Water utilities across the UK face a persistent challenge: how do you maintain and inspect ageing infrastructure without taking assets offline, disrupting supply, or putting personnel at risk? The answer lies in combining the right technologies — and the right expertise.
At Sutro Group, we provide specialist pipe inspection services across the UK for water utilities, working alongside your existing teams to detect hidden deterioration before it becomes costly failure. Our integrated approach brings together UAV surveys, rope access, specialist NDT, and underwater robotics under one roof — no need to manage multiple contractors.
Why standard inspections miss the biggest threats
Some of the most serious threats to water infrastructure are invisible to a standard visual survey. Corrosion developing beneath pipe supports, deterioration inside confined underground networks, and structural damage on submerged tank walls can all go undetected until they cause significant problems.
Traditional inspection methods — scaffolding, dewatering, manual access — are expensive, disruptive, and in many environments, simply not feasible. With the right specialist technologies, the same level of inspection-grade data can be captured with far less disruption and at lower cost.
Typical applications for water utility inspection
Our pipe inspection services are suited to a wide range of water infrastructure assets, including:
• Water treatment tanks
• Storage tanks and reservoirs
• Underground pipe networks and confined spaces
• Pipe support corrosion detection
• Sumps and basins
Three critical challenges we solve for water utilities
1. Corrosion under pipe supports (CUPS)
Corrosion that develops beneath pipe supports — known as CUPS (corrosion under pipe supports) — is one of the most common causes of unplanned failure in water and process pipework. Because it forms where the pipe rests on its support, it is completely hidden from visual inspection. By the time it becomes visible externally, significant wall-thickness loss has usually already occurred.
Our specialist NDT techniques detect subsurface corrosion without removing pipework or taking assets offline. No pipework removal is required, and inspections can be completed as part of routine maintenance activity — keeping disruption to a minimum.
2. Underwater inspection without dewatering
Dewatering a storage tank or reservoir for inspection is a significant operational undertaking — costly, time-consuming, and not always practical. Our robotic systems can inspect tank walls and bottom plates while assets remain fully operational. No dewatering, no extended outages, no disruption to supply.
Underwater robotics allow us to capture high-resolution visual data and identify corrosion, cracking, and other structural issues in real time. The result is a thorough inspection record without the cost and complexity of traditional methods.
3. Confined space access in GPS-denied environments
Underground pipe networks, culverts, and internal tank structures present particular challenges. Many of these environments are dangerous for personnel to enter and inaccessible to standard UAV technology. Our Elios 3 drone is specifically designed for confined, GPS-denied environments — navigating tight spaces and capturing inspection-grade data where traditional access simply is not possible.
Where hands-on access is required, our IRATA-certified rope access teams combine structural analysis with advanced NDT — providing a complete picture of asset condition in a single visit.
One source, multiple solutions
Managing multiple specialist contractors adds cost, complexity, and risk. Our integrated service model means you work with a single, experienced team that can deliver across every stage of an inspection programme:
- UAV surveys — rapid aerial overview and internal confined space inspection
- Rope access — safe, cost-effective access to structures at height or in difficult locations
- Specialist NDT — subsurface corrosion detection, weld inspection, and structural analysis
- Underwater robotics — in-service tank and reservoir inspection without dewatering
This turnkey approach eliminates the need for multiple contractors and reduces overall inspection costs — while delivering a more complete and consistent picture of asset condition.
Proven with UK’s major water utilities
We work directly alongside the in-house teams of major UK water utilities, complementing existing capabilities with specialist technologies that detect what standard equipment cannot reach. Our teams are experienced in the working practices, site protocols, and safety requirements of the water sector — so integration with your operations is straightforward.
With operating centres in South Wales, South West England, and Gdańsk, we can mobilise quickly across the UK and Europe, responding to both planned inspection programmes and urgent assessments.
Is your current approach detecting the hidden threats?
If your water infrastructure inspections rely on standard visual surveys alone, there is a good chance that subsurface corrosion, confined space deterioration, and underwater structural issues are going undetected. The cost of an unplanned failure — in both operational disruption and repair expenditure — significantly outweighs the cost of proactive specialist inspection.
Our pipe inspection services are designed to fill those gaps, working within your existing maintenance programme to give you a complete and accurate picture of asset condition.
Contact Sutro Group
To find out how Sutro Group’s specialist pipe inspection services can support your water utility maintenance programme, contact our team:
0800 069 9395
info@sutrogroup.co.uk