Articles: Water Damage Clean-up

Avoiding Water Damage Clean-up Oakland County, MI Hassles through Proper Well Installation

Residents of Oakland County, Mi are in the midst of a watershed. A watershed is a piece of land that drains to a body of water such as lakes or rivers. Oakland County has about five major watersheds and more than 1,400 lakes within its territory. With water being such a big part of its geography, it undoubtedly plays a huge role in the lives of residents.

One of the ways the presence of water is recognized is through the local government's action against water restoration. Cleaning up the damage caused by flooding in Oakland Country can cause a strain in the financial and day to day aspects of individual. A specific action taken by the county is to have set standards in the design and installation of well houses. These guidelines are formulated and implemented by the County Water Resources Commissioner Staff to ensure that flooding risks are minimized.

Using the proper materials in the wells makes them stronger against damage. With proper installations to begin with, the need for water restoration and water damage clean-up in Oakland County, MI becomes less likely. For the well casings, they should be new and comply with ASTM specifications. The minimum wall thickness for all the sizes of pipes used in the well installations should be 0.375 inches.

To ensure the proper compliance of the pipes, the supplier should provide certification on the casings before they are installed. The casings used in wells may be beveled for field welding processes or threaded for couplings. Should threaded or coupled pipe be used, the coupling should be secured to the pipe through back-welding.

As for the well screens of the wells installed, Oakland County specifies that the screen should be 304 stainless steel and wire wound with a 304 stainless steel bottom plate. Furthermore, grouting for the well casings should be of a cement material that weighs 15 lbs/gallon made of Portland cement with a maximum of six gallons of water. Some well instances require the use of gravel in order to stabilize the annular space between the screen and well bore. In this situation, the gravel should be at least 94% silica and have a uniformity coefficient of no more than 1.35.

The pumps used in the wells should be of standard size and power. Some instances of flooding are caused by improperly working pumps. Water restoration can be avoided if the fundamentals of the wells are paid attention to. In Oakland County, the pumps should be sized to give the normal system operation pressure of 50 -70 psi when at street level. In places where there are significant elevation changes, the minimum operating pressure should be no less than 40 psi at the highest street elevation and no greater than 80 psi at the lowest street elevation.

Also, the pumps used should be deep well vertical turbines and hollow shaft that feature water lubricated bearings as well as bronze semi-enclosed impellers. The pumps should have close coupled shafts and anti-reversing ratchets with mechanical seals. The joints of the pumps should be sealed using an approved multi-part silicone sealant.