capacity of

the reservoir.

There is other use for this information in the future, such as erosion of the water source,

sedimentation buildup, total water content, etc. This project, for instance, will aid in further

investigation of the reservoir by use of sonar, and as stated above, the data and map provided are

able to adapt and envelope new information that is added to them. This opens up the possibility of

use for this project for many years to come.

ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS

Assumptions for this project are that the desired contour map can be exact to a 1-meter scale, and

another is that this project will be beneficial to the water district. An assumption that later created

issues with data collection in the field was that the equipment would work as planned and

practiced. Another assumption that should have been checked before entering the field was good

flying weather for the drone. Finally, an assumption that proved wrong was that the field work for

this project would only take one day rather than two, but due to unforeseen circumstances, data

collection in the field took two trips.

Limitations can be categorized into general limitations, and field exploration limitations. Field

exploration limitations encountered were the driving distance, rules of taking one car per person

Page 6 of 20

due to COVID-19 restrictions, packing meals, and coordinating an entire day for all the team

members to drive three hours to and from the reservoir to gather data. Another general data

collection limitation was that cell phones have poor reception at the reservoir, so calling offsite

graduate students to ask questions during data collection was nearly impossible. During the first

field exploration, the weather was a limitation which inhibited collecting drone data due to high

velocity winds, and the GPS equipment was not working correctly. The second field exploration

also presented limitations such as getting a car stuck on rocks, and only having one drone pilot

available instead of two.

General limitations encountered were the lack of training on specific equipment, and having had

to share a software license with a master's student, because we were limited to when the model

could be worked on. The only time possible to work on the model was when the graduate student

was not on the computer, which was not very often.

PROJECT DETAILS

DESIGN, ANALYSIS & RESULTS

DESIGN-

Due to the small area of the reservoir, it was decided to use six locations around the reservoir as

our data points and target locations for the drone. The original plan for the six locations was as

follows in the figure below.

Page 7 of 20

During the second attempt to gather the necessary data, our design was changed slightly. In order

to quickly but accurately get adequate coverage of the reservoir, we kept six data points but

changed the locations. Those changes are noted below in the next figure.

Page 8 of 20

The data was gathered by two different means – both of which function as a way to ensure the

accuracy of the point cloud map. The first type or means of data was obtained through the use of

a Phantom Drone. Using this drone required that students hold a drone pilots license, and a high-

level software was installed on the application that the drone runs through. As this drone collected

data, there were targets placed in the pre-determined locations around the reservoir shown in the

above figure. These targets served as reference points for the rest of the data. The key concept is

that the targets placed on the ground are surveyed and correlated with GPS satellites. The known

information on the targets included the latitude and longitude location, along with the elevation of

each individual target. As the drone was flown around the reservoir it would take approximately 4

pictures per second. Using the drone, these pictures were taken in several patterns over several

flights. This was designed to make sure that every inch of the reservoir would be photographed.

Our drone pilot flew a total of six flights, each with their own distinct path covering the whole

surface area of the reservoir and some of the surrounding areas. This data type was later correlated

with the next data type.

The second type of data collected was the GPS survey data mentioned in the previous paragraph.

The data from a GPS unit in the surveying equipment is critical to the overall process. As

described above, without this GPS data, there would be no way to accurately portray the drone

data in order to create a living map of the reservoir. A GPS unit was loaned from the Civil

Engineering Structures Lab and technical help was provided by a friend of Dr. Mitchell. Data

was collected by taking GPS points in the center of each established target location and in other

key areas surrounding the reservoir area. These GPS points stored the latitude, longitude, and

elevation of each target location. Combining these points with the data collected using the drone

completed the system that would make a cloud map possible.

Once data collection was complete and the masking of the map was finished, a point cloud file

was developed in both LAS and PCD format. These two formats allow for future teams to take

an expedition onto the reservoir and collect the elevation or sedimentation buildup using sonar or

lidar technology to bounce signals off of the base of the water containment, and collect

information on the floor of the body of water. The sonar/lidar data that is obtained could be

added to the data collected by the Phantom Engineers team seamlessly.

