A safety issue to think about

[Yotsie]

That is enough to suck a diver right out of their gear and into the pipe like the filling out of a Burrito.

That brings up a kinda wierd mental picture

There is still some more information I need to get but as long as the system is in operation we WILL NOT hit the water. It’s in the works that we and/or the fire departments will have access to the pump power. Once that is turned off it will either be locked off or a guard put on it, preferably both.

I would try for full access and the ability to shut it off and lock the system down using a lock or similar device that only my team had access to the key. Otherwise, no dive.

 

[bridgediver]

This is a good topic!

Just to reiterate what Gary and Blades mentioned, covers and screens can fail or fall off and you'd never know it. The lock out procedure is the best solution as others have said IMO.

We've had to do a search of 2 water treatment ponds where there were intakes as Gary describes. A lock out was done prior to diving. We took the opportunity to examine the intakes after the search and pose 'what if' questions to each other.
These ponds are also well secured (fences etc). The intake from the lake (an aquafier connects from the lake to the treatment plant) however has sucked up large fish and on one occasion a large goose - its supposed to have a screen too...
You also may find that over time the locations of these intakes are forgotten as the lake intake was in this case