Two tips for those who are digging excavations in heavy rain
Whilst ideally, contractors should dig excavations when it's dry outside, sometimes this task must be done whilst it's raining heavily. Below are some suggestions that could help contractors who have to work in these challenging conditions.
Take steps to prevent the excavator from hitting the dewatering pump
In these circumstances, contractors will usually need to use dewatering pumps in order to continuously remove the rainwater from the excavation so that it does not create a pool of water inside this cavity. When these pumps have been positioned around the excavation, the contractor should instruct one of their workers to stay near the excavator whilst its operator is removing soil from this cavity, and use a megaphone to warn the operator if their bucket is about to scrape the edge of or land on one of the pump's hoses.
The reason for this is that if the bucket's teeth slice the dewatering pump's hose, the water that is being pulled up through this hose by the pump will flow out and fall back into the excavation. If this happens, the contractor may have to call a halt to the digging, as the remaining functional dewatering pumps and hoses may not be able to draw the rainwater out of the excavation at the same speed that this fluid falls into it. As such, the contractor might have to wait until they can replace this damaged hose before they can allow the rest of the excavation to be created. If, however, they ensure that one of their workers supervises the use of the excavator, however, they can prevent this type of disruption from occurring.
Cover the excavation when the crew are on their lunch breaks
It's also a good idea to cover the excavation whilst the construction crew are having their lunch breaks. Aside from being waterproof, this cover should be relatively sturdy so that it won't blow off and expose the cavity underneath to rainwater if it gets windy during these periods. A swimming pool cover could be the perfect item to use in this situation.
Doing this will allow the crew to shut off the dewatering pumps when they are having their lunches (which will reduce the energy bills generated by this construction project), whilst still ensuring that rainwater doesn't get into the excavation and then have to be pulled out with the pumps before the excavator operator can finish off their work.