ICE® Green Machine Keeps Water Clean 

Editor: Debbie Reaney 

Established in 1939, the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) in New York, NY treats 225 million gallons (about 851717250 L) per day (MGD) of mainly residential wastewater for Northwestern Queens. The facility is responsible for screening, primary and secondary treatments, activated-sludge treatment, and disinfection of the plant effluent before it is discharged into the Rikers Island Channel through an outfall pipe. It is easy to forget about these procedures that happen behind the scenes to keep our communities in good health. Nonetheless, like all infrastructure, regular maintenance is key to keeping water treatment plants working efficiently and protecting local waterways. 

It has come time for the Bowery Bay plant's outfall pipe to be replaced. Over time, erosion from runoff can cause outfall infrastructure to degrade or break, leading to clogged pipes and weakened control of water pollution. Some pipes simply have outdated designs that do not support larger effluent volumes triggered by population growth in the region, which can create flooding near the shoreline and eventually into surrounding public spaces. In this case, the pile driving experts at Soil Solutions, Inc stepped in to restore the long-term function of the outfall. 

Inside the pre-existing cofferdam surrounding the Bowery Bay outfall site, the Soil Solutions crew drove 12.75" (in) steel pipe piles that will support the new outfall infrastructure. They used their own pile rig to drive the first group of piles that were easiest to reach, however the remaining group of piles were not accessible without a crane. By following up with a lighter weight ICE® I-12V2 Diesel Impact Hammer free-hanging from their crane, the SS team was able to overcome the reach limitations of their rig and complete the installation of the hard-to-reach piles. International Construction Equipment, Inc. is happy to have provided a tool that helped to easily resolve this challenge and applauds the Soil Solution crew for their innovative problem solving. Thank you, Soil Solutions for trusting in the abilities of ICE® deep foundation equipment to polish off your project and help eliminate potential water supply issues, shoreline erosion and local street flooding in Queens and the Bowery Bay area. 

Learn more about the ICE® I-12V2. 

Media Contact-    
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA    
Vice President Marketing, Brand and Media Relations  

Vice President IT and IT Comm 
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc    
Office - 704-821-8200    
Email - marketing@iceusa.com