1.) Work needed to be done to a summer bridge in Holmes Flat California. The work required a barrier to keep any dirty water created in the work entering from the Eel River. An AquaDam system was chosen for this barrier. There will be three AquaDams installed for this project; a 6ft tall double closed end (DCE) unit with two connection collars and two single closed end (SCE) units. The 6ft tall by 60ft long DCE is being placed into the water, just upstream of the work area.
2.) Workers remove the protective covering from around the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam. AquaDams are shipped rolled-up like a carpet roll, wrapped in a protective covering, and have lifting ropes/straps.
3.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam is being floated into the desired starting location.
4.) Several feet of the 60ft long 6ft tall DCE AquaDam were unrolled. This initial length was unrolled to expose the fill-tubes, which are used for filling the unit with water. The fill-tubes of a DCE AquaDam stick out of the top of the dam, allowing it to be self-elevating.
5.) Workers use the river’s water to fill the AquaDams. The suction hoses for the pump were placed in deeper holes near the piers.
6.) Initially workers hold the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam in place to prevent the current from displacing it. After the unrolled length has a few inches of head above the river water the AquaDam can hold itself in place.
7.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam is filling and beginning to gain a little head. Notice the chunk of wood behind the shirtless man, the ends of the timber that the 6ft tall AquaDam was shipped on needed to be cut. The timber ends were trimmed so that the unit could unroll between the piers of the summer bridge smoothly.
8.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam continues to be filled with water, as workers monitor the roll end and the head that the unrolled length has. As the AquaDam fills the water inside pushes on the roll end causing it to unroll; workers hold the roll until several inches of head are present in the unrolled length, then release a few feet of the roll end maintaining a few inches of head and repeat the process.
9.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam continues to fill under the summer bridge.
10.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam has unrolled enough length at the downstream end, that has made it from under the bridge.
11.) One of the piers had a bolt sticking out towards the AquaDam and so workers placed dunnage material around the bolt to help protect the AquaDam.
12.) The second AquaDam used for this project was a 4ft tall 9ft wide 122ft long SCE unit. This AquaDam will connect to the connection collar at the upstream end of 6ft tall DCE dam. An empty AquaDam is less dense than water and it can be floated over to the area needed.
13.) Several feet of the 4ft tall SCE AquaDam were unrolled to make the connection. Workers will need to pull the fill-tubes of the 4ft tall SCE AquaDam through the holes in the connection collar and starting point (open end) up on top of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam inside of the collar. The open end needs to be elevated higher than the top of the full AquaDam where it will be laid. An AquaDam will only reach its full height at the lowest elevation along its laid path.
14.) The fill-tubes have been pulled through, the discharge hoses connected, and now the 4ft tall AquaDam is being filled.
15.) Workers pull the connection collar skirting out tight to remove any wrinkles.
16.) Workers put small folds in the material where the AquaDam was turned, at the inside of the turn.
17.) Workers pick up rocks while the AquaDams fills. Rock picking helps reduce potential seepage points.
18.) As the AquaDam fills the water inside pushes on the roll end causing it to unroll; workers hold the roll until several inches of head are present in the unrolled length, then release a few feet of the roll end maintaining a few inches of head and repeat the process.
19.) The 4ft tall SCE AquaDam has reached the intended ending bank. Workers tied a rope from the bottom seam of the roll to the top seam of the unrolled length to keep the roll from unrolling any further.
20.) The third and last AquaDam has been unrolled enough to make the connection to downstream end collar on the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam. Here we can see workers placing the fill-tubes of the 3ft tall by 45ft long SCE AquaDam into the connection collar.
21.) A fill-tube of the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam being pulled through its hole of the connection collar by one worker while another worker pushes it to him from inside the collar.
22.) The upstream 4ft tall SCE AquaDam is full.
23.) Workers pick rocks, maintain head in the 3ft tall dam, and have manipulated the roll to make the necessary turn towards its ending bank.
24.) The 3ft tall 7ft wide 45ft long SCE AquaDam has completely unrolled and made it to its ending bank. Now the unit just needs to finish filling.
25.) The last AquaDam is almost full.
