Changing to a Remote Approach for Water Tower Inspections

Mountain West Commercial Diving (MWCD) has 25 years’ experience salvaging pipelines, boats and weapons from the lake bottom, stopping leaks in dams and reservoir walls, pouring concrete, setting anchors, cutting pipelines, dredging rivers and pipe penetration, replacing submerged valves and inspecting potable water systems.

During that time Mountain West Commercial Diving has always exceeded their client’s expectations while adhering to the highest standards in industry compliance and safety.

One important area for MWCD's clients is potable water inspections. When inspections reveal problematic sediment in potable water tanks, the company offer a thorough and efficient water tank cleaning service with no disruption in access to the supply. MWCD needed a way to keep the overall cost of a job down for their clients while not cutting corners in their operation. Another significant concern, was to not compromise the safety of their dive teams or the general public.

Mountain West Commercial Diving’s continuous commitment to safety and quality led them to the acquisition of a Deep Trekker DTG2 Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The ROV offers their dive teams the ability to rapidly conduct submerged inspections of potable water systems. Jake Spaulding, owner of MWCD, commented, “Rather than deploying divers in every situation; we save the customer money and do [an] inspection with the ROV and provide the customer with HD video of their tanks/reservoirs.”

Deep Trekker is a Canadian manufacturer of ROVs, otherwise known as underwater drones. The DTG2 ROV is being used in-field around the world on thousands of aquaculture sites, hydroelectric dams, search & rescue operations, commercial diving sites and more. Using their patented pitching system, Deep Trekker ROVs are able to navigate through the water in all directions using only two thrusters. Deep Trekker offers extremely robust systems while keeping them at an accessible price point.

Prior to owning the Deep Trekker underwater drone, MWCD sent in divers for every underwater inspection. This was proving to be physically taxing for the divers and quite costly for the company and consequently became an expense burden for clients. With the ROV inspection tool, Jake Spaulding has been able to provide a cost-effective solution. “It’s nice to save my divers from unneeded climbing or entry into a tank that was in good shape,” Spaulding adds, “It is so much nicer to hoist the ROV to the top of a tower than it is to send a diver dressed in up a 65 ft ladder. Now we only send in divers if we know what is needed.” If the ROV inspection identifies further servicing is required, Spaulding is able to deploy the drone alongside a diver to not only monitor the diver’s well-being but also to direct them to the areas of interest.

Jake Spaulding gravitated toward the Deep Trekker DTG2 for his company’s underwater inspections primarily because it is exclusively powered by on-board batteries. On a single 1.5 hour charge, the ROV has a 6-8 hour work time. The long run time allows MWCD to perform up to seven (7) thorough potable water tank inspections on one battery charge.

Some towers inspected by MWCD are located in remote locations with no power available or logistical difficulties in accessing and operating a generator. The DTG2 ROV unit requires no power from the surface and is truly portable in one carrying case, making it ideal to deploy in these situations.

“Deep Trekker makes this task much easier no hauling in a generator. I’ve also gone multiple days without charging and inspected multiple tanks,” remarked Spaulding.

MWCD is able drop the ROV into a tank and have a live video feed transmitted from the unit to the lightweight controller. Additionally, they are able to snap high quality photos or record HD video to review with their clients.

Remotely Operated Vehicles allow Mountain West Commercial Divers to save their drivers unnecessary climbs up towers that do not require servicing. This simple change in inspection protocols significantly reduces the average cost to conduct an inspection for their clients while still adhering the highest standards in industry compliance.

Mountain West Commercial Divers has immediately seen the cost saving benefits of owning a Deep Trekker ROV to conduct their underwater inspections. Not only do they plan to continue to use their unit but their future strategy is to expand their aquatic drone fleet.