Potable Water Inspections

Our customer, Southern Commercial Divers recently purchased the Boxfish ROV to inspect potable water reservoirs without the need to send divers into unsafe situations.

In recent years, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have become a standard method for completing tank and potable water inspections. A water reservoir that hasn’t undergone inspection within the timeframes recommended could present a number of contaminants and excessive debris or sediment. This can then pose a risk to human health and the integrity of the reservoir.

ROVs are being built smaller to fit in water tank access hatches and are easier for operators to maneuver. However, the benefits of using an ROV for potable water inspections go beyond their technical basics. Our customer, Southern Commercial Divers recently purchased the Boxfish ROV to inspect potable water reservoirs without the need to send divers into unsafe situations.

Water tank inspections can be cumbersome, time consuming and expensive, but the Boxfish ROV is changing that. Learn how Southern Commercial Divers and other Boxfish customers are using the Boxfish ROV to safely inspect water tanks. Here are three main ways ROVs are changing water tank inspections:

1. No down time for water availability. In a typical drain down inspection, a water tank is taken out of service while divers enter the bowl. This requires providing city residents an alternative means of water (continuous pumping or temporary water source), and requires the tank to be disinfected for AWWA compliance prior to returning to service. But with an ROV, the water tank can remain in service.

2. ROVs help conserve water. Tank inspection with a dive crew often involves removing some of the water for sediment removal or complete water removal for a drain down inspection. Removing water is costly and time consuming. ROVs can operate inside a tank, regardless of how much or how little water is left in it.

3. ROVs are cost-effective. As mentioned above, there is no need to hire a dive team, or remove tank water. On a typical elevated water storage tank evaluation, savings can be tremendously high when using an ROV instead of a dive team. When your consultant owns its own ROV equipment — like the Boxfish ROV — the cost savings can be substantial.

After demoing the Boxfish ROV, Southern Commercial Divers were especially pleased with the high-res image and video quality that the ROV provided. This immediately confirmed their decision to purchase an ROV as it allowed their team to assist predictions and schedule future maintenance and inspection safely and in a timely manner.

Learn more about how Boxfish can help conduct your tank inspections and improve the safety of your dive team by contacting us today.

View a video from Southern Commercial Divers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1MzvfoUhts