Geoquip is a specialist supplier to the construction dewatering sector
We have worked on a range of groundwater control projects both in the UK and around the world including
Mine sites including mineral extraction
Underground transport and communication systems
Complex high level construction in urban environments.
Our most recent projects involved supplying equipment to sites in West Africa, Central and Far East Asia.
We are able to advise on and specify project requirements to ensure ground conditions stabilise sufficiently to allow excavation and construction in safe conditions below groundwater level.
We work closely with our clients and base our project solutions on the preferred dewatering method, taking into account:
level to which the water table is to be lowered
flow volume of water to be removed
geology and topography at the site
site layout and construction programme constraints
Controlling Groundwater
Any excavation below groundwater requires dewatering input to control water levels and prevent the potentially catastrophic effects of water ingress which can include instability, heave or quick conditions. Dewatering normally involves the temporary lowering of the groundwater level within an aquifer or depressurising the artesian head. In some instances a permanent solution is required and a continuing groundwater control system is installed. Solutions include gravity drainage or deep wells, using submersible borehole pumps or applying a vacuum to a soil material using ejector systems or vacuum wellpoint systems.
Wellpoint Dewatering is the most versatile and common form of dewatering able to cope with the low flows from silty sands to the larger flows from course sands and gravels.
Deep Well Dewatering Systems tend to be used where the excavation depth exceeds the maximum limits for a wellpoint system and a large quantity of water needs to be extracted.
Ejector wells work on the same principle as a well point system but allow water to be drawn from deeper in the ground. An ejector dewatering system consists of an array of wells pumped by jet pumps.
