~Dewatering/Ground Water Control~

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Definition
Ground water can be defined as water which is held
temporarily in the soil above the level of water table

Dewatering is a process to lower down the water table

to give reasonably dry working conditions especially
for excavations activities.

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Control of Ground Water
Can be divided into two groups:

Permanent exclusion of ground water (cut-off wall to

the flow of ground water)
Temporary exclusion of ground water by lowering
down the water table

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Control of Ground Water

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Methods which have been developed for cutting off
groundwater flow fall into several categories:

1. Steel Sheet Piling

• Structural,
• Permanent – act as structural wall
• Temporary – enclosure excavation to form cofferdam
• Act as a partially effective cut off and as ground support
• Driven into place before excavation
• Produce vibration and noise due to driving process

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Cofferdam Basic
Principle

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Diaphragm Wall
Suitable for all types of soil
structural, permanent
In-situ reinforced concrete using bentonite slurry
method
Low installation noise and vibration
Can be used in restricted spaces and can be
installed close to existing foundations
highly effective cutoff as well as ground support
Un economic
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Diaphragm Wall

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Slurry Trench Cut-Off
non structural thin cast in situ unreinforced
diaphragm wall
Suitable for silts, sand and gravel
trench excavated with bentonite and backfilled
with impermeable material

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Thin Grouted Membrane
Thin Grouted membranes - these are permanent curtain
or cut-off non structural walls or barriers inserted in the
ground to enclose the proposed excavation area
cement, chemicals or bentonite is injected into the soil (to
make the soil impermeable)
They are suitable for sands and can be installed rapidly
but they must be adequately supported by earth an both
side
The only limitation is the depth to which the formers can
driven and extracted.

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THIN GROUTED MEMBRANE
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Contiguous Piling
Alternative method to the reinforced concrete
diaphragm wall consisting of a series of interlocking
reinforced concrete bored piles
Usual range diameter – 300mm and 600mm
Faced with reinforced rendering or covered with a
mesh reinforcement sprayed with concrete to give
smooth finish (shotcrete/Gunite)

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Contiguous Piling

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Freezing
Suitable method for all types of subsoils with a moisture
content in excess of 8% of the voids
Insert freezing tubes into ground and circulate a freezing
solution around the tubes to form ice in the voids
Thus creating a wall of ice to act as impermeable barrier
Circulating solution – magnesium chloride/calcium
chloride at -15 and -25 c
Suitable for excavating deep shafts and driving tunnels

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Freezing

highly effective cutoff and ground support

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GROUTING METHOD
 CEMENT GROUT
- form a curtain. Mixture of neat cement and water
 CLAY/CEMENTS GROUT
- suitable for sand and gravels where soil particles are too small for cement grout.
Bentonite with additive (portlansd cement/soluble silicates)
 CHEMICAL GROUTING
- for medium to coarse sands and gravels. The chemical form a permanent gel
 RESIN GROUTING
- for silty fine sand, similar application of chemical grouts
 BITUMINOUS GROUT
- For fine sand to decrease permeability not increase the strength thus unsuitable for
underpinning works
 GROUT INJECTION
- Grouts of all kinds are usually injected into the subsoil by pumping in the mixture at high
pressure through tubes.

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SUMP PUMPING
Pumping from sumps is the most widely used since it can
be applied to all types of ground conditions and is
economical to install and maintain.
The only problem is the settlement: the ground is likely to
move as the water flows towards the sump area.
There is also a risk of instability at the formation level in
supported excavations, owing to the upward movement of
water.
These problems can be partially overcome by positioning
the sump at a corner of the excavation at a level below the
formation level

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SUMP PUMPING
OPEN PUMPING / SUMP PUMPING

• pumping from sumps and ditches

• least expensive method:
• from the standpoint of direct dewatering cost
• if conditions are wrong, it can result in delays, cost
overrun or catastrophic failures
• must identify those conditions that are not favorable to
open pumping before deciding to proceed with it:
• impairing the foundation of proposed structure or of
existing structure nearby
• delaying the project or escalating cost of excavation
• endangering workers 21
SUMP PUMPING

sump below formation level in corner of

excavation
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SUMP PUMPING

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Jetted Sump Detail

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WELLPOINT SYSTEM

• has been used> 50 years, most versatile

method and effective in all type of soil
• may not be the most economical method for a
given job due to advances in other pre
drainage tool
• most suitable for shallow aquifer (water level
need to be lowered < 6 m)
• multi stages will be used for lowering > 6 m

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well points
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DEEP BORED WELLS

• Each with individual pump (involve a high unit cost)

• Advances in well design (aquifer analysis) and
construction techniques, and pump technology have
made it practical to utilise deep well
• Best suited to homogeneous aquifers that extended
well below the excavation level
• Can be installed to greater depth (up to 12 m)
• Volume pumped by each well is high thus wider
spacing is practical
• Careful exploration, including a pump test, must be
carried out before undertaking this method

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DEEP BORED WELL

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Horizontal Ground Water
Control
Installing into the ground 100mm diameter PVC
perforated suction pipe covered with a nylon filter
sleeve to prevent the infiltration of fine particles
Using special mechine which excavate a narrow
trench, lays the pipe and bacfill the excavation

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Horizontal Ground Water Control

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Electo-osmosis
Uncommon method
Costly
Cohesive soils- clay and silts
On the principles that soils carry a nagative charge.
Insert two electrodes and passing electric charge
between them, anode and cathode (well point)
Electric current is passed between the asnode and
cathode causes the positively charged water molecule
to flow the well point.

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Appropriate dewatering Methods
Effective Grain Size Example Dewatering Method
(D10)

Larger than 0.1mm² Gravel, rock, boulders Sumps, ordinary well

points

0.1 – 004 mm Sand Vacuum wells or well

points

0.004 – 0.0017 mm Silt, clay Electro osmosis

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