Gold Rush: White Water released its finale on July 18, 2025, which featured Dustin and his team making one final attempt at finding gold nuggets in the raging waters of the Alaskan valley. Despite seeing potential at Nugget Creek and securing $5000 worth of gold, Dustin struggled to overcome the harsh and unfavorable climatic conditions. Reflecting on the struggles of mining, he said:"This year's been hell on me. I could have made more gold just playing with a pan, I wanted to give up several times, but need to see the gold. We're all desperate."The Gold Rush: White Water frontman needed to mine at least another $100,000 worth of gold to meet his financial targets and pay off his debt. However, the prospects of him finding any gold seemed bleak, especially with a snowstorm incoming within a few days. With an exhausted and demotivated crew, Dustin felt overwhelmed, fearing that he would not be able to achieve his 14-year-old goal.Nonetheless, he continued to push his teammates, and they tested their limits, diving endlessly into the pit they dug at the bottom of the river to find gold nuggets. However, adverse weather conditions and exhaustion emerged as major hurdles.Gold Rush: White Water star Dustin closes the season with a defeat View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAt the start of the episode, Dustin noticed that the water level was relatively low and the water was clear, which meant that there was some sort of obstruction at the top of the mountain that prevented the water from flowing down. With a lowered level, his team had to make modifications to the dredge to ensure it continued to work.Soon after, he sent in two divers, James and Carlos, into the water in search of gold."Find some d*mn gold," he said.The divers reached bedrock and started digging around, hoping to uncover gold that could potentially be worth millions of dollars. However, despite being 16 feet deep and in the water for nearly eight hours, trying to reach the bottom of the bedrock, they struggled to arrive at their intended spot. Eventually, they returned to the surface feeling exhausted. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe following day, the Gold Rush: White Water divers dived into the raging waves again, this time with a greater risk of encountering a landside and getting buried under the debris. After hours of searching, they finally found a gold nugget worth $10,000, which raised the expectations of Dustin and his crewmates.All they had to do was continue exploring the channel and pick up the other gold nuggets. However, the following day, the weather worsened, with a blizzard incoming in less than 48 hours. Dustin still needed to mine over $85,000 worth of gold to make ends meet. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostAs the episode progressed, the Gold Rush: White Water alum continued to face newer problems, such as the engines of his dredge running out of gas. Once they resolved that problem, he faced a bigger one, a flash flood, that could potentially harm not only his business but also his team members.Consequently, he was compelled to stop work and drag himself and his crew out of the water to a safe place. As the Gold Rush: White Water episode concluded, Dustin accepted defeat."We've been beaten," he said.While reflecting on the season, he called it one of the worst, while his team members felt demotivated. He apologized to his team for finding gold that was just enough to pay for the gasoline, admitting the season was a "hard failure."Gold Rush: White Water episodes can be streamed on Discovery+.