American Council of Engineering Companies 
2004 Engineering Excellence Grand Award
CATEGORY E - SPECIAL PROJECTS 

SUB-SURFACE DRAINAGE/CONSOLIDATION SYSTEM 
POWNAL, VERMONT

Project Highlights

Reclamation of superfund site for location of a new wastewater treatment facility. Unstable clay layer at depth would result in excessive settlement of 3"-5" over 5-10 years. Pile foundations would not be cost effective or practical due to soils. Wick drains purge moisture from unstable clay layer and accelerate consolidation of clay layer to acceptable consolidation.

$70,000 installation project saved 3-5 years of consolidation from conventional pre-loading, which would have delayed the project to the point that the site would have been unacceptable. Close coordination with EPA to integrate this work into the phases of their overall lagoon clean-up. Cost of wick drain installation and pre-loading of site were including in EPA clean-up project funding, saving the town of Pownal $400,000 in project costs as well as substantial time.