Lagoon #172

Pulte has pulled-in their schedule for starting the reconstruction work on Lagoon #172 in Aster Fields Neighborhood and will start working on this lagoon soon. A pre-construction meeting with Pulte and Thomas & Hutton Engineering is scheduled for 9:30AM this Friday, October 2nd, at the lagoon (probably on the embankment adjacent to Sun City Blvd). Residents bordering this lagoon, as well as any other interested parties, are encouraged to attend this informational meeting. It is a chance to have your questions/concerns addressed directly to Pulte represenatives (Todd Doupona and Allison Tucker). Members of the Phase 5 Lagoon Committee and the Aster Fields Neighborhood Representative have also been invited to attend.
These meetings generally start on time so don't be late.

Lagoon #182

9:00AM - T&H survey crew ( 2 in a boat and 2 on shore) preparing to survey the lagoon (probably the "as-builts"). The excavator is still on site but not being used at this time.

11:45Am Update- Workers had just marked the location of the irrigation control valve box and were leaving. No other activity at this time.

Lagoon #182 Update

8:45AM - Dredging appears to be completed. The excavator is being used to rough grade the embankment. A two person surveying team was on site "shooting" elevations. The small pump has already been removed and they are removing the large pump and gas tank today. They took a large amount of soil (aka, "gumbo"?) from this lagoon. It is partially filled from the recent rain and is starting to look good already.
Once the excavator leaves, the landscaping team will do the finish grading and then the landscaping (sod, grass, etc)

Lagoon #182 Update

8:45AM - There were two excavators in operation at this time. One was doing the dredging and the other one was loading the dump trucks.

10:30 AM - They were dumping some soil along the embankment. The two photos above were taken at 10:30AM

Lagoon #178 Update

8:35AM - All equipment has been removed from the site. Work appears to be completed except for 1. the on-site meeting with the Neighbor Rep and the Phase 5 lagoon Committee , and 2. DHEC inspection/approval.

Lagoon #182 Update

8:45AM - The excavator was loading dredged soil into a waiting dump truck. The logistics operation is improving. When the loaded dump truck left, another empty one showed up about two minutes later.
12:45PM Update - There were 3 dump trucks lined up waiting to get loaded and a 4th dump truck being loaded with the "grunge" mud. They were dumping the "stuff" in the lot by the old contractor's entrance road (which has been closed for awhile) off of Sun City Blvd.

The two photos above weere taken at 4:30PM today.

Lagoon #178 Update

8:40AM - No activity. However, it looks like the dredging and landscaping work is completed. There's a Bobcat, about 1.5 pallets of sod, and some garden tools left there. Either there is some touch-up work to be done or this equipment is waiting to be picked up.
It's nice to see this lagoon without all of that plant growth in it. When it's filled with water it should be very nice.

Lagoon #157 Update

At a meeting with Todd Doupona and Allison Tucker yesterday, Todd stated he is aware of the grass issue on the embankment of this lagoon and is keeping a close eye on it. The initial hydroseeding failed so the company hand-seeded the embankment. Todd is waiting to see if the hand-seeded grass "takes" before any decisions are made. He has not paid the Hydroseeding Co. for the work yet.

Lagoon #178 Update

10:30AM - The landscaping crew were in the process of completing the resodding. They were working on the street side. The lagoon embankment has been resodded. The temporary road for the dump truck access has been removed and the landscaping restored. The berm section that was "cut away' to allow access for the road has been rebuilt and also resodded.

The only equipment on site at this time was the Bobcat plus 4 pallets of sod. Both excavators have been taken away.

I have to say that, looking at this lagoon, even without much water in it yet, it sure looks a lot better than when it was a "rice paddy".

Lagoon #182 Update

10:15AM - No activity at this time. No workers on site.

Lagoon #182 Update

9:00AM - Excavation continues.

Lagoon #178 Update

8:50 AM- Lots of activity this AM. Continuing to remove excess soil from the dredging operation via dump truck. About 20 pallets of sod are on site and the landscaping crew (8 + supervisor) were preparing the soil.

