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Octopus Consultancy Limited

Water Services

Construction Site Dewatering

Understand groundwater before you excavate. We assess conditions, model dewatering and set out the monitoring your design and construction team needs.

  • NEMA Firm of Experts
  • Operating since 2014
  • Offices in Nairobi and Ruiru

Who needs it

  • Developers excavating basements and deep foundations
  • Contractors working near or below the water table
  • Infrastructure and maintenance works in wet ground
  • Projects near facilities that groundwater lowering could affect

What you receive

  • Groundwater conditions assessment
  • Water-table reduction studies
  • Dewatering models
  • Monitoring requirements
  • Coordination with the design and construction team

Legal basis

  • Water Act, 2016 (water-permit processes)
  • Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA), Cap. 387

For excavations, foundations and maintenance near or below the water table, we examine groundwater conditions and the possible effects of lowering them on the work area and on nearby facilities.

What the study covers

  • Groundwater conditions. Water levels, subsurface conditions and groundwater behaviour at the site.
  • Water-table reduction studies. How far and how fast groundwater needs to be lowered for the works.
  • Dewatering models. Modelling of the dewatering approach and its likely zone of influence.
  • Monitoring requirements. Piezometers, monitoring wells and the readings needed during the works.
  • Team coordination. Working with the design and construction team so the findings inform the method of work.

Linked investigations

Dewatering studies draw on our wider hydrogeological work: infiltration and permeability testing, groundwater-movement studies, groundwater mounding and wastewater-disposal interfaces, where relevant to the site.

Scope note: We assist with relevant water-permit processes within the engagement. Drilling, specialist engineering, and the installation and operation of dewatering systems are separate responsibilities unless specifically included and appropriately resourced.

Frequently asked questions

When does a site need a dewatering study?

When excavations, foundations or maintenance works will be near or below the water table. A study shows how much groundwater must be controlled and what effects lowering it may have on the works and on nearby facilities.

Do you install and run dewatering systems?

Our role is the study: groundwater assessment, modelling, monitoring requirements and coordination with the design and construction team. Drilling, specialist engineering, and the installation and operation of dewatering systems are separate responsibilities unless specifically included and appropriately resourced.

Do we need a permit to pump groundwater during construction?

Abstracting and discharging water can involve water-permit processes. We assist with the relevant permit processes within the engagement and advise on what applies to your site.

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