Squamscott River Siphon Improvement Project Updates

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4/19/24 - The contractor will perform an exploratory drill from the Swasey Parkway side of the river starting around Monday, April 29. This drilling activity would be limited to a few days.  The heater is no longer necessary, but the reclaimer machine will need to be operated.  The results of this drilling effort will enable the contractor to decide on the construction means for the next bore hole. 

4/12/24 - All efforts to remove the 18-inch reamer proved unsuccessful.  The reamer will need to be abandoned in-place.  A new drill attempt will be required.  The contractor and engineer are developing plans and schedules for this next attempt.  There will be no work over the weekend. 

4/5/24 - While some progress is being made with the extraction effort to remove the 18" reamer, the operation is still unsuccessful.  Crews will work on Saturday, April 6 to continue this task.  The air hammer on the Mill side of the river will be utilized to assist in the extraction of the reamer which could still be a noisy activity. There are no additional costs to the Town relating to this circumstance.

3/29/24 - The 8" steel casing was installed to the 18" reamer on Wednesday, March 27.  The reamer was pushed an additional 7 feet back toward the parkway.  A new rod-capturing tool was constructed that will attempt to connect with the broken drill rod end.  Insertion of the rod capturing tool is advancing from the parkway, toward the broken drill rod.  If successful, the broken shaft will be escorted out of the drilled shaft with this tool toward the parkway. The air hammer on the Mill side of the river will continue to be used to assist in the extraction of the reamer which could still be a noisy activity. There are no additional costs to the Town relating to this circumstance.

3/22/24 - The initial attempt of using a recoupler to connect the separated drill rods was unsuccessful.  Eight-inch steel casing will be delivered to the Mill side of the site on Monday, March 25.  These casings will be welded together over the drill rods and used to push the reamer toward the parkway extraction area.  Crews will be working over the weekend preparing for the casing assembly.  On Monday, the drill rig will begin to push the casing toward the reamer.  If necessary, an air hammer may be used to assist in the pushing process.  An air hammer was used last year on Swasey Parkway for a portion of the work.  The air hammer contemplated for use on this effort will be a smaller unit, however it would still be noisy activity. There are no additional costs to the Town relating to this circumstance.

3/21/24 - On March 19th the drilling rod on the Swasey Parkway side disconnected from the 18-inch reamer. The drilling activity was in the process of a second reaming pass which was enlarging the current bore hole to 18 inches in diameter. At the time of the disconnection, the reamer was approximately 500 ft from the parkway heading toward the Mill side of the river. It was later determined that the cause of the disconnection was a weld failure in the drill rod approximately 160 ft from the drill rig. The contractor is currently developing plans and will attempt to reconnect the drill rods.  There are no additional costs to the Town relating to this circumstance.

3/01/24 - On February 28th, the 12-inch reaming drill successfully made it from Swasey Parkway side to the Mill side of the river. Construction is continuing with the 18-inch reamer.   Exeter TV did a short video update in their March 1st edition of The Exeter Biweekly Report which can be watched on their YouTube page. 

2/12/24 - Due to the mild winter weather, crews have been able to make great progress with the second sewer siphon pipe as part of the Squamscott River Sewer Siphons Project. On Thursday, February 8th the most difficult part of drilling was completed successfully with the drilling of the pilot hole from the Swasey Parkway side to the mill side of the river. Crews have now been able to shift to using a new 12-inch reaming drill head to begin widening the hole in preparation for pulling the pipe through. As took place with the first pipe, following the 12-inch reamer, an 18-inch reamer will be used to widen the hole once more. After the second ream, the contractor will assess the borehole condition and determine if another ream is required. Once drilling is complete, the siphon pipe will be pulled through the borehole. The reaming process is expected to take place over the next six weeks. Upon completion of the reaming process, it is anticipated the infrastructure will be operational within six to eight weeks. Exeter TV stopped by the construction site to see the pilot hole being completed, watch their video update on their YouTube page. 

1/8/24 - Drilling of the pilot hole through the ledge of the Squamscott River will begin tomorrow, January 9th. Drilling for the 12-inch siphon pipe will require several stages. The first is the pilot hole, followed by two reaming operations that increase the hole diameter. Lastly, a pipe will be pulled through. It is anticipated that this operation will take approximately three months to complete. Construction schedules and information are subject to change with weather and other factors.

12/06/23 - Starting on December 11th, crews will begin mobilizing equipment to the site. The drill team will be mobilizing on December 18th with drilling set to begin on January 2nd after the holidays. For more updates on the project, subscribe to the Public Works Email Newsletter, by visiting our sign up page and checking "Public Works Updates."

