The City of Aiken’s use of new technology to manage storm debris after Hurricane Helene was recognized with an achievement award from the Municipal Association of South Carolina on July 19.
“This one means a lot,” said City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh, “because of the recognition of the efficiency and the effectiveness of the work that our team did. They work very hard.”
One of the criteria for the award is that other municipalities can duplicate the innovation, Bedenbaugh said.
“This is something that other communities could learn from and benefit from,” he said.
“I’m just proud of our staff. They are top-notch and this resourcefulness illustrates that,” Bedenbaugh said.
According to a city press release, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene the city focused on setting up a debris management site (DMS) that met FEMA rules.
“This was important to help the City get reimbursed for cleanup costs. City leaders also wanted to set a good example for how to handle disaster recovery in a smart, responsible and innovative way,” the city said.
The city’s departments of Public Services, Engineering & Utilities, Information & Technology, and the City Manager’s Office collaborated to use technology to improve the accuracy, safety and record-keeping of the debris cleanup effort.
The city used three tools to do this.
An advanced camera system used traffic cameras to track each load of debris, eliminating the need for ‘round-the-clock monitoring and workers in lifts. Drones took clear aerial pictures to double-check debris amounts and specialized software measured how much debris there was, helping reduce mistakes in estimates.
The city said the new method reduced mistakes in measuring debris, created strong records for FEMA, improved worker safety, helped support FEMA funding requests with clear digital proof and freed up staff to do other jobs.
“FEMA gave very positive feedback, and indicated that Aiken’s system was a big improvement over some existing methods. They said the use of drones and cameras in this way was new and innovative,” the city said. “Aiken’s process could be seen as a model for other municipalities to follow when recovering from a disaster.”