Page 9 of 20

ANALYSIS-

We went through the drone pictures to “mask” the reservoir. The water was hidden in each picture

using a tool so only shoreline was left. This created a higher quality model when we inserted the

pictures in the software. Adding in this step helped create a more accurate and detailed model of

the reservoir. When masking was not implemented on past models, the software did not know what

to do with the images of the reservoir. It appeared as though there were specks of water in the sky

and on the shoreline. This model of Yankee Meadows Reservoir will consist of the shoreline with

an empty space in the model where the reservoir sits.

The second time we visited Yankee Meadow Reservoir, we were supposed to obtain one GPS

point for the base station and other points around the reservoir. We accidentally recorded four

points as the base station. The software uses the base station to find the correct GPS location and

references the other points. Had we used four base points in the model, it would have turned out

very skewed. We fixed this by deleting the other points recorded as the base station.

The more GPS points we had around the reservoir, the more accurate the model was in the end.

We originally were going to obtain only six data points but we recorded other significant locations

due to Dr. Mitchell’s wishes. Therefore, our model was more precise and detailed with all of the

data points.

We used Arc GIS to create a map from Metashape model. This map can help the community better

understand the impact that water volume can have. Through the map, they can understand the

importance of water and learn how to better regulate the use of water for livestock, local water

resources, and other uses. This could also benefit tourism that come as water is used for fishing,

hunting, camping, etc.

Sedimentation decreases the volume capacity of the reservoir. It is important to be aware of

sedimentation inflow due to fires since it has negative side effects environmentally, economically,

and physically.

RESULTS-

The model from the software is shown below. The drone pictures were good quality that helped

us create the model in the software. The 3-D model was better quality since we had a lot of straight

Page 10 of 20

down photos to capture the detail of the surface and angled photos to capture the slope of the

shoreline. We were able to find the targets in the pictures where GPS points were recorded. We

were also able to fix the errors that came from having too many base stations by deleting the

appropriate GPS points. The model was slightly skewed at the ends but sufficient for creating the

desired map.

The final product of the map is shown in the figure below.

Page 11 of 20

LESSONS LEARNED

As we worked on this project our biggest lesson was on the importance of complete understanding

and full view of scope. On our first visit to the reservoir Elodie and Jenessa had significant

experience in flying drones and taking points, however Jared and Mitch had not extended their

Page 12 of 20

training beyond the basics of the surveying equipment that the team was using. They both also

assumed that their knowledge of other survey equipment would transfer to this newer system. As

a result of this lack of depth our team could not accomplish all that we needed to on our first trip

to the site. When we returned, our team’s greater interest in learning the fine details of surveying

helped us to successfully accomplish all that was necessary after further preparation and planning.

Another lesson that was learned over the course of these two semesters is how hard it is to work

in groups during a global pandemic. In a small way, we all got a taste of what it would be like in

industry trying to navigate protocols, rules, and changes that come with different projects. We also

had the opportunity to learn what it would be like to work with people in other areas of the country

as we worked together remotely as much as possible. With the implementation of the universities

COVID-19 regulations, we had to adjust our approach to gathering, analyzing, and completing the

data portions of our project. This is similar to what would be expected of engineers working with

others that are not in the same office. In some ways, doing a project amidst the virus was very

irritating. However, it taught us a good lesson on patience, and charity as we worked together to

accomplish everything.

As our project has progressed, there are several aspects of our approach that we feel has allowed

us to succeed in meeting our goals in completing this project in a timely and accurate manner. The

first aspect of our approach that we feel has made a difference is that of planning. As our team has

remained in continual contact and ensured regular meetings, we have been able to work largely in

the “important, non-urgent" category of work. Our team also participated in the assignment to get

to know each other by sharing personal difficulties from our developmental years. Because of

participation in this activity, we have had greater understanding of each other and our ability to

work together has increased dramatically.