10/27/23 - Work is slated to begin in December on phase 2 of the Sewer Siphons project under the Squamscott River downtown. Stay tuned to this page for more information We’ll be updating the page more frequently closer to the start of construction.

08/18/23 - Project Update: The directionally drilled hole was reamed once again with a 12-inch reamer on Aug 8 to remove any obstacles sta1ting on the Mill side of the river and advancing toward Swasey Parkway. The direction of the pipe insertion was switched to start at the Mills and pull towards the Parkway. The siphon pipe was fused together on the Mill prope1ty. A 14-inch barrel reamer was utilized in front the siphon pipe. The 12-inch siphon pipe was successfully installed on Tuesday, Aug 15th.  The siphon pipe passed testing requirements on Aug 17th. Clean-up and demobilization occurred on Aug l7th and 18th.  After the successful town vote on Aug 15th, the consultant is assisting with paperwork to secure State Revolving Fund loan amendments and a contractor change order for the second siphon barrel.

08/18/23 - Exeter TV Video: Included in The Exeter Biweekly Report, Exeter TV covers the Special Town Meeting results and an update on the Sewer Siphon Progress to date, including video footage of the successful pulling of the siphon from the Mill side of the river to Swasey Parkway. Residents can watch the Report on the Exeter TV YouTube page.

08/11/23 - Project Update: Approximately 230 feet of siphon pipe was replaced and fused together. Another siphon installation pull was attempted on Aug 2 again by inserting on the Parkway and pulling toward the Mills. This siphon pull was unsuccessful too. The 12-inch HDPE siphon pipe was pulled to 220 feet from the Swasey Parkway side when the pull encountered an obstacle and could not be advanced any further.  This is just short of the distance where the pulling shaft lost contact with the pipe on the initial pull attempt. The siphon pipe was backed out of the hole and the drill shaft remained intact across the river.  The hole was reamed once again on Aug 8 with the 12-inch reamer to remove any obstacles starting on the Mill side of the river and advancing toward Swasey Parkway. The direction of the pipe insertion has been switched. Pipe will be inserted from the Mill side and pulled toward the parkway. The siphon pipe was cut for the move across the river and has been fused together again. A 14-inch barrel reamer is expected to be delivered to the construction site on Mon. Aug 14. The 12-inch siphon pipe will be connected to the back of the 14-inch barrel reamer for the insertion pull anticipated on Tues. Aug 15.

07/31/23 - New siphon pipe was delivered to replace sections damaged in the extraction efforts. Crews began fusing the pipe together. Tomorrow will be preparation for the pulling effort. Anticipated siphon insertion is Wednesday, Aug 2nd.

07/28/23 - Press Release: A 24-inch steel conductor pipe was supposed to be installed over the siphon pipe down to the bedrock.  After difficulties occurred with the conductor pipe installation the contractor decided to discontinue the installation. The conductor pipe was embedded into the ground approximately 60 feet. A plan to slowly pull the 12-inch siphon pipe out of the hole while simultaneously backing out the 18-inch reamer by pushing from the Mill side was instituted. The siphon pipe was successfully removed and the reamer made it out of the jacking pit.  The intact drill shaft now spans to both sides of the river. A bracket on the piece that connects the reamer to the swivel had sheared off causing the original loss of connection with the siphon pipe. Approximately, 230 feet of HDPE siphon pipe will need to be replaced.  New pipe delivery is expected on Monday. The conductor pipe was removed. It is anticipated that the next siphon insertion pull will be Wednesday, August 3rd.

07/21/23 - Press Release: At approximately 50 feet of conductor pipe installation, the 12-inch siphon pipe already in the hole started to move during the hammering operation. As a precautionary step, a camera will be inserted into the siphon pipe on Monday, July 24 for inspection. The installation of the conductor barrel is anticipated to be complete by next week. Once the conductor barrel is in place, the drill team will remove the siphon pipe from the hole, repair the connection, and begin the pulling process again.

07/19/23 - Press Release: Workers are constructing the "driving beam" which is used to align the 24" steel conductor pipe as it is driven into the ground to bedrock.  The driving beam platform will be complete on 7/20.  After which the first 20-foot section of the steel pipe will be hammered into the ground. The process uses a ramming tool and when the ramming tool is in use, you can expect it to be quite noisy.  Expect there to be about 1 hour of noise then a break for about an hour and then repeats until all the pipe is in place and welded. There is no way to get around the noise.  We apologize in advance for the inconvenience. At the end of this phase, there will still be work to be done but the noise from a ramming tool will no longer be an issue. This can change due to worksite problems, material issues, weather or other unanticipated factors.  This means we can expect it to get loud starting 7/21 and continue until 7/28 if all goes according to plan.

07/13/23 - Press Release: On July 12th, 2023, work began on pulling the first of two 12-inch sewer siphon barrels through the 18-inch pilot hole successfully drilled earlier this month. During the pulling of the pipe under the Squamscott River bed, in the direction to the Mills from Swasey Parkway, the equipment used to pull the pipe under the river bed experienced a lost connection with the siphon pipe approximately 240 feet into the hole. It is believed the separation may have occurred with a piece of the equipment being used to pull the pipe through the pilot hole. Read more. 

07/11/23 -  Special Town Meeting: A special deliberative session was held for additional funding for the project.  The warrant article was not amended at this meeting.  The second session of the Special Town Meeting, to vote on the special warrant article as it may will be held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at the Talbot Gymnasium at the Tuck Learning Center, 30 Linden Street, Exeter, NH. Polls for voting by official ballot will open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm 

06/23/23 - Project Progressing: On Friday June 16th, construction crews successfully made it across, under the river, from Swasey Parkway to the Mill side of the river with a 12 inch reamer. The reaming process consists of using a special drill with a reamer head that widens the initial pilot hole to allow the pipes to be pulled through. During the week of June 19th, crews began another pass through the hole with an 18 inch reamer. Once this pass is complete, crews will begin pulling the siphon pipe through. 

On Thursday June 22nd 2023, the Rockingham Superior Court approved the Town's petition to hold a Special Town Meeting and Election to address phase two of the project. This will allow the Town to seek and potentially approve an additional $3,500,000 to complete the project. 

The funding would come through a loan agreement from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Clean Water State Revolving Fund with 10% loan forgiveness. Being a bond article, a 3/5ths ballot vote is required for approval. The Town will hold a deliberative session on the evening of July 11th with voting taking place on August 15th.

If the article is approved, the Town would proceed with drilling, reaming, and laying an additional 12 inch siphon to connect the Jady Hill area to the Main Pump Station adjacent to Swasey Parkway. The process involves drilling a pilot hole under the river which is then widened with reamers before the drill pulls the siphon through. This work would be conducted in the fall and continue into early winter.

Presentation to the River Advisory Committee: On June 15th, 2023, Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich gave an overview of the project discussing how it all started, what was originally proposed, and what is currently being done. The meeting can be watched on the Exeter TV YouTube page.

Updates to the Select Board: Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich gave updates to the Select Board at their recent meetings. You can find coverage of these updates on the Exeter TV YouTube page:

June 5th, 2023 Select Board - Attached in the meeting packet was a memo stating "On Friday, June 2, 2023 the pilot hole was successfully completed across the river. The reaming process to enlarge the pilot hole will begin next week."

May 22nd, 2023 Select Board - Attached in the meeting packet was a memo stating "As of Thursday May 18, 2023 the drilling is progressing without any major issues. Drilling is slow through some hard rock. The contractor has completed approximately 345 feet of pilot hole drilling from the Swasey Parkway drilling rig."

May 15th, 2023 Select Board

May 1st, 2023 Select Board

April 17th, 2023 Select Board

Updates to the Select Board on 4/3/23: The Select Board highlighted the video message which was released on Exeter TV's YouTube channel. Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich was at the meeting to update the board with developments that have occured since the video was published.

Project Update Issued on 3/31/23: In a video message, Chair of the Select Board Niko Papakonstantis, Town Manager Russ Dean, and Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich address the public regarding the Squamscott River Sewer Siphon project. The video can be watched on Exeter TV's YouTube Channel. The Town also published a detailed press release with information on the status of the project.

Updates to the Select Board and other committees: Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich gave updates to the Select Board at their recent meetings. You can find coverage of these updates on the Exeter TV YouTube page.

March 20th, 2023 Update to the Select Board vide coverage

March 16th, 2023 Update to the River Advisory Committee video coverage

March 6th, 2023 Update to the Select Board video coverage

February 27th, 2023 Update to the Select Board video coverage

Update 2/17/23: Beginning the week of 2/20

Swasey Parkway Closed (day/night/weekends)

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Operations on Swasey Parkway are unchanged

Vactor trucks will be travelling back and forth from the Mills to Swasey Parkway to transport the drilling mud during standard working hours.

A small excavation will be performed on Mills side of Project around the pilot hole. This hole will be fenced in similar to the chainlink fencing near the Main Pump Station. This might occur on Friday 2/17

Vactor truck and a drill will be running during standard working hours on the Mills side of the Project.

There will be no equipment running overnight at the Mills side of the project.

These operations are expected to continue for several weeks before piping is pulled across and a new pilot hole would be drilled.

Update to the Select Board on 2/13/23: Interim Public Works Director Paul Vlasich and consultants gave an update to the Select Board on the status of the project. Watch video coverage of the update on the Exeter TV YouTube page. Included in the packet for the February 13th meeting was a design of the siphon and a memo from the Town Manager with further details.

Update 12/23/22: Week of 12/26

Swasey Parkway Closed (day/night/weekends) (12/26 – 1/1)

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Equipment mobilized to the Swasey Parkway

Excavation on Mills side of Project to remove historic construction debris

Heater will be turned off

 Week of 1/2 – Week of 1/23

Swasey Parkway Closed (day/night/weekends) 1/2 – 1/20

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Continue Horizontal Directional Drill & HDPE pipe pull back

Heater will be running on both side of the Squamscott River all hours from 1/2 through 1/20 or until the drill and pull back is complete

Equipment running during typical work hours on both sides of the Squamscott River

 Future work schedule to be updated following the directional drilling the week of 1/3 or 1/10.

12/20/2022:  Project schedule for the next upcoming weeks (December 19th - January 23rd):

Week 12/19

Shut down Swasey Parkway (day and night) beginning Tuesday from 12/20 – 12/23

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Begin Horizontal Directional Drill & HDPE pipe pull back

Heater will be running all hours from 12/19 through 12/23

 Week of 12/26

Swasey Parkway Open (12/24 – 1/1)

No Work Anticipated

 Week of 1/2 – Week of 1/16

Shut Down Swasey Parkway (day/night/weekends) 1/2 – 1/20

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Continue Horizontal Directional Drill & HDPE pipe pull back

Heater will be running all hours from 1/2 through 1/20 or until the drill and pull back is complete

 Week of 1/23 (Weather Permitting)

Swasey Parkway Open

Access path adjacent to the river will remain open

Horizontal Directional Drill & HDPE pipe pull back completed

Open excavation construction

Install access structures (if delivered)

12/5/2022:  During the week of December 5th, the Contractor will mobilize equipment and begin construction of the crushed stone access path adjacent to the Exeter Mills. During the week of December 12th, Test Pits will be dug on both sides of the river with Horizontal Direction Drilling pilot testing anticipated. During the week of December 19th the contractor will continue Horizontal Direction Drilling. 

11/14/2022: During the week of November 14th - 21st, the Contractor will be setting up erosion controls and construction fencing around the project site. The construction fencing will limit access to the walking area around Clemson Pond near the Exeter Mills and the grassed area near the Main Pump Station on Swasey Parkway. During the week of November 28th, the contractor will mobilize equipment and begin construction of the crushed stone access path adjacent to the Exeter Mills.

11/16/2021:  The Squamscott River Sewer Siphon Project includes the installation of three new sewer siphon barrels under the Squamscott River each barrel is approximately 900 feet in length. The sewer siphon will cross the Squamscott River near Jady Hill Avenue and will cross to the Swasey Parkway near the existing Main Pump Station. Anticipated permits for this project include New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Standard Dredge and Fill Permit, NHDES Shoreland Protection Permit, Army Corps of Engineers Section 408 Permit, and other local permits. The NHDES Environmental Review determined a Finding of No Significant Impact for the proposed project. The anticipated project cost is $2.8 million to be paid with state and local funding.

04/15/2021: The inspection of the existing siphons revealed that they are both in very poor condition and need to be replaced. DPW staff and their consultants evaluated several alternatives for either repairing or replacing the siphons which were presented to the Water & Sewer Advisory Committee (W&SAC) in March 2021. The selected alternative is to Horizontally Directional Drill (HDD) three (3) new sewer siphons under the Squamscott River. This is an increase in the scope of the project and therefore will require additional funding. DPW is pursuing state and federal funding opportunities to obtain the $920,000 needed in addition to the $1.4 million (2020 Town Warrant Article) that is currently available for the project.  Updates were provided at Select Board and W&SAC meetings over the last few months. Links to those meetings are below.

11/30/2020: A pipeline cleaning and inspection company will be working on the siphons between Swasey Parkway and the Mill Complex near Jady Hill Ave from Tuesday, December 1st to Friday, December 4th.
The purpose of this work is to understand if any of the existing siphons can be salvaged for reuse.

8/11/2020: Beginning August 14, 2020, the Town of Exeter Public Works Department and Wright-Pierce will be conducting field investigations for a sewer siphon, pump station and associated force main upgrades project on Jady Hill Avenue, Douglass Way, Webster Avenue, Swasey Parkway, and Duck Point.  The fieldwork will take several days to complete and crews will be on site intermittently over the next two to three months.  The majority of fieldwork will be conducted within the road Right-of-Way or along the Squamscott River. 

PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

· Appropriate traffic control measures will be in place.  
· All driveways will remain accessible.
· Soil borings will cause some noise and disruption.
· Fieldwork will occur between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM