Okaloosa County Water and Sewer is systematically replacing its older can style sewage pump stations. These legacy stations force workers to climb down into confined spaces just to service the pumps and controls. The County wants to eliminate that practice for safety and operational reasons.
The existing station on Poquito Road sat in a narrow road right of way with no room to build a modern replacement in place. A neighboring property owner stepped up and granted a permanent easement roughly 20 feet wide and 55 feet deep. That small parcel gave us just enough space for a new station, but left almost no room for conventional construction.
Groundwater sat only about 10 feet below existing grade. The new wet well had to go 20 to 25 feet deep. Traditional open cut construction would have needed heavy dewatering and almost certainly sheet piling. Nearby homes made vibration a real concern, and the limited working area raised questions about whether sheet piling could even fit.
POLY worked with the County to find a better way. We selected an open bottom epoxy concrete wet well from Armorock and installed it using the caisson method. A large diameter auger removed soil from inside the wet well while the structure was gradually lowered to final elevation. Once it reached grade, a concrete pour sealed the bottom and provided the needed resistance against flotation. This approach removed the need for sheet piling and cut dewatering requirements dramatically.
Brown Construction of NWFL installed the wet well. The process moved fast. The structure was set and ready for pumps and piping in just a few days. Goforth Williamson installed the pumps and controls, and the County finished the remaining site work, testing, and startup. The station went into service in record time with very little disruption to the surrounding homes. The old can station has been removed from the right of way and the new site is fully landscaped.
The finished project gives County staff a safer, easier station to maintain and shows how creative engineering can solve tight sites, high groundwater, and close neighbors at the same time.
Total Construction Cost: $1,500,000