Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Idaho State Prison
On May 31st, we cleaned the water tank at the Idaho State Prison. There were some miscommunications leading up to the job (blame the holiday weekend), but we started on the tank around 9:30 and were finished a couple of hours later. The prison folks frown on pictures being taken, so I didn't get as many snapshots as normal, but here are a few:
Monday, May 30, 2011
Mountain Home, Idaho
After we left Fruitland, we drove NE to Mountain Home, Idaho, which is about 35 miles south of Boise on I-84. Mountain Home had three tanks for us to do - the first was a BIG on grade tank (two million gallons), and the other two were pretty small.
Our goal was to get the two million gallon tank done in one day, which could have happened if we were willing to work all night on it. We discovered that 4-6 inches of sand had accumulated near the edge of one side of the tank. Our underwater vacuum (called a Hydradyne) can only effectively vacuum up an inch, sometimes two, of sand. So... most of the thick stuff had to be hand nozzled.
This was my first opportunity to dive and clean with the hydradyne. I dove the second half of the day and just wasn't able to make quick work of the job. That meant that we had to return the following morning to complete the tank, which was a bummer because it was Memorial Day weekend and we were hoping to finish the Mountain Home jobs so we could take a day or two off up in Boise. No dice... the tank took another five hours to clean, plus an hour to inspect, so we had to use Day 3 to clean the other tanks.
The last two tanks went pretty quick. They were both fairly clean and were small enough to finish cleaning and inspecting easily. We were in Boise by mid afternoon on Memorial Day and enjoyed a relaxed evening at the hotel.
The Mountain Home tanks:
Our goal was to get the two million gallon tank done in one day, which could have happened if we were willing to work all night on it. We discovered that 4-6 inches of sand had accumulated near the edge of one side of the tank. Our underwater vacuum (called a Hydradyne) can only effectively vacuum up an inch, sometimes two, of sand. So... most of the thick stuff had to be hand nozzled.
This was my first opportunity to dive and clean with the hydradyne. I dove the second half of the day and just wasn't able to make quick work of the job. That meant that we had to return the following morning to complete the tank, which was a bummer because it was Memorial Day weekend and we were hoping to finish the Mountain Home jobs so we could take a day or two off up in Boise. No dice... the tank took another five hours to clean, plus an hour to inspect, so we had to use Day 3 to clean the other tanks.
The last two tanks went pretty quick. They were both fairly clean and were small enough to finish cleaning and inspecting easily. We were in Boise by mid afternoon on Memorial Day and enjoyed a relaxed evening at the hotel.
The Mountain Home tanks:
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Fruitland, Idaho
May 26th was a driving day - we headed out from Missoula and stayed the night in Ontario, Oregon. The next day, we headed two miles East across the Oregon-Idaho border to the town of Fruitland. It was there that did the first tank that raised a flag with me.
The tank is called a "clear well" - it's an underground tank at the water plant. The "flag" was raised because the clear well had a series of concrete baffles that essentially created a maze/switchback structure within the tank. In my opinion, we were not adequately manned to dive this tank. To make matters worse, the tank was mirrored on the other side, essentially creating two tanks. My team lead dove and cleaned both tanks, so the job got done...
This is the basic tank configuration:
Our pictures from Fruitland:
The tank is called a "clear well" - it's an underground tank at the water plant. The "flag" was raised because the clear well had a series of concrete baffles that essentially created a maze/switchback structure within the tank. In my opinion, we were not adequately manned to dive this tank. To make matters worse, the tank was mirrored on the other side, essentially creating two tanks. My team lead dove and cleaned both tanks, so the job got done...
This is the basic tank configuration:
Our pictures from Fruitland:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Missoula
We left Fort Benton on the 22nd and drove to Missoula. Between May 23rd and 25th, we worked on five tanks in the Missoula area.
On the 22nd, we worked on three tanks in one day. Mobilizing for three tanks in one day was a pretty impressive feat... it was a lot of work, but really a great learning experience. I tended all of the jobs in Missoula, which gave me a great opportunity to familiarize myself with the gear needed for each job.
Our first two tanks were smaller below grade concrete tanks. The next two were bolted "on grade" tanks. The final tank was a larger below grade concrete tank.
Click here for my pictures from Missoula:
On the 22nd, we worked on three tanks in one day. Mobilizing for three tanks in one day was a pretty impressive feat... it was a lot of work, but really a great learning experience. I tended all of the jobs in Missoula, which gave me a great opportunity to familiarize myself with the gear needed for each job.
