Major Milestone in Lake Cleanup; Groundwater Treatment Plant Begins Operation
Honeywell began installing approximately 46,000 square feet of interlocking steel panels, each two feet wide and weighing nearly one ton, along the southwestern shoreline of Onondaga Lake. The panels are part of a one and one-half mile long and 30 to 50 foot deep underground barrier wall, which will prevent contaminated groundwater from entering the lake. A 5 foot wide and 12 foot deep groundwater collection trench will be built next to the barrier wall.
Contractors attach rigging so panels can be lifted into the air by a crane and placed into position along the lakeshore.
As the steel panels are installed, Honeywell’s groundwater treatment plant on Willis Avenue will begin treating contaminated groundwater that collects behind the wall. Honeywell completed construction of the plant in May, one year ahead of its original schedule.
“Construction of the barrier wall is the critical step in preventing contaminated groundwater from reaching Onondaga Lake,” said Honeywell Syracuse Program Director John McAuliffe. “We can now begin operating the groundwater treatment plant. This is a major milestone in the lake cleanup.”
Contractors install a steel panel along the southwestern shoreline of Onondaga Lake. The panel is one of 325 interlocking panels that will be driven into the ground during the first phase of construction of the barrier wall.
The barrier wall will be built in three phases under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Phase one, the Semet section, will extend from the West Side Pump Station (near Exit 7 on Interstate 690) to the Causeway Bridge. The second section, the Willis/Causeway section, will extend from the Semet section to the East Flume and the third section, the Harbor Brook portion, will extend from the East Flume to Harbor Brook.
Contaminated groundwater that accumulates behind the barrier wall will be pumped under I-690 to the Willis Avenue Groundwater Treatment Plant for treatment. Treated groundwater will be tested to ensure it meets DEC guidelines and returned to Onondaga Lake via piping under I-690.
The one and one-half mile long underground barrier wall is one part of the groundwater collection and treatment system Honeywell has been building since April 2005.
The Semet section of the barrier wall will be complete in the summer of 2007.
By the end of this year, Honeywell will complete the remediation of the former Linden Chemical and Plastics (LCP) plant site.
For more information on the Onondaga Lake cleanup, visit www.onondaga-lake-initiatives.com.