26.) After filling an AquaDam, the fill-tubes should be secured up, so that they will not fall over and risk any water leaking out.
27.) Aerial view of the three AquaDams in a horseshoe/”U” shape configuration working great.
28.) Another aerial view showing the containment of turbid water. Great job AquaDam!
29.)After all the work was done it was time to remove the AquaDams. The two end SCE AquaDams were drained and removed first prior to the removal of the DCE 6ft tall unit. A suction hose was inserted into one of the fill-tubes of the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam to remove the water from inside of it. The fill-tubes could have been lowered to the height of the river allowing the water inside to exit into the river, but there were concerns of temperature differences and so the water was pumped to another location.
30.)Workers fasten a wooden beam to the closed end of the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam so that it can be re-rolled, and the water inside can be pushed towards the open end.
31.)As the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam is drained of the water from inside, a worker removes the sewn taper originally added to the connection collar of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam.
32.)The 3ft tall SCE AquaDam continues to be drained of the water inside of it.
33.)The water inside of the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam is now almost the same height of the river water.
34.)Workers use ratchets with special brackets to help roll-up the closed end of the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam.
35.)Workers needed to remove the fill-tubes from the connection collar and pull them up on top of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam, so that they could reposition the suction hose.
36.)The 3ft tall 45ft long SCE AquaDam has been nearly drained of all the water inside.
37.)After the 3ft tall SCE AquaDam had been drained of all the water inside and rolled-up, workers tied lifting ropes around the roll.
38.)At the upstream end, we can see the 4ft tall SCE AquaDam has already been drained and re-rolled. Now the workers can focus on draining the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam.
39.)Workers cut two holes into the top of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam where the dam was sitting in the deepest hole, near the piers. Then suction hoses were stuffed into the holes to remove the water inside of the AquaDam.
40.)Workers prepare the downstream end of the DCE AquaDam for removal. A beam was attached to the connection collar to get the re-rolling process started. The ends of the connection collar were folded over to reduce the width of the material.
41.)Workers have the downstream end of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam ready to start re-rolling the unit. After the top of the AquaDam is level with the surrounding water the material of the dam begins to float and becomes easier to manipulate.
42.)The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam is about level with the surrounding water. A worker cuts the outer sleeve material of the DCE AquaDam to allow its fill-tubes to be pulled through more easily.
43.)The discharge hoses that were inside of the DCE AquaDam also needed to be removed.
44.)The upstream closed end of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam was bunched up with rope to prevent the water inside from going this direction. The goal was to force all the water towards the suction hoses.
45.)Worker’s roll-up the downstream closed end to force the water towards the suction hoses.
46.)A rope was wrapped around the body of the AquaDam and cinched to reduce the width as the dam is re-rolled.
47)The upstream end was pulled and lifted to help force the water to the suction hoses.
48.) Enough water has been removed from the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam that it was able to be pulled out from under the bridge, with an excavator.
49.) The fill-tubes of the 6ft tall DCE AquaDam have been pulled out through the closed end that was opened.
50.) The roll end was pulled up onto the shore and unrolled, so that the AquaDam could be re-rolled more efficiently.
51.) Workers folded the ends of the unrolled material to reduce the overall width and then re-rolled the AquaDam.
52.) Once the roll reached the edge of the river, an excavator would lift and pull the roll end back up the shore.
53.) Having the fill-tubes pulled out of the previously closed end and laid out down the bank allows the water inside the AquaDam to drain out.
54.) The fill-tubes were laid back on top of the outer material, so they would be protected within the roll.
55.) Lifting ropes were tied to the rolled up 6ft tall DCE AquaDam
56.) The 6ft tall DCE AquaDam was loaded onto a trailer and shipped back to Aqua Dam Inc.
6ft Tall 13ft Wide (full) 60ft Long Double Closed End (DCE) AquaDam with Two Connection Collars, 4ft Tall 9ft Wide 122ft Long Single Close End (SCE) AquaDam, 3ft Tall 7ft Wide 45ft Long SCE AquaDam, Horseshoe/”U” Shape Configuration, Turbidity Curtain, Eel River, Summer Bridge Repair, Installation & Removal