Ground Water Management
Water Management System Design
A water management system, whether passive or active, deep or shallow, permanent or temporary, often takes into consideration both surface water and ground water. Our experience with New England geology and water control systems and materials allows us to develop highly-compatible approaches that perform reliably and effectively for your project.
GeoInsight’s ground water management designs have addressed the needs of:
- Deep and normal building basements
- Special utility excavation
- Temporary construction excavation
- Interception and diversion measures, and
- Remedial collection/capture trenches or wells.
Your Project’s Custom Drainage/Discharge System
We calculate, model, and predict ground water flow conditions that will be intercepted by drainage systems, identifying and designing appropriate discharge systems (i.e., gravity or pumping) that will manage the collected water. Often, we oversee the installation of subsurface drainage systems (including cutoff trenches, foundation drains, landfill liner collection sumps, interception swales, and barriers/liners/covers) and monitor discharge.
GeoInsight’s drainage system services include:
- Installation of monitoring well networks
- Ground water elevation surveys
- Ground water flow modeling
- Dewatering system design
- Infiltration system design
- Building envelope waterproofing design
- Water collection / cutoff systems, and
- Hydraulic conductivity determinations.
Additional ground water management services include:
Although it’s not the first thing to come to mind when we think of construction, ground water has a strong influence on nearly all construction projects. GeoInsight’s engineers, geologists, and hydrogeologists are experts at understanding the interaction between water and soil in varying conditions. We determine hydraulic conductivity and percolation rates based upon careful laboratory testing and field measurements, combined with research and years of experience. We have completed numerous assessments of water intrusion through the buried portion of building envelopes, including investigating the nature and cause of the intrusion.
Ground Water Control
Excavations that extend below the ground water table or that are within the seasonal (spring) high ground water mark typically require evaluation of ground water control systems. These systems may be installed temporarily (to accommodate construction requirements) or permanently, as final dewatering or waterproofing systems associated with new construction. We work with you to devise an approach suited to the soil type, depth below the water table, size of the excavation, duration of the work, and sensitivity to the reduction in moisture required.
We are very familiar with the design and application of many types of soil and geosynthetic filters to collect and route water away from buried structures, typically by gravity or using a designated pumping system. We provide recommendations for water control at existing structures as well as for new construction. These designs range from simple gravity foundation footing and underslab drain systems to complex cutoff drain trenches twenty five feet deep that require mechanical pumping. GeoInsight commonly designs systems requiring:
- Infiltration rate estimation
- Filtration to minimize clogging of system components
- Chemical soil additives
- Ground water drawdown
- Pump sizing, and
- System maintenance provisions.
When water cannot be directed away, we are experienced with a wide variety of waterproofing products that we can recommend for you, including:
- Spray/roll-on treatments
- Drainage panels
- Blind-side membranes
- Concrete admixtures, and
- Concrete finishes.
We are also highly experienced in evaluating actual ground water depth and fluctuation through monitoring well design, construction, and installation. Understanding the design hydrostatic conditions and associated forces on below-grade walls and slabs is often critical to the design of wall and slab thickness and reinforcement.
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