4:00PM Update- At a meeting with Todd Doupona and Allison Tucker today, Todd explained the issue with the weir's grating cover. Apparently the problem was that the weir was not level,it may have shifted because of the large amount of excavation around it. The grating did fit the new riser opening. However, in order to have the grating level when installed, a decision was made to shim the grating using hydraulic cement. The solution was discussed with Neighborhood Representative, Rich Barton, who agreed with the solution as acceptable.

Lagoon #153 Update

8:45AM - The sod and crapemyrtles have now been replaced. I believe they were replaced sometime yesterday.

Lagoon #178 Update

8:50Am - No activity at this time.
2:00PM Update - Excavator operator was awaiting return of a dump truck to remove some of the excess soil resulting from the dredging process. No other activity at this time.

Hmmmm! I wonder how they plan to fill this fairly large lagoon with water?

Lagoon #182 Update

9:00AM- They are pumping the remaining water out of the west end of the lagoon. TJ, the excavator operator, is getting ready to start the excavation process. Pulte (Todd Doupona) assured us that they would work on this lagoon everyday until they complete it.
2:10PM Update - The large pump was pumping a small amount of remaining water. Excavation was also in progress. Two of the five workers on site appeared to be a PBG survey team.

Lagoon #182 Update

8:55AM- No activity at this time.
2:00PM -They excavated a hole for the intake hose and also dug a channel to it so that they could pump-down the west end of the lagoon further. Except for some redidual water in the west end, this lagoon is almost completly pumped-down now.

Lagoon #178 Update

8:45AM - The excavator was operating. Two landscape workers were sitting in their automobile (either waiting for the rain to stop or awaiting other workers/material to arrive?). No other activity at this time.
2:15PM Update - They installed some more sod this morning and also excavated around the weir so that it could be repaired. The riser that was added to the existing weir structure overhangs a bit. Also, apparently the grating did not fit the opening in both dimensions so the contractor decided to use some creativity (?)to make it fit by building a ledge for one end of the grating to sit on. If you look carefully at the two top photos, notice that the grating slopes vertically from one end to the other. It doesn't look very professional to me (another patch job). I don't know where they find these contractors! Todd had stated just a few days ago that the contractor doing this work was very experienced and knew what he was doing!

9/22/09 Update- At a meeting with Todd Doupona and Allison Tucker today, Todd explained the issue with the weir's grating cover. Apparently the problem was that the weir was not level, it may have shifted because of the large amount of excavation around it. The grating did fit the new riser opening. However, in order to have the grating level when installed, a decision was made to shim the grating using hydraulic cement. The solution was discussed with Neighborhood Representative, Rich Barton, who agreed with the solution as acceptable.

Lagoon #182 Update

10:30AM - The large pump has been moved closer to the west end of the lagoon in order to get that end pumped down more so that the Estate Management team can do fish recovery later today. The small pump is "off" and the intake hose has been removed from the lagoon.
7:00PM Update- The Estate Management Svcs. team arrived to do the fish recovery. Only small fish (catfish, brim, etc.) were recovered. They were put into L-171.

Lagoon #182 Update

9:30Am -The large pump was "on" and appeared to be pumping a large volume of water. They apparently had trouble with plant growth clogging the intake hose of the smaller pump so this morning they were improvising a filter attachment for the intake hose to prevent the clogging. They were planning to use both pumps today. When I left the site, both pumps were working. However, I don't know how effective their filter was.
2:00PM - Both pumps are "on" and appear to be pumping large volumes of water.
4:00PM - Both pumps are "off".
5:00PM - Estate Management Svcs team arrived to attempt fish recovery in the west end of the lagoon. However, the water in that end was still too deep. Todd agreed to have a pump moved closer to the west end of the lagoon tomorrow AM. Estate management will return tomorrow around 4:30-5:ooPM and try again.

Lagoon #178 Update

9:15AM - Embankment preparation and resodding work continues. The faulty weir reconstruction has been removed (see yesterday's post). Pulte has committed to getting the correct precast concrete size so that bricks won't need to be added to achieve the correct height. The top photo, taken yesterday afternoon at about 4:00PM, shows the weir addition (precast section plus 2 layers of bricks, poorly mortared). The bottom photo shows the same weir at 9:15Am today. Notice that the repair work has already been removed. I also noticed in today's photo that there is no sign of the groove (per Pulte's plan) that was supposed to be cut into the existing structure before the new precast addition was installed. This groove was intended to lock the two precast units together and to provide a means of sealing the joint between them against leaks. It escapes me how the installer expected a haphazard (my opinion anyway) cement bond to prevent future leaks between the two precast sections. We need to keep a closer eye on how they repair these weirs. I believe that the repair to the weir in L-154 is already leaking slightly. It would also make sense to check all of the repaired weirs before we do any "sign-off" on the project.

