Project Title:

Chetwynd Reservoir Internal Inspection | Murphy Geospatial

Location:

Cork, Ireland

Client: 

Malachy Walsh & Partners / Irish Water

Business Sectors: 

Civil Infrastructure / Water Resources

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Upon receipt of an initial enquiry regarding the ability to obtain UAV captured images of the internal concrete wall of the reservoir, we gained an understanding of what Malachy Walsh & Partners required. Due to difficulties in ensuring reliable communications with a UAV, Murphy Geospatial suggested an alternative approach which was accepted by our client.

Upon award of the contract, Murphy Geospatial coordinated with multiple stakeholders to ensure all necessary preparations were made. The reservoir was emptied for the purposes of the inspection and any necessary repair, so the inspection needed to be carried out within a certain window of opportunity.

A two-man team was used to carry out the survey. With all appropriate PPE, including rope access harness and confined space kits, our inspectors used a 10 m telescopic pole in 3 radial bands around the internal wall of the reservoir at increasing heights. The pole had high-intensity LED lights to illuminate the wall and a high-definition HDR camera which could be remotely operated from the ground. A preview of the image was visible to the inspectors to ensure high quality results and avoid blurred images etc. before moving to the next section.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

Murphy Geospatial delivered a set of high-quality photographs enabling an appropriate engineering assessment to be carried out.

Our client was able to proceed with their engineering assessment with confidence. Our combined efforts, along with other project stakeholders, partly ensures that residents of Cork City will have a secure water supply for years to come.

Our Role:

Murphy Geospatial was approached by Malachy Walsh & Partners to assist with the structural inspection of a key part of the water supply infrastructure in Cork City. High-quality visual inspection data was required to identify any defects in the post-tensioned concrete Chetwynd water reservoir structure, south of the city. The internal space was classified as confined space working, perfectly suited to our specialist inspection skills. Murphy Geospatial proposed a bespoke solution to capture the data required, fixing remotely operated high-definition cameras and LED lights to a telescopic pole.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

David Graham (dgraham@murphysurveys.ie)