The Park City School District will begin dewatering the Treasure Mountain Junior High School demolition site this month if the latest water samples show an acceptable level of contamination. District officials in a press release said its contractors will mix chemicals into the four tanks current ly housing groundwater on the property as soon as Thursday. The water will then be tested in the field, as well as sent to a lab for further analysis. The testing process is fairly quick, with results expected on Friday. If the water’s contamination levels fall within the state’s permissible limits, then the dewatering work should begin on Monday. “During this time, the … tanks will be emptied and water will be discharged, either to the storm drain or directly into the creek, adhering to approved permitting protocols,” the press release said. The dewatering and sewer line repairs should take two to three days. District officials estimated the work will be completed by April 10. “The duration will depend on chemical contact time with the water and other variables, including metal concentrations in groundwater and weather conditions,” the press release said. The district emphasized that no water will be discharged until the lab’s test results are reviewed and confirmed to meet state standards. The district’s contractors, as well as the Snyderville Basin Water Reclamation District, will be on site to oversee operations and observe the repair process. The school district has repeatedly claimed groundwater released into a nearby creek last fall was “non-hazardous.” The Utah Department of Environmental Quality initiated an investigation in October after an anonymous tip reported the district’s contractors had dumped contaminated groundwater into Silver Creek on the east side of the demolition site. It was the second reported environmental issue on the property, with the district having already received a non-compliance advisory related to asbestos abatement. The violation ultimately led to a $400 fine for the district and a $2,531 fine for Cripple Creek Consulting, one of the project’s third-party contractors. To remove the groundwater on the site, the contractor installed a weir tank, which stores and separates sediments and other particles from groundwater and allows construction crews to control the water’s flow during discharge, according to an explanation of the incident from the school district. The district said the tank was connected to a private stormwater system under the direction of the site’s prior environmental consultant. Contractors allegedly pumped hundreds of gallons of water into the stormwater system for multiple hours a day in September and October. But the weir tank wasn’t used for dumping groundwater at all on Oct. 10, according to school officials. Instead, the contracting company chose to discharge the water directly into Silver Creek. School officials in December could not provide answers as to why the tank was disassembled or why contractors opted to dump directly into the creek. The documentation and explanation provided by the district also does not include information on why the change happened. The state’s investigation into the issue is ongoing, and the results are expected to be published sometime in the next few months. The post Park City School District to dewater Treasure Mountain demolition site, pending lab results appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less