Sinkhole Causes Problems for the Georgia Power Plant Bowen

At the Georgia Power Plant Bowen, in Atlanta, GA, heavy rain combined with a water byproduct of the plant's cooling towers caused the ash site behind the power plant to flood.

The ash site was once a flat piece of land, until a huge sinkhole opened up suddenly earlier in the year. The sinkhole caused 30 to 40-cubic yards of dirt and ash to fall into the enormous cavern. The ash, the water from the cooling towers from the power plant, and rainwater all collected in this sinkhole. Management personnel at the power plant required that the sinkhole be dewatered so that they could make plans to repair the sinkhole, and before more flooding occurred.

The Power Plant management contacted their local United Rentals store, for equipment. After explaining their application needs, the United Rentals manager referred them to Thompson Pump's local Atlanta, GA Service Center. The United Rentals store wanted to be sure that this special application was handled in a cost-effective and timely fashion.

Operating on very short notice, Thompson's Atlanta Service Center delivered and installed a Thompson 8-lnch Dry Prime Open Trash Sewage (TSV) Pump along with the necessary suction and discharge hoses. The pump was equipped with a Thompson Automatic Start/Stop Control Panel and Float System to allow the unit to operate unattended while the water level in the sinkhole fluctuated due to additional rain and water byproduct.

Once the pump was set up and operational, the Power Plant management was pleased with its performance, as it successfully dewatered the sinkhole, allowing repair plans to proceed sooner than the 6 - 8-month time frame originally anticipated.