DEWATERING

Introduction
 Drainage : Drainage is the process of removal of gravity water from a
soil mass in order to keep it in a stable condition.
 Drainage is classified into two categories :

1. Surface Drainage
2. Subsurface Drainage
 Surface Drainage : It is the method of collection and diversion of the
surface run off.
 Subsurface Drainage : It consists of collection and disposal of the
ground water. Subsurface drainage is also known as “Dewatering”.
Dewatering is the process of removal of water from a foundation pit
when it situated below water table.
 Introduction
 Dewatering technique is further divided into two types :

1. Temporary Dewatering

2. Permanent Dewatering

 Temporary Dewatering : Dewatering can be done only at the time of

construction.

 Permanent Dewatering : Removing the subsurface water throughout

the life of structure.

 Need For Dewatering
 To keep excavation dry so that concreting can be done.

 Reduce uplift pressures on bottom slabs.

 Improve characteristics of foundation materials.

 Increase stability of slopes and side-hill fills.

 Prevent piping and frost heaving pavements.

 Reduce lateral pressures on retaining structures.

 Factors Controlling Selection of
Dewatering Method
 Nature and permeability of ground.

 Geologic conditions of soil.

 Extent of area to be dewatered.

 Depth of water table below ground level. Amount by which it has to be

lowered.

 Proximity of existing structure.

Temporary Dewatering Techniques
 Sump & Ditches Pumping :

 A sump is merely a hole in the ground from which water is being

pumped for the purpose of removing water.

 They are used with ditches leading to them in large excavations. Up to

maximum of 8 m below pump installation level.

 Shallow slopes may be required for unsupported excavations in silts and

fine sands. Gravels and coarse sands are more suitable.

 If there are existing foundations in the vicinity pumping may cause

settlement of these foundations. Subsidence of adjacent ground and
sloughing of the lower part of a slope may occur.

 Significant amount of seepage can result in softening of the slope in the

lower part. The sump bottom may also be subjected to piping.

 The above problems can be solved by the use of inverted filter that is of

many layers. These have coarser material in successive layers from the
bottom of the sump pit to the upward direction.

 This is a simple method used for dewatering shallow excavation that have

permeability > 10-3 cm/sec.

Dewatering by using Sumps and Ditches

Advantages :
o Widely used method.

o Most economical method for installation and maintenance.

o Can be applied for most soil and rock conditions.
o Most appropriate where boulders or massive obstructions are met with in the
ground.

Disadvantages :
o Due to more flow of ground water towards excavation risk of collapse of sides
occurs.
o In open or timbered excavations there is risk of instability of the base due to
seepage towards pumping sump.

Note : Greatest depth to which the water table can be lowered by this method is
about 8 m below the pump.
 Single Stage Well Point System :

 Introduction to Well Point System :

 A well point is a perforated pipe about 1m long and 5 cm in diameter.

 The perforations are covered with a screen to prevent clogging.

 A jetting nozzle is provided at its lower end.

 A conical steel drive point is fixed to the lower end of the well point to
facilitate installation.
 A ball valve is also provided near the lower end which permits flow of water
only in downward direction during installation.

 The well point is connected to the bottom of the riser pipe of the same
diameter.
 Risers of different well points are connected to a horizontal pipe of 15 to 30
cm dia. Known a header.
 The header is connected to a specially designed pumping unit.

 The spacing of the well points depends upon the type of soil and the

depth of water. Generally, it varies between 1 to 3 m.

Procedure :
 Well points can be installed in a drilled hole or they can be installed by jetting.

 Water is pumped through riser pipe and it discharged through nozzle , it

displaces the soil below the tip.
 Jetting is continued till the required penetration of the tip is achieved.

 The advantage of installation by jetting is that the water under pressure washes
away soil fines near the tip and leaves a relatively coarse material.
 It forms a natural filter around the tip.

 After the well points have been installed around the area to be dewatered,
pumping is started.

 Each well point lowers the water table around it and forms a small cone of
depression. Various cones of depression join, and a common drawdown curve
is obtained.
Note :

1. By using single stage well point system water table can be lowered by 5
to 6 m.

2. This is adopted for soils whose permeability between 1 x 10-4 to 1 x 10-6

m/sec.

3. It is essential to continue pumping once it has been started until the

excavation is complete.
 Multi Stage Well Point System :

 When the water table is to be lowered for a depth greater than 6 m,

multi-stage well points are required.

 In single stage well point system in one row at same elevation well

points are installed. But in Multi Stage Well point system , two or more
rows of well points are installed at different elevations.

 Note : By this method we can dewater up to 15 m.

Procedure :
 The installation of well points is done in stage.