4:00 PM- No activity at this time. However, Pulte had the contractor do more excavating today in the northern 1/2 of the lagoon. Apparently the survey readings taken two days ago showed that the lagoon bottom in that area was not deep enough. the top photo was taken at 4:00PM today.

Lagoon #178 Update

9:15AM- The landscapers and T&H surveyors were on-site at this time. There were about 10 workers (landscapers + surveyors) plus a supervisor on site at this time. A bobcat was being used to smooth the embankment in preparation for resodding (pallets of sod were on site).

4:00PM - Notice the weir in the top photo. There is an issue concerning the addition that was made to this weir. The precast addition was not tall enough and the contractor added two layers of brick on top of the addition to achieve the correct height. The mortar job was also poorly done. Pulte (Todd Doupona) agreed to have the bricks removed tomorrow and a new precast addition for the correct height ordered (it should take about ten days for delivery). There is also an issue about the lagoon depth. Pulte had the lagoon bottom surveyed again and will be reviewing the data tomorrow to ensure compliance to the plan.

Lagoon #182 Update

8:30 AM- The clock has started on this lagoon. The pre-construction meeting with Pulte Reps., Todd Doupona and Allison Tucker was held on-site this morning. Dewatering will begin today and probably take 2 days before the dredging operation can begin. The water will be pumped into L-172 across the street. L-172 flows into L-171, which then flows into L-174, so neighbors on L-171 and L-174 might see a temproary rise in water levels, even though it doesn't rain. Dredging will focus mainly on the eastern-most half of this lagoon. The western-most half of the lagoon is deep enough. The soil dredged from from the lagoon will be used to build up the embankment and provide the 4:1 slope required by DHEC. Estate management services is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to do fish recovery. Todd stated they will work on L-182 every day until it is completed (estimated at about two weeks).
When they complete L-182, they will move on to L-208 in the Phase 6 area. When L-208 is completed, the team will return to our Phase 5 Aster Fields Neighborhood and remain there until they complete the reconstruction on the remaining six lagoons - #172, #173, #174, #175, #176, and #183 in that order.

4:00PM - Two pumps were on site but only one was connected. However, it was not "on". The 2nd pump had its intake hose in the lagoon but its outlet hose was not connected. It looks like they may be planning to use both pumps to drain this lagoon. Hopefully, pumping will start tomorrow.

Lagoon #157 Update

8:30AM- At today's pre-construction meeting for Lagoon#182, Todd Doupona stated that the L-157 embankment had been reseeded manually last week so we should see some signs of grass growing on the embankment soon. I plan to keep an eye on this lagoon for awhile but will use last Wednesday, 9/9, as the tentative completion date of record. If there is still no sign of grass growth along the embankment, then we will revisit the issue with Pulte.

Lagoon #178 Update

9:00AM - Rubble from the dredging operation was being removed from the site. There was no other activity at this time.

Lagoon #178 Update

3:30 PM - The lagoon has been dredged and the bottom looks fairly level. The pump and fuel tank were curbside, apparently awaiting pick-up and relocation to another lagoon. There's a large pile of rubble at one end of the lagoon that needs to be removed. The top photo above shows the lagoon at 3:30PM today. The photo below it shows this lagoon at 4:30PM yesterday.

Photos

Fellow Blog followers,

You may or may not know, that if you "left double-click" on any photo in the Blog you will get a full-size photo to view on your monitor. I probably should have mentioned this sooner.
Sorry about that.

Earth Angel............

Lagoon #178 Update

10:30AM- Pump is "off" (lagoon is drained-down pretty good at this time). A PBG fuel truck was refueling the excavator at this time. T&H survey team has staked the lagoon.

