An engineering and environmental consulting firm hired to evaluate the groundwater remediation system of an abandoned mine in Colorado looked to GPRS to help map and investigate the integrity of the buried portions of this critical infrastructure.
GPRS Project Manager Conner Sorensen was tasked with locating, mapping, and inspecting the lines that pump contaminated groundwater out of the disused mine and into retention ponds, where the hazardous material can be removed from it.
Underground abandoned mines pose a serious threat to community water supplies, rivers, streams, and aquatic life. When rainwater fills these chambers, it becomes contaminated with the leftover metals or other material that was being mined and any hazardous material used during the mining process. If not properly remediated, this contaminated groundwater can seep into the soil, poison waterways, and more.
That‘s what happened in 2015, when pressurized water began leaking out of the EPA-owned Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. As the organization was investigating the ongoing remediation of the mine, excavation activities led to roughly 3 million gallons of mine wastewater and tailings – including heavy metals - spilling into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. According to an article in the Colorado Encyclopedia, the contaminated runoff turned the normally green waters of the Animas a bright orange-brown as it made its way downstream through Durango to the San Juan River and, eventually, to Lake Powell.
Studies of the Animas River found that the spill had little to no long-term effect on the waterway – largely because it had already contained high levels of heavy metals from thousands of old mines in the region. This contamination, according to Colorado Encyclopedia, causes stretches of the river to be virtually devoid of aquatic life and renders the fish populations inhabiting the river near Durango incapable of reproducing.
The Gold King Mine disaster served as the catalyst for establishing the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site, enabling access to federal funding and resources to address the issue of mine drainage.
Sorensen explained that the owners of the mine where he was working were planning expansions to the remediation infrastructure and contacted the engineering and environmental consulting firm for help properly assessing their existing system prior to beginning any excavation.
“Basically, I was just locating everything so that, moving forward, when they begin construction and expand the remediation site, they can do so without hitting anything and they won’t be putting new stuff on top of old, bad pipe,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen began by deploying a remote-controlled pipe inspection rover and push-fed scope, both of which were equipped with sondes: instrument probes that allow GPRS Project Managers to map buried infrastructure from the service utilizing electromagnetic (EM) locators.
EM locators detect electromagnetic signals radiating from the sondes, or from metallic pipes or cables. They can measure the depth of the buried utility as well as locate it.
The rover and scope Sorensen utilized were outfitted with CCTV cameras which captured video and photographic evidence of the condition of the buried water lines. Sorensen used this evidence to compile a detailed report for our client.
“No defects were found to exist in the system,” he said.
In addition to marking the locations of the buried lines on the surface using flags and spray paint, Sorensen provided the client with a digital, geolocated map of his findings via SiteMap® (patent pending), GPRS facility & project management application designed to provide existing conditions documentation to protect our clients’ assets and people.
The utility map identified all access points to the remediation system, correlated that information with the captured video of the interior of the pipes, and indicated the size, material, and depth of each section.
“The report was helpful in documenting the existing condition of the system,” Sorensen said. “And the SiteMap® deliverable was helpful to have the locations recorded for future reference.”
From environmental due diligence projects to new construction, GPRS Intelligently Visualizes The Built World® to keep your projects on time, on budget, and safe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Video Pipe Inspection (VPI)?
Video Pipe Inspection or VPI is a sewer inspection service using CCTV video cameras to mitigate or prevent infrastructure damage by inspecting underground water, sewer lines, and lateral pipelines. GPRS's NASSCO certified technicians can locate clogs, investigate cross bores, find structural faults and damages, and conduct lateral sewer line inspections.
What deliverables does GPRS offer when conducting a VPI?
GPRS is proud to offer WinCan reporting to our Video Pipe Inspection clients. Maintaining sewers starts with understanding sewer condition, and WinCan allows GPRS Project Managers to collect detailed, NASSCO-compliant inspection data. GPRS Project Managers not only inspect the interior condition of sewer pipes, laterals, and manholes – they can also provide a map of their location. The GPRS Mapping & Modeling Department can provide detailed GPS overlays and CAD files. Our detailed WinCan/NASSCO reports contain screenshots of the interior condition of the pipe segments that we inspect, as well as a video file for further evaluation, documentation, and/or reference.
What size pipes can GPRS inspect?
Our NASSCO-certified Project Managers can inspect pipes from 2” in diameter and up.
