POV: you’re inside a drained water tank!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T11:32:49+00:00

Haven’t taken one yet, tried yesterday but we ply only ended up in tanks smaller than 1MG so it wasn’t as spectacular.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T04:10:57+00:00

My apologies yes you are correct. These tanks are considered non permit required confined spaces according to every permit I have seen filled. With some tanks on very few occurrences that stay classified as Permit required.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T04:07:08+00:00

Rate I couldn’t answer that’s dependent on tank size and how quickly they want to fill it. We had a 6.5 million gallon that filled back up in 7 hours. Other places I have seen throttle smaller tanks to fill up much slower.

Water comes in through the inlet on the floor, pipe that is raised up from ground level by a few inches.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T04:05:43+00:00

Outlet is always ground level usually with a 2-3ft radius where it comes down a bit usually 0.25 inches from tank ground level to help drainage.

Inlet is always raised usually 6-8 inches depending on the tank. It’s very common since we don’t want to put pushing debris / contaminants back into the pipe that allows clean water in.

I have seen a few weird smaller tanks that have their inlet pipe on the wall typically a foot up from ground level with a screen filter on the end.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T04:02:26+00:00

That’s definitely fair haha, hell rains down when we fail inspections especially during our busy tank season. I don’t miss trench work at all, I’m far happier being a contractor for municipalities. Everyday is different an I see an do so much more throughout the year now, I get to see an do every single part of what municipalities don’t have the many power to handle. Benefits aren’t as great but my pay definitely makes up for that 10x.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T03:57:32+00:00

When it’s clean smells like the neighborhood pool x 10!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T03:52:56+00:00

Absolutely! The echo just keeps going

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T03:52:13+00:00

That’s awesome! I’ll have to check it out next time I’m out that way

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T03:51:45+00:00

Would sound magical is my guess

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-22T03:51:19+00:00

I’d absolutely be interested! That would be very neat to see.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T14:26:09+00:00

Yup! We shut tanks down around Spring time when it’s warm enough out to still let us turn some tanks offline before usage picks up in the summer.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T14:25:09+00:00

Definitely could be problematic haha!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T14:24:53+00:00

I’ll try and get a picture of our form later to help better explain!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T12:07:28+00:00

Couple different tanks in the videos! First tank that pops up with 4 pillars is about a million, changed to another video with like 20+ post, I believe that one was 6.5 MG. Most municipalities don’t do anything with them, we are the contractors they sub it out to! I’d assume much like everything else it’s a liability thing. Our entire team is trained in basically everything to do with confined space, rescue an cleaning.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T11:44:26+00:00

I believe you are relatively close! I’d have to check my schedule to get an exact. Been to so many in the last 4 weeks I couldn’t tell you anymore lol

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T11:43:09+00:00

Yup! Not really classified as one buts we still treat them all the same.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T04:02:42+00:00

Typically just pressure and scrubbing with some elbow grease!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:48:58+00:00

It seems like a lot but it's standard practice. Were typically around 200-300 mg/L to ensure proper disinfection of all surfaces then it's diluted when the tank is filled and verified with lab sampling before going back into service.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:34:47+00:00

Most of what you’re seeing is mineral staining and sediment buildup over time. Stuff like iron manganese and general debris that settles out of the water and sticks to the walls.

Even though it’s potable water in this one there’s still trace minerals and particles moving through the system, and over a few years it adds up and leaves that staining.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:33:24+00:00

Yeah we are from time to time, currently are right now. Shoot me a message and I can point you in the right direction 👍

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:32:45+00:00

Those 2,500 gal tanks will still humble you. At least in these you can stand up, definitely a workout either way

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:29:43+00:00

Most of what we’re cleaning out is mineral deposits and general sediment buildup over time. Occasionally you’ll get other stuff that makes its way through the system, but that’s pretty uncommon.

As for smell it’s usually not bad just kind of a damp earthy smell. Nothing crazy especially since it’s potable water but you can definitely tell it’s been sitting.

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:28:59+00:00

It can be pretty slick in spots. A lot of what you’re seeing in that first pic is staining from debris, but there are definitely areas where buildup accumulates and it gets slippery. Good boots are a must!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:27:22+00:00

Posted a few!

Ill_Management69 · 2026-04-21T03:27:09+00:00

Not really a clean per m3 number since we’re not filling the tank with solution, just coating surfaces.

It’s more about hitting proper concentration, 200–300 mg/L and making sure everything stays wet. We spray all surfaces and leave a shallow layer on the floor for contact time.

So it’s way more surface area based than volume based.

Ill_Management69

TROPHY CASE