The County of Riverside Purchasing, on behalf of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RSO), Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), is seeking competitive bids for a side scan sonar ARC “Explorer” (Transducer 900/1800kHz) Tow fish as detailed in this QQ. SERT’s Dive Team is Riverside County’s sole public safety dive team and conducts all underwater search and recovery operations, responding to an average of more than two dozen calls for service annually. The Dive Team is a CAL-OES/FEMA Level 1 team responsible for search and recovery operations in all bodies of water within Riverside County. As a blackwater diving team that also specializes in night diving in open waters, operations often occur in low to zero visibility conditions. This limits a diver's ability to adequately see hazards in the water, read their safety instruments to determine remaining air supply, navigate, and properly communicate with their partner safety divers or the surface vessel/personnel. The ability to utilize hull mounted side scan sonar systems will aid the team in searching and identifying hazards before a diver is deployed. Once deployed, divers have limited time to conduct operations due to their limited air supply and communication capabilities. This device will assist by utilizing sound waves to generate detailed images of the submerged water environment. As the name “Tow fish” suggests, the component is towed behind a vessel, which carries the inherent risk of striking submerged objects. RSO seeks to purchase one (1) ARC Explorer 900/1800kHz tow fish with a high definition (HD) dual frequency 900/1800 kHz transducer and Adaptive Compressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse (CHIRP) technology that can produce ultra-high-resolution images. These images are crucial for detecting small objects such as human remains, evidence, and hazardous devices. This tow fish will be added to RSO’s existing fleet of a Sea Scan ARC Explorer 900/1800 kHz dual frequency towed system.
