Finishing touches

Now that the job is almost done the contractor is using quick-dry cement for a preventative seal around the intake pipe. A final grading around the well and the project is done until the spring time.

When the snow melts we will continue with a concrete pad for the building and bring in power. Then the pumps will be placed and finally the building will be constructed last.

Setting the intake screen

Pictured here on the left is the intake screen connected to the 24" HDPE pipe. The screen sits on a level concrete pad. The screen is 1/2 inch mesh that keeps out fish and larger debris from getting into the well. Before the water is pumped throughout the golf course all water will pass through a finer filter.

After the first week...

By the end of the day Friday November 7th we were almost there. The weather was turning worse for the weekend ahead. As you can see here the new intake pipe has been installed just past the old pipe and screen. Next up on the agenda for Monday, de-water, set the concrete pad for the screen, attach the screen to the pipe and be done!

Onto the intake

If you haven't seen or dealt with C905 PVC pipe let me tell you about it. It's large, heavy and just a monster to work with. We used joint restraints just as a back up, but I don't think that stuff is moving anywhere 14 feet underground.

We used about 70 feet of it along with a 45 degree angle to get around the current pump station and under the current mainline that we were crossing.

Fortunately we had no issues with the current system. Ironically the contractor hit a 3" pipe that on our as-builts were supposed to be in a slightly different location and a 6" pipe. After fixing that and back filling it was on to the HDPE and the intake screen.

Groundwater

As we suspected, ground water was going to be an issue. It was very difficult to keep the water out, keep the hole small and have the well level. However after two days and four attempts it was finally accomplished.

The contractor did an excellent job and got it right on. On a side note, during the digging we noticed a large amount of asphalt, pipe and other old items that was removed. It seems that this site was some sort of dump area. Who knows how long ago.

From the beginning

The excavating began on Monday, November 3rd. The contractor delivered their Komatsu 270 the week before in preparation to dig on Monday morning. Carefully the excavator made its way to the site through the golf course. The contractor also had a large front end loader, trailer with supplies and a couple of trucks.

They were able to get all people and equipment into place and begin to dig by mid-day. After marking off the exact location to dig the well, the excavating began.

By 3pm the hole was 9 feet deep and they had met groundwater. I had figured as much since that was the level of the river, not too far from the site. The ponds had been drained significantly to reduce the amount of water pressure. With only a couple of hours left in the day they had decided to call it a day and begin the de-watering process in the morning.