Lagoon#178 Update (2nd of 2 reports filed today)

This report and the accompanying 5 photos are from Howie Johnson (Basket Walk), and filed today: Wednesday, September 9 at 3:00PM:

Attached are 5 pics I took today at 3:00pm of the dredging operations on lagoon #178 in Basket Walk. I did not witness the bottom vegetation being carted away and Todd DuPona indicated when Rich Barton, Bill Able and I met with he and Allison Tucker on Tuesday, Sept. 8. However, it looked to me like the bottom had been scaped pretty clean. Most of the side vegetation appears to be gone as well. There was just one worker and he was doing the bottom scraping and slope build-up. You can see the stakes along one side of the lagoon where it is to built up.

Howard Johnson

Lagoon #178 Update

9:00AM - Pump is "on" but not pumping anything - pump head is buried in the mud. Excavator is removing some of the plant growth around the embankment and appears to be grading the embankment at the same time. A 2-man survey team from T&H Engineering was setting up their equipment.

Lagoon #178 Update

9:05AM - Pump is "on", pumping a small amount of residual water in this lagoon. No other activity at this time.

4:00PM - No activity at this time. Pump is "off". Most of the plant growth in this lagoon was removed sometime today. It is piled at one end of the lagoon, hopefully in preparation for it to be removed. The attached photos were take at 4:00PM today. Compare them to Sunday's photos of this lagoon.

Lagoon #182

Sunday 9/6 @4:40PM - Pulte/PBG hasn't started on this lagoon yet, it's "next in line", but I took the opportunity to take a few "before" photos.

Lagoon #178 Update

Sunday 9/6/2009 @ 4:30 PM - I knew this lagoon would be completely dewatered today so I checked to see if there were signs of dead/dying fish. When a lagoon is dewatered, I've always (so far anyway) seen dead/dying fish around the lagoon, even after Estate Management Services has recovered many of the fish and transferred them to designated fishing lagoons not undergoing reconstruction. However, in L-178 today, I saw not one dead fish; which leads me to believe that either Estate Management Services did an outstanding job of fish recovery (yet unseen by me to date), or this lagoon did not have any fish in it.

The accompanying photos show how severe the vegetation is in this lagoon. I assume that Pulte/PBG will remove this vegetation

Lagoon #178

3:30 PM Friday (9/5)- This lagoon is almost completely "pumped down" in preparation for excavation. the water is being pumped into the overflow weir at the north end of the lagoon.
A large excavator, large pump and a gas tank are currently at the site.

Note- The pump was initially turned "on" at 3:00PM Thursday (9/3) and operated for about 30 minutes before being turned "off". The pump was restarted sometime Friday morning. We had no notification of any fish recovery activity by Pulte and/or Estate Management Services, so we don't know if any of the large fish in this lagoon have been recovered to one of the 5 lagoons designated by the SC Fishing Club.

Lagoon #153 Update

8:00 AM, 12 Noon, and 3:15PM Saturday - No change since yesterdays report.

Lagoon #153 Update

9:10 AM - No activity at this time. Awaiting sod and shrubbery replacement in the area that was cleared for equipment access.
4:30PM Update- No change since today's morning report.

Lagoon #153 Update

Note- While I was on vacation, Bill Abel monitored the work on L-153 from 8/19 to 8/29, inclusive. His daily log for L-153 during this period can be seen if you open Bill Abel under the list of "followers" on my Blog site. It includes photos and construction progress updates.

Lagoon #153 Update

8:45AM - Mini-excavator, bobcat, ditch-witch and several wood pallets are still at the site. No workers on site. No change since yesterday. Water level is still "holding" at the top of the weir.
All equipment/materials need to be removed from the access area, the "distrubed" soil leveled and resodded.
11:00AM Update- There were four workers on site and it looked like they were preparing to remove the equipment from the site.
4:00PM Update- All equipment has been removed from the site and the access area graded and prepared for sod installation.

Lagoon #153 Update

9:10 AM - No change at the site since yesterday. Mini-bobcat, ditch witch, small backhoe, and many pallets still at at the site.

Lagoon #157 Update

9:05AM - There's a distinct lack of growth on much of the embankment that was hydroseeded. It may have something to do with the fact that much of the hydroseed material was washed away by heavy rains (on 8/12 & 8/13) right after it was applied. Pulte is currently looking into this issue. I don't consider this lagoon reconstruction completed until this issue is resolved.