Dewatering Methods For Excavations at Construction Sites

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26.08.

2018 Dewatering Methods for Excavations at Construction Sites

Methods of Dewatering Excavations at Construction


Site

Dewatering of excavations are required at construction sites generally for foundation works.
Various methods for dewatering of excavations are described.

Firm and sound working conditions are indispensable when construction of buildings, powerhouse,
dams, and other structures has to be executed. These structures not only require a dry base for
their foundations but also a good water-table-stability in the girth.

Dewatering of any excavated area is done in order to keep the excavation bottom dry, to prevent
the leakage of water or sand and to avoid upheaval failure. Dewatering could turn out to be a
herculean task if one doesn’t adopt the right method.

The different methods available for dewatering of excavations at constructions sites are not
necessarily interchangeable as each one has a narrow range of applications therefore adopting the
right method of dewatering for a particular ground condition is always a critical and a difficult
decision to make.

Minor amount of water can always be pumped out by creating a sump but when other factors like
continuous seepage, excessive smudge come into play one has to resort to a bit of sophistication.

Methods of Dewatering Excavations at Construction Site


There are four important dewatering methods one should be aware of:

Wellpoint method of dewatering,


Eductor wells,
Open sump pumping and
Deep wellpoint method

Wellpoint Method of Dewatering Excavations

1) A series of wells of required depth are created in the vicinity of the excavated area from where
the water has to be pumped out. The wells are arranged either in a line or a rectangular form
where the wellpoints are created at a distance of at least 2m from each other.

2) Riser pipes or dewatering pipes are then installed into those closely spaced wells which on the
surface are connected to a flexible swing pipe which is ultimately appended to a common header
pipe that is responsible for discharging the water away from the site. The purpose of using a

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26.08.2018 Dewatering Methods for Excavations at Construction Sites

flexible swing pipe is just to provide a clear view of what is being pumped and the purpose of
header pipe is to create suction as well as discharge the water off the working area.

3) One end of the header pipe is connected to a vacuum pump which draws water through
notches in the wellpoint. The water then travels from the wellpoints through the flexible swing
pipe into the header pipe to the pump. It is then discharged away from the site or to other
processes to remove unwanted properties such as contaminants.

4) The drawdown using this method is restricted to around five to six meters below the wellpoint
pump level. If a deeper drawdown is required, multiple stages of wellpoints must be used.

Fig: Details of Wellpoint Method for Excavation Dewatering

Eductor Wells Method of Dewatering Excavations


The method is very similar to the wellpoint method of dewatering; the only difference lies in the
usage of high pressure water in the riser units instead of vacuum to draw out water from the
wellpoints. The method uses the venturi principle which is the reduction in fluid pressure that
results when a high pressure fluid flows through a constricted section of a pipe.

A high pressure supply main feeds water through a venturi-tube just above the well-screen,
creating a reduction in pressure which draws water through the riser pipe. The high pressure main
feeds off the return water. The biggest advantage of using the eductor system is, the water table
can be lowered from depths of 10-45 m if multiple pumps are operated from a single pump
station. This method therefore becomes economically competitive at depth in soils of low
permeability.

Open Sump Pumping Method of Dewatering Excavations


This is the most common and economical method of dewatering as gravity is the main playing
force. Sump is created in the excavated area into which the surrounding water converges and
accumulates facilitating easy discharge of water through robust solid handling pumps.

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26.08.2018 Dewatering Methods for Excavations at Construction Sites

Its application is however confined to the areas where soil is either gravelly or sandy. Since the
bottom of the sump is situated at a level lower than that of the excavation bottom, it will abridge
the seepage way along which groundwater from outside seeps into the excavation zone and as a
result the exit gradient of the sump bottom will be larger than that on the excavation surface.

If the excavation area is large, several sumps may be placed along the longer side or simply use a
long narrow sump which is called a ditch.

Deep Well Method of Dewatering Excavations


Just like the wellpoint method, wells are drilled around the excavated area, but the diameter of
wells in this case varies between 150-200mm. By creating deep wells around the vicinity, the
ground water is made to fall into them under the influence of gravity.

As a result, the ground water level in the surroundings would decline. According to the type and
arrangement of pumps, the depths of the wells could reach up to 30m. This method is generally
adopted when a heavy amount of water from the ground has to be drawn out.

Casings of diameter fitting to wells are installed in order to retain the wells. Additionally, well
screens and filters (between sidewalls and casing) are used which serve as a filtering device
therefore not letting the unwanted sediments enter into the well. The water thus accumulated is
pumped out using a submersible pump or a centrifugal pump.

It is prudent to assess ground-permeability conditions beforehand since the whole process of


accumulation and pumping takes quite a bit of time. This may cause settlement in the nearby
areas and hence a different technique might need to be adopted.

Read More:

Selection of Excavation Dewatering System for Construction Works

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26.08.2018 Dewatering Methods for Excavations at Construction Sites

Sumps and Ditches for Dewatering of Excavations -Uses and Advantages

Deep Well Systems For Dewatering of Excavations

Akshay dashore
https://plus.google.com/107771940297832718922

I am a Civil Engineer who is currently engaged in a Piling Project and is enjoying it to every bit. Civil Engineering
intrigues me but what intrigues me even more is the implementation of hybridized materials in construction
projects.

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