Deep Foundation Challenges for a Combined Sewer Overflow Station

The Georgetown Wet Weather Treatment Station is located in Seattle and will treat up to 70 million gal {265 L) per day of combined sewage that would have otherwise discharged directly to the Lower Duwamish Waterway without treatment during storms. The facilities also include conveyance of raw combined sewage from existing large­diameter pipes to the treatment station and of treated effluent from the treatment station to the new outfall structure located in the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The most geotechnically significant structures at the treatment station are a large process building (approximately 220 x 110 ft [67 x 34 ml) that houses mostly above-grade ballasted sedimentation, solids storage and ultra-violet disinfection, and a below-grade, nominal 100 ft (30 m) diameter influent pumping station/equalization basin (IPS/EQ) constructed within a 92 ft (28 m) deep secant pile ring. The station also includes additional support buildings, vaults, above-grade rainwater harvesting cisterns and large-diameter pipelines. This article specifically outlines key geotechnical decisions for design and construction of the process building and IPS/EQ at the treatment plant site and presents case history information from construction of the IPS/EQ. The key geotechnical challenges faced during design included: A site with more than 120 years of industrial use, occupied by operating businesses; this resulted in limited access for subsurface explorations, soil and groundwater contam­ination, potential obstructions/undocumented utilities, restrictions on hauling and street closures, and existing structures within feet of the property lines. Compressible soils also subject to seismic liquefaction. Tight grade tolerances for weirs, large pipe connections and some equipment that reduced the amount of allowable settlement. A schedule with immovable milestones dictated by consent decree. A companion paper titled "Instrumented Load Testing and Construction Monitoring of Rigid Inclusions in Seattle" was presented at the DFI 48th Annual Conference on Deep Founda­tions and delves into the technical details of the unreinforced rigid inclusion ground improvement system that supports the process building.