Venice Island Sewer Basin & Recreation Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Overview: The Venice Island Underground Storage Basin, located in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia, is used to temporarily store diverted flow from the sanitary interceptor sewer during intense rain storms. As part of the overall effort to better the health of the Schuylkill River, the Philadelphia Water Department and the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department initiated plans of improvement to the canal, including state-of-the-art recreation and performing arts facilities. GeoStructures was responsible for the geotechnical instrumentation program and weekly monitoring of the project. 

GeoStructures designed and installed a geotechnical instrumentation program and carried out weekly monitoring at the site. The program consisted of inclinometers, telltales, piezometers, surface markers, and seismographs. The purpose of the program was to ensure that the construction of the Venice Island Underground Storage Basin and Recreation Center would not adversely impact surrounding historic structures, including a 42-in. cast iron sewer line, an adjacent railroad, and the Manayunk canal.