Our first two tanks were smaller below grade concrete tanks. The next two were bolted "on grade" tanks. The final tank was a larger below grade concrete tank.
Click here for my pictures from Missoula:
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Fort Benton, Continued
We wrapped up our work in Fort Benton today and drove up to Missoula.
Our work in Fort Benton was in well that is situated right next to the Missouri River. The well is 40 feet deep and 14 feet in diameter... it had about 15 feet of water it in while we were doing our work. At the base of the well, 12" lateral pipes span between 54 and 120 feet out beneath the river bed. Those laterals were drilled when the water plant was built in 1987 and their amount of flow has decreased over the years.
Our job was to work in concert with a jet truck crew to run a high pressure hose down each lateral at 2000-2500 psi with a reverse-facing jet nozzle that pushed out all the gravel and sand that has built up in the laterals over the years. Once the hose reached the end, a diver would work in concert with the jet truck guys to pull the hose back (still under 1000-1500 psi) to push all of the gravel and sand back into the well.
We completed the jetting work on the fourth day (it would have been three days, but the jet nozzle got stuck on the afternoon of Day 3 and it took me three and a half hours to free it). With the jetting completed, we ran a camera down each lateral to ensure they were clean, then cleaned all the debris out of the well.
Today, my team lead performed a video inspection of the cleaned well, conducted a flow test for a representative from the well company, and collected water samples for the utility.
We left Fort Benton around 1:30 this afternoon and drove to Missoula, where we'll be for the next day or two.
Tim, the rep at Fort Benton's water district, allowed me to shoot some pictures of his water plant. It was the first water plant in the USA to utlitize UV technology to purify water. His is actually a two-part system, he uses chlorine and UV, but it's still pretty cool. The well's water is pumped to tanks in Fort Benton, which then feed the city. I think we'll probably be cleaning out those tanks later this year.
Our work in Fort Benton was in well that is situated right next to the Missouri River. The well is 40 feet deep and 14 feet in diameter... it had about 15 feet of water it in while we were doing our work. At the base of the well, 12" lateral pipes span between 54 and 120 feet out beneath the river bed. Those laterals were drilled when the water plant was built in 1987 and their amount of flow has decreased over the years.
Our job was to work in concert with a jet truck crew to run a high pressure hose down each lateral at 2000-2500 psi with a reverse-facing jet nozzle that pushed out all the gravel and sand that has built up in the laterals over the years. Once the hose reached the end, a diver would work in concert with the jet truck guys to pull the hose back (still under 1000-1500 psi) to push all of the gravel and sand back into the well.
We completed the jetting work on the fourth day (it would have been three days, but the jet nozzle got stuck on the afternoon of Day 3 and it took me three and a half hours to free it). With the jetting completed, we ran a camera down each lateral to ensure they were clean, then cleaned all the debris out of the well.
Today, my team lead performed a video inspection of the cleaned well, conducted a flow test for a representative from the well company, and collected water samples for the utility.
We left Fort Benton around 1:30 this afternoon and drove to Missoula, where we'll be for the next day or two.
Tim, the rep at Fort Benton's water district, allowed me to shoot some pictures of his water plant. It was the first water plant in the USA to utlitize UV technology to purify water. His is actually a two-part system, he uses chlorine and UV, but it's still pretty cool. The well's water is pumped to tanks in Fort Benton, which then feed the city. I think we'll probably be cleaning out those tanks later this year.
Fort Benton Water Plant
(click to see more pictures)
(click to see more pictures)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Fort Benton, Montana
I met up with my new team in Billings on Monday. We performed a final check off on the truck and our equipment and headed off down the road on Tuesday to Fort Benton, Montana... a town that bosts being the "Birthplace of Montana".
We're scheduled to be here for five days cleaning the city's water system.
I'm having internet connection issues, so updating this blog is proving to me more challenging than I had anticipated. I thought I'd found a way to email in updates to the blog, but it's not working. So... I'm limited to updates when I have actual internet access. Fortunately, we're at a Super 8 motel for the next couple of days, so I should be able to throw up a picture or two.
We're scheduled to be here for five days cleaning the city's water system.
I'm having internet connection issues, so updating this blog is proving to me more challenging than I had anticipated. I thought I'd found a way to email in updates to the blog, but it's not working. So... I'm limited to updates when I have actual internet access. Fortunately, we're at a Super 8 motel for the next couple of days, so I should be able to throw up a picture or two.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
On a Greyhound to Billings, Montana
At my wife's excellent suggestion, I have created this BLOG to chronicle the adventures I am embarking on in the coming weeks and months.
