NIGP 96226: Diving Services

NIGP 96226 Diving Services, an Item code, covers commercial diving operations that state and local governments procure to inspect, maintain, repair, and remediate underwater infrastructure in water and wastewater systems, marine environments, and utility facilities. Recent solicitations show governments buying emergency-response diving capabilities, underwater inspections with photographic and video documentation, confined-space and deep-tunnel operations, equipment maintenance and repair (welding, cutting, concrete patching, pipe relining), debris and derelict-gear removal, and specialized services such as manatee-grate and tide-check-valve maintenance in coastal jurisdictions. Issuing bodies span city water departments, municipal watershed management offices, fire and police departments, and state natural-resource agencies. The City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management and the City of St. Pete Beach both issued RFBs or IFBs for multi-year on-call diving contracts in spring 2026, indicating repeat demand from larger municipalities for standing dive-service agreements backed by continuous operational readiness and four-to-six-hour emergency mobilization windows.

Recent activity concentrates in Florida, Georgia, Washington State, and Texas. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued an RFP in May 2026 for derelict shellfish-gear removal across five counties (Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Chelan, Yakima), valued at $502,000 over three years and requiring side-scan sonar, ROV, or certified diver capabilities. The City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management posted an IFB (PE66062NONST2027000000445) due July 24, 2026, for on-call commercial diving services covering emergency response, infrastructure inspections, maintenance and repairs, confined-space diving, and deep tunnel operations across wastewater and drinking-water systems. The City of St. Pete Beach issued an RFB due April 8, 2026, for three-year commercial diving services focused on tide check valves, stormwater outfalls, manatee grates, and subaqueous pipelines. The City of Fort Worth posted an RFQt due March 20, 2026, for dive-equipment maintenance (regulator and computer servicing) on an as-needed basis for the Fire and Police Departments. All recent contracts require OSHA commercial-diver certification, current CPR and First Aid credentials, and valid commercial-diver certifications from ADCI-recognized diving schools; supervisors typically must demonstrate five years of commercial diving experience. Dive operations are commonly structured as fixed-unit-price or hourly-labor agreements with monthly invoicing, performance bonds where required, and commercial general liability insurance minimums ranging from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 per occurrence.