DRONE TANK INSPECTION AND CONDITION ASSESSMENT
High-Resolution Aerial Inspection of Water Storage Tanks Without Scaffolding or Lifts
Water storage tanks are some of the most expensive assets a utility owns, and inspecting them traditionally means scaffolding, lifts, rope access, or scheduled drain-and-entry events. None of those are cheap, fast, or safe. Drone-based inspection has replaced most of that work over the past few years, and for good reason. A skilled drone operator can document the exterior condition of a water tank in a fraction of the time of manual inspection, with higher-resolution imagery, lower risk, and a permanent visual record that can be reviewed and compared over time.
ICG provides drone-based exterior inspection of water storage tanks and other above-ground infrastructure across the western United States. Our work focuses on water and wastewater utilities, but the same techniques apply to industrial tanks, elevated structures, and any asset where a close-up exterior view is needed without putting people at height.
Aerial drone inspection of a water storage tank exterior
Drone-captured view of water tank coating condition during exterior inspection
Drone-captured view of water tank coating condition during final exterior inspection
Aerial drone inspection of a water storage tank exterior
What We Do
Most of ICG's drone inspection work falls into three categories:
Existing Condition Assessment
Comprehensive exterior documentation of a tank's current state. High-resolution images of the entire exterior surface, the roof, vents, hatches, and any other accessible exterior features. The output is a complete visual record that supports condition reports, capital planning, and decisions about rehabilitation vs. replacement.
Rehabilitation Progress Monitoring
During coating and rehabilitation projects, drones provide ongoing visual documentation of contractor progress, surface preparation quality, and coating application. This gives owners and engineers a way to verify that work is being performed to specification without daily site visits, and it creates a defensible photographic record if disputes arise later.
Post-Project Documentation
After a rehabilitation or recoating project is complete, drone imagery establishes a clean baseline for future inspections. Comparing future images to this baseline makes it easy to track coating degradation, identify new defects, and plan the next rehabilitation cycle.
What You Get
For most drone inspection projects, ICG delivers:
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High-resolution photographs of the complete exterior surface
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Annotated imagery highlighting areas of corrosion, coating defects, or structural concerns
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A written condition assessment report with findings and recommendations
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A permanent digital archive of the inspection for future reference and comparison
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Optional video walkaround footage for stakeholder presentations and internal review
The inspection report is written to support real decisions: which areas need immediate attention, which can wait, and what the next steps should be. We don't deliver pretty pictures with no engineering analysis.
Why Drone Inspection Works So Well for Water Tanks
A few specific reasons drone-based inspection has become the practical standard for water tank exteriors:
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No scaffolding or lifts. Drone inspection eliminates the largest single line item on most traditional tank inspection budgets.
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No confined-space entry for exterior work. Reduces safety risk and OSHA exposure for the inspecting party.
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Higher-resolution imagery than ground-based inspection. A drone hovering three feet from a tank wall captures detail that even a skilled inspector with binoculars can't match.
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Faster turnaround. Most water tank exteriors can be fully documented in a single day on-site.
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Repeatable and archivable. Every inspection produces a digital record that can be compared to past and future inspections, supporting longitudinal tracking that hand-written reports can't.
For owners with multiple tanks across a service area, drone-based inspection turns what used to be a major coordinated effort into a routine annual or biannual activity.
ICG's Drone Capability
ICG operates drones equipped with high-resolution cameras for exterior corrosion and coating inspection work. All flights are performed by FAA Part 107 certified Remote Pilots in compliance with current federal regulations and applicable state and local airspace rules.
We coordinate flights with airport authorities and air traffic control where required, follow weather and visibility minimums, and maintain documentation of every flight for client records and regulatory compliance.