Gippsland Water purchases ROV for Reservoir Inspections

David Toohey, Senior Water Quality Scientist at Gippsland Water, contacted ROV Innovations regarding the use of Seamor advanced ROVs for inspecting the range of potable storage tanks and reservoirs. 

Due to the positive feedback from other owners of Seamor ROVs within Australia, the water quality team at Gippsland purchased a 300T "ATOM" ROV, specifically designed for water tank inspections. David decided to add a few additional features to increase the functionality of their ROV such as a single function manipulator, 2 additional LED floodlights, rear camera, VisionClear video enhancement, and top mounted HD camera for reservoir roof inspections.

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We delivered Gippsland's new ROV and conducted onsite training for David, Jamie, and Wayne over the course of three days, initially starting in one of the managements new swimming pools (thanks Chris!), then proceeding to the Clearwater Treatment plant, then finally onto one of the more difficult concrete in-ground reservoirs. The guys picked up all features of the ROV extremely quickly, realising features like the Auto Depth and Auto Heading functionality greatly assisted in their ability to fly the ROV without disturbing the minimal sediment within the tanks.

Seamor 300T "ATOM" performing a training inspection

David Toohey of Gippsland Water at the ROV controls

The VisionClear video enhancement proved to be a great benefit, specifically with the Digital Wide Dynamic Range feature and the Colour enhancement. The additional lighting was perfect for older concrete tanks where all light seems to be absorbed by the walls and floor. And in the tanks with supporting columns and cross beams, the rear camera worked well so the guys could see exactly where they had been and ensured their tether was not wrapped in and around any potential snags.

Setting up for the ROV potable water tank inspection at one of Gippsland's in ground storage tanks

The powerful lighting of the Seamor ROVs illuminate everything in the area

One of the main benefits of using robust commercial grade inspection class ROVs, such as Seamor, in the Potable Water industry  where water quality is paramount, is that the ROV can be quickly and efficiently sterilised before and after each inspection, ensuring that nothing is introduced to the towns water supply. The added manipulator on the ROV lets Jamie, the water quality technical officer, collect water quality samples from anywhere within each reservoir, enabling Gippsland water to maintain a very high level of confidence in the product they deliver.