Sediment management

For several years now we undertake services in difficult to reach areas for water power companies. Especially during inspection works with our underwater drones we were confronted with extreme siltation of safety valves, drain valves or water inlet valves, which made the inspections difficult or even impossible.

Sediments are a natural and important part of our rivers. In impounding storages though the fluvial process is impeded, the sediments sink to the bottom and silt the impounding structure. As a consequence, the water storage capacity decreases, the energy production is restricted. Desedimentation with conventional methods  is cost-intensive and has serious ecological consequences. Both for hydropower operators and for the environment it is crucial to find appropriate solutions for the sedimentation problematic.

Finding technically complex solutions is what drives us every day. So we developed a modular system for sediment management, that works without mechanically rotating parts and thus cannot damage the infrastructure. The system not only allows the selective exposure of valves or similar elements, but also performes outstandingly for the sediment management of extensive areas of impounding storages.

Application fields:

• reservoirs
• run-of-the-river power plants
• pumped storages
• surge chambers
• caverns

Our strategy for sediment mobilisation is based on the principles modularity, automation and flexibility. Therefore we are able to provide tailor-made solutions for sustainable sediment management.