Do you wonder what is going on alonside Highway 101 in Discovery Bay?! Here is your Answer!

Our Project Manager, Kevin Long, has been busy supervising the installment of the Discovery Bay waterline. It may not look like salmon habitat restoration but it is! It is the first phase towards the restoration of 21 acres of nearshore and estuary habitat in Discovery Bay.

Left: The 12 inch waterline casing is delivered along the side of highway 20. This will be fused together into a single pipeline that will go under Salmon Creek. Right: The waterline casing is fused. The drill will hook on to the end of this pipe and pull the pipe into the shaft that has been bored previously. 

Left: The drill uses water and bentonite to lubricate the bore. The water, bentonite and bore cuttings are received at either end of the bore. The water and bentonite are reused by the drill and the other materials are hauled off-site as clean fill. Right: Drilling fluid is returned to the reclaimer for recycling. While the process appears messy, a well thought out system of pits and erosion control devices ensure no soil or silt leave the site or enter the nearby creeks or wetlands.

Left: The fused pipe laid out alongside of the highway is attached to the drill head with a swivel and pulled into the bore. Right: The horizontal drilling rig pulls the 12 inch pipe from the ground. The pipe extends away from the machine and comes up on the other side of Salmon Creek 620 feet away. The pipe is installed 26 feet under the bed of Salmon Creek. 

Stay tuned for more updates!