Gilbert Southern Corp., a subsidiary of Kiewit Corporation, was awarded this $2.3 million project for the installation of a new intake and pump station in Palm Beach County, Fla. This operation was part of restoring the Everglades to an ecologically balanced condition by reducing levels of phosphorous in the water created from farmland storm water run-off.
Completed on schedule and under budget, the intake, pump house and control house structures were all cast-in-place concrete construction with three 42-inch-diameter electrical vertical propeller pumps complete with 400-kilowat standby diesel generators, installed at the pump station. Each pump was rated at 80 cubic feet per second capacity while discharge piping consisted of 42-inch-diameter steel pipe. Construction required extensive dewatering with 12-inch and 8-inch hydraulic pumps and excavation down to 12 feet below the water table.
The project team installed diesel fueling systems, automatic trash rakes, electrical and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition controls instrumentation. Work included pouring 900 cubic yards of reinforced-concrete, excavating 2,000 feet of canal, placing 1,200 tons of rip-rap, and installing a 5,200-gallon fuel system. Levee construction involved excavating 40,000 cubic yards of material including approximately 20,000 cubic yards of hard rock that required crews to use drill-and-shoot methods.
Due to the remote location in the Everglades, Gilbert Southern Corp. maintained an on-site office throughout construction.