Underwater drone will help divers in Allegheny County limit time spent in water

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Channel 11 is getting a look at a new underwater drone being used for recovery efforts in Allegheny County.

“It’s amazing what you can do with this thing,” said Bruno Moretti, Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency coordinator.

It’s just another tool for the Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency.

“You can go anywhere you want with it in the water,” Moretti said.

Allegheny Valley Regional Emergency Management Agency serves Cheswick, Harmar, Springdale Borough and Township, all communities along the Allegheny River.

“There are two departments in the four communities,” Moretti said. “We plan on training somebody from each department.”

They just got this new technology about a week and a half ago and haven’t had to use it yet. But when they do need it, Moretti says it’ll significantly cut down the time divers spend in the water.

“We’re minimizing their exposure in the river where all the hazards and everything are,” Moretti said.

Lower Kiski Swift Water Rescue got a similar drone about a year ago. Recently, they used it to make sure no one was in a submerged car. It can also be used to recover evidence.

“Say someone threw a gun in the river,” Moretti said. “We can go down, find it and pick it up with this. This way you don’t have to send anybody in the water.”

Besides the grabber, it also has lights and can record video. Allegheny Valley Regional EMA got their underwater drone for about $4,000 from Springdale Energy. Lower Kiski’s underwater drone was about $16,000 and was funded by the Richard G. and Barbara A. Snyder General Charitable Trust. Pittsburgh River Rescue also has an underwater drone.

Rescue teams usually utilize a boat with sonar first. Then, they’ll send one of these underwater drones into the water before any divers.

Allegheny Valley Regional EMA’s underwater drone can go for about six hours and navigate down to any depth in the river.

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