Built more than 50 years ago, the Yarra Valley Doncaster water tank, with an external surface area of over 2,000m2, is one of the largest tanks in our client's network. It provides potable water to the surrounding customers and network in eastern Melbourne. 

As part of our Tank Inspection and Maintenance Contract, Ventia was engaged to refurbish the Doncaster tank to address exterior corrosion and improve the aesthetics. The corrosion had occurred due to pine needles from the surrounding area.  This was part of a number of improvement projects the team has been working on for the client. 

Traditionally, for a job like this, a scaffold and sand blasting are required but given the location of the tank and the local community this was not possible. Seeking an approach that would have less of an impact on neighbours, Ventia was able to utilise an innovative solution to removing the existing coating in order to undertake the refurbishment, with minimal impact on surrounding areas.

In this case, the team used a magnetic robot crawler (VertiDrive), Ultra High Pressure (UHP) water, and vacuum trucks. The solution enabled technicians to operate safer, faster and more efficiently while reducing the impact to the local community. 

So successful was the innovation that Yarra Valley Water is keen to utilise it on other tanks across their network. 

Once the surface was prepared our painting teams applied a new resilient coating system which will provide the tank with coating protection for many years to come.

As part of this project, new garden beds with native trees and grasses were also around the site, providing a habitat for birds and insects and improving the overall appearance of the landscape around the tank.