VICKSBURG, Miss. – A multiagency team of researchers and specialists from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and industry collaborator WaterStep have partnered to design and test a new approach to clean and maintain relief wells from biofilm buildup. The new technology is called the Relief Well Sustainment (RWS) Deployable Resilient Installation water Purification and treatment System (DRIPS) mobile trailer.
Levee systems are part of the nation’s landscape and an important aspect of the USACE Flood Risk Management Program. All levees are subject to seepage that may result in excessive pressure buildup beneath the surface, leading to structure failure and safety concerns. For more than 80 years, the Corps of Engineers has used a system of relief wells to relieve excess pressures in levees, dams, and other hydraulic structures.