ROV inspection: a safer, smarter approach to potable water tank integrity

Potable water tanks play a critical role in supporting industrial operations and essential water infrastructure. Maintaining the integrity of these assets is vital to ensure water quality, operational reliability and compliance with regulatory requirements. 
 

Underwater structural integrity and subsea surveys

Applus+ deploys purpose-built ROV systems for remote visual inspections where human access is restricted or unsafe, including storage tanks, pipelines, and other enclosed structures.

ROVs are piloted by qualified operators equipped with high-resolution cameras and lighting systems, capturing detailed visual data (including 4K video and photos) of internal tank surfaces, structural components, and hard-to-reach areas.

• This approach allows inspection without draining the asset or requiring confined-space entry, significantly improving safety and reducing operational disruption.
• High-quality visual data supports early identification of coating degradation, corrosion or mechanical damage, enabling proactive maintenance planning.
• Eliminating tank draining, cleaning and re-filling activities also results in substantial cost savings while simplifying inspection logistics.
• Detailed inspection reports are produced for condition assessment, regulatory compliance, and maintenance planning.

These advantages make ROV inspection an increasingly preferred solution for water storage assets across industrial, energy and infrastructure markets.

Integrated asset integrity support

ROV potable water tank inspection forms part of Applus+ broader asset integrity and inspection service offering. Applus+ provides a holistic approach to asset lifecycle management including related services such as non-destructive testing (NDT), materials assessment and integrity engineering. An example of this is the recent underwater inspection of a power plant cooling tower basin connector using submersible ROV systems.

Applus+ continues to develop and deliver advanced ROV inspection solutions that enable asset owners to maintain infrastructure integrity and operational confidence without compromising safety, technical quality, or production continuity.