Our lessons learned came from both successes and failures, and in summary we have learned the

importance of training, planning, and ensuring that each team member feels connected to the group

as a whole.

Page 13 of 20

CONCLUSION

Over the course of the past two semesters, we have learned as a team the importance of both

planning ahead, and improvising in the field in order to have a successful project. During the first

semester (fall 2020), we learned the impact that good planning and communication can have on

our ability to deliver the high quality of work that we demand of ourselves, and our sponsor

expects. In the second semester (winter 2021), we learned the importance of hard work and

thinking ahead. There were several times we had to scramble to accomplish all of the tasks that

were expected. However, towards the end of the semester, we all worked hard together to finish

the project and ensure that a good product was available to be delivered to our sponsor. We are

proud of the work that was accomplished during these two semesters especially due to the

restrictions due to COVID-19.

For our project, we were able to collect data through surveying and drone footage. That data was

analyzed and workshopped in a way that a good, living map was made. That map was then

processed in ArcGIS to provide a single map showing the potential high water mark of the

reservoir. This map and the data can be presented to our sponsor and the Yankee Meadows

Reservoir Co. with the expectation that they can continue to use our work for many years to come.

Page 14 of 20

APPENDICES

SCHEDULE

Week of: All Jared Mitch Elodie Jenessa

7-Sep Team meeting; Training on

Project

Training on

Project

Contact Bryce

for drones

Contact Dr.

Hotchkiss

14-Sep Team meeting;

Field visit to

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir

GPS equipment GPS equipment Cars/Drones Drones/Contact

Dr. Hotchkiss

21-Sep Team meeting; GPS equipment GPS equipment Drones Drones

28-Sep Team meeting; Lead on WIG Lead on WIG Drones Drones

5-Oct Team meeting;

Regular Status

Report 1

Training on GPS

from Todd

Osborn

GPS Training on GPS

from Todd

Osborn

GPS

12-Oct Team meeting;

Field visit to

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir;

Regular Status

Report 2

GPS

equipment/fish

y crackers

GPS/Muffins Charge

drones/cards

Drones

19-Oct Team meeting

w/ Harold

Mitchell;

Regular Status

Report 3

Export GPS data Export drone

data

Contact Izaak

for model info

Drones

Page 15 of 20

26-Oct Team meeting;

Regular Status

Report 4:

Statement of

Work

Proposed work

plan/Performan

ce Standards

Deliverables/Sta

tement of

Qualification

Schedule/Projec

t Budget

Introduction/Fa

cilities, Tools,

Data and

Equipment

2-Nov Team meeting;

Regular Status

Report 5

Training on

modeling

Training on

Modeling

Training on

Modeling

Train on

modeling

9-Nov Team meeting;

Regular Status

Report 6

Create models Create Models Create Models Create Models

16-Nov Team meeting;

Regular Status

Report 7



Regular Status

Report 8



30% Completion

Report

30% Completion

Report

30% Completion

Report

30% Completion

Report

30% Completion

Report

11-Jan Team meeting; Create Models Create Models Create Models Create Models

18-Jan Team meeting; Create Models Create Models Create Models Create Models

25-Jan Team meeting; History of

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir

History of

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir

History of

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir

History of

Yankee

Meadows

Reservoir

1-Feb Team meeting; History of

Yankee

History of

Yankee

History of

Yankee

History of

Yankee

Page 16 of 20

Meadows

Reservoir

Meadows

Reservoir

Meadows

Reservoir

Meadows

Reservoir

8-Feb Team meeting; Final Report Final Report Final Report Final Report



1-Mar Team meeting; Final Report Final Report Final Report Final Report





Page 17 of 20

TEAM QUALIFICATIONS

Page 18 of 20

Page 19 of 20

Page 20 of 20

Documents

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF YANKEE MEADOW RESERVOIR