Arizona public power utility Salt River Project is utilizing an underwater drone, which has been in use since 2020, to monitor its power and water assets.
SRP currently has one underwater drone in operation and a fleet of nine multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones in total. The underwater drone was made by Deep Trekker.
SRP’s drone program, which launched in 2017, “has helped the organization safely, efficiently and cost-effectively monitor power and water assets, like dams and canals, to help ensure reliability,” said Elaina Steingard, Senior Media Relations Representative at SRP.
SRP’s team of unmanned aerial system pilots “operate a fleet of drones to inspect facilities, evaluate infrastructure, assess equipment, map SRP assets, survey accident and/or storm damage, carry external cargo loads, and document the watershed with video or photography, to name a few capabilities,” she said.
SRP's use of the underwater drone was recently featured in a story by Jorge Torres, meteorologist for Arizona’s ABC15.
