American Water announced its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Program has entered into an agreement with The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) corporation, to perform research under a NJIT Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 91 Certificate of Authorization (COA). The COA enables research activities to take place both beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and up to an altitude of 1,500 feet above ground level. Additionally, American Water's long-range mapping and inspection airframe, the Censys Technologies Sentaero, provides the ability to safely inspect facilities from miles away through high-resolution cameras, while staying in the air for over an hour.

American Water is also working closely with several government agencies and partner organizations to enable BVLOS UAS missions during temporary flight restrictions, which are commonly in place after natural disasters.