Following the severe downturn in the economy over the past two years, it has become painfully obvious that the housing market cannot offer the sustainable income that it did in my glory years (2005-2007). Additionally, I have lost more money through my real estate portfolio's death in the past three years than I ever anticipated I'd see in my 20s. Late last year, I decided to diversify my skill set and pick up work to supplement my real estate income. Ultimately, the goals were threefold:
(1) Find a W-2 job so I can start qualifying for real esate financing again (realtors are self employed, and self employed loans are extremely difficult to find after the mortgage meltdown and subsequent changes in underwriting that happened in 2008).
(2) Ensure that the new W-2 income didn't take ALL of my time... I have no intention of abandoning my real estate business (did that once... easily one of the biggest mistakes of my life).
(3) Provide income to supplement my real estate commissions and provide some level of financial security. Pam and I are trying to get pregnant again, and once we have #2 we want her to stay home. So the goal is to finish paying off the credit cards and other debts to get to a place where my income will sufficiently cover our cost of living.
These objectives led me to the Divers Insitute of Technology in Seattle. I enrolled in their seven month course in October of 2010 and graduated on April 28th of 2011. My adventures at DIT are chronicled at http://www.dit110-10.com/.
On graduation day, I was the only guy in my class of 22 to have a confirmed job. The week before graduation, I interviewed with and was offered a position with Liquid Engineering in Billings, Montana. Liquid is the #1 potable water tank cleaning, inspection and repair company in the U.S. They deploy crews all over the lower 48 states have an exceptional reputation. I was excited at the opportunity to work for them because I would get immediate in-water experience (most "baby divers" end up tending real divers for the first year or two of their careers - Liquid Engineering will have me in the water immediately). I should also be able to remain in constant contact with everyone back home via cell and internet - not something I could have guaranteed if I had gone to Louisiana (where most of the new divers go to find work in the Gulf of Mexico).
So, while most of my classmates are now in the Gulf either looking for or starting work, I'm on a Greyhound headed to Billings with the plan of deploying on Tuesday at noon. I'll arrive in Billings around 6:00 this evening (14 hours to go), and the adventure will begin.
Following the severe downturn in the economy over the past two years, it has become painfully obvious that the housing market cannot offer the sustainable income that it did in my glory years (2005-2007). Additionally, I have lost more money through my real estate portfolio's death in the past three years than I ever anticipated I'd see in my 20s. Late last year, I decided to diversify my skill set and pick up work to supplement my real estate income. Ultimately, the goals were threefold:
(1) Find a W-2 job so I can start qualifying for real esate financing again (realtors are self employed, and self employed loans are extremely difficult to find after the mortgage meltdown and subsequent changes in underwriting that happened in 2008).
(2) Ensure that the new W-2 income didn't take ALL of my time... I have no intention of abandoning my real estate business (did that once... easily one of the biggest mistakes of my life).
(3) Provide income to supplement my real estate commissions and provide some level of financial security. Pam and I are trying to get pregnant again, and once we have #2 we want her to stay home. So the goal is to finish paying off the credit cards and other debts to get to a place where my income will sufficiently cover our cost of living.
These objectives led me to the Divers Insitute of Technology in Seattle. I enrolled in their seven month course in October of 2010 and graduated on April 28th of 2011. My adventures at DIT are chronicled at http://www.dit110-10.com/.
On graduation day, I was the only guy in my class of 22 to have a confirmed job. The week before graduation, I interviewed with and was offered a position with Liquid Engineering in Billings, Montana. Liquid is the #1 potable water tank cleaning, inspection and repair company in the U.S. They deploy crews all over the lower 48 states have an exceptional reputation. I was excited at the opportunity to work for them because I would get immediate in-water experience (most "baby divers" end up tending real divers for the first year or two of their careers - Liquid Engineering will have me in the water immediately). I should also be able to remain in constant contact with everyone back home via cell and internet - not something I could have guaranteed if I had gone to Louisiana (where most of the new divers go to find work in the Gulf of Mexico).
So, while most of my classmates are now in the Gulf either looking for or starting work, I'm on a Greyhound headed to Billings with the plan of deploying on Tuesday at noon. I'll arrive in Billings around 6:00 this evening (14 hours to go), and the adventure will begin.
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