Lakewood, WA – U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) announced $247,731 in federal funding for the Pierce County Metro Dive Team to update diving equipment that has been in use for the last two decades.
“The funding announced today for the Metro Dive Team allows them to acquire the latest technology for this important work ,” said U.S. Rep. Strickland. “This federal funding supports their recovery efforts, and is an essential investment in the safety and well-being of our region and state.”
“The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and especially the members of the County’s Metro Dive Team, are incredibly thankful for Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland’s support to fund the replacement of our dive Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV),” said the Sheriff’s Chief of Patrol Micah Lundborg. “Thanks to her help in securing $250,000, we will be able to replace a 20 year old piece of equipment that is close to being operationally and technologically obsolete, with a locally-produced vital piece of public safety equipment that will significantly improve our search and recovery capabilities in responding to emergencies on our many waterways throughout the region.”
The Metro Dive Team regularly responds to rescue operations, recoveries, and evidence searches in the South Sound, conducting haz-mat diving, sonar operations, salvage efforts, and pier sweeps. The team also handles water related death investigations and frequently sponsor community-wide water safety demonstrations. Many state agencies rely on the important services of the Metro Dive Team, which is made up of members from the Pierce County Sherriff’s Department, Tacoma Police Department, and Lakewood Police Department.
The overall project supports these main goals:
- Allow for the purchase of the SRS FUSION ROV, along with accessories including a grabber, sonar, scanner, and tether.
- Improve the Metro Dive Team’s ability to adequately respond to Washington state agencies on a regular basis.
- Support the team’s efforts for body and evidence recovery, ferry security, and subsurface search and recovery missions.
This award is one of the 14 FY23 Community Project Funding (CPF) grants Congresswoman Strickland secured. Read more about these here: https://strickland.house.gov/media/press-releases/strickland-secures-19-million-south-sound
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