PEORIA, ILLINOIS | DODGE STREET WELL #05

CLIENT: ILLINOIS-AMERICAN WATER

PROBLEM: WELL FAILURE

FIX: DESIGN AND BUILD A BETTER, NEWER WELL

Peoria, Illinois obtains its raw water from three well fields and a river intake structure. Areas of the community receive their potable water from the four sources. Because of the sudden failure of Well No. 1 in the Dodge Street well field a water crisis loomed. The area served would have insufficient water for the upcoming peak water demand in 2006. Brotcke Well & Pump entered into a design construct contract with the Illinois-American Water for the construction of Well No. 5, to produce 4 MGD (Million Gallons per Day).

Unique construction requirements were necessitated because of boulders encountered in the well field. These were shown in an Illinois Water Survey publication dating to 1944, the original construction date of the well field. Conventional drilling methods would be unsuccessful because of the boulders. A drilling method had to be selected which sealed the formation as drilling progressed.

A test hole was constructed by the Roto Sonic Drilling Technique. This method advances the drill stem using ultra high vibrations. A 20 foot long core barrel allows for collection of representative formation samples.

Based on the Roto Sonic test hole the preliminary well design was modified and the application for a construction permit submitted to the Illinois EPA. All engineering and geological design was performed in house by our team of professional Engineers and Geologists.

Construction of the well presented the same challenges as the test hole, that being how to stabilize the borehole in the highly permeable, loose or unconsolidated aquifer. Unique challenges required creative solutions. A dual rotary drill rig was selected for well construction. This rig advanced an outer 30-inch steel casing to the bottom of the aquifer. As the casing was advanced, a center rock roller bit rotated and cleaned the inside of the 30-inch pipe.

Brotcke Well and Pump completed the project ahead of schedule. The well was on-line in early July to meet the peak demand period.

BWP, INC. | EXPERT WATER WELL & PUMP SERVICES

• Hydro-geologic Design Services
• Water Well Installation
• Water Well Rehab
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• Complete Pump Service and Repair
• In-house Machine Shop Services
• Geotechnical & Environmental Drilling
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