Griffin recently completed a project in Belvidere, IL for an excavating company working at an RV park. There were two large septic tanks being installed, one that is 40’ x 15’ x 12’ deep and the other one 20’ x 10’ x 10’ deep.

The challenge that the excavating company faced was to install the septic tanks safely and without digging a large hole as the space for a large excavation was not available. The owner of the RV Park thought that dewatering was unnecessary at first and told the excavating company to try localized sumping from within a trench box. The contractor attempted this found it be be extremely difficult and unsafe. Additionally, they were discharging groundwater with very high total Suspended Solids (TSS). The challenging project required us to install a complete perimeter system to prevent any openings in the perimeter that groundwater could enter the excavation through.

By installing the wickpoint system Griffin was able to pre-drain the soils and allow for the excavation to be completed in the dry. The wickpoint system allowed for a complete perimeter dewatering system by using 3/4″ tubing, which can be buried and connected to a header manifold as needed. With the five dimple wick sleeve over the bottom three feet (3′) of the HDPE tubing the TSS was reduced significantly.