Intakes, clearwells, wet wells and basins inspected and repaired while the plant stays in service. Potable and contaminated-water diving.
Zion Marine has held a multi-year diving services contract with DeKalb County, Georgia for ten years. Many of the most critical components in a water or wastewater system are submerged, enclosed, difficult to isolate, or impossible to inspect from the surface. Intakes, wet wells, clearwells and basins hold the conditions that decide whether a plant keeps running, and those conditions are rarely visible from the deck. Zion Marine provides specialized access to those components, giving owners and engineers a clear picture of what is actually happening below the waterline.
Surface-supplied air from a barge at 110 ft depth with surface oxygen decompression, an on-site chamber, a chamber operator and a dive medical technician on standby. Lake Tuscaloosa water intake for the City of Tuscaloosa.
The operational conditions that lead an owner to call.
Debris, sediment or equipment failure at intakes and screens reduces plant capacity. We identify and resolve the obstruction, often on short notice.
Aging infrastructure often has no accurate as-built or condition record. We provide the inspection and documentation engineers need before design work begins.
Submerged concrete, steel and coatings degrade out of sight. We document the condition and perform targeted repair before it threatens operations.
Wastewater and process water diving requires contamination protocols most diving operations are not equipped for. We plan and execute to the actual water classification.
Taking a tank or basin out of service is costly and often impossible. We inspect submerged components while the facility remains in operation.
When a component fails, a shutdown is not always an option. We plan around active flow, process timing and facility access to keep systems online.
Potable and contaminated-water diving for live, operating systems.
View CapabilityCondition assessment, photo/video and reporting for treatment infrastructure.
View CapabilityTrash rack, screen and control-gate inspection, cleaning and repair.
View Capability
Owner: City of Tuscaloosa · GC: Haren Construction · Tuscaloosa, Alabama · 2024
Removed the existing timber intake and rock ballast and installed a new intake with diver-placed steel formwork, rebar and concrete. Replaced the screen guide rails and the air-valve intake. Surface-supplied air was run from a barge at 110 ft depth with surface oxygen decompression, an on-site chamber, a chamber operator and a dive medical technician on standby.
WastewaterOwner: JEA · GC: Wharton-Smith · Jacksonville, Florida · 2022–2024
Contaminated-water diving inside an operating wastewater facility with sealed suits, positive-pressure helmets and surface decontamination. Valve replacement, hydraulic saw cutting of concrete, blind flanges for isolation and sliding gate installation, all performed with the plant in service.
WastewaterOwner: DeKalb County · DeKalb County, Georgia · 2024
HAZMAT dive at an operating wastewater plant. Part of Zion Marine's ongoing diving services contract with DeKalb County, now in its tenth year.
Many projects can be planned around facility operations, but each condition must be evaluated for flow, isolation, access, safety and operational constraints. We coordinate with plant staff to work during limited shutdown windows, with active flow, within treatment process constraints, and inside confined or contaminated environments, without promising that every scope can avoid a shutdown. The right approach depends on what we find once we can actually see the submerged condition.
Contaminated water changes how a dive is planned. Before anyone gets in, we identify what is in the water, decide what protection the diver needs, and set up a way to clean the diver and gear when they come out.
Our procedures follow the U.S. Navy's guidance for diving in contaminated waters, OSHA's commercial diving rules, ADCI consensus standards and, on Corps of Engineers work, EM 385-1-1. Each job starts with a site hazard assessment and contaminant identification. We use surface supplied diving equipment and dry suits, run decontamination after every dive, and keep an emergency plan in place.
This applies to wastewater plants, industrial treatment systems and any water with chemical or biological hazards. The work is inspection, maintenance and repair, done so the diver stays protected and the contamination stays where it is.
Drinking water has to stay drinking water. Our dive procedures for potable water work are built to protect water quality: disinfected equipment, sanitary entry, controlled handling of tools and gear, and coordination with the facility operator before and after the dive.
Our procedures follow AWWA C652 for disinfection of water storage facilities and, where it applies, AWWA C653 for water treatment plants, along with OSHA's commercial diving rules and ADCI consensus standards.
We inspect, clean and maintain elevated tanks, ground storage reservoirs, clearwells and submerged treatment infrastructure, and we plan the work to keep the system in service whenever the operator allows it.
Tell us about the facility, the condition and the schedule. We'll help determine the right next step, inspection, repair, or further planning.