 The 1st stage well points are located near the perimeter of the area, as in a
single-stage well point system.
 These are put into operation and the water table is lowered by about 5 m
and the area is excavated.
 The well points of the second stage are then installed with in the area
already excavated.
 Water table is further lowered by about 5 m and the excavation of further 5
m depth is done. Thus the total depth of excavation becomes about 10 m.
 If required , the third stage of well points can also be installed in the above
manner.
 Vacuum Well Point System :

 Vacuum well point system is used to dewater in silty sands and other fine
sands with an effective size less than about 0.05 mm.
 For installation of vacuum well points, a hole of about 25 cm diameter is
formed around the well point and the riser pipe by jetting water under
pressure.
 When water is still flowing, medium to coarse sand is filled into the hole
up to about 1 m from the top.
 The top 1 m portion of the hole is then filled by tamping clay into it.

 It forms a sort of seal.

 Header is connected to a vacuum pump, it creates a vacuum in the sand

filter around the well point.
 As the pressure on the water table is equal to the atmospheric pressure,

the head causing flow is increased by an amount equal to the vacuum

pressure.

 The hydraulic gradient increases and it overcomes the flow resistance in

the soil pores.

 The ground water flows to the region of vacuum in the well points and

drainage occurs.

 As the effective pressure on the soil is increased, consolidation takes

place. It makes soil stiff.

 The process is slow and it may take several weeks for the soil to become

stiff enough for carrying out the excavation work.

Vacuum Well Point System
 Horizontal Wells :

 Horizontal wells of about 5 cm to 8 cm diameter have been used for

drainage of hill sides.

 These wells are drilled into the hill at a slightly upward slope.

 A perforated casing is installed in the well to collect and discharge water.

 Horizontal wells have been successfully installed for horizontal length of

60 m.

 Large horizontal tunnels have also been successfully used to tap deep

aquifers beneath hill sides.

 Electro Osmosis :

 Electro osmosis is a method of drainage of cohesive soils in which Direct

Current is used.

 When direct current is passed through a saturated soil between a +ve

electrode (anode) and a –ve electrode (cathode), pore water migrates to

the cathode.

 The cathode is a well point which collects the water drained from the

soil.

 The water collected is discharged, as in a conventional well-point

system.

 The phenomenon of electro-osmosis be explained with the help of

electrical double layer.

Electro Osmosis Method
From Fig,
 Cathodes are in the form of perforated pipes, installed in the soil mass
about 4 to 5 m away from the slope of the excavation.
Note :
 The electrodes are so arranged that the natural direction of flow of water
is reversed and is directed away from the excavation.
 This arrangement is required to prevent sloughing of the slopes.

 In many cases, mere reversing of the direction of flow helps in increasing

the stability of the slope even if there is no significant decrease in the
water content of the soil.
 The system requires 20 to30 amperes of electricity per well at a voltage
of a voltage of 40 to 180.
 This method is normally used to drain water in a cohesive soil of

permeability 1 x 10-5 to 1x 10-8 m/sec.

Permanent Dewatering Techniques
 Foundation Drains :

 When ground water flows towards the structure, provisions are made to
carry the water away from the foundation.
 A footing drain is an exterior foundation drainage system placed outside
the foundation wall near the wall footing.
 The drains are surrounded by a filter.

 The drains should be placed at an elevation higher than the bottom of the
footing to avoid the possibility of carrying away fine soil particles.
 The water collected in the drain is disposed of by gravity to a near by
storm drain or any other drainage facility located at a lower level.
 If no such drain is available, the water is collected in a specially
constructed sump well and pumped out.
 Foundation drains are effective when the depth below the water table is

not too much.

Foundation Drains
 Blanket Drains :

 A blanket drain consists of coarse sand, gravel and crushed stones.

 The water coming out of the blanket drain is collected and drained away

by gravity.

 Alternatively it can be collected in a sump pit and then pumped out.

 Blanket drains are quite effective in reducing the uplift pressure on the

floor.
Blanket Drains
 Requirement of Filters
 Filler : The material which is used to fill the space between the natural
soil and the pipe is known as Filler. Generally coarse grained material is
used a filler.
 Problems in Filler material:

1. If the voids of filler material are larger than the finest grains of adjoining
soil, there is a possibility of these fine particles to fill the voids and
accumulate and block the flow.
2. If the voids of filler material are smaller than the adjoining soil, then
their is a possibility of the filler material washed into the pipes and thus
leading to erosion of the natural soil.
 Filter : A filler material that overcomes the above two conditions is
referred to as filter.
 Requirement of Filters
 The above requirements are satisfied by adopting a suitable grain-size
distribution for the filter material material to be protected:

 This criterion emphasizes that the D15 size of the filter soil should not be
more than four or five times the D85 of the protected soil.

 This criterion emphasizes that the D15 size of the filter soil should be more
than four or five times the D15 of the protected soil.
 Large Filters : To minimize the loss of head due to percolation through
filters, usually filter material is arranged in layers, this arrangement is
known as Large filters are Graded Filters. Each layer should satisfy the
above requirements with respect to the preceding layer.