Soil – Bentonite Seepage Barrier

Soil-Betonite Seepage Barrier

Madrid Engineering Group, Inc., dba Madrid CPWG, was selected to be the Geotechnical Engineer of Record to support the design and construction of a seepage cutoff wall at SDI Aggregates active limestone quarry in Homestead, FL. The Soil-Bentonite Seepage Barrier (SBSB) was constructed to prevent the westward migration of groundwater with high chloride content under the permitted mining of an existing limerock quarry.

Madrid CPWG Approach

Madrid CPWG completed soil borings as well as downhole permeability testing along the proposed wall alignment to assist with the cutoff wall layout, design, and groundwater modeling efforts (by others). The design considered the existing and future use of the mine to develop a cost-effective seepage solution for the project. The entire team consisting of the owner, engineers, and contractor worked collaboratively throughout the entire process for the successful delivery of this important project.

Madrid CPWG Benefit

The project was completed within the geotechnical project budget despite a 70% increase in the construction schedule that resulted from significant field challenges during construction; mostly associated with digging through nearly 80 feet of variably hard rock. This was accomplished, in part, from an adjusted field inspection schedule that was able to reduce the total number of hours for inspection staff without sacrificing the level of QA observation.