Design Package Drives Permitting, Contracting, and Construction

The design package for produced water impoundments incorporates the land survey, geotechnical report, design and bid documents for the permitting and construction of an impoundment. A complete package should include the necessary design sheets, bid documents, technical specifications, and a construction quality assurance (CQA) plan.

At a minimum, the design sheets should include:

·       A site location showing existing county roads and highway intersections;

·       A site layout with surveyor-supplied control points, proposed security (fencing and access control), and existing/proposed infrastructure;

·       A grading plan showing slopes, access roads, and erosion control devices;

·       Cross-sections of the impoundment(s) with existing and proposed grades;

·       Detailed drawings of the liner system, impoundment piping, access roads, drainage features, and erosion control devices; and

·       A liner plan indicating the location of rub sheets, piping, leak detection, and air vent locations.

The bid documents should include bid items, quantities, proposed schedules, contract terms, party contact information, and bidding instructions.

Technical specifications should include material type and size details, installation methods, and any required material testing or performance parameters. Typically, the technical specifications document written for an impoundment will contain sections on:

·       Site safety;

·       Equipment mobilization;

·       Clearing and grubbing;

·       Aggregate materials;

·       Site grading;

·       Trenching and backfilling;

·       Piping;

·       Geomembranes, geotextiles and geocomposites;

·       Erosion control;

·       Site seeding method and

·       Fencing and access control.

Finally, the CQA plan ensures that proper construction techniques and procedures are used and that the project is built according to the design package and technical specifications. The plan identifies problems that may occur during construction and instructions for documenting issues that must be corrected before construction concludes.

A complete design package is instrumental to successful project implementation.  It benefits the contractor and operator by clearly setting forth the scope of work agreed to in the contract.

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