Groundwater Remediation System Design and Construction

PG&E Hinkley Compressor Station

PIVOX Corporation served as Design-Builder and General Contractor for construction of multiple innovative groundwater extraction, conveyance and remediation systems as part of PG&E’s Hinkley Compressor Station groundwater remediation program.

PIVOX was the lead civil engineer and design-builder of the Hinkley program’s agricultural treatment unit (ATU) systems.  These systems facilitate natural reduction of hexavalent chromium in groundwater via low-intensity application of affected water on agricultural cropland, where reduction occurs in the planted crop’s root zone while irrigating the planted crop. The irrigated groundwater is beneficially reused by creating a high-quality feed crop to local dairy farms, providing value to the local community at little cost to the end user.  

PIVOX designed and constructed eight separate ATU systems covering over 250 acres with instantaneous irrigation/treatment rates of over 750 gallons per minute.  PIVOX completed full turnkey engineering and construction for these systems.  These systems consisted of groundwater extraction wells, underground water conveyance pipelines, water filtration systems, and custom-designed above-ground irrigation system, including linear-move irrigation machines and center-pivot irrigation machines equipped with innovative high-efficiency water application components.

PIVOX performed full conceptual through detailed civil and mechanical design for these systems, including hydraulic design, underground pipeline design, and specifying custom, innovative- low-intensity irrigation equipment in collaboration with specialist agricultural engineers.  The project was delivered using design-build construction delivery with PIVOX as the general contractor, providing the owner with completed and operating systems that met program remediation goals within tight regulatory-imposed schedules and while also meeting the needs of local farmers.