CONTROLLING GROUNDWATER

ON CONSTRUCTION SITES
Dr Martin Preene
Preene Groundwater Consulting
June 2014

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SYNOPSIS
Good and bad examples of water
management
Surface water management
Groundwater control
Environmental impacts from water
management
Conclusion
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PRACTICE PROFILE
Preene Groundwater Consulting is the Professional
Practice of Dr Martin Preene and provides specialist advice and
design services in the fields of dewatering, groundwater
engineering and hydrogeology to clients worldwide
Dr Martin Preene has more than 25 years experience on
projects worldwide in the investigation, design, installation and
operation of groundwater control and dewatering systems. He
is widely published on dewatering and groundwater control
and is the author of the UK industry guidance on dewatering
(CIRIA Report C515 Groundwater Control Design and Practice)
as well as a dewatering text book (Groundwater Lowering in
Construction: A Practical Guide to Dewatering)

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GOOD CONTROL OF
GROUNDWATER

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POOR CONTROL OF
GROUNDWATER

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SURFACE WATER CONTROL

Groundwater control alone cannot keep an excavation dry.
Surface water must also be controlled

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SURFACE WATER CONTROL

Source control
- intercept run-off before it reaches the excavation
- prevent unnecessary generation of water in the excavation
- collect water as soon as it reaches the work area (or
before!)
Water collection
- French drains to intercept run off
- collector drains and sumps
- pumping systems (keep it simple!)
Water treatment
- solids removal (settlement tanks, Siltbusters)

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GROUNDWATER CONTROL BY
EXCLUSION

Cut-off walls
penetrate into
underlying low
permeability
stratum

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GROUNDWATER CONTROL BY
PUMPING
Common
Techniques

Sump Pumping

Wellpoints

Deepwells

Ejector wells

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SUMP PUMPING

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WELLPOINTS

From CIRIA Report

C515 (2000):
Groundwater
Control: Design
and Practice

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DEEPWELLS

From CIRIA Report

C515 (2000):
Groundwater
Control: Design
and Practice

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EJECTOR WELLS

From CIRIA Report

C515 (2000):
Groundwater
Control: Design
and Practice

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RANGE OF APPLICATION OF PUMPING METHODS

From CIRIA
Report C515
(2000):
Groundwater
Control:
Design and
Practice

Amount of
lowering of
groundwater
level

Low permeability (silts)

High permeability (gravels)

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Water management on construction sites can have a range of
impacts:
Impact 1: Abstraction
- e.g. settlement, impact on water sources and water quality
Impact 2: Pathways for groundwater flow
- e.g. increased risk of aquifer pollution
Impact 3: Barriers to groundwater flow
- e.g. changes in groundwater level
Impact 4: Discharges to groundwater
- e.g. risk of fuel spills, etc
Impact 5: Discharge to surface water
- e.g. risk of pollution of surface waters
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IMPACTS FROM ABSTRACTION

Effect on groundwater quality
Pumping from dewatering systems changes natural
hydraulic gradients and velocities
This can cause the migration of plumes of polluted water
associated with contaminated sites

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IMPACTS FROM ABSTRACTION SETTLEMENT

Distortion of
structure in uniform
soil conditions

Distortion of
structure due to
change in soil
conditions

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CONCLUSION
Effective management of surface water and
groundwater can be crucial for construction
projects
Groundwater can be controlled by pumping
methods and exclusion methods
Technology needs to be carefully selected
Environmental impacts including ground settlement
and movement of contaminated groundwater
With suitable planning and design these challenges
can be overcome
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CONTROLLING WATER ON
CONSTRUCTION SITES
Dr Martin Preene
Preene Groundwater Consulting
June 2014

www.preene.co
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