2/3/2017 Blog|WellpointDewatering

WELLPOINTDEWATERING
11December2014
Awiderangeofmethodsisavailablewhengroundwatercontrolbypumping(alsoknown
asdewatering)isrequiredforaconstructionorminingproject.Asdiscussedina
previousblog,groundwatercontrolbypumpinginvolvestemporarilyloweringgroundwater
levelstoallowexcavation,andcanbeachievedbypumpingmethodsor,alternatively,by
exclusionmethods.

Themostcommontypesofgroundwatercontrolbypumpingareinorderof
sophistication:

sumppumping

wellpoints
deepwellsand
eductorwells.

Therearealsosomelesscommonlyuseddewateringtechniques,suchaselectro
osmosis,horizontalwellpointsandreliefwells.

Thisblogfocusesontheuseofwellpointdewateringonconstruction
dewateringandminedewateringprojects.

WHATISWELLPOINTDEWATERING?

Wellpointdewateringinvolvesinstallingacloselyspacedlineofsmalldiameterwells
alongsideanexcavationoraringofwellsaroundanexcavation.Eachwellisknownasa
wellpointandisdesignedtobelowincostandrobustindesignandmaterials.

Typicallyeachwellpointisapproximately6mdeepandaround30to50mmindiameter
(althoughdeeperandlargerdiameterwellpointsaresometimesused).Thehorizontal
spacingbetweenwellpointsisusuallybetween1mand3m.Thelowersectionofeach
wellpointhasaperforatedscreenwithunperforatedlinerintheshallowersectionabove
thescreenandthetopofeachwellisequippedwithaflexibleconnectingpipe.Theflexible
pipeconnectseachwellpointtoacommonheadermainlaidalongthelineofthe
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wellpoints.Awellpointpump,capableofpumpingbothairandwater,isconnectedtothe
headermain.Thepumpcreatesapartialvacuumintheheadermain,whichactstodraw
waterthroughthewellpointscreen,upthewellpointriser,throughtheflexibleconnecting
pipe,alongtheheadermainandtothepumpfromwhereitisdischarged.Inthiswaya
singlewellpointpumpcanactonmanywellpointssimultaneouslyandcanpotentiallylower
groundwaterlevelsoverawidearea.Thepumptypecaneitherbeareciprocatingpiston
pumporacentrifugalpumpwithasubsidiaryexhausterunittodrawairfromthesystem
andincreasethevacuumachieved.Pumpscanbepoweredbydieselorelectricprime
movers.

Becausethesystemworksonthesuctionprinciplei.e.apartialvacuumisusedtodraw
groundwaterupagainstatmosphericpressurethereisapracticallimittohowmuch
drawdowncanbeachievedbyasinglestageofwellpoints.Inmostcasesthedrawdown
thatcanbeachievedbyasinglestageofwellpoints(infavourableconditions)islimitedto
approximately5or6mbelowthelevelofthepump.

SUITABLEAPPLICATIONSFORWELLPOINTDEWATERING

Wellpointdewateringcanbeaflexibleandeconomicdewateringmethodforexcavations
ofshallowdepths(lessthan6mdepth)insoilsofmoderatepermeability(sandsand
sandygravels).Thewellpointmethodworkslesswellinsoilsoflowpermeability(siltsand
verysiltysands)wherethevacuumachievedmaybeinsufficienttoachieveadequate
drawdownofgroundwaterlevels.Problemscanalsooccurinveryhighlypermeablesoils
(suchascoarsegravelswithlowsandcontent)whentherequirednumberofwellpoints
andpumpsmayrenderthemethoduneconomicallyexpensive.

Wellpointscanbedeployedasstaticsystemsintheformofaringaroundanexcavation
(suchasabuildingfoundation).Analternativeapplicationissocalledprogressive
wellpointsystemsusedforlongpipelinetrenchexcavations.Forexample,ifseveral
hundredmetresofpipelinearetobeconstructedinwaterbearingsoils,whilewellpoint
dewateringmayberequiredfortheentireroute,itisnotnecessarytopumponwellpoints
alongtheentiresimultaneously.Instead,itisnormallyonlynecessarytopumponthe

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sectionofpipelineexcavationthatisopenatthattime,pluspumpingonthepipeline
sectionsimmediatelyaheadofandbehindtheopensection.Asthepipelineinstallation
progresses,thepumpingequipmentbehindtheopensectionofexcavationisswitchedoff,
removedandmovedforwardtothesectionaheadoftheexcavation.Inthiswaythe
wellpointsystemprogressesforwardtokeeppacewithpipelineinstallation.

Insomecasesonverylongpipelinetrenches(suchasforlongdistancegastransmission
pipelines),horizontalwellpointsmaybeinstalledbyspecialtrenchingmachines.This
techniqueusesahorizontalflexibleperforatedpipelaidbelowgroundalongorparallelto
thepipelinecenterline.Oneendofthepipeisunperforatedandisbroughttothesurface
andconnectedtoawellpointsuctionpump.Inthiswayasinglepumpcandewaterupto
100mofpipeline.Themethodcanbeveryeffectivefordewateringlongpipeline
excavations.

Verticalwellpointsthemselvesarenormallyinstalledbyjettingthisinstallationmethod
useswaterfromahighpressurepumpthatisdirecteddownaverticallyorientedsteelpipe
(ajettingtube)towashthetubeintotheground.Whentherequireddepthisreachedthe
jettingwaterisswitchedoff,andtheplasticwellpointscreenandlinerisinstalledinsidethe
jettingtube.Thejettingtubeisthenwithdrawn,whileaddingfiltersandaroundthe
wellpoint.Thejettinginstallationmethodcanberapidandeffectiveinfavourablesoils
(suchasloosesands),butcanbedifficultandslowindensesoils,orwherecobblesor
claylayersarepresent.

Wellpointscanalsobeusedforexcavationsdeeperthan5to6m.Inthiscasemulti
stagewellpointingisused,whereafirststageofwellpointsisusedtolowergroundwater
levelsasfaraspossible(say5mdepth).Excavationisthenmadedowntothatlower
level,andasecondstageofwellpointsisinstalledatthelowerlevel(withpumpsand
headerpipesseparatetothefirststage).Thesecondstageofwellpointsisthenpumped
(whilethefirststageofwellpointsalsostaysinoperation)tolowergroundwaterlevels
below5mdepth.

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