RESTORATION
Utah's first dedicated underwater vehicle recovery nonprofit — recovering submerged vehicles, vessels, and debris to protect the waterways our communities depend on.
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We recover what others leave behind.
Submerged vehicles, vessels, and debris bleeding fuel, oil, and acid into the lakes, rivers, and reservoirs that Utah depends on.
Utah's lakes are contaminated. Nobody is doing anything about it.
Every submerged vehicle is an active contamination event — leaching into drinking water, killing aquatic life, and corroding lake floors for decades.
What every submerged vehicle leaks into the water.
A single car releases up to nine liters of toxic fluid into the lake floor. Antifreeze alone — 1.4 ounces is lethal to wildlife. A single vehicle holds 1–1.5 gallons.
Sources: U.S. EPA Used Oil Management; EPA Underground Storage Tank guidance; EPA Aquatic Life Water Quality Criteria; AVMA toxicology; Pet Poison Helpline; USGS Water Quality assessments. Per-vehicle amounts reflect a typical mid-size sedan.
Sweet-tasting. Lethal to animals in tiny doses.
Suffocates fish gills. Coats waterfowl feathers.
Disrupts pH. Kills bottom-dwelling organisms.
Carcinogenic. Enters drinking water supply.
Great Salt Lake — surface elevation, the last quarter century.
The lake supplies the watershed for roughly 75% of Utah. It hit a record low of 4188.5 ft in November 2022 and has only partially recovered since. Every contamination source matters more in a shrinking lake.
USGS Saltair gauge, simplified for visualization. Long-term decline driven by upstream diversion and drought — every additional contamination source compounds the loss.
Who's handling this? Nobody.
Under-funded, under-equipped. Focused on rescue, evidence, and remains — not long-term debris cleanup. Fewer than 10 certified divers statewide.
Monitor water quality. Issue reports. Lack any recovery capability, equipment, or operational mandate to physically remove vehicles from the bottom.
Exist to profit from insurance claims. No interest in pro-bono cleanup. No HazMat certification. No mission alignment. No one is paying them to go deeper.
That's the gap. That's why Fathom Restoration exists.
A full-service recovery operation.
Professional-grade extraction of submerged vehicles, vessels, and debris. USCG-certified crews, ROV-assisted location, hydraulic lift systems rated for 20,000 lb vehicles at depth.
HazMat-certified containment of all leaked fluids. On-site remediation assessment. Coordination with Utah DEQ and environmental agencies for post-removal water quality testing.
Direct support for law enforcement dive teams. Public water quality reporting. Education and outreach programs. Priority access for distressed families seeking vehicle recovery.
From the bottom to clean water.
ROV reconnaissance and sonar mapping. Coordination with county sheriffs and lake authorities. Every asset GPS-documented before deployment.
USCG-certified dive crews with hydraulic lift systems rated for 20,000+ lb vehicles. Zero-spill extraction protocol. Full surface team support.
CDL-A HazMat licensed transport. Sealed containment prevents secondary contamination. Chain of custody documented from lake floor to disposal.
Post-extraction water quality testing in coordination with Utah DEQ. Full incident report filed. Data published to a public database.
The window is open.
Multiple forces are converging right now that make this work — and this moment — critical.
Maverik, Miller Family Foundation, Marriott Foundation, and Ducks Unlimited committed $30M+ in April 2026 alone. None of it allocated to submerged vehicle removal — yet.
The lake hit record lows in 2022 and has only partially recovered. It supplies water to 75% of Utah. Every contamination source matters.
No nonprofit, private company, or government agency has the equipment, legal structure, and operational mandate to do what Fathom Restoration does.
Utah dive teams are resource-constrained and actively looking for partners. We fill a gap they cannot. Referral flow on day one.
Nobody recovers what we recover.
Every dollar goes directly into the water — equipment, fuel, certified divers, and the work that actually gets done.
EIN 42-2166469 · UTAH NONPROFIT CORPORATION · IRS-RECOGNIZED 501(c)(3)