In the summer of 2022, Brownline USA contributed to a special project in Boca Raton, FL. They surveyed two pilot bores for the installation of a new seawater pipeline for a sea turtle conservation center.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida is home to thousands of protected or endangered animals. Their sea turtle conservation program rescues, rehabilitates, and eventually releases sick and injured turtles. The aquariums and the rehabilitation and research facilities need a steady supply of naturally oxygenated seawater to be pumped in from offshore. The pipelines and pumps were old and deteriorated, so a new system was to be installed by contractor Earth View LLC. This system involved two 16” HDPE lines.
Earth View brought in Brownline USA to take precise positional measurements-while-drilling using the Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool. The drill design included combination curves and a tight combined radius. While drilling under the sea bed, a minimal depth had to be maintained while avoiding any inadvertent returns into the environmentally sensitive area.
At about 300 ft / 100 m from the entry point, absolute accuracy was required. The boreholes needed to be perfectly aligned with the vertical pipes at the pump station. To ensure this accuracy, Brownline’s GPS track add-on was utilized. This module allows for extra verifications of the drill head’s position to be made. With the positional measurements checked and confirmed, the boreholes were lined up perfectly as intended under the pump station.
Brownline is proud to have successfully completed this challenging project. Brownline USA’s contribution has helped deliver improved infrastructure to the sea turtle center, which they can rely